Customer Reviews

Hot Foot Powder

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As much as I want it, looks like I'll hear no more of those searing, soulful guitar solos I listened to with awe during Peter Green's heyday as a blues/rock star. These days, Green apparently prefers that bandmate and buddy Nigel Watson take up the lead slack while Green concentrates on singing, delta-style picking, and harmonica work. Unfortunately, though no slouch himself as as guitarist and vocalist (Watson sings perhaps a third of these tunes), Watson is not Peter Green. For that matter, thirty years on, Green himself is not the firebrand he once was. He does strike me, however, as a deserving heir to Johnson's bedeviled-bluesman legacy, and in that sense this recording is a success. Green's over-fifty voice has a raspy poignancy that fits renditions of "From Four Until Late," "Dead Shrimp Blues," "Drunken Hearted Man," and "Come On In My Kitchen" perfectly. The fine Splinter Group is joined this outing by luminaries Buddy Guy, Honeyboy Edwards, Dr. John, Otis Rush, Joe Louis Walker, and Hubert Sumlin.

Peter Green and long time friend Nigel Watson have assembled an all star cast on this second, and final tribute to Robert Johnson. If you enjoyed Green's 1998 "Robert Johnson Songbook", you will love this sequel. Both CD's are probably the closest and best rendition of Robert Johnson you are likely to hear. No fancey fret work or screeming vocals, just down home style delta blues. Fans of older green material should seek out the 1998 "SOHO Sessions" album, rare but well worth the search. In either case you won't be disappointed.

"Hot Foot Powder" is a bit tougher than its companion volume, "The Robert Johnson Songbook", with the drums and guitars being somewhat more prominent, but it still sticks pretty close to Robert Johnson's original recordings of these 13 classic blues tunes.

1998's "The Robert Johnson Songbook" contained Peter Green's versions of about half of Johnson's songs, and "Hot Foot Powder" contains the other half, most notably a powerful rendition of "Crossroad Blues", a sublime slide guitar-driven "Traveling Riverside Blues", and a great, swinging take on "From Four Until Late" with excellent blues piano playing by R&B veteran Dr John.

But it's all great, really. Green's vocals may not be powerful, excactly, but they are soulful and he has an excellent sense of rhythm and timing.
And "Hot Foot Powder" really serves to remind the listener how great Robert Leroy Johnson actually was, and how many contemporary rock and blues artists are influenced by him (and thus indirectly by Mississippi blues greats Son House and Charley Patton).
The up-tempo "They're Red Hot" swings like a Dixieland jazz tune, while "Malted Milk" and "Come On In My Kitchen" are played as traditional country blues. And the different arrangements make this album a delightfully varied listening experience, thus accentuating the strength of Johnson's songs...if Green had chosen to cut every song with just an acoustic guitar backing him up, it wouldn't have been as much fun!

There are guest stars a plenty here, but none of them overdo their part or overwhelm the songs, and their contributions fit in very well with the overall mellow tone:
Howlin' Wolf's phenomenal lead guitarist Hubert Sumlin plays on "Dead Shrimp Blues", the slashing slide guitars on "Traveling Riverside Blues" are courtesy of Joe Louis Walker and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, and Otis Rush and Buddy Guy pop up as well.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable album, highly recommended to any and all blues lovers. A fresh, yet faithful look at Robert Johnson's classic 30s singles, and one of my favorite "latter-day" blues CDs.

The absolute best Robert Johnson covers I have ever heard. Green shows his mastery of the blues, and has chosen some of the best company to deliver an awe-inspiring recording.

Green succeeds were so many others have failed. Namely cover Johnson with a person stamp without straying from the music. This is one of the most often played CDs in my collection.

It is hard to pick any favorites, as none of the songs ever miss the mark. This will stand out in any blues collection as one of the very best.

If you are looking for music that makes the hair on you arms stand up GET IT!

Peter Green has done it again. This is an incredible tribute to the blues great Robert Johnson. This is a must for any blues lover! Don't wait buy it now!

Robert Johnson sure has gotten a lot of belated recognition in the past decade or so. Hot Foot Powder is Peter Green's newest inspired tribute to the mythic blues giant. The first, Robert Johnson Songbook, is generally more subdued and closer to "authentic", but excellent nonetheless. On this one, Green and his all-star lineup attack the remainder of the Johnson oeuvre with gusto.
Among Green's guests here are Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and one old-timer with an intimate connection to the Johnson legacy, guitarist Honey Boy Edwards.
My favorites here are the rollicking I'm A Steady Rollin' Man, the slow piano-driven From Four Until Late, Travelin'Riverside Blues, Malted Milk, Drunken Hearted Man, and Cross Roads Blues.
Green, who does most of the vocals, has a voice perfectly suited to the material while each of the guests add their own little touches that help to make this a memorable album.
Along with the great music comes an informative booklet that includes an interview with old Johnson sideman Honey Boy Edwards. If you like great blues interpretations and are not strict on authenticity, then you should order Hot Foot Powder.
I've had this CD for several years and never tire of the music, so I recommend that you order it soon if you do not yet own it.

Having bought the album four years ago I returned to it after listening to Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson." Wow, I'd forgotten how powerfully Peter Green had interpreted Johnson's songs - fresh, yet true to the spirit of the original recordings. The beautiful and restrained syncopation on "Stones in my Passway" has an incredible intensity. Clapton tries to get there by overpowering, Green gets there with technique. If you are learning to play Johnson's songs, listen to Peter Green. I like the Clapton album, but it has little of the uniquness of Johnson.

They say you got to live the blues to play the blues and Peter Green plays them with skill. He has both the credentials and the chops and easily occupies the throne reserved for the best white guitar player. The interplay between Green and cohort Nigel Watson is smooth and sweet as syrup. Guests such as Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Otis Rush cement this solid effort and the total effort leaves you in even more awe of the legacy left by Robert Johnson. The recording is clear and clean, too, a bonus because of sonic subtlety in Green's guitar playing.

This is a wonderful album. Green et al. remain faithful to the spirit of the original recordings without merely mimicking them. Given Peter Green's musical abilities and personal history, it is difficult to imagine anyone in a better position to render the emotions evoked by Robert Johnson's lyrics. Blues fans will love the album, but you don't have to be one to appreciate it.

Their acclaimed Robert Johnson Songbook covered about half the canon so Green and Watson finish the job here with an even stronger set of performances. Watson sings with more exuberance and Green is much steadier on this set. The cameos are subtle and well placed (Dr. John is especially well deployed). With blues guitarists as legendary as Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, and Green you'd expect some cutting but it's not here; the emphasis is on the songs. The songs are still potent and more than a little eerie. As if the guests weren't enough Albert King is evoked by both Rush and Guy.

Knock out tracks include Preachin' Blues (Watson singing), Malted Milk, Come on in my Kitchen (both sung by Green), and Travelin' Riverside (sung by Watson with instrumental backing by Honeyboy Edwards and Joe Louis Walker). The weakest track is Hellhound, despite a game attempt by Watson to sing Johnson's inimitable vocal. Buy and enjoy, and don't forget to pick up the original Robert Johnson records.