From his father though, Hammond Jr. undoubtedly inherited a gift for getting acquainted with still unknown but promising musicians with whom he performed and recorded. Among many others : Hendrix , Clapton, Tom Waits, Mike Bloomfield, Duane Allman or Levon Helm (future member of The Band, the group Hammond recommended to Dylan)...
 |
| The beginnings in Greenwich Village |
This album illustrates this again with twelve covers from Jimmy Reed ("Found Love"), Little Walter ("I Hate To See You Go" and "I've Got To Find My Baby"), Leroy Carr ("Fore Day Rider Blues"), Blind Willie McTell ("Warm It Up To Me"), Howlin' Wolf ("Howlin' For My Darling" and "My Mind Is Ramblin'"), Baby Boy Warren ("Hello Stranger"), Lonnie Johnson ("You Had Too Much"), Little Brother Montgomery ("The First Time I Met the Blues"), Cousin Joe ("Evolution Blues") and Sleepy John Estes ("Someday Baby Blues").
The ever excellent Duke Robillard, who also produced the album, is doing more than half the job on guitar, playing on eight tracks, while Hammond's guitar and harmonica are heard on five songs only, but he kept the totality of the vocals for himself. Hearing the way he sings these old blues, one understands easily why. His voice fits perfectly. On a couple of songs, he shares singing with a lady, Soozie Tyrell, and the result once again proves he made the right choice. On the last track, Hammond is alone on guitar and lets the harmonica to the great Musselwhite. Let's also mention the great work of bassist Marty Ballou on the eight songs he appears on.
To conclude, let's point out that the choice of the songs and their arrangements, mixing acoustic and electric, is perfect, and that this album revives some almost forgotten bluesmen like Baby Boy Warren, Little Brother Montgomery or Cousin Joe who don't deserve to fall into obscurity. A great work ! ■
No comments:
Post a Comment