Paul Barry – Pure Blues
Self – released
10 Tracks – 47 minutes
Twin Cities based harmonica player, Paul Barry, has been playing professionally since the early 1980’s. In 1983, he met West Coast Bluesman William Clarke and became a protégé of the late, legendary harmonica player, and lived with him in Los Angeles in 1985. Paul became active in the blues scene in the Twin Cities area and served as a back-up player in Chicago’s Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers band. He also recorded with Smothers on his final album That’s Alright in 2016. Barry subsequently released two albums under his own name: Talk is Cheap in 2016 and Blow Your Cool in 2018. Both albums were well received, and Blow Your Cool was selected as Best Album of 2018 by the Minnesota Blues Society. In 2023, as a tribute to his mentor, William Clarke, Barry released the internationally acclaimed biography Blowin’ Like Hell, The William Clarke Story. Barry’s book was inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame in 2024 for Blues Art, Literature and Media.
This is Barry’s third album. In addition to Barry on harmonica and vocals, he Igor Prado guests on guitar on three tracks (1,4,5) and Bruce McCacbe, Jonny Lang’s piano player, guests on six tracks (2,4,5,8,9,10). Marty Bryduck plays the drums on all tracks. Tim Wick plays the organ on several tracks and adds piano on track 7. In addition to Pardo, guitarists Jeremy Johnson, Dan Schwalbe, and John Franken and bass players Chris Matheos, John Etzell, and John Schroder appear on various tracks, and Jim Greenwell plays sax on tracks 2,5,6,7,8.
The album is meant as a homage to the blue master that came before him. He includes three original songs among seven covers. He opens the album with Otis Spann’s 1969 “I’m a Bad Boy”. He proclaims, “I’ve got the blues”. “I’m going to pack my clothes and down the road I go”. Igor provides some excellent guitar with an unidentified piano player joining Barry’s harmonica. “Coming Home Baby,” is a jazzy instrumental written by Ben Tucker and first recorded by the Dave Bailey Quintet in 1961. Tucker was the bass player for the band. Bruce on piano and Bruce on sax both have significant leads on the song. William Clarke’s 2008 song “Pawnshop Bound” is next, as he identifies “I need some money in my pocket. Mister pawnshop broker, I need to talk with you”.
His first original song, “Waiting for Your Love” features some funky guitar to start the song. Tad Robinson guests on vocals and asks, “Will you ever love me or am I wasting my time?” “No Money”, written by John Alexander is a jumping blues with Barry advising “I have no money, baby. No place to call my own. I have no one to love me. I am in this world alone”. He turns to a second song, “Chromatic Jump” by William Clarke which Clarke first recorded in 1985 at a live session at “Battle of the Harmonicas” in San Francisco. The instrumental clearly features Barry on the chromatic harp.
The next two songs are Barry’s remaining originals. The first “Fair Weather Woman” finds him searching for his baby “Where can my baby be? When the sun is shining down, she’s always right next to me.” He says I “Feel Like Jumpin'” “My baby is back in town. Her kisses are sweet as wine. I can’t wait for her to press her lips against mine”. Otis Spann’s 1960 “Lightnin” was first recorded with Robert Lockwood Jr. and vocalist Jimmy Oden in August of that year. In November 1960, Otis recorded it again with Lightnin’ Hopkins on guitar and vocals. Barry presents the song as an instrumental. Barry concludes the album with Jimmy Witherspoon’s “Time Gets Tough”. Barry says “I make a lot of money, but I just keep spending that stuff. Times just keep getting tougher than tough.” “I can’t afford to live, but I guess I have to try. The undertakers have a union and costs as much to die” A song that was probably true over 60 years ago but resonates equally again today.
The album title calls the music correctly. This is pure blues with Barry’s dominant harmonica playing with solid backing by all the musicians on the album. Barry’s vocals are comfortable and well suited to his blues presentation.
