Customer Reviews

Gravel Road

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Magic Slim knows how NOT to overdo a good thing - a rare feat in modern blues. It's as if he was still constrained by a 78 RPM disc. The guitar solos on "Hard to Handle" and "Gravel Road" are tasty, leaving you wanting more. He's got a funky strum technique visible on "Slims Hideaway" and "Mustang Sally" - subtle and very effective. A superlative artist who has not outstayed his welcome in the least!

In my mind, Slim is the greatest blues guitarist currently residing on planet earth. Not the most popular, not the most famous, not a whole lot of things... But, if you ever want to witness what a blues man does when a blues man does what he does, this is the man to listen to. While this is not my favorite Slim album (that's Black Tornado) I've yet to listen to a bad, or even not good, Slim album. When the funds permit it, I hope to eventually own every album he's ever recorded. Yeah, I'm a fan.

While other reviewers have mentioned Slim's great reading of Mustang Sally (and it is great), I want to call attention to his reading of "Hard To Handle"... Wow! The first time I heard The Teardrops do this tune was at B.L.U.E.S. in Chicago and I just about fell out of my chair. What a GROOVE! And that's just two of the great grooves on this album. "Cold Women", "Pretty Girls", "Further On", "Before You Accuse Me" ... All are fantastic.

Go see Slim live, buy all his albums and enjoy! We're not going to have this National Treasure forever, we need to appreciate him while we can.

If you're want to get just one studio recording of the Teardrops to sample their sound, this is probably the one to get, recorded before long-time rhythm guitarist John Primer went solo. It is anchored by two great songs--"Cold Women With Warm Hearts" and Slim's slap in the face treatment of "Mustang Sally."