Hey there radio listeners!
Here is the up-to-date Summer 2014 schedule for Señor Blues, the biweekly Saturday morning blues program on CJSR 88.5FM:
June 21
July 5
July 19
August 2
August 16
Remember, Señor Blues airs from 7-9am MST on the Saturdays indicated above. Listen live on 88.5FM or online at cjsrfm88.blogspot.ca.
Cheers!
6/07/2014
5/23/2014
Señor Blues' Beatles Special - May 24, 2014
It was 50 years ago today... (actually, it was more like February 9, 1964) The Beatles made their first US television appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, which helped to kickstart the British Invasion and a musical revolution that forever changed the face of popular music.
Though the Beatles had many diverse musical influences that they incorporated into their unique sound, some of their roots were in the blues. Liverpool, the Beatles' hometown, was a major port city, so this facilitated their access to imported music from the United States, including blues, R&B, and rock 'n' roll. The Beatles were also influenced by early rock 'n' roll performers, particularly Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, all of whom had their roots in the blues. As they developed, the Beatles incorporated blues into their music by way of rock 'n' roll on their early records and later as they returned to a more roots-oriented sound in the late 1960s. After their breakup, the Beatles individually maintained ties to the blues to varying degrees; for instance, John Lennon's "It's So Hard" and "Well, Well, Well" are very blues-oriented performances and Ringo Starr played drums with Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, and most recently, on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's latest album, Goin' Home.
In honour of the Beatles' first US television appearance and their subsequent impact on popular music, the May 24 edition of Señor Blues will be mostly focused on the Beatles and their unique connection to the blues. Tune in from 7-9am on May 24 to hear blues/R&B/rock 'n' roll artists performing Beatles classics, the blues/rock 'n' roll roots of the Beatles, and, of course, the Beatles themselves playing some blues, both as a group and as solo artists. "A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
Though the Beatles had many diverse musical influences that they incorporated into their unique sound, some of their roots were in the blues. Liverpool, the Beatles' hometown, was a major port city, so this facilitated their access to imported music from the United States, including blues, R&B, and rock 'n' roll. The Beatles were also influenced by early rock 'n' roll performers, particularly Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, all of whom had their roots in the blues. As they developed, the Beatles incorporated blues into their music by way of rock 'n' roll on their early records and later as they returned to a more roots-oriented sound in the late 1960s. After their breakup, the Beatles individually maintained ties to the blues to varying degrees; for instance, John Lennon's "It's So Hard" and "Well, Well, Well" are very blues-oriented performances and Ringo Starr played drums with Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, and most recently, on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's latest album, Goin' Home.
In honour of the Beatles' first US television appearance and their subsequent impact on popular music, the May 24 edition of Señor Blues will be mostly focused on the Beatles and their unique connection to the blues. Tune in from 7-9am on May 24 to hear blues/R&B/rock 'n' roll artists performing Beatles classics, the blues/rock 'n' roll roots of the Beatles, and, of course, the Beatles themselves playing some blues, both as a group and as solo artists. "A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
5/09/2014
The Robert Cray Band: In My Soul
The Robert Cray Band’s new album, In My
Soul, is, in a word,
soulful; the feel of the music contained
within is actually very much rooted in soul music and R&B (as well as the
blues, of course), which Robert Cray has specialized in since he
first burst onto the blues/pop scene in the early 1980s. This, along with the strong
songwriting and covers, impeccable musicianship (with several new members of the Robert
Cray Band in tow), and crisp production work by drummer/producer extraordinaire
Steve Jordan, makes In My Soul
my favourite Robert Cray album. Period.
The Robert Cray Band kicks things off with
“You Move Me”, an uptempo soul/R&B workout in the vein of classic Stax
recordings from the 60s (with a catchy bass-line somewhat reminiscent of the
Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb”). Right off the bat, Cray’s vocals convey a
yearning quality that works well with the song’s subject line. His guitar work
is nimble as ever, but on this album, his Strat tone rocks with a bit more dirt
than usual (although the EPK shows Cray occasionally wielding a hollowbody electric guitar – not an instrument I had previously associated with his
sound!). It’s different from his cleaner work from the 80’s and 90’s for sure,
but it adds more blues grit to the sound.
Other highlights for me include: “Hold
On”, a smooth R&B ballad with some interesting chord changes, a passionate
vocal, and a moody atmosphere that fits the song to a tee; “I Guess I’ll Never
Know”, a mid-tempo R&B groove with some tortured-sounding lead guitar and
reggae/dub-esque horns; “Pillow”, the bonus track (at least on the Deluxe
Edition of the album), which features some jazz-like chord progressions and a
sweet, soft vocal delivery by Cray; and “Deep In My Soul”, which is a Bobby
“Blue” Bland tune, and serves not only as the title of the album but also as Cray’s heartfelt tribute to the legendary blues singer, who passed away in
2013. The only song I did not care for as much was “What Would You Say”; it’s
not a bad song at all, but its acoustic alt country-esque vibe clashes with the
urban R&B sounds heard elsewhere on the record.
I could go on forever talking about how
much I love this album more and more with every spin. Instead, let me just
finish by saying that In My Soul
is a sure-fire contender for the Señor Blues Best Album of 2014… honour. Tune
into Señor Blues every other Saturday morning to hear more of this fine new
blues release as well as many other blues songs, both new and vintage!
4/11/2014
(Belated) April Fools!
Have you ever wondered what a version of "Like a Hurricane" by Jeff Healey would sound like? How about the Kinks circa 1968 riffing on the "Smokestack Lightnin'" riff? And did you know that Spin Doctors (responsible for classics such as "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong") recently recorded a blues album?
Tune in to CJSR 88.5FM (or cjsrfm88.blogspot.ca to listen online) tomorrow (April 12, 2014) for the (Belated) April Fools edition of Señor Blues, where you'll hear all of the above and more surprises!
3/12/2014
"Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Play The Blues: The Deluxe Edition" review
Wow! Long time no write. I suppose I better make up for the lost time with some new reviews of new and newly-released/refurbished blues. Who better to start off with than one of the most beloved blues duos of all time?
Listeners of Señor Blues have probably realized that I am a huge fan of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, both solo and together; Hoodoo Man Blues, their first recorded collaboration from 1965, is in my Top 5 Favourite Blues Album list. That being said, their 1972 collaboration, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues, is not one of my favourites from their extensive catalogue. Despite its production by musical heavyweights Ahmet Ertegun and Eric Clapton (around the time of his "Layla" period and also, unfortunately, a debilitating drug addiction), and the presence of some fine supporting musicians on the disc including saxophonist A.C. Reed, pianist Dr. John, and even the J. Geils Band on two cuts, I have always felt that it is a fairly dull recording, with lifeless performances, weak song choices, and a thin, monochromatic tone overall. Though it has gained some favourable reviews over the years, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, and Eric Clapton have all gone on record stating their disappointment with the finished product. The highly imaginative (har har) album title speaks for itself!
If I wasn't particularly enamoured of the original recording, why on Earth would I want to purchase a deluxe 2-CD edition of it? Two words: bonus tracks.
Yes, in the digital age, it is almost routine that reissues of older albums are peppered with bonuses of varying quality -- you might get rare photographs, new liner notes, alternate mixes, mono mixes, radio mixes, perhaps even quadrophonic surround sound mixes. In the case of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues, you get three bonus tracks on Disc One (which contains the original ten-track album) as well as an entire second disc's worth of bonus material (well, maybe more like "album's worth", since it clocks in at around 60 minutes). And these are not your garden variety alternate mix bonus tracks either (not entirely, anyway) -- the majority of the bonus material consists of unheard tracks from the original 1970 sessions that spawned the original album.
I have read that the original recordings were actually shelved in 1970 because the record company did not feel that enough Grade A material was recorded the first time around. Listening to the bonus tracks on this Deluxe Edition, I am truly puzzled. If anything, the previously unreleased recordings are better than the officially released songs -- if these tracks had made up the album in the first place, I might have had a significantly different opinion of the album overall!
I will highlight a few of my favourite songs from this new and improved edition of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues:
First and foremost is the rousing rendition of Memphis Minnie's "Dirty Mother For You" that is featured on Disc One. For one thing, I have rarely heard Memphis Minnie's songs covered by Chicago Blues artists, so any recording that features a new sonic or musical spin on this iconic blueswoman's classics is worth at least a listen from me. That being said, "Dirty Mother For You" is a pretty risque song (if you don't believe me, sound out the title a couple of times and you'll understand what it actually means!), so I can see why it was not originally released on the album. Still and all, this track packs a punch that is missing from the original album tracks, featuring some highly spirited playing and the pair of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells trading off verses and even seemingly making up lyrics on the spot. Everyone is firing on all cylinders on this track and it is a worthy addition to this album.
Closing off Disc One is an extended funky blues called "Why Am I Treated So Bad (Playin' The Blues)". Though Clapton's rhythm playing is a bit too busy and the bass playing too trebly to my ears, it's a great workout that fuses Guy and Wells' blues roots with the soul, R&B, and funk sounds of the day. In a way, you could say that this sound was a forerunner to the modern funk-influenced sound that many modern blues bands play (for better or worse). As with "Dirty Mother For You", there is a joyful energy contained in this recording. I almost wonder if it was actually destined for inclusion on the original album, as a shorter mono mix (presumably for radio airplay) was created and is included on Disc Two of this reissue.
Another highlight for me is the instrumental "D Blues" on Disc Two (although, to be fair, it's actually in the key of B, not so much D). Here, you get a chance to hear Guy, Clapton, and Wells trading licks back and forth over a 12-bar blues structure. If you're not a big fan of longer blues jams, you might not enjoy sitting through this one, as it runs for almost 9 minutes, but if you enjoy instrumentals (especially those that include fiery guitar licks, as featured here), this is blues heaven!
There are some other fine songs included amongst the bonus material on this Deluxe Edition, and, don't get me wrong, there were highlights from the original record itself too. All in all, I am pleased that this reissue of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues has been released (and recently reissued after being out-of-print for some time), as it expands the original album and showcases some amazing additional recorded work from the apparently chaotic and supposedly less-than-productive sessions. For me, that can be one of the perks of the digital age for music -- we finally have a chance to hear some recorded material that was not originally intended for release.
Listeners of Señor Blues have probably realized that I am a huge fan of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, both solo and together; Hoodoo Man Blues, their first recorded collaboration from 1965, is in my Top 5 Favourite Blues Album list. That being said, their 1972 collaboration, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues, is not one of my favourites from their extensive catalogue. Despite its production by musical heavyweights Ahmet Ertegun and Eric Clapton (around the time of his "Layla" period and also, unfortunately, a debilitating drug addiction), and the presence of some fine supporting musicians on the disc including saxophonist A.C. Reed, pianist Dr. John, and even the J. Geils Band on two cuts, I have always felt that it is a fairly dull recording, with lifeless performances, weak song choices, and a thin, monochromatic tone overall. Though it has gained some favourable reviews over the years, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, and Eric Clapton have all gone on record stating their disappointment with the finished product. The highly imaginative (har har) album title speaks for itself!
If I wasn't particularly enamoured of the original recording, why on Earth would I want to purchase a deluxe 2-CD edition of it? Two words: bonus tracks.
Yes, in the digital age, it is almost routine that reissues of older albums are peppered with bonuses of varying quality -- you might get rare photographs, new liner notes, alternate mixes, mono mixes, radio mixes, perhaps even quadrophonic surround sound mixes. In the case of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues, you get three bonus tracks on Disc One (which contains the original ten-track album) as well as an entire second disc's worth of bonus material (well, maybe more like "album's worth", since it clocks in at around 60 minutes). And these are not your garden variety alternate mix bonus tracks either (not entirely, anyway) -- the majority of the bonus material consists of unheard tracks from the original 1970 sessions that spawned the original album.
I have read that the original recordings were actually shelved in 1970 because the record company did not feel that enough Grade A material was recorded the first time around. Listening to the bonus tracks on this Deluxe Edition, I am truly puzzled. If anything, the previously unreleased recordings are better than the officially released songs -- if these tracks had made up the album in the first place, I might have had a significantly different opinion of the album overall!
I will highlight a few of my favourite songs from this new and improved edition of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues:
First and foremost is the rousing rendition of Memphis Minnie's "Dirty Mother For You" that is featured on Disc One. For one thing, I have rarely heard Memphis Minnie's songs covered by Chicago Blues artists, so any recording that features a new sonic or musical spin on this iconic blueswoman's classics is worth at least a listen from me. That being said, "Dirty Mother For You" is a pretty risque song (if you don't believe me, sound out the title a couple of times and you'll understand what it actually means!), so I can see why it was not originally released on the album. Still and all, this track packs a punch that is missing from the original album tracks, featuring some highly spirited playing and the pair of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells trading off verses and even seemingly making up lyrics on the spot. Everyone is firing on all cylinders on this track and it is a worthy addition to this album.
Closing off Disc One is an extended funky blues called "Why Am I Treated So Bad (Playin' The Blues)". Though Clapton's rhythm playing is a bit too busy and the bass playing too trebly to my ears, it's a great workout that fuses Guy and Wells' blues roots with the soul, R&B, and funk sounds of the day. In a way, you could say that this sound was a forerunner to the modern funk-influenced sound that many modern blues bands play (for better or worse). As with "Dirty Mother For You", there is a joyful energy contained in this recording. I almost wonder if it was actually destined for inclusion on the original album, as a shorter mono mix (presumably for radio airplay) was created and is included on Disc Two of this reissue.
Another highlight for me is the instrumental "D Blues" on Disc Two (although, to be fair, it's actually in the key of B, not so much D). Here, you get a chance to hear Guy, Clapton, and Wells trading licks back and forth over a 12-bar blues structure. If you're not a big fan of longer blues jams, you might not enjoy sitting through this one, as it runs for almost 9 minutes, but if you enjoy instrumentals (especially those that include fiery guitar licks, as featured here), this is blues heaven!
There are some other fine songs included amongst the bonus material on this Deluxe Edition, and, don't get me wrong, there were highlights from the original record itself too. All in all, I am pleased that this reissue of Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues has been released (and recently reissued after being out-of-print for some time), as it expands the original album and showcases some amazing additional recorded work from the apparently chaotic and supposedly less-than-productive sessions. For me, that can be one of the perks of the digital age for music -- we finally have a chance to hear some recorded material that was not originally intended for release.
3/30/2012
April Fools again!
Greetings, fellow blues lovers! Ever wonder what John Lee Hooker would sound like if remixed by a DJ? What about Dr. House crooning the blues to you? Or Etta James covering a Guns 'n' Roses tune? I can tell that you're curious now! In that case, tune in to CJSR (88.5FM in Edmonton or around the world at cjsr.com) from 7-9am (MT) on March 31, 2012, for the April Fools' edition of Señor Blues! Good blues to you!
7/08/2011
Señor Blues Summer 2011 Schedule
Howdy, blues lovers! Hope you're having a great summer so far! Here is the schedule for Señor Blues on CJSR for the summer of 2011:
July 9 and 23
August 6 and 20
September 3
Stay tuned for more updates as the summer progresses! Cheers for now!
July 9 and 23
August 6 and 20
September 3
Stay tuned for more updates as the summer progresses! Cheers for now!
6/22/2011
Eric "Guitar" Davis & The Troublemakers - "Trouble Makin' Man"
Although I do LOVE the blues, it’s not in my nature to rave wildly about music in general. That being said, Trouble Makin’ Man, the latest release by up-and-coming Chicago blues artist Eric “Guitar” Davis & The Troublemakers, is my favorite new blues CD of the year!!!
First, a bit of background: Eric “Guitar” Davis hails from the south side of Chicago (a historically fertile ground for some of the best Chicago blues). He started his music career as a drummer, backing the likes of Junior Wells, Lefty Dizz, and other Chicago blues legends. A chance encounter with Buddy Guy at a local club resulted in Guy showing Davis his first chord on the guitar. The rest, they say, is history. Davis currently plays locally in Chicago and around the world with his band, The Troublemakers, a tight blues combo with piano/keyboards, bass, drums, and two guitars.
I first saw Eric “Guitar” Davis play at Buddy Guy’s Legends. In a live setting, Davis is a compelling bluesman, playing with dynamics in his singing and guitar playing (incorporating tricks like distortion and occasionally singing away from the microphone), and walking through and interacting directly with his audiences. I bought his first CD (2007's Here Comes Trouble) off the bandstand, which only hinted at his live charisma. Well, I’m happy to report that his second CD, Trouble Makin’ Man, is more representative of his stage performance!
The title track kicks off the record, and as Davis himself sings, you’re “gonna have some real big fun” throughout this album. “Trouble Makin’ Man” is a uptempo funky tune, that will get your hips movin’ and your head shakin’ with his outstanding guitar soloing. Even the slower, introspective songs on this CD sound exciting and make you want to bob your head and/or shake your hips to the music! There are elements of contemporary R&B in several of the songs here (including “Love Song” and “You’re Goin’ Down”), but they never sound like attempts to crossover to more mainstream audiences; it’s simply Eric “Guitar” Davis playing the blues as he himself feels them in the 21st century. I particularly enjoy the subtly Latin feel of “You’re Goin’ Down”, easily one of my favorite cuts on this CD. For fans of classic blues sounds, Davis still delivers the goods, with a New Orleans feel on “Ew-Wee” and a gospel-tinged cover of Jimmy Burns’ “No Consideration”. Ronnie Baker Brooks, another great contemporary Chicago Blues artist, appears in a few spots on this album, specifically co-writing and co-producing “Days Of My Life” (a fine R&B-tinged blues track) and appearing on “Dolla Queen”. There are also some lively spoken-word moments on “Dolla Queen” and “I Met a Little Girl”, which add to the overall fun, feel-good atmosphere of Trouble Makin’ Man.
I can’t find enough adjectives to describe how much I love this album. Start to finish, this has to be my favorite blues CD of 2011! For more information, check out ericguitardavis.com.
First, a bit of background: Eric “Guitar” Davis hails from the south side of Chicago (a historically fertile ground for some of the best Chicago blues). He started his music career as a drummer, backing the likes of Junior Wells, Lefty Dizz, and other Chicago blues legends. A chance encounter with Buddy Guy at a local club resulted in Guy showing Davis his first chord on the guitar. The rest, they say, is history. Davis currently plays locally in Chicago and around the world with his band, The Troublemakers, a tight blues combo with piano/keyboards, bass, drums, and two guitars.
I first saw Eric “Guitar” Davis play at Buddy Guy’s Legends. In a live setting, Davis is a compelling bluesman, playing with dynamics in his singing and guitar playing (incorporating tricks like distortion and occasionally singing away from the microphone), and walking through and interacting directly with his audiences. I bought his first CD (2007's Here Comes Trouble) off the bandstand, which only hinted at his live charisma. Well, I’m happy to report that his second CD, Trouble Makin’ Man, is more representative of his stage performance!
The title track kicks off the record, and as Davis himself sings, you’re “gonna have some real big fun” throughout this album. “Trouble Makin’ Man” is a uptempo funky tune, that will get your hips movin’ and your head shakin’ with his outstanding guitar soloing. Even the slower, introspective songs on this CD sound exciting and make you want to bob your head and/or shake your hips to the music! There are elements of contemporary R&B in several of the songs here (including “Love Song” and “You’re Goin’ Down”), but they never sound like attempts to crossover to more mainstream audiences; it’s simply Eric “Guitar” Davis playing the blues as he himself feels them in the 21st century. I particularly enjoy the subtly Latin feel of “You’re Goin’ Down”, easily one of my favorite cuts on this CD. For fans of classic blues sounds, Davis still delivers the goods, with a New Orleans feel on “Ew-Wee” and a gospel-tinged cover of Jimmy Burns’ “No Consideration”. Ronnie Baker Brooks, another great contemporary Chicago Blues artist, appears in a few spots on this album, specifically co-writing and co-producing “Days Of My Life” (a fine R&B-tinged blues track) and appearing on “Dolla Queen”. There are also some lively spoken-word moments on “Dolla Queen” and “I Met a Little Girl”, which add to the overall fun, feel-good atmosphere of Trouble Makin’ Man.
I can’t find enough adjectives to describe how much I love this album. Start to finish, this has to be my favorite blues CD of 2011! For more information, check out ericguitardavis.com.
6/17/2011
Señor Blues Celebrates The 2011 Chicago Blues Festival!
Greetings, blues lovers!
I have returned from a trip to the Chicago Blues Festival, and I'm raring to share my experiences and musical discoveries with you! Tune into to CJSR tomorrow morning for an overview of the wonderful artists who graced the stages at this year's festival, including Eric "Guitar" Davis & The Troublemakers, Johanna Connor, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, and many more.
Cheers!
I have returned from a trip to the Chicago Blues Festival, and I'm raring to share my experiences and musical discoveries with you! Tune into to CJSR tomorrow morning for an overview of the wonderful artists who graced the stages at this year's festival, including Eric "Guitar" Davis & The Troublemakers, Johanna Connor, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, and many more.
Cheers!
6/03/2011
Artist Spotlight: Lefty Dizz
Although he is generally a lesser-known musician in Chicago Blues history, singer-guitarist Lefty Dizz was a larger-than-life figure during his career. Combining spectacular stage antics with an aggressive sound, he could be considered a trailblazing pioneer of a performing style that has become highly revered by both blues and rock audiences.
Lefty Dizz was born in Arkensas in 1937. During his teens, he began playing the guitar and honing his performance style. Like fellow southpaw guitarists Albert King and Otis Rush, Dizz taught himself how to play a right-handed guitar upside down (i.e. left-handed), resulting in a unique sound and playing style. His sound was further distinguished by incorporating rural blues influences, a very different approach to the more sophisticated, urban sounds coming out of big cities like Memphis and New Orleans. Dizz eventually moved to Chicago in the early 1960s and quickly became a fixture on the south side blues scene, where he was famous for his rowdy and raucous shows; these included tricks such as throwing his axe back and forth between his hands, playing with one hand, and experimenting with distortion and wild string-bending.
While his own wild performances may have been a way to secure his gigs and prevent other young upstarts from overshadowing him on the bandstand, Dizz was highly respected by Chicago blues elders and peers alike. He was often welcomed to sit in on their club gigs and was hired as a sideman by local musicians, including Junior Wells and Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers. Listening to Junior Wells’ 1968 album, Coming At You, for example, it is interesting to hear how Dizz toned down his aggressive guitar playing to be a tastefully effective rhythm guitarist behind Wells’ singing and harp playing and Buddy Guy’s leads. According to the monologue that opens his cover of Taylor’s “Sadie” on his 1989 album, Ain’t It Nice To Be Loved?, Dizz was also the last rhythm guitarist to play in The HouseRockers, before Taylor died in 1975.
Though a hardworking bluesman, Dizz never made the leap from local fame to international stardom. This may be partly because he was under-recorded throughout his career. Though he managed to make a few recordings for European labels like Isabel and JSP, they were simply not reflective of his fantastic live performances on his home turf, possibly due to budgetary and/or technological constraints. His last album, Ain’t It Nice To Be Loved, features Dizz with the Bell family backing him up (including Carey Bell on harmonica and Lurrie Bell on the guitar), but it proves to be a challenging listening experience, due to the raw, uninhibited nature of the performances and the band’s out-of-tune instruments. There are some gems on these few albums, though, that do hint at Dizz’s live charisma. Plus, in this day and age, it’s (relatively) easy to find the odd video evidence of Dizz’s club performances, including this video from the Checkerboard Lounge (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y6yMkbNZyw …dig that cowboy hat, too!). Sadly, he was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1990s and passed away in 1993.
While his music is not for the faint at heart, Lefty Dizz is still worth checking out if you enjoy hearing great blues guitar and want to walk on the wild side of the blues!
Sources:
- AllMusic.com: Lefty Dizz
- Russell, Tony, et al. The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. 2006
- Liner notes to Ain't It Nice To Be Loved (1989)
Lefty Dizz was born in Arkensas in 1937. During his teens, he began playing the guitar and honing his performance style. Like fellow southpaw guitarists Albert King and Otis Rush, Dizz taught himself how to play a right-handed guitar upside down (i.e. left-handed), resulting in a unique sound and playing style. His sound was further distinguished by incorporating rural blues influences, a very different approach to the more sophisticated, urban sounds coming out of big cities like Memphis and New Orleans. Dizz eventually moved to Chicago in the early 1960s and quickly became a fixture on the south side blues scene, where he was famous for his rowdy and raucous shows; these included tricks such as throwing his axe back and forth between his hands, playing with one hand, and experimenting with distortion and wild string-bending.
While his own wild performances may have been a way to secure his gigs and prevent other young upstarts from overshadowing him on the bandstand, Dizz was highly respected by Chicago blues elders and peers alike. He was often welcomed to sit in on their club gigs and was hired as a sideman by local musicians, including Junior Wells and Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers. Listening to Junior Wells’ 1968 album, Coming At You, for example, it is interesting to hear how Dizz toned down his aggressive guitar playing to be a tastefully effective rhythm guitarist behind Wells’ singing and harp playing and Buddy Guy’s leads. According to the monologue that opens his cover of Taylor’s “Sadie” on his 1989 album, Ain’t It Nice To Be Loved?, Dizz was also the last rhythm guitarist to play in The HouseRockers, before Taylor died in 1975.
Though a hardworking bluesman, Dizz never made the leap from local fame to international stardom. This may be partly because he was under-recorded throughout his career. Though he managed to make a few recordings for European labels like Isabel and JSP, they were simply not reflective of his fantastic live performances on his home turf, possibly due to budgetary and/or technological constraints. His last album, Ain’t It Nice To Be Loved, features Dizz with the Bell family backing him up (including Carey Bell on harmonica and Lurrie Bell on the guitar), but it proves to be a challenging listening experience, due to the raw, uninhibited nature of the performances and the band’s out-of-tune instruments. There are some gems on these few albums, though, that do hint at Dizz’s live charisma. Plus, in this day and age, it’s (relatively) easy to find the odd video evidence of Dizz’s club performances, including this video from the Checkerboard Lounge (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y6yMkbNZyw …dig that cowboy hat, too!). Sadly, he was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1990s and passed away in 1993.
While his music is not for the faint at heart, Lefty Dizz is still worth checking out if you enjoy hearing great blues guitar and want to walk on the wild side of the blues!
Sources:
- AllMusic.com: Lefty Dizz
- Russell, Tony, et al. The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. 2006
- Liner notes to Ain't It Nice To Be Loved (1989)
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