Delay Does Chicago

Paul DeLay | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: January 12, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Evidence
• ASIN: B00000GV5A
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,568 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Beautiful Bones

2. Brave Woman

3. All Cried Out

4. Leave Me Alone

5. Come On Home

6. El Train

7. Wait

8. Ain't Foolin' 'Round

9. What's Coming Next

10. Only Me

11. Great Big Kid

12. Oak Street Beach

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Guitar magazine review:, February 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Delay Does Chicago (Audio CD)

Call this disc a tribute to the city where the blues reign. Bluesman Paul deLay had recorded all nine of his previous albums back home in Portland, Oregon. For this new CD, he made a pilgrimage to lay down a session with a specially formed Chicago band and invited Chicago guitarslinger Jimmy Dawkins and vocalist Zora Young to help out. The result is a rollicking set of blues originals from DeLay, well-known for his self-penned lyrics and compositions. Dawkins' guitarwork is tough stuff on his two cuts, and band member Rockin' Johnny Burgin tracks some solid licks on the remaining tunes. Zora Young sizzles on her sole song. Despite the guest stars, deLay still holds center stage. He sings his heart out and blows his diatonic and chromatic harmonicas as if his life depended on it. As deLay comments in the production notes in the liner booklet, "Technical, schmechnical---put some heart in it, dammit!"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Despite the name dropping, a great listen, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Delay Does Chicago (Audio CD)

This CD leaves you wanting more. You like Paul DeLay's harmonica, you'll want more harmonica. You like his singing, you want more Paul vocals. You like his selection of band members, you will want to hear more of each of them. While this is a showcase for Paul Delay, he generously gives up the spotlight to other players/vocalists while still letting you hear the DeLay touch. I think a highlight of this CD is Zora Young singing "Come On Home". A great song with a plot twist ! And now I'm trying to find more Zora Young. You can tell that Paul is excited to write and perform with a different band, but I could do without the kitschy intro device on "El Train". The song is good enough without it. DeLay continues to provide great blues with a special edge for today's listeners. Don't forget to pay attention to Jimmy Dawkins' guitar and Sho Komiya's bass.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deLay does a detour into traditional Chicago-style blues, January 24, 1999

By 

Scott C. Davis "blueshound" (Easton, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Delay Does Chicago (Audio CD)

If anyone ever wondered whether harmonica giant Paul deLay could belt out traditional blues, the evidence is conclusive on deLay Does Chicago. This CD is a self-proclaimed "dream project" on which deLay takes a one-time (I wonder) hiatus from his regular band. deLay happened upon the Rockin' Johnny Band at Buddy Guy's Legends club, and the Chicago-style blues groove was firmly etched in his brain. Straight from the start, on "Beautiful Bones," deLay conjures up a harmonica gale force befitting the Windy City. And when Johnny Burgin fires up his tasty guitar, the stage is set for a kinship that's quickly established. Always a prolific and terrific songwriter, deLay wrote or co-wrote all 12 tunes in a frenzy preparing for and all through the recording sessions. To say he was inspired by Chicago is an understatement to which anyone who's ever been there can testify. "Brave Woman" is a got-no-money blues song that starts out sorrowfully: "Boom boxes shakin' the windows/Pistols poppin' outside our door/I got no love for the `hood, but Oh Lord/It's all I can afford." But the song turns the corner into a celebration of a woman who loves her man for who he is. "Leave Me Alone" triggers a blues-infused intro by pianist Donny Nicholo that leaves no doubt as to the tradition rooted in this CD-and in deLay's new material. The song serves up another heapin' helpin' on this smorgasbord of blues harp. "Great Big Kid" is a funny up-temp song that reaffirms the premise that men are just boys with credit cards. "Come On Home" features vocalist Zora Young, while "El Train" welcomes Jimmy Dawkins aboard-and the Chicago guitar legend helps drive the train home. This CD is far more bluesy than the average Paul deLay (something which may attract a legion of new fans), and The Rocking' Johnny Band's Sho Komiya on bass and Kenny Smith on drums keep the blues rocking along. This CD is the blues-plate special if you want your deLay Chicago-style!