GARY CLARK,JR.

Reviews
On this record, the candle light aura of pre-war
blues mixes perfectly with the electric lightnin’
of today’s musical directions.
BEN HARPER & CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE
Get Up
Stax
They’ve toured together off and on for years. When Ben Harper has
needed a harmonica player to augment his vision, he usually summons
one of the best, Charlie Musselwhite. From their first days in
the studio backing John Lee Hooker in 1998 on Best Of Friends,
these two visionaries have explored the possibilities of their music.
Now with this recording and subsequent touring, fans of each can
hear that magic as these soulful brothers from vastly different generations
connect. We all know Musselwhite’s roots, but for those
unfamiliar with Harper’s background should know that he grew up
in his grandparents’ music store playing everything with strings and
meeting the likes of Taj Mahal and David Lindley. His early heroes
were the Delta pre-war guitarists like Hurt and Johnson. His first
tour was opening for Taj.
The ten songs were written or co-written by Harper and offer a
diverse mixture of styles with the ghosts of traditional blues floating
throughout the outing. The opener, “Don’t Look Twice,” starts off
acoustically with musical hints of a dusty 1930’s 78 by Skip James.
By mid-song, the full band explodes on the chorus around Musselwhite’s
seasoned reed work. Harper’s falsetto, James-like vocals,
and Musselwhite’s Chicago harmonica instantly connect all things
blues – Delta to Chicago. Harper and Musselwhite close the CD in
similar blues tradition fashion. “All That Matters Now” features
acoustic harmonica, piano, and Harper’s late night vocals in this
new millennium answer to Leroy Carr’s “How Long Blues.” In
Carr’s song, and Johnson’s musical mirror “Love In Vain,” the tone
was longing; here, Harper offers a refreshing meditation on life,
satisfied to live in the moment of companionship.
BUDDY GUY
Live At Legends
Silvertone
Buddy Guy’s first live album, 1968’s This Is
Buddy Guy! (Vanguard), broadened his
reputation among blues fans as well as
rock fans at the time (e.g., I attended a concert
at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in July,
1969 in which Buddy Guy was on the bill
with the Al Kooper Big Band, Led Zeppelin,
Jethro Tull, and Johnny Winter). These
electrifying last recordings from his January
2010 residency at the old Legends had the
same effect on me as his aforementioned
Vanguard album with its intensity, energy,
and swagger.
Guitarist Rick Hall, bassist Orlando
Wright, keyboardist Marty Sammon, and
drummer Tim Austin provide sharp, muscular
support for Guy’s soul-on-fire vocals
In between, these
musical visionaries set the
artistic bar high. There are
high-energy tunes. “I’m In
I’m Out I’m Gone” stomps
‘50’s classic Chicago blues
with a musical undertone of
“Mannish Boy.” Here, Musselwhite’s
retro harp recalls
the greats of that era.
“Blood Side Out” features
Harper’s primal lungpower
blasting his modern message, and “I Don’t Believe A Word You Say”
bulldozes its heavy metal message in a way that would make Page,
Plant, Jones, and Bonham smile.
At the same time, Harper and Musselwhite understand musical
dynamics. With only a stripped down acoustic guitar and harmonica,
“You Found Another Lover (I Lost Another Friend)” floats delicately like
a hummingbird. Their decades of work with the Blind Boys of Alabama
comes through on the handclappin’, gospel-like “We Can’t End This
Way,” where Harper’s expressive slide mimics his vocal enthusiasm.
Harper’s “I Ride At Dawn” is a haunting tale of every soldier’s
wartime experiences. Harper’s written the compelling letter every
soldier sends whether preparing for a Civil War charge or Iraqi village
search. Taken as a whole, it’s a haunting and devastating
humanization of war’s individual toll.
These ten songs are the culmination of musical experiences
these soul mates have explored, and they forecast new directions of
the blues. There is also a deluxe edition available which includes a
DVD of in-studio performances of four songs and 25 minutes of
Harper and Musselwhite discussing their history.
– Art Tipaldi
and incendiary solos. Listeners are immediately
in Guy’s grip after the first flurry of
slicing, side-piercing notes on the self-deprecating
catharsis “Best Damn Fool.” A
dual homage to Muddy Waters follows with
a searing “Mannish Boy” and then a furiously
funky “I Just Want to Make Love to
You,” the album’s longest track at 9:22 slyly
segues into Bobby Rush’s signature chunkof-funk
“Chickenheads.” The heartfelt ballad
of tolerance “Skin Deep” slows things
BLUES REVUE 39