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Full Tilt isn't just an album title to diminutive slide guitar slinger Lil' Ed Williams. It's the only way he plays -- even on this CD's slow double entendre blues "Check My Baby's Oil," where Lil' Ed's guitar maintains its serrated keen as his Blues Imperials ply a gentle groove under their boss's most restrained warm-clay crooning. This disc also marks Ed and his backing trio's 20th year updating the slide-driven sound Hound Dog Taylor, Elmore James, Robert Nighthawk, and Ed's uncle J.B. Hutto defined in Chicago's fertile '50s and '60s blues scene. Williams assimilates his influences' finest qualities. He sings with the howling wildness of James and Hutto, which swaps the urban sophistication of the R&B classic "First I Look at the Purse" for a dirty juke joint patina. The James and Nighthawk inspired melodies of Ed's slide on the heartbreak ballad "Life Got in the Way" have the slow ebb of falling teardrops. And when Ed tackles Taylor's traditional set-ender "Take Five" his speed and precise intonation, also drawn from Nighthawk and James, allow him to execute a slew of delirious, whinnying, moaning slide effects without upending the song. Track-to-track Full Tilt is raw, deeply rooted, and unremittingly entertaining.
-- Ted Drozdowski
Product Description
Lil' Ed Williams is an awe-inspiring master bluesman. He and his blistering, road-tested band, The Blues Imperials--guitarist Mike Garrett, bassist James "Pookie" Young, drummer Kelly Littleton--are celebrating 20 amazing years together. Live, Lil' Ed And The Blues Imperials simply can't be beat as Ed breaks out the deepest back-bends, the highest toe-walks, and the most authentic electric slide-guitar blues being played today. Not since the heyday of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers has a Chicago blues band made such a consistently joyous, rollicking noise
On their new Alligator album, FULL TILT, Lil' Ed's romping, sizzling guitar and rough-hewn vocals, Young's thumping bass, Garrett's feral rhythm guitar and Littleton's unpredictable, rock-solid drumming produce a modern blues firestorm steeped in tradition. Produced by Williams and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, Full Tilt captures all of Lil' Ed And The Blues Imperials' legendary live energy on disc. From foot-stomping boogies to emotionally charged slow blues to rocked out celebrations, FULL TILT is a party-inducing delight. The addition of horn players Eddie McKinley and David Basinger and pianist/organist Johnny Iguana on a few songs add even more punch and power to the proceedings.
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