Customer Reviews

Blues Hit Big Town

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4 star:		(1)
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Originally released in 1977, this album brings together Junior Wells' earliest singles, recorded in 1953 and 1954 when he was just a teenager (he turned 20 in December, 1954). This 1998 CD reissue adds six bonus tracks, five of which are alternate takes, and while the liner notes are somewhat sparse, the music is top-notch.

Junior Wells' first LP came out more than ten years later, in 1965, but these tough early singles, taped when Junior was Muddy Waters' harmonica player, are at least as seminal. Junior's sublime first reading of "Hoodoo Man" is here, alongside a rollicking "Cut That Out", a lean, mean "Please Throw This Poor Dog A Bone", the swinging "Tomorrow Night", and the blazing instrumentals "Eagle Rock" and "Junior's Wail".
Junior's rendition of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "'Bout The Break Of Day" is every bit as powerful as "Hoodoo Man" (another Williamson-number) and he sounds thoroughly menacing on the grinding title track.

As well as playing with Muddy Waters, Junior Wells was the lead singer of the Aces for a while, a group which consisted of brothers Louis and Dave Myers on guitar and bass respectively, and drummer extraordinaire Fred Below. They back him on most of these recordings, and Johnnie Jones lends his considerable talents on piano on the 1953 sides.
And the great Elmore James appears as well, wielding his smouldering bottleneck on the master take of "Hoodoo Man". Piano player Otis Spann from the Muddy Waters band is rolling the 88s on the 1954 recordings, and Waters himself shows up as well, backing Wells on guitar.

These early recordings are some of Junior Wells' finest and grittiest, and while his blistering harmonica playing was often more or less absent on his 60s and 70s waxings, it takes centre stage on these superb 50s singles.
A must-have.

Junior Wells has always been my personal favorite of the great blues harp players. With his soulful, punchy harmonica technique, exemplified on his classic "Hoodoo Man Blues" album, Junior created one of the coolest harp sounds around. With "Blues Hit Big Town," we are treated to the earliest recordings Junior made.

What this record shows primarily, is that even in his late teens, Junior Wells was an astounding harp player. On this record, Junior plays stuff that easily ranks among the finest harp ever laid down. His singing is also good, though his voice has not yet taken on the grittiness that would eventually make him one a the great blues singers.

The music on this album is some truly great Chicago blues. Whether on the original take of the classic "Hoodoo Man," the great instrumental "Eagle Rock," or the down in the alley sound of "Please Throw This Poor Dog A Bone," Junior's music runs the gamut of great Chicago sound.

The bottom line: another excellent entry into Junior Wells' library. Though not quite the perfection he would achieve on "Hoodoo Man Blues," it's pretty close, and a more than worthy addition to any blues fan's collection.

Remembering that these recordings are nearly 50 years old, the quality of the recording session really is "electric" with Wells at his most swaggering and soaring.Add to that the fact that the two different bands had Muddy Waters and Elmore James playing in them, and that Louis and Dave Myers were empathetic to what Wells could do, this re-release is most welcome.At its best the material is excellent (Listen to "Hoodoo Man") and even where he covers standards Wells bring something different to the tracks.Good too that there are alternate takes on four of the tunes.This really is a "must have" reissue from the consistently excellent United re-releases from Delmark.

1965's "Hoodoo Man" may be the best known, but it's been all downhill for Wells since this amazing stuff, done as a teenager in the fifties. Featuring guitar by Louis Myers, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters. Blues lovers should tell their punk-rock loving friends about this one: this has all the spirit of a young man's urge to break all the rules, but with CHOPS.

Rare is the occasion when, for the rest of your life, you will forever live in the shadow of your first published work, be it music, literature, film, etc. Such is the case with Blues Hit Big Town, unmatched by Junior Wells since in its virtuosity, intensity and creativity. Chicago attack harp at its zenith. The best rendition of Hoodoo Man Blues resides on this recording.

I completely agree with the reviewer from Exeter. This disk manages to sound both raw and polished--vivid and not overproduced.

The alternate version of "Lord Lord" has a few seconds of control room talkback before the music begins. I usually don't like this gimmick but in this case it's a magic glimpse of the collaboration behind these delicious tracks.

There are some tracks that seem mostly of historical or archival interest, and I'm not a historian of blues. But even putting those tracks aside, this disk is superb and worthwhile, not only for adding context to any Wells or Chicago blues collection, but also for its own sheer pleasure.

Just imagine yourself in the neighborhood tavern in Chicago just listening to the band on stage. There are people up there with the names Muddy, Otis and Willie and this rough looking dude on harp. They are just playing the blues like no one else possibly can. This guy named Jumior has this voice that is downright spooky it is so raw with the blues....keep imagining and you have this recording.