Customer Reviews

Return of a Legend

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

 

 

Jody Williams was one of the greatest musicians of the post-war Chicago blues scene. As a sideman in the 1950s, he provided beautiful guitar work on classic tunes for Chess records with Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, and others. As a bandleader, he cut a precious few sides for a Chess subsidiary and some small Chicago labels. But in the mid-1960s, Jody called it quits. Dismayed by the music business, he put his guitar in its case, put the case under his bed, and went to find work as an engineer. He didn't touch his guitar again until 2000, when he was coaxed out of musical retirement by a group of blues aficionados.

Return of a Legend documents just what the title suggests: brand-new recordings, Jody Williams' first since the mid-1960s. The music is truly remarkable. Williams debuts 9 new compositions and remakes 4 of his classic tunes. His lyrics are clever, sometimes humorous, other times displaying a wisdom that appropriately matches the grey bearded, all-knowing grin you see on the cover. His singing is strong and evocative. But it's the guitar playing that really shines here. Jody Williams quit playing music years before the era of modern blues guitar pyrotechnics, championed by Hendrix-wannabes who sloppily mixed rock and blues as if there wasn't a difference. Listening to this CD takes you back to those pre-rock/blues days - his tone is clean, not fuzzed-out by distortion pedals; his chops are melodic and expressive, not boastfully mile-a-minute. After 35 years of not playing a note, Jody can once again do what only a handful of guitarists have ever been able to do: he makes that guitar talk. And I mean, IT TALKS.

On this disc he is backed by a top-notch crew of Chicago blues stalwarts including the impeccable Kenny Smith on drums and the delightfully-good Allen Batts on piano. Ronnie Baker Brooks lays down a solid rhythm guitar, and the horn section hits that rare sweet spot, riding nicely along with the music but not getting in the way.

So, why 4 stars and not 5? This CD has several problems, each of them a guest guitarist. Modern blues stars Sean Costello, Tinsley Ellis, and Rusty Zinn each add chops. And rhythm guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks takes the lead on one tune. This is four additional lead guitarists too many. On the songs where there are no guest guitarists, Jody proves quite convincingly that he needs no help in the 6-string department, thank you very much. In particular, the guitar contributions of Ellis and Brooks are distracting because they are of exactly the rock/blues variety that Jody ignores in his own playing. Costello and Zinn stick to the tradition nicely, but even their presence seems to suggest that Evidence Music felt the need to validate Jody Williams by pairing him up with more current names. Hopefully Jody's next release will keep the focus where it belongs: on the man and his music.

Still, this is an excellent CD. As a blues fan who wasn't even born when Jody called it quits, listening to Jody Williams is like a dream come true: a trip in a time machine back to Chicago in 1956...

This truly is the return of a legend. A unique voice on the guitar, excellent vocalist... there aren't really a lot of new blues albums that a guitar player just has to get, but this is one of them. I hope it's not the last we hear from Jody Williams... Ultra fine blues.

Jody Williams has released a new album "Return of a Legend", his first recording in over 30 years(Evidence), which should present him with a nomination for a Grammy for traditional blues album for 2003. This is an excellant blues album with shades of TBone Walker blending through the album. Jody is joined by such Blues notables as Ronnie Baker Brooks,Tinsley Ellis,Sean Costello,Rusty Zinn and on harp,Billy Boy Arnold. Jody recreates several of his earlier songs such as "Lucky Lou and Moanin for Molasses". Jody also does a fine job singing here also. I recently saw him at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago and had a tremendous time. I'm looking forward to hearing more great Blues from Mr. Jody Williams. Continued success Jody!!!!!

This is such a great record. I've always loved Jody's playing, especially his stuff with Howlin Wolf. By the way, Jody plays on a couple tracks on the new Mannish Boys record, "Big Plans". Great traditional Blues record, and it's really exciting to hear Jody's playing in this context.

After the opening instrumental kicks things off to an exciting start, the energy goes way down. Apparently many blues fans don't want their music to be too vital, but I personally felt that on most of this cd, Williams sounds like he hadn't been playing much, rusty, compared to to the sure-handed work of his first incarnation in the fifties. His singing is passable, but if he wasn't a legendary guitarist, no one would be listening. Williams had been doing no gigging at the time of this recording, nor for decades up until this point. He since has put together an excellent band of his own, and they've toured extensively. If his soon to be recorded next cd is a reflection of these changes, it should be a much more worthwhile experience./////1/12/06: Jody seems to be retired again, for a while in fact. Any word out there?

Is this CD great, or what? Awesome Chicago blues at its best.