A special edition of the second album, “Sessions For Robert J”, was released with a 96-minute DVD about the recording of the 18 Johnson's songs, including in one of the very places the young Delta legend recorded some himself (508 Park Avenue, Dallas. Texas). Actually the DVD includes a 19th bonus song : “Stones In My Passway”.
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In a few days (February 17th, 2023), he'll get onboard The Damn Right Farewell Tour that should take him around the world from North America to Australia, Europe and Israel over an eight-month period.
The circle is still unbroken
In 1971, the five multi-instrumentalists of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB), "a bunch of long-haired West Coast boys” as Roy Acuff described them, had gathered some of the best guitar and banjo pickers, country singers and fiddlers around (asked to participate, Bill Monroe would have refused), managing to have them coming down from their mountains or leave their Tennessee or Kentucky ranches, from Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs or Merle Travis to the “King of Bluegrass” Jimmy Martin, Mother Maybelle Carter of The Carter Family, the “King of Country Music” Roy Acuff or master fiddler Vassar Clements, for this celebration of “old time” music, namely country and bluegrass, that was engraved for posterity on this historic triple LP (later re-issued as a 2-CD set).
Soul, funk & groove→ “Shining Star” is most appropriately titled : it's one of the shining stars of the album indeed, a track of pure funk with an Afro-flavored bubbling guitar intro and nice lead guitar solos (Al McKay, Johnny Graham), R'n'B style horns, appealing harmony vocals by Maurice & Verdine White and Philip Bailey, a good dancing title with a chorus a little too disco though. You already notice Verdine's efficient bass, one of the backbones of EW&F's funk.
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More vintage than vintage !
Is it the re-issue of an old 78-rpm recorded a long time ago by an obscure country blues musician ? No, this reincarnation of a pre-war Deep South bluesman is Mr. C.W. Stoneking, a young Australian of 31 at the time, who amazingly sounds as vintage as most of the early 20th century musicians who influenced him.
Phil musical career started in his native California in 1979 when he and younger brother Dave formed the cult roots rock revival band The Blasters. Although receiving largely positive reviews and developing a devoted fan base, mainstream commercial success didn't follow. When Dave left in 1985, Alvin returned to California State University to complete a master's degree in mathematics and artificial intelligence (he would have got a Ph.D. later) while working on his first solo project, “Un 'Sung Stories'”, which was released the following year (1986). Meanwhile he had reformed the Blasters without Dave and through various line-ups in time. A second solo album, “County Fair 2000”, appeared in 1994, featuring, among others, the “new” Blasters and members of his side project, The Faultline Syncopators.
Guitar XXXL
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It all starts at 90 mph with a track announcing what's awaiting you on the twelve muscular or cooler following numbers. His tenor sax is switching from screaming to warm bluesy jazz tenderness as the tracks unwind and you're getting feverish after a few songs.
I remember secretly copying “My Father's Eyes”, the opening song, on my daughter's Walkman as a little message of love when she was still a teenager more into the Spice Girls and other such pop stuff. She fell in love with it and soon asked me for the whole album ! Since then, this particular song has been our little secret bond. Today she's playing guitar and writing her own songs. I dare believe that's something I transmitted to her with the help of Clapton...
