Customer Reviews

Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Yes, this is the great PBBB's 3rd album, but it's not the CD you should be buying.

This domestic CD was released in 1989 and has never been remastered.

The import 2CD version of this title (backed with the PBBB's 4th "In My Own Dream") is the one to get. It was remastered in 2004.

Ditto for "The Paul Butterfield Blues Band" & "East West"; the 2004 import 2CD is also remastered (and sounds incredible) and the domestic CD's are not.

Why WEA and Elektra have not made these four remasters available domestically is a mystery.

Don't waste your money on these inferior versions: Get the imports!

Link to the remastered import of Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw/In My Own Dream

Butterfield was an original. Like a few others(Hendrix, the Band, Otis Redding) he actually synthesized and personalized the blues so that not only was it "new" music, but instantly recognizable. "Pigboy" is a giant step from "East-West". The catchy horns of Sanborn & co. intermingled with Paul's ungodly harp create a new direction any cat who claims to like the blues should appreciate. Forget the traditionalists who think paul's blues are sacrilegious---Butterfield took blues in HIS direction, and consequently created a harp-driven, horn laced sound that has never been equaled. Check out "One More Heartache, "Run out of Time", "Drivin' Wheel", and "Driftin' and Driftin'". Butterfield's harp and very much underrated vocals are guaranteed to hook you.

The all around musicianship on this album is top notch! The addition of the horn section (that included none other than a very young looking David Sanborn) makes this a very dynamic, and spirited recording. Elvin Bishop is featured throughout (hence the Resurrection of P.C.) and Bugsy Maugh's vocal in "Drivin' Wheel" makes this particular track an album highlight. Every track has great moments; in particular "One More Heartache", and "Driftin'and Driftin'". A MUST buy for all Butterfield admirers!

Hopefully, someone will someday will release to CD the 1969 Butterfield album "In My Own Dreams"

Also recommended: "The Original Lost Elektra Sessions"

The skinny: guitarmeister Mike Bloomfield had bolted the Butterfield band following their masterwork "East-West," Bloomfield having fallen in love with San Francisco and an idea he got for a hot horn band that might yank the whole of indigenous American music into a blues-rooted group (this turned out to be the short-lived but memorable enough Electric Flag). Drummer Billy Davenport left for jazzier pastures; bassist Jerry Arnold seemed to have had it with the road. Leaving Paul Butterfield, Elvin Bishop and Mark Naftalin in search of new teammates. Butterfield, though, had his own idea for a hot horn lineup, and brought it together from a pack of R and B and jazz-laced players and rhythm meisters.

"The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" (Pigboy Crabshaw, for those who haven't guessed by now, was Bishop's nickname in the band, much as Eric Clapton was known to his Cream bandmates as Captain Madman) was the first result. It wasn't exactly as overwhelming or as freewheeling as the incandescent, somewhat experimental "East-West," but don't let that stop you: this first flight of the new brassy Butterfield Band plain smoked. (It still does, even if the thin production means docking the album a star.) Butterfield was gunning for big game in his own right, mixing in a solid soul front to his usual brand of bristling blues. Elvin Bishop steps forward as the band's official lead guitarist for the first time and, while he's not exactly Mike Bloomfield (really: WHO was?), he showed his own identity and made it a credible one with smooth, spare but sinewy fills and solos when handed off. Bassist Bugsy Maugh is a strong vocalist in his own right ("Drivin' Wheel") and he teams with one-time Wilson Pickett drummer Philip Wilson to give Butterfield a thick rhythm. Butterfield himself is a little more open with his trademark harmonica styling, but he gives even more room to his men to move than he had in the past (and he'd given plenty as it was) and he feeds them with aplomb. And the horns - featuring the youthful and exuberantly agreeable David Sanborn and steady tenorman Gene Dinwiddie (who became the leader of the horn section for the rest of the band's life until its 1973 dissolution) - breathe warmly, drawing from various R and B and jazz motifs yet coming forth with a sound entirely its own. (And, more influential than you might have thought - Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes's horns owed as much to the first Butterfield horn section as they did to the Memphis/Muscle Shoals horn stylings.)

Their cover of Otis Rush's "Double Trouble" alone is worth the price, but so is a very snappy rendition of Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign" - it doesn't try to beat Big Albert at his own game, but it lays out the groove pretty widely. Overall, Butterfield found himself a very comfortable setting, and one he would use for the rest of the Butterfield Blues Band's life, as they would go from here to graduate almost completely away from the pure blues toward an oddly affecting hybrid of soul funk and jazz that had few pretensions and a lot of raw snap.

Coming on the heels of "East-West", this work helped introduce serious blues to a lot of American kids in the psychedelic era. While British bands like Cream, Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones and later Led Zeppelin had long incorporated blues effectively in their repertoires, there were few Americans save Jimi Hendrix (a product of mid '60's British rock)who were playing anything resembling serious blues. What made The Paul Butterfield Blues Band unique was the incorporation of a horn section. Most other rock/blues artists relied almost entirely on the "power trio" of guitar, bass and drums. This was what made "..Pigboy Crabshaw" so special as an album. The use of horns, most effectively on "One More Heartache", and "Pity the Fool" brought some unique authenticity to this record and band. While Butterfield has reasonably been associated with the Chicago style of Muddy Waters and others, "Driftin and Driftin" and several other cuts on this record show a broader base and knowledge. This is a truly fine collection.

Paul Butterfield, who blasted onto the music scene in the mid-1960's with Chicago's first integrated Blues band, was a harmonica player's harmonica player. Butterfield's first album was revolutionary, showing that whites and blacks could play together as a cohesive unit. His second album went further into the musical menagerie, melding in Jazz influences while still maintaining steady to his Blues roots.

This, Butterfield's third album, includes just two of his original bandmates, Elvin Bishop and Mark Naftalin. The album also features horns as a regular part of the band, including a young David Sanborn. Butterfield generally plays it safe on this album, sticking fairly close to his blues roots and not doing as much exploring as he had done on his earlier recordings. Though a very respectable effort by any standard, it pales in comparison to his earlier efforts.

I'd generally recommend this album to anyone, though I would definitely advise them to listen to Butterfield's first two albums before they purchase this one.

The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw proves to be Butter's finest collaborative work. Incorporating a horn section which includes the likes of David Sanborn, Paul Butterfield creates a type of blues music that is seasoned with just enough R&B to really make the music swing. Easing out guitarist Michael Bloomfield and introducing the young master Elvin Bishop was nothing less than a stroke of genius by bandleader Butterfield. On this album, every musician seemed to be in near psychic contact with each other. The blend was a perfectionist's dream. From the first cut on the album to the last, we are swept into his groove. One More Heartache may be the best selection on the album, but Driftin' and Driftin' gives stiff competition for the top choice. The fabulous harp playing of Paul has taken an amazing turn on this album. He is playing the instrument in an almost jazz style, with rapid changes and incredible tonal control over each and every note. Paul especially knows when not to play. Another favorite selection of mine is Drivin' Wheel. Definitely done in an R&B style, Drivin' Wheel foregoes the harp but relies on the Sanborn sax to drive the music, so to speak. Butter's vocal is in fine form here; I've never heard him better. He's smooth, in perfect pitch and tone, and he packs a world full of emotion into his vocals. To be sure, there are a few less than spectacular cuts on this album (i.e. Tollin' Bells), but I have yet to hear an album with nothing but five star songs on it. This is definitely a departure from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and East-West, but the experiment proved to be completely successful. I loved both of the previously mentioned albums, but The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw is a cut above. I personally would have liked to see that trend continued, but Paul was going in his own direction and, after all, creation and experimentation is what music is all about.

I have loved this record since the first time I listened to it oh so many years ago. This is, in my opinion, the best blues record ever recorded and that's saying alot. All of the songs hit the bullseye. "Driftin' and Driftin'", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "Tollin' Bells", and all of the rest were truly inspired renditions of these songs. I appreciate all of the previous and latter Paul Butterfield Blues Band recordings but "The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" is their zenith. Do yourself a favor and get this fantastic recording.

I got this CD somewhat unexpectedly for Christmas and I can sum up my feelings about it in one word: WOW!!!! The musicianship on this CD is beyond compare on anything released in the last 40 years. You have the triple threat of Paul Butterfield's incomparable harp playing, a young Elvin Bishop on guitar and a young David(Dave) Sanborn on sax. The horns are what really push this one over the top. If you like blues you need to own this one. Every time I listen to it I enjoy it more!!!!!

From Kim Whitesides colourful images to the blistering music inside this cd. This is the best of the Butterfield band during that tumultous period between its 'start' in 1965 to the late 1967 period. This album cooks with driving tunes such as 'Drivin Wheel', 'Driftin' and Driftin' and Born under a Bad Sign. After the departure of Mike Bloomfield Elvin Bishop kicks this band up several notches. His stinging solos and dynamic rhythmic interplay with other band members including drummer Phillip Wilson make this a hands down success. Phil Wilson here pumps one beat after another into this creative ensemble. He is worth the ticket alone. Sadly this wonderful musician was murdered in the 1990's. Butterfield's singing catapaults this band into 4th gear. This is the blues as it was meant to be played. Tollin' Bells is the sad and lonely blues harp wailing at life's misfortunes. The band sounds fresh and excited about this music and it still burns after several decades. Go get it!