Customer Reviews

Girls Go Wild

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Ask any working professional blues guitarist or any other blues musician, including his younger brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he will probably say that Jimmie Vaughan is one of the greatest blues guitarists of the last 40 years, perhaps longer. Vaughan probably had as much of an impact with this, the Fab T'Birds first album, as Eric Clapton had back in 1966 with John Mayall (The Beano Album). In effect, Jimmie Vaughan helped convert millions of guitar wanking/noodling blooze players (myself included!) into more serious rootsy players. He succeeded in distilling Jimmie Reed, Jimmie Rogers, T-Bone Walker,, a young B.B. King, Lightning Hopkins, Slim Harpo, John Lee Hooker, and several others into an unbeatable blend-- himself. Problem is (well it isn't really a problem)-- there is only one Jimmie Vaughan, meaning that he is the original and can never be duplicated, let alone imitated. Nobody in recent memory has been able to "tell a story" with every solo the way he has. (This is no doubt the reason Stevie Ray considered his older brother Jimmie the better player.) As a rhythm player nobody has come close. Believe me, many have tried. Seeing him play live was overwhelming. And that's just the guitar player on this debut!

Kim Wilson has been and remains the most sought after harp player in the world, and he is a complete master of every style from Little Walter to Sonny Boy Williamson-- whether he's blowing through a Green Bullet or a regular mike. On this album he does an excellent job of singing in a vocal range of styles from BB King to Lazy Lester, but retains his own identity throughout.

Keith Ferguson? The tone he gets from that Fender Telecaster bass is monstrous, enveloping, profound-- but it is his sense of swing and groove, and his ears that set his playing head and shoulders above other blues bassists.

Finally there is Mike Buck on drums. Somebody else has written a review here saying that this is "the Shuffles album" for drummers. Two-fisted rub-shuffles to be exact.

The album's greatness is due in no small part to the fact that each of the four musicians offers an eternal lesson-- a clinic-- in how the blues should be played-- with deep focus, deep restraint, deep tension, deep communication-- the result of which is an incredibly erotic ferment-- no wonder it is called "Girls Go Wild"! But for students of the blues, it offers instruction and inspiration for individual instrumentation and ensemble playing. It creates an atmosphere that lends continuity to the entire album.

Among their fans were Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Ronnie Earl and the Roomful of Blues band, and even Jackson Browne!

You can imagine that the Fabulous Thunderbirds' "Girls Go Wild," similar to the Beatles' "Please Please Me" first album and John Mayall/Eric Clapton Bluesbreakers' "Beano," were itching to lay down their best club material on tape, and to my ears the results are in their own way just as astonishing.

One never tires of hearing this timeless document.

A final piece of advice-- play it LOUD!

This '79 release showcases the band before they would become mainstream pop material with their hit Ain't That Tuff Enuff in the 80's! Here, they are raw and rebellious with their unique sound and blend of the blues meets rock n' soul. From Wilson's deep R&B (almost like, but better than Michael Bolton by a very longshot) vocals to Vaughan's electric guitar playin' and the harmonica demonstrates the T-Birds sheer gift and talent for bringing out some true grit at a time when the airwaves were stale with either the notorious disco era or the heavy rock head bangin' era of pop music (take your pick). This is not just a valuable project based on nostalgic value; It is a timeless piece of the American pop music scene of the late 70's revitalizing and paying homage to other eras of great musical styles and genres; This in itself makes this recording timeless and priceless.

This was the first and best CD in the long and storied career of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. I've enjoyed the pleasure of seeing them live many times, from opening for Muddy Waters to closing down famed Austin neighborhood joint Rome Inn (which billed itself as the home of "C-Boy Blues".) Yes, the concert slow-dance classic "Scratch My Back" is included, as well as "She's Tuff," which was their finest, toughest number ever recorded. (Great harp breaks by Kim Wilson on these numbers; in fact, you could say that about almost any T-Birds song!) Jimmie Vaughan (you know him as Stevie Ray's guitar-slingin' older brother) really cooks on the slow blues "Full Time Lover" and shines on "Wait On Time". Keith Ferguson's great bass opener leads into great crooning by Kim on "Rich Girl", while "Rock With Me" gives the full band a chance to unwind, particularly drummer Mike Buck. And, to top it off, three bonus cuts show off the bands raw, danceable groove. (You'll see more people dancing at a T-Birds show than just about anywhere else!) A fabulous CD, one which gives the opportunity for both girls and guys to go wild!

This CD is the first one of the band created by Jimmie Lee Vaughan and Kim Wilson, respectively guitarist and singer/harp player of the band. For a first release the quality of the music is really amazing the gumbo mix of New orleans and Texas blues is just great. From the "Wait on time" classic shuffle style to the Rhumba blues of "Walkin'to my babe" to the rock driving band there's just jewels of blues songs.

The sound of the Telecaster of JLV is sharp as a knife and the harp of Kim Wilson is a perfect complement to the overall sound. The bass player and drummer are tight together creating a real groovy pulse to the band.

This is the best and bluesiest of T-Birds cds. What I enjoy most is the absence of any second guitar or keyboard, or rather, the way these guys play without those 'extra' instruments: No fear. The space is beautiful, and when it's right, (and it is), there's nothing better than a bent note just sitting out in the air by itself.

This is probably one of the best blues recording I've picked up in a while. I was curious to see what the early Fabulous Thunderbirds sounded like and all I can say is WOW. I picked this up on, of all things, LP at Half Price Book in Austin, Texas. All the songs are great, Jimmy Lee burns it up on Full Time Lover.

Very similar in style to the Triple Threat Revue and a version of the T-Birds that featured Lou Ann Barton, SRV, and Jimmy Lee in the late 70's. A really great addition to the collectoin.

Raw and definitly low-fi, coarse and beautiful. My personal fave on this disk ("C-Boy's Blues") is a study in subtlety and dynamics that make the blues so visceral and pleasurable. Jimmy Vaughan's guitar work is so unlike his brother Stevie Ray, but every bit as enjoyable due to his depth of knowledge and original interpretation of the blues. Kim Wilson wails on harp and the rhythm section is tight. I was lucky enough to live near Austin in the early eighties and saw the T-Birds play a number of times in small sweaty bars in the area - absolutely the best way to have seen them. It was sad to see them get so commercial in the later years, but I guess its hard to survive on integrity. I bought this originally on vinyl, then on CD and then again on the new CD to get the bonus songs and the cleaner mix from the master tapes. If you like raw blues, this is as good as it gets.

That's what it says on the cover of this classic album and its not wrong. This album still sounds fresh years after its release. I was chatting to a friend who plays drums last night and this album came up. He informed me that amongst drummers its garnered a reputation as the 'shuffles' album. If you wanna learn your shuffles, put this on. And I thought the only highlights were Jimmy Vaughan's understated (and under-rated) playing, and Kim Wilson's vocal and harp chops (he is just about the only white guy I've heard sing the blues in a convincing fashion). This is a real blues classic from a time (the late 70s) when there wasn't much happening for the blues. The album works better than most white boys attempts at the blues cos these guys actually know what they're doing and don't feel compelled to work out their insecurities on record by overplaying. This is really tasteful but still rocking as the 'birds come up with an 'authentic' blues classic.

I guess like just about everything, blues albums follow the bell curve distribution. You've got a small number that are just awful, a lot that are OK to good, and a few at the tip. This is one of those gems. Everything has to be there, not just technical chops. For example, I love SRV, but this particular album blows most of his stuff away. Blasphemy you say? Atmosphere I say. SRV's playing is objectively speaking far superior to Jimmy's, but it just doesn't matter. This albums got mucho flavor. Call it soul or whatever, everything's here. Its real. A lot of artists do stuff like this on their debut, and NEVER reach those heights again....its true here too. The first is often the best- look at Lenny Kravitz- look at lots of authors- Anyway, this is almost a perfect blues album- theres alot of technique, but its subtle, and it serves the flavor instead of vice versa. If you like blues in a non frat boy way, get it.

When I first heard the Fabulous Thunderbirds was after I purchased "What's The Word", I was hooked after that. This debut recording I heard later and it blew me away as well. The bonus tracks on the cd are a pleasant addition.