Customer Reviews

Thirteen

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

 

 

Lester, live, was a wildman. The real raw low-down deal. You never knew what he was gonna do, scream, wail, say, sing; you just knew it would be fantastic. Lester will be meeting you at the crossroads with a mic and a smoke and a harp and a drink and his mysterious handsome scars above a big ol' crooked grin. Paying him some honor before you get there is a good idea. Buy this.

I first heard of Lester Butler with the Red Devils. Their album, King King, blew me away. 13 is a lot like that, but raunchier and louder. Lester' unmistakeable vocals are urgent, and pleading while his harmonica wails like the demonic ghost of Howlin' Wolf. The band sounds like orderly chaos and makes you picture them in a smoky backstreet juke joint packed with sweaty bodies in a frenzied hypnotic trance led by Butler. Butler was taking blues to new ground and it is a shame his life was cut short. Do yourself a favor and buy this now. Also get King King by the Red Devils. Check out Boomershine out of Nashville. Lester's spirit may live on through Matt Miller and his band.

Alright maybe not but definitely one of my favorites if not my absolute favorite. Heavy in your face blues played the way it should be. No heavy metal, just loud, hard, grooves. Lester got a great cast of west coast musicians backing him up. He plays great harp with evil sounding vocals throughout. Seriously if you like blues, rock, rockabilly, etc. buy this album!!!! Please. Also check out Sweet Muthaz, a similar type band that covers a couple their tunes.

I can't believe this seems to be basically out of print & selling for almost $100 now!

A friend of mine turned me onto this some time back & it blew my mind (and still does!)

If you love down & dirty real blues, don't think twice about picking up a copy of this killer CD (especially if you can find it at a reasonable price/or even not so reasonable!) You will NOT be disappointed.

Thanks for the great music Brother!
R.I.P. Lester

The cd look as new and it sound perfect.
It took 10 days and i got the cd at home.

Perfect

Continuing the high-intensity swagger of his old band, the Red Devils, Lester Butler put together one hell of a set of blues tunes & one hell of a band to back him in his one & only solo CD. The Red Devils, to me, were almost like the Fabulous Thunderbirds on steroids & Butler's 13 takes it up a notch or two or three. Interesting production sounds, very creative stylistic takes on traditional "Chicago" type blues with a little hard rock head-banging thrown in here & there. Check out "Plague Of Madness" from 13 with it's insane, ska-like groove & Screamin' Jay Hawkins-ish vocal delivery. Along with West Coast guitarist Rick Holmstrom, whose recent efforts have yielded some interesting experiments in contemporary blues, Butler was one of the relatively few younger bluesmen who could take the best qualities of the "traditional" blues sound/style & make it into something fresh, exciting & relevant for today. Well, yesterday, that is. While Holmstrom is still going strong, Butler has, of course (tragically) left us. These 13 tracks will have to do for a lifetime of what could have been many more years of groundbreaking work in the progression of a very underrated harp player/singer/songwriter. RIP Lester Butler.

The first time I heard a track of this record , I couldn't believe it .
It features impressive playing and singing throughout .
The intensity is just jaw dropping . I would not like to have been the person who had to fix the piano afterwards , if there was anything left of it .

To put this record on at a party would invite the police sooner or later automatically . It sounds like it was recorded at a party itself , like the early rock and roll records .

If you can find it , buy it , play it loud and often .

Years after hearing it , I am still in awe .
Your musical faith may be reborn after hearing this record .