Customer Reviews

Stone Blues

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

 

 

When people think of top white blues performers from the 60's, names like Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, John Mayall and Al Kooper come readily to mind. While those guys all have their place in history, so does Charlie Musselwhite. Musselwhite learned the blues straight from old timers like Homesick James and Robert Nighthawk on Maxwell Street in the Windy City. This release, "Stone Blues" is his second solo release on Vanguard Records and while it contains no Musselwhite originals, the ten songs covered here, songs of Walter Jacob, Elmore James and Clay Cotton, provide ample opportunity to hear and enjoy the warm vocals and exemplary harp playing of Musselwhite. These songs have aged well over the years and, while Musselwhite continues to put out great material, these early recordings should not be overlooked.

This is one of my all - time favorite albums. As a musician playing clubs thru the midwest at the time of this album's release, we covered a number of these tunes. I had lost the album some time ago so it was quite exciting to finally get a copy of the music on CD. Until I played it. Whoever mixed it for this release left some horrible artifacts from the master tapes that were cleaned up for the original album pressing. Also, someone thought it would be a GOOD idea to throw a long delay/reverb on the vocal tracks. Again not on the album. I guess the hunt for the original goes on. Bummer!

Good example of '60 white blues ,in this cd performs with excellent guitarist Tim Kaihatsu and in the total listening it don't seem out time.
My favorite Clay's tune track is an aggressive soul blues played with verve.
Peter.Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band

Charlie is Classic, he is Blues and He is Great!!!!
He also plays the Harmonica or Harp whatever you want to call it.

We are lucky to have had him, few Harp players surface that have his talent.
When he fires up his harmonica you will be fired up to.
We have very few Blues and Harp players in the world. So treat yourself.
Charlie is Special!!!!!!!
You can be from New Orleans to Timbuckto and still love what this man has created.
He is a great artist and a guaranteed great time is waiting for you to listen to a old Master do his best thing for your pleasure and mine........

I guess beauty's in the ear of the beholder. Stone Blues is a great album. It always makes me wish I was in Chicago in the 60's, just like listening to Muddy, Magic Sam or Butterfield Blues Band does.

Musselwhite has such a great feel for the blues. He's never in a hurry, and you can't be in a hurry when you listen to him. Like BB King on the guitar, Musselwhite can play slow and sound better than just about anyone else would playing the same notes in the same time. The backing band on Stone Blues (Tim Kaihatsu & Larry Wexler on guitar, Carl Severeid on bass, Eddie Ho on drums, Clay Cotton on keys) is solid and they mix tempos well. Kaihatsu & Wexler's raw solo's are just right for this album.

Another reviewer wasn't happy that the sound quality of the CD doesn't stack up to the LP. I haven't heard the LP, but for me, the slightly rough, underproduced sound on this CD suits the music perfectly.

I had all of CM's records on vinyl way back in the day. It's great you can get them all now on CD. His first, Stand Back, was one helluva debut, but this one, his second, was a major step forward, for several reasons.

First, his band is much more mature, together, soulful, and well-rounded, particularly the two guitarists, Tim Kaihatsu and Larry Welker. Secondly, Charlie's playing and singing are like those of a seasoned vet of the blues (even though he was what--twenty-three?!?). I wore out this record, digging the sound that Musselwhite was able to come up with, trying to replicate that sound with my own playing. This album truly gives us a glimpse into the future, a sneak preview of the master that Charlie was to become. A certified Giant of the Harp.

How can you describe the sound of that harp? Suitable adjectives would include: gritty, dirty, low-down, tortured, heavy, abrasive, tough, nasty....etc.. You get the picture. You better Stand Back! If you don't you may get cut or burned bad from this ripsaw blowtorch. Even the cover is in flames, the records' so hot! On a couple of these tunes Charlie sounds like he's about to blow out his instrument or make it cry "Have Mercy" for the abuse he's handing it. You swear on some of those solos that Charlie is about to rip that poor Hohner in half! We're talking Big Bad Wolf, blow-your house down, ruthless, reckless, careless and lawless. As always, he pays dutiful homage to the great Walter Jacobs in fully 4 (!) numbers, but puts the inimitable CM stamp on all of them.

Hey Baby, by Albert King, has a beautifully simple and powerful guitar riff throughout, which Charlie uses as a nice foundation for some of the most sensationally heavy and rocking blues harmonica you could ever hear. Same with the extended instrumental Bag Gloom Brews: all musicians perform fabulously, with simply incredible, subtle guitar solos and from both players, as well as wonderful keyboard work from Clay Cotton. And the harp? Again, CM puts down such mean and nasty stuff you can hardly stand it. Not pretty at all, not the greatest virtuoso-type playing, but so damn HARD and TOUGH: the essence of Chicago blues. Nice vocals by Clay Cotton on She Belongs To Me, by Magic Sam, anchored by CM's weighty, wailing harp.
In my opinion, the only straight-ahead blues album by Charlie which exceeds this one is Ace of Harps.

This album is decent. "Clay's Tune" and "Juke" are a lot of fun and the closing track is great. The opening tune is enjoyable. The rest of the songs are just sort of there. Musselwhite's vocals are nothing to write home about, especially when comparing them to the pipes of Little Walter Jacobs. I picked up this cd in Shinchon, South Korea, along with "At Ease", a great album by Coleman Hawkins, and "At Town Hall", a very good live album by Odetta, for only twenty five dollars altogether. Therefore, I don't have much to complain about. If you want to hear a white guy play and sing the Blues, I'd suggest going with John Hammond or perhaps Michael Bloomfield. For a more Blues-Rock feel, Johnny Winter can't be beat. I'm not too familiar with the rest of Musselwhite's stuff, as I'm mainly a Country Blues and Chess Records fan, but if you can find this album for a very cheap price, I suppose it's worth picking up. The liner notes are extremely skimpy.