The Catch-back, vol. 2 : Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Buddy Flett - Snooky Pryor - Johnny Tucker & James Thomas - Doug MacLeod - William Clarke - Fiona Boyes

...some that deserved to be featured here...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Down South In The Bayou Country (1972-74 / 2006)

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The ex-Deputy Sheriff's country dance

Gatemouth was a surprising character, he always was where you didn't expect him to be  ! Actually, as he explained in the interview mentioned at the end of this review, he didn't appreciate much being categorized as a "bluesman". In this 1974 album for example, he was definitely in a country & western mood. He even left his guitar at home, exclusively playing fiddle, an instrument on which he excelled too (just listen to "Gate's Express" and you'll have a hot demonstration) and perfectly fitting the kind of music he chose to play, blowing his harmonica on some songs, and singing in his inimitable style.

But wait ! when Gatemouth plays country & western, he does it his way, which is not anybody else way : he's cooking a gumbo made of swamp rock, cajun waltz, creole voodoo funk, New Orleans R'n'B, Texas square dance and other Southern music ingredients to come up with his personal Gate's style vision of country & western, from "Breaux Bridge Rag" to "Gate's Express" through "Loup Garou" and "Sheriff's Barbecue"...

William Clarke with John "Marx" Markowski - Live In Germany (1994)

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Blow, jump, swing and groove

Jump blues harmonica + jazzy swing guitar = Chicago relocated in L.A. = William Clarke & John "Marx" Markowski live. As simple as that. Four times WC Handy-awarded Clarke blows his rasping blues harp so hard, bending notes and making it growl and scream with so much energy that it's a miracle if he didn't ruin his lips. Not surprising that the show opens with the up-beat "Blowin' Like Hell" ! But the man had years of experience and training behind him. And when not blowing, to catch back his breath, he sings ! And very soulfully too, with a voice as hoarse as his harmonica.
Unfortunately this explosion of energy plus extensive exhausting touring, with all that this implies generally (stress, lack of sleep, bad food and booze and/or other stuff to hold on) damaged his health badly, leading to his death in the autumn of 1996 after a performance in his native California. What kind of medicine had he consumed to keep the pace, if he did, only the coroner knows...