Album of the month

The Soul of Blues Harmonica from 1964 (Chess) by Big Walter “Shakey” Horton was the first record that has been very important for my harmonica playing. His melodic way of playing is what touched me. I saw Walter live at the Blues Estafette in Utrecht in 1981. Very impressive and I was floored. No photos were allowed of him I can remember. He was particularly bothered by the flash light. I was there with Klaas Vermeulen (harmonica player friend, who died on 27 November 2020) and Rien and Marion Wisse of the then Blues Magazine Block. Easy is one of Big Walter’s songs that I still play (derived from Ivory Joe Hunter’s ‘l Almost lost My mind’, which was recorded by Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. Big Walter Horton’s melodic way of playing is what appeals to me so much, his influences come from the music of his time and that can be heard, such as Bigband and Jazz bands. Easy also features on my CD ‘Gait’, released in 2010. I can recommend everyone to have a listen to that.

Why this album? And not an old blues hero, like ‘John Lee Hooker’ or ‘Muddy Waters’? This album is for me the best blues album of today! It is a solo album and also an acoustic album. Two things I stand for myself and as icing on the cake also live…. The perfection of not being perfect at all is perfection to me! His ‘National’ guitar sounds so pure and direct, his voice is not yet lubricated… Ian puts on something very special this afternoon. He is on top form, his playing is pure raw and full of passion. The setlist this afternoon is fantastic, from old blues classics to Gospel, supplemented with his own work. He chats it all up with great stories and anecdotes. The album was recorded by the BBC, live at the Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 31, 2013. “THE concert you should have been at!” Thank goodness this live album was made of it. I’m sure there are now more people who claim to have attended this concert than were actually there…that’s how it works: “Oh yes I was there that night, it was unprecedentedly good!” The album begins with the song “The Silver Spurs,” right in with an uptempo blues. You can hear him sigh and support not yet played hot at all. He sets it the way you want to hear it and then his voice comes, this one breaks and it’s perfect. So the songs follow each other and after the 3rd song you are there, that afternoon in October. So the songs follow each other and after the 3rd song you are there, that afternoon in October. Sweat is running through your living room speakers and the smell of alcohol and cigarettes from the night before permeate your nostrils like incense. With the announcement of the last song, an 1850’s Traditional “Hard Times” by Stephen Foster (a great songwriter from the 1800’s), the album is over… All that remains is, “If only I had been there on that afternoon in October 2013 in London!” Happy listening!    

When I received this request to name my favourite/most important LP, chaos immediately ensued in my head. Help! Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, Howlin’ Wolf (very audibly present), Ray Charles, Robert Wilkins, Snooks Eaglin, Otis Rush all reported as my favourite…Van Morrison dealt out a few hefty shoves left and right, because he was my favourite, wasn’t he? What about Hank Williams, and Steve Winwood? No, I’m not going to come out of this, there is stupidly too much good music made. Favourite band then? Stones, Duke Ellington, The Band, Little Feat (Oh yes, Lowell George… was also among them. How he sings Long distance love, so beautiful). And now I’ve certainly not mentioned 10 other “favourites”…. In short, I’m going to limit myself to an LP that actually turned me on to singing the blues as a 15-year-old. Then, admittedly, another choice-stress moment immediately presents itself. I was gripped by the blues in the way it was known at the time (and I am talking about the mid/late 60s): through the Dutch and English blues bands. And then through their sources of inspiration. I was particularly fond of (and also a bit in love with Eelco Gelling) the LP Greetings from Grolloo by Cuby & the Blizzards, in the line-up at the time, also with Herman Brood. The song Somebody will know someday was the absolute favourite, with that beautiful piano part and masterful solo by Eelco. But then John Lee Hooker came into my life. I had been playing guitar myself for quite some time but at that age I actually preferred to sing, and the song that actually made me become a blues singer was on an LP by John Lee Hooker. That was Something Else for a while: that voice, those hypnotic guitar licks. I discovered that I could play quite a blues scheme, and one of my favourite songs was “I’m in the mood” on that particular record. This was what I wanted to be able to do, make music with that intensity! Of course, at first only in my room…. 5 years later, at age 20, I was asked by Barrelhouse and that same song became the successful final song of our gigs for a very long time. Of course in a really exciting Barrelhouse arrangement…. So, hence the choice of: John Lee Hooker Anthology du Blues No.4 ! Also check out young John Lee Hooker on Youtube with Serves me right to suffer from 1969 and you’ll see what I mean….  

The LP that most influenced me as a guitarist is (almost naturally for a blues/rock guitarist of my generation) “John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton. Also called the Beano album because Clapton is reading the comic book of the same name on the cover. This LP was at our house because my (much) older brothers bought and played this and many other blues records So I don’t want to talk so much about this album but rather about Freddie King’s 1971 LP ‘Getting Ready’. Because that was the 1st LP I bought myself and it had at least as much influence on my career as the Beano album. Although my aforementioned brothers also had Freddie King records, that was mainly material from the early 60s. Only much later, by the way, did I discover that people like Clapton, Richards, Beck, Hendrix had also listened to these records and derived a lot of inspiration from them. In the early 1970s I lived in my hometown of Assen and was in high school there. I did make music with friends and/or classmates back then. In those days bands regularly performed in the theater De Kolk in Assen (now DNK; at the same location but renovated). Of course Cuby & the Blizzards but also Living Blues and others. It must have been around 1972 that Freddie King was programmed. Actually I had no idea what to expect, but with some music friends we went to De Kolk. And I have not regretted it to this day. Perhaps the most impressive concert I have ever seen Now in my case that is not so difficult because I am not exactly a concert-goer. Anyway…to be confronted with such American showmanship at that age, in the early seventies of the last century, in a provincial town like Assen…mindblowing. The band began to play. All black musicians except for the white 2nd guitarist..and then Freddie King came on. 2 meters tall, one meter wide and one meter deep in my experience and the guitar pruning and pruning hard. At the end of the show he put his Gibson ES in the neck while he kept looking at the audience. Compared to Freddie’s head, that guitar looked like a ukulele. And his voice…devastatingly good. So full of soul and blues. So yes…not surprising that the next day I rushed to the record store (where De Koppelpaarden café now sits) and bought the record ‘Getting Ready’ and plucked it out note by note, as I had done with the Beano album. There were more of those, by the way: Gary Moore, Eddie van Halen to name a few. I still have the record …full of scratches from putting the needle back over and over again to pick out a guitar piece.

Muddy Waters album “Live At Mr. Kellys” from 1971 took my heart into the blues. I bought this album (Cassette) a sunny saturday in the summer of 1974, and I was nine years old. Acually I got money from my sweet grandmother to buy the 45rpm of WATERLOO with ABBA that won the Eurovision that same year. I took the bus all alone to town to buy this album and when I finish the deal, I had 10 Norwegian Krones (Nok) left (apx. 1 EURO). At the entrance of the record shop there where a big bowl with cassettes for Nok. 10,- each. I grew up with my mothers 1950/60’s albums, but couldnt’t find any cassette with some of them (Rick Nelson, Elvis, Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison, Brook Benton aso), so I ended up with a cassette with a cool cover in cool colors. This was MUDDY WATERS, that I never heard about before. When I came home of course the first thing I did was to put on ABBA cause I liked that song. Later on the same Saturday Night I put the Muddy cassette in my new cassette player and the rest is history. I played trumpet in the local school brassband (my father was the director) since I was 7 years old and the first song on this live recording was «WHAT IS THAT SHE GOT». Don’t know how to describe it, but it blow me away total. The harmonica work on this tune is among the best I still hear and in the cassette cover/ sleve it says the it was Mr Joe Denim on Mississippi «Trumpet» on track 1, 3 & 9. On the other songs there where Paul Oscher on harp. For years after 1974 I was looking for more music with Mr. Joe Denim, but no luck before I meet a hippie in 1981. He told me that “Joe Denim” was James Cotton. In the pseudonymic contract-hopping tradition, where sidemen show up on other peoples’ records under names like “Friendly Chap” and “Dirty Rivers,” Mr Joe Denim was James Cotton. He worked with Muddy several years before going solo and Muddy insisted that he should play harmonic at this fantastic live show. I was lucky enough to meet my mentor James Henry Cotton twice and he will forever be my hero. Still listen to his solos and fill in’s on this album, and I will never get tired of It. I also meet Paul Oscher and we shared a bottle of Jack Daniels while he told me about this fabulous recording from June 1971. Mr. Superharp (James Cotton…or Mr Joe Denim if You like) died in 2017, but he will forever be my biggest influence since I first heard his fabulous playing in July 1974.

There have been so many great blues albums made over the years that it is very difficult to choose just one. After much consideration, I did go with an artist who I feel is truly among the top blues music artists. I came across this fantastic album by Bonnie Raitt after seeing a live recording of this performance. Anyway, I was familiar with her music beforehand, but after seeing this I was completely sold. The album contains some of my favorite songs such as “Love sneaking up on you” and “Angel of Montgomery,” but have come to appreciate these songs even more after hearing them in live jacket. Raitt’s slide playing is so unique and recognizable that it stands out right away. Her husky, smoky voice also comes through again and stands out beautifully in the whole. There are also a good number of guest musicians playing along such as Charles Brown, Kim Wilson, Bruce Hornsby, Bryan Adams and Jackson Browne. They all add their individuality to the record. If you watch the live performance as well, you can see the experience and musicality of Raitt and the other musicians added to that. Therefore, it is definitely a must-see. For me, Bonnie Raitt is definitely a musical inspiration. This album really introduced me to Bonnie Raitt’s music and it is certainly not the last thing I will listen to from her. She is one of the best and most versatile blues musicians out there and there are few who can match her. In my opinion, she is a true female blues legend and I hope many more like her may follow.

At our house, I was quite spoiled with music. Mijn vader had een hele rits aan platen, waar ik als kleine knul maar al te graag mijn kleffe grijpvingertjes in wilde zetten, al was het alleen maar vanwege de afbeeldingen en de aantrekkingskracht van al die mensen die er op afgebeeld stonden: muzikanten, wat een raar volkje. The house was also full of reels for a Revox tape recorder. Daar werd nog wel eens wat mee opgenomen en afgespeeld. Fantastic and incredibly complicated, all those needles, discs, spools, magnets and miles of tape just to fill our living room with the hip sounds of the 60s and 70s. I cherish fond memories of whole Sundays playing with my train under a blanket of Pink Floyd, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Cuby & The Blizzards. My father’s love for the latter band was a holdover from the 1960s, when he himself played in many a youth band (and who didn’t in those days). Later we also got a cassette deck on the cabinet and the collection expanded to include music which was skillfully and illegally exchanged between my father and his friends/colleagues. So suddenly there was a bin of tapes with the word “CHESS” written large on them. Deze collectie opende mijn ogen als het gaat om de oorsprong van de Blues. Terwijl ik eerder dacht dat de Blues een fenomeen was uit de wilde jaren van mijn ouders, doorspekt met de geluiden van elektrische instrumenten in een twelve-bar korsetje gesnoerd, bleek al gauw dat het hier ging om een sterk staaltje jatwerk. Guys like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker were already bringing me a little closer to the truth. I had to learn more about that. Seeing the movie “Crossroads,” in which Ralph Macchio takes on the devilish Steve Vai in a symbolic duel between (Blues) rock and authentic Blues, I realized it could be a great scavenger hunt. Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Skip James, Son House and so on…. that was the “real shit!” However, the real itch to pick up a guitar myself and put my fingers in a double ship knot came with an LP by Mississippi John Hurt, The Original 1928 Recordings. Maybe this isn’t an obvious choice for everyone but his inimitable picking and alternate bass work blew me away completely. All this is also framed by, perhaps, the most genial voice in the history of the Blues. Anyone who hears this man sing is instantly transported back to times long gone, brought with honesty by one man with one voice and, I secretly suspect, 26 or so fingers. The subjects John Hurt sings about contrast greatly with his conversational sound. Sex (Candy Man Blues), Adultery/Murder (Frankie) and psychopaths (Stack o’Lee Blues) all pass in review in the oeuvre of this blues legend. A record that, with your eyes closed, is great for daydreaming away on a Sunday afternoon with a good glass of “whatever” and possibly a guitar on your lap. Definitely worth a try!

When I was 19, the first LP by The Paul Butterfield Band came out. Before that I had been listening to blues by Muddy Waters, Willy Dixon, Rolling Stones etc. But when I put this LP on my turntable it came in like a bomb. It was Chicago blues that was just a little different, blues with energy, passion, tight and straight ahead. That wasn’t surprising in the end because Chicago-born Paul Butterfield was one of the most innovative singers/mouth harmonica players in Chicago blues. In 1963 Paul formed the band with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay and they made 5 albums, the first of which is still the best for me and impressed me the most. Listen to ‘Mellow Down Easy’ (Willy Dixon) and ‘Blues With A Feeling’ (Little Walter) and you will break down. But also the songs ‘Born in Chicago’ and ‘Shake your Money Maker’ are gems. The band disbanded after 8 years (1971) and Paul Butterfield died on May 4, 1987. The LP I have is no longer playable, it went from black to gray, so I just bought the CD some time ago.  

One Sunday morning in the early 1970s, my phone rang. It was my good friend and music lover Ben V. talking very enthusiastically about the LP he had purchased. You were still buying your sound carriers back then. `Have you ever heard of `The Allman Brothers Band`? I had to admit that this band was unknown to me. `Come over to enjoy an afternoon`. Together with my young wife, I reported to the GLIPHOEVE in the BIJLMER. `Let’s hear it`. After listening to it for the first time, the bomb hit me. I had never heard this before. What wonderful music, what a great group of musicians, what singers. Bluezy underground, beautiful arrangements. We played this album at least a dozen times, and the depth got deeper and deeper. The music got stronger and stronger. To this day I still think this is a TOP album. Later I started collecting everything by The Allman Brothers Band and can still enjoy it to this day. Even though the individual members went out on their own and both Allman Brothers exchanged the temporary for the eternal I am a fan for life.

Although we had a pickup (record player) in the house with LPs by the Scorpions, The Beatles and the Kinks even before 1967, the penny dropped for me when I first heard A Hard Road by John Mayall. The guitar sound was magical and the then guitarist Peter Green is to this day my all time hero. At that time, I also began my first attempts on the guitar and of course I wanted to play all those beautiful songs flawlessly as well. Eventually, many drops of sweat later, I succeeded and played in a band that only played songs by John Mayall. Consequently, all the songs from A Hard Road were in the repertoire. For me personally, the LP all has classics. Standouts are the instrumental song The Supernatural, still unmatched, and the other instrumental The StumbleThe basic lineup of this band consisted of: John Mayall vocals/piano/organ/harmonica/5 and 9-string guitars, Peter Green, vocals/solo guitar, John McVie, bass guitar and Ainsley Dunbar, drums. On the LP, some songs were augmented by a horn section. To this day, this record is the basis for my own guitar playing. From this LP I discovered the way back to the traditional American blues around the year 1900 and I studied all the developments and blues styles and eventually ended up back with the British blues, in which John Mayall in various line-ups surely played a leading role. So for me, A Hard Road was the starting point of my journey of discovery into the blues and this journey of discovery is far from over.