#746- > Charlie Musselwhite - Look Out Highway (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Forty Below Records
Release Date : May, 16, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; May, 17, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com
 

With nearly sixty years of recording experience behind him, Charlie Musselwhite continues to push forward and produce critically acclaimed blues to stand the test of time.  His latest album Look Out Highway is an instant favorite. Recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California with Matt Stubbs (GA-20) on guitar, June Core (Robert Lockwood Jr.) on drums, Randy Bermudes (James Cotton) on bass, and Kid Andersen sitting in on guitar, piano, and keys, this eleven-track album is plumb fantastic.

With an unescapable groove, the record kicks off with title-track “Look Out Highway”. It’s downright hypnotizing, and I love every bit of it. “Hip Shakin’ Mama” is an immediate hit for me. Sometimes one just can’t escape the blues, as Musselwhite sings with one foot in Tennessee and one in Mississippi on “Baby Won’t You Please Help Me”.  Flavored with Memphis-style soul featuring Andersen on organ, this one surely cooks. Being a drifter on the road, sets the stage for the slow blues of “Highway 61”.  Having traveled that highway back and forth from Arkansas to Iowa countless times over the past thirty-three years, I can surely identify with Charlie when he states ‘Sixty-One Highway is the longest road I know’. Topping out at number one on the US Country charts in 1978 for Crystal Gayle, “Ready For Times To Get Better” lands as the only cover on the album.  Featuring Edna Luckett joining in on a duet with Musselwhite, this absolutely fabulous version of the song cuts right to the bone. It surely seems to be even more relevant today than when it was released. The attention-grabbing surprise on the record is the “Ghosts in Memphis”. This intoxicating track about Memphis-borne spirits and haints features Musselwhite’s haunting harp licks blended in an innovative way with rap vocals from Memphis-based artist Al Kapone. It is an extraordinary track.  

Look Out Highway is destined to be a hit record. This cocktail of Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, Memphis Soul and Country makes for a memorable listen each and every time I hear it.       

  

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Photo © Michael Weintrob

Photo © Michael Weintrob

For more information about Charlie Musselwhite, visit his website https://www.charliemusselwhite.com/

 

For other PhillyCheeze reviews of Charlie Musselwhite, visit this link https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=charlie+musselwhite

 

 

#742- > John Primer - Grown in Mississippi (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2025 – Blues House Productions
Release Date : April 11, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; April 26, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

John Primer moved from Mississippi to Chicago with his mother in 1963 when he was eighteen years old. Shortly after landing in the Windy City, he began busking on the legendary Maxwell Street. That led to his gigs at Theresa’s Lounge which eventually catapulted him to bandleader positions for blues luminaries such as Willie Dixon, Magic Slim, and Muddy Waters. He was with Muddy when the band filmed the Live at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981 with the Rolling Stones (which by the way is one of my all-time favorite live blues films).  This latest album from Primer, Grown in Mississippi is a meaningful tribute to his birthplace Camden, Mississippi where he grew up in a sharecropping environment. Primer stated, “The songs on Grown in Mississippi have a lot of meaning to me.  They represent sounds from my childhood, feelings I had while singing in church, rhythms and beats I heard on the radio and while working in the fields.”. Recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi, this album delivers fourteen blues-soaked tracks evenly split between inspired originals and influential covers. The recording features a jaw-dropping list of guest artists comprised of Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Watermelon Slim, Eden Brent, Lightnin’ Malcolm, Gary Vincent, Lee Williams, Deak Harp, Rickey ‘Quicksand’ Martin, Harvell Thomas Jr., Billy Earheart, Steve Bell, Aliya Primer, and Rosalind Wilcox.

Primer’s performance on Leroy Carr’s “Blues Before Sunrise” is pure bliss.  When I hear those opening harmonica notes pour from Deak Harp,  I am captivated. Earheart adds another layer of authenticity on piano. His cover of “Walkin’ Blues” hits me with a timeless energy as I cozy up to the slide guitar of Lightnin’ Malcolm. and steady beat of Lee Williams on drums. I love the way Malcolm and Williams later usher the listener to North Mississippi Hill Country with “When I Met the Blues”. Primer sings “it’s not good if it ain’t got no hot sauce on it”, and I have to say, there is plenty of hot sauce slathered all over the fun and funky “Nothin’ But a Chicken Wing” with Bobby Rush on harmonica. For another solid dose of classic delta blues, Primer and Musselwhite join forces for Big Joe Williams’s “Baby Please Don’t Go”. It’s absolutely wonderful. I’m always thrilled to hear Watermelon Slim and to hear him play with Primer and Steve Bell on Louisiana Red’s “Let Me Be Your Electrician” is a plumb delight. When Slim’s dobro rings out, it sounds so damn good. Worries and troubles vanish each time I listen to the traditional spiritual “Lay My Burdens Down” featuring the beautiful vocals of John’s daughter Aliya. This magical song also features the wonderful talents of Eden Brent on piano and background vocals.

John Primer is a modern-day blues legend, and Grown in Mississippi is as pure of a blues album as one can be.  This is a recording blues fans will surely want to take note of.      

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For more information about John Primer, visit his website https://johnprimerblues.com

For other PhillyCheeze reviews of John Primer, visit this link https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=john+primer

 

#678 : Nick Gravenites with Pete Sears - Rogue Blues (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – M.C. Records

By Phillip Smith; April 29, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

At eighty-five years old, Nick “The Greek” Gravenites is still creating music which sounds great. As a teen in Chicago during the early Sixties his musical brethren consisted of Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Gravenites went on to become lead singer for Electric Flag and wrote songs for Janis Joplin, Pure Prairie League, Tracy Nelson, Roy Buchanan, Howlin’ Wolf and James Cotton. His latest album Rogue Blues contains seven all-original tracks with Gravenites at the mic, Pete Sears on piano/bass and Wally Ingram on drums. Guest musicians on this recording include Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Lester Chambers (Chambers Brothers) on harmonica and Barry Sless on pedal steel/acoustic rhythm guitar, with Keith Baltz on sousaphone, Willard Dixon on clarinet, and Roy Blumenfeld on drums.

I’m always excited to hear new musical material with Charlie Musselwhite manning the harp. When the album rolls in with “Poor Boy” and I hear that harmonica kick in along with Sears on the ivories, I am in my happy space. It sure emits a feeling of vintage Chicago blues. There’s a sophisticated finesse to “Left Hand Soul”, a beautifully played piano-centric track. Chambers guests on harmonica on this one. Gravenites masterfully creates new blues which belongs to a by-gone era with “Blackberry Jam”. It’s so wonderfully written. Baltz and Dixon on sousaphone and clarinet give the song a pre-war blues sound and it’s cool as hell. Musselwhite and Vivino step in on “Blues Back Off of Me”, and I feel every note sink into my being. Vivino returns for another favorite “Brown Paper Bag”. This country-folk drinking saga features Vivino on mandolin with Sears on piano, according, and bass. I definitely detect some Charles Bukowski inspired wino-energy spilling over. It’s a great song.  

Rogue Blues is a one-of-a-kind recording which fans of classic blues will surely love. I like it a lot.

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 For more information about Nick Gravenites, visit his website at https://nickgravenites.com/ 

#399 : Tony Holiday - Porch Sessions

2019 – Vizztone

By Phillip Smith; July 4, 2019

It’s the Fourth of July, and today I’ll be spinning Porch Sessions from Memphis blues-man Tony Holiday.  I love the concept for this record.  In the spirit of classic blues field recordings, Holiday visited and jammed with a ton of big names in the business, right on their front porch.  With Holiday on harmonica, he is joined by guitarist Landon Stone, and bassist Kid Anderson on all tracks.  Guests include Charlie Musselwhite, James Harman, John Nemeth, John Primer, Bob Corritore, Aki Kumar, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin, Kid Ramos, Mitch Kashmar, Jake Friel, Ronnie Shellist, and more.

The raw stand-out blues guitar of two-time Grammy nominated John Primer joined with both Holiday and Bob Corritore on harp, makes for an amazing listen on “They Call Me John Primer”.   It’s always a treat to hear Musselwhite.  He lets loose on “That’s Alright” as Kumar takes on the vocals to this six-and-a-half-minute blues jam.  And for an extra blast of cool, Burgin appears on guitar.  I dig the cover of Little Sonny’s “Woman Named Trouble” with Nemeth on harp and vocals, Matthew Wilson on guitar and Danny Banks on drums.  It has such a funky groove.  Harman and Ramos sound so great together as they break out a briefcase full of blues on “Goin’ to Court”.  “Hip To It” is a delightful harp blues instrumental.  It’s a rare treat to hear three harp players at once as Holiday, Shellist, and Kashmar interestingly play off each other’s performance.  

Hearing the musical collaborations recorded on this album, is like staring blues right in the eye.  With the Porch Sessions, Holiday reiterates exactly what the Blues is all about. 

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For more information about the artist, visit this website.. https://tonyholidaymusic.com/  

Josh Smith - Over Your Head

2015 – Joshfrost Music BMI

By Phillip Smith; Dec 12, 2015

 

Josh Smith’s 2012 release, Don’t Give Up On Me was terrific.  His latest album, Over Your Head is even better.  The lineup of his band remains the same, with Smith dishing out copious amounts of electrified blues on guitar, alongside bassist Calvin Turner and drummer Lemar Carter.

“How Long”, a killer track about slowly being pushed over the edge, gets the show going very nicely.  Carter tears it up on drums, while Smith delivers thick bluesy hooks and a phenomenal session of shred.  There’s even more exquisite guitar on the bad-ass and catchy “Smoke and Mirrors”. The song begs to be played loud.  Another track best played loudly is “First Hand Look (at Down and Out)”.  Guitarist Chicco Gussoni lays down some delicious licks that are pure candy for my ears. 

Smith doesn’t skimp when it comes to special guests.  Joe Bonamassa sits in on the killer title track, “Over Your Head” for an outstanding performance.  Smith’s gravelly and soulful vocals sound so good on this one.  Kirk Fletcher from the Mannish Boys gets his groove on in the funky instrumental with an old school Bar-Kays vibe, “… And What”.  This one is just plain fun.  “You’ll Find Love”, features the legendary Charlie Musselwhite on harp. This is blues at its best. 

Smith inserts power and perfection into each and every song, making Over Your Head such a delightful listen from beginning to end.  Needless to say, this album is definitely going down as one of my favorites of the year.   

Charlie Musselwhite - I Ain’t Lyin’…

2015 – Henrietta Records

By Phillip Smith; Oct. 31, 2015

 

I Ain’t Lyin’…, the latest album from legendary Bluesman Charlie Musselwhite is chockfull of downhome blues and happens to be a sheer delight.  The album was recorded live in 2014 at the Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival in Sonoma, CA, and Clarksdale Soundstage in Clarksdale, MS, with Matt Stubbs (guitar), June Core (drums), and Steve Froberg (bass).   

I love how Musselwhite takes on Elmore James’ “Done Somebody Wrong”.  Stubbs’ crisp bluesy riffs and Musselwhite’s second- to-none harp playing sound so good.  There’s a sort of playful Fifties rockabilly vibe going in “Long Lean Lanky Mama”. It’s just a fun song to dig into, as is “My Kinda Gal” with Froberg’s cool-as-hell, cowboy-fitted baseline.  The band gets kind of funky on “Long Leg Woman”. Its Allman Brothers feel makes it one of my favorite tracks on this album.  This is definitely a song that jams.    

Duke Pearson’s “Cristo Redentor” is such a lovely piece.  This slow and easy instrumental is exquisite.  Core’s drumming really shines and Stubbs so elegantly keeps the rhythm going as Musselwhite beautifully plays his heart out on harmonica.

Musselwhite scores big with I Ain’t Lyin’… This is how the Blues should be played.

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