The blues

While there is no doubt Clapton is a great blues guitarist, in my mind he isn't much of a blues singer and when he tries too hard, like on much of From The Cradle, the results are bad.

 

Good to see some nods for Robert Cray, my favorite of all-time. Been to 17 of his shows. Never been disappointed.

Had Me and Mr. Johnson cranking on the way to work today. "Hot tamales and Red Hots, yeah she's got them for sale." Unbelievable.

Back in the mid-80s went to a blues show in Mass., forget where. Was a B.B. King-headlined fest. At the end, B.B., Clapton, Stevie Ray and Robert Cray jammed for 30 minutes. Spectacular.

 

Two suggestions...
1. Listen to some Keb Mo, Alvin Youngblood Hart and/or Corey Harris. All three are very good.
2. Surf to this site ... http://www.blues.org/index.php4 ... find past winners of the Handy Awards. Buy their stuff. You won't be disappointed.

And I'm partial to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's version of "John the Revelator."

 

the black keys. you won't be disappointed.

 

Fenian-
GREAT call on "Death Letter" -- absolutely the shit, and my favorite son house song.

since the subject has come up, the only real blues musician i've been lucky enough to see was Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, who smoked a pipe the entire show and still managed to tear it up while he was constantly lighting it and puffing on it. good banter with the (small) crowd, too. lots of fun.

 

Two pages and not one mention of Lightnin' Hopkins? Definitely up there with John Lee Hooker and Howlin Wolf among the second generation blues legends.

 

Cassandra Wilson does a nice cover of "Death Letter," but it's nowhere near as spooky.

 

Since the gentlemans clubs are too far out of town the next best thing to do after steak and blues are hit the jazz clubs. I am not a big jazz fan but have truly enjoyed jazz on my visits to Indy. There is a little place called the Chatterbox which puts on some great bands.

Most of the country does not realize how good the music is in Indy.

 

A good day has live blues music, barbeque and good beer.

Coupla blues-related things:

I've seen Lil Ed three times, Koko Taylor twice, Clapton, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt and countless more in blues rooms from San Francisco to London. Blues is one of the rare American things revered around the world.

I saw Jonny Lang twice as a 13-year-old and three times since. However, I forever will be haunted by the weekend I had SRV tix and my sports editor said I needed to cover something. I begged, pleaded and then gave up my tix. SRV was dead a couple weeks later. :-(

 

I saw Muddy Waters a number of times, the last one a couple of months before he died. He did the entire show from a chair but, when he got to Mannish Boy, he couldn't do anything but stand. He bellowed. He roamed. He was freaking electrifying. Unilke Mickey Mantle, who stopped being MICKEY MANTLE a long time before he died, Muddy was still Muddy.
When people got maudlin when Mantle kicked, and they asked me how I felt about it, I told them I felt worse when Muddy passed. I still do.

 

Fenian - must be the blues.

 

Great blues show on this station every weekday from 3-4 p.m.
http://www.wbgo.org/listennow/
Coco Montoya doing Albert Collins's "I Got A Mind To travel" right now.
AC -- The MASTER of the telecaster.