Customer Reviews

Chicago Blues

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Since his recording debut in 1947 Young shines on this one. Originally on Arhoolie lps 1029 & 1037 Young hosts an all star Chicago blues band. With legendary harpmen James Cotton & Big Walter Horton, Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake on piano, SP Leary & Lester Dorsie on drums, Ernest Gatewood and Jimmy Lee Morris on bass and Jimmy "Fast Fingers" on second guitar this cd is a winner. It is the eptiome of the tough Chicago sound of the day (for 1965). Highly recommend for all students and fans of Chicago Blues.

Singer, guitarist and mandolinist Johnny Young was one of the very few post-war blues artists to incorporate the mandolin in his sound. It doesn't excactly dominate this CD, but it is very prominent on "Stealin'", "I'm Doing All Right", and "Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business", three acoustic numbers in the rough-and-tumble string band tradition of the Mississippi Delta.

This fine album brings together the output from two separate sessions, one from November, 1965 with Otis Spann on piano and James Cotton playing the harmonica, and one from November, 1967, which adds Jimmy Dawkins on electric guitar, and which has Lafayette Leake rolling the 88s, and the great Walter Horton on harmonica.
Apart from the three numbers in the classic, pre-war style of the Southern string bands, this is mostly mid-tempo blues with some slow numbers in between. The two piano players and harpists Cotton and Horton steal much of the show with some really fine performances - the instrumental "Walter's Boogie" is a showcase for the omnipresent and hugely influential Horton, and even though none of these songs are as immediately memorable as the music of Elmore James, Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf, the consistently fine performances by all the musicians involved makes for an hour of really enjoyable, old-time urban blues.

For blues fans, this is a tremendous, must-own record, for several reasons:
1. Johnny Young possessed a wonderfully melodious yet muscular singing voice for the blues, very much underrated, as well as under-recorded;
2. His mandolin is a rare instrument in blues music, yet it adds greatly to the overall sound;
3. The supporting bands are well-known in blues circles and always keep things moving;
4. Not one, but TWO, of the greatest harp players to ever play are featured: Big Walter Horton and James Cotton;
5. There is magnificent amplified harp as well as phenomenal acoustic harp; Horton and Cotton are both at the top of their game here, and that is saying something;
6. The disc is crammed with great tunes, a good hour's worth of fabulous blues playing.
This should be considered a landmark recording.

Blues rock in it's finest, purest form. I never thought a mando would work well in the blues, but it does! If you're looking to bolster your expansive blues collection with a solid album that will not let you down from Track 1 to Track 20, go with this one. You won't regret it. And crank up the volume.