Customer Reviews

Progressive Blues Experiment

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i agree with the other reviews. for me, this is one of my all-time favorite albums. i first heard it in high school and have listened to it probably a thousand times since then. there is not a bad tune, and for me, the longer electric blues pieces are like hendrix, i keep finding new things to hear.

This is primo stuff. It is Winter before he was discovered, pushed into the limelight, given a backup band with Rick Derringer, bringing him to develop a blue chip addiction problem which kept him out of the music scene for about 10 years. He is back, but this album shows why he is so good. He plays a national steel guitar (which he poses on the cover with) on the accoustic pieces, and it is truly out of this world. He is a mutant, he is so talented. And like another reviewer said, his improvisations are so rich, there is always more to be heard from them. If you like the blues, BUY THIS ONE!

It's almost sickening how many times I've listened to this CD. Back in the albumn days, it was out of print for about 10-15 years, so I went hog wild when it came out on CD in the late 80's. Johnny at his best with his original three-piece power band, Tommy Shannon and Uncle Red Turner. Apparently Johnny was hard pressed for work in the 60's and straight blues was out of style. Red Turner told Johnny that blues-rock was becoming popular at various festivals, so in '68 they recorded this self-produced albumn. Johnny said when he started playing this stuff live, the audience was fallng down crying. Listen to "It's My Own Fault Baby" and you'll hear why.

Before Winter's early Columbia records brought him fame and fortune, this modest little album came out on Imperial.
The title, "The Progressive Blues Experiment", sounds a little ominous, but there is absolutely nothing "progressive" about this record; Johnny Winter, bassist Tommy Shannon, and drummer John "Red" Turner tear through ten genuine blues tunes without applying so much as a smear of rock commercialism.

The trio lays down a furious "Rollin' And Tumblin'" and an aggressive take on "Mean Town Blues", and if I am to complain a little, one or two of these songs actually seem a little bit too furious, sacrificing groove for high-octane propulsion.

Most of what is here is excellent, though. I'm particularly fond of the two acoustic numbers, "Broke Down Engine" and "Bad Luck And Trouble", genuine Delta blues which feature Winter's National steel guitar, and also see him playing harp and mandolin. But there is something here for everyone, and Johnny Winter's renditions of B.B. King's slow blues "It's My Own Fault", and Howlin' Wolf's ominous "Forty-Four" are among his best blues covers. His playing is excellent and varied all the way through, and the lean arrangements are virtually perfect.
A very good early effort, and one of Winter's best blues records (alongside "Nothin' But The Blues", "Johnny Winter", and "White, Hot & Blue").
4 1/4 stars - highly recommended.

This was my introduction to Johnny Winter in 1969. His later stuff then came as a bit of a disappointment to me--as much as I admired his sincerety and incredible technical mastery. This album stands as one of the best of the blues revival-era recordings by anyone. The spare sound, range of styles and idioms, and just plain soulfulness are truly amazing and reveal this guy's incredible talent. I'd worn my LP's grooves away and thought the recording was lost. So it was with immense joy that I found this CD. A must.

From the first time i heard this one (around 1970 on vinyl) i was stunned and scared senseless. Today it still stuns me. The energy level is similar to his performance on J.W.and..Live. Absolutely relentless, seething, passionate blues guitar work on every track. Got Love If You Want It is just a token of what a perfect blues tune should be. Black Cat Bone is so fierce it throws me to the other side of the room. On the acoustic tracks Johnny sounds like an authentic, black Delta bluesman. The ghost of Robert Johnson hovers above him.

I don't know why Winter was dropped from the Woodstock '69 film...his performance was actually the best amongst all the others.

Much has been said about Winter's decline over the last decade, and it is to the brilliance of this album that he'll always be compared. This is Winter at his absolute best, and this album should be a part of any blues or guitar player's collection.

....or when my friends and I found it, around when Winters first Columbia release came out...WE COULD NOT BELIEVE IT... Such manic energy, but still with a real blues flavor...'Mean Town Blues', the tune that -did it- for Johnny in the Woodstock movie, is still one of best examples of how an artist can be original and play older style blues at the same time.

This was once a hard to find album of very early Johnny Winter at his fundamental bluesy best. If blues is what you like this album is one of the all-time best. Rowdy numbers like "Rollin & Tumblin" and "Black Cat Bone" mixed with steel guitar mastery as in "Broke Down Engine".

Get this for acoustic blues, it has all the traditional numbers. Get 2nd Winter for the improvisational blues. Skip the first Columbia release although Tommy Shannon(Double Trouble) is the bassist. This is as good as it gets for acoustic blues.