Clarence Edwards – Baton Rouge Downhome Blues: Louisiana Swamp Blues Vol. 9
Wolf Records CD 120.635
16 songs – 71 minutes
Born in Lindsay, La., in 1933 and one of 14 children, Clarence Edwards toiled in obscurity as a farmer, scrap yard employee and guitarist for decades before finally being laying down several tracks for legendary British producer Mike Vernon in 1970 and eventually achieving fame on the national blues festival circuit in the late ‘80s. And he gets to live again 30 years after his passing with this compilation of tunes captured shortly before his passing in 1993.
An country-style artist in his youth, Edwards’ first efforts as a musician came in the ’50s as a member – along with his brother Cornelius — of the Boogie Beats before moving on to the Bluebird Kings and a group fronted by fiddle player Butch Cage, with whom he recorded for Folk Lyric.
Clarence developed a more contemporary style of play in his later years but disappeared from public view during the ‘70s and early ‘80s while holding down a day job. And he only laid down two albums during his lifetime, Swamp’s the Word on Sidetrack in 1988 and Swampin’ on New Rose in 1991. But his work has been memorialized in three previous posthumous collections, Sidetrack’s Thibodeaux’s Café in partnership with Howlin’ Wolf pianist Henry Gray and the Short Fuse band, Last Call’s I Looked Down That Railroad (Till My Eyes Got Red and Sore) and a previous Wolf release, Louisiana Swamp Blues Vol. 4 with Oscar “Harpo” Davis.
Credit for the material on this disc goes to Steve Coleridge, a blues bassist from the United Kingdom who rediscovered Edwards after moving to Baton Rouge in the late ‘80s to conduct research about another Gulf Coast treasure, harmonica player Slim Harpo. The songs here were recorded and mixed by Coleridge between 1990 and ’93 in Fort Worth, Texas, Edwardsville, Ill., Montgomery, Ala. and various locations in California. Coleridge holds down bass on all cuts along with drummer Ronnie Houston in a revolving lineup that includes Davis, Harmonica Red and John Gradnigo on harp, Gina Forsyth and Scott Shipman on violin. Pat Morrison sits in on six-string on one track. And an uncredited piano player appears on other.
A rock-steady version of Fats Domino’s “Every Night About This Time” opens the action with a true roadhouse feel, and Clarence’s powerful vocals shine throughout. It gives way to an unhurried take on Cornelius Green and Bruce Bromberg’s “Dealin’ from the Bottom of the Deck” on which Edwards shows off his electric guitar skills. A extended cover of the traditional “Crawlin’ King Snake” takes on an unusual feel with fiddle accompaniment before Clarence delivers a standard but solidly delivered arrangement of Magic Sam’s “All Your Love” that would have made the Chicago master smile.
His take on George Jackson’s “Down Home Blues,” however, comes across with a juke feel and a diminished impact of the Z.Z. Hill version. Violins add another dimension to Guitar Slim’s “Well, I Done Got Over It” but it still comes across with the same feel the originator imparted – as does a dose of Muddy Waters through “Still a Fool,” which follows. And the traditional “I’m the One” will have you and your honey gliding across the dance floor.
Next up, Bill Gaither’s “Rocky Mountain Blues” first saw the light of day in the ‘30s with Leroy Carr driving the melody, but it comfortably fits in Edwards’ style – as does “Don’t Make Me Pay for His Mistakes,” a tune that’s also been covered by B.B. King and Hill. Then it’s back to the Windy City again with a successful pairing of Muddy’s “I Want You to Love Me” and Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man.” The only original in the set, “Everybody Has Their Ups and Downs,” keeps the heat on high before Guitar Slim’s “The Things That I Used to Do,” Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day” and the traditional “Highway 61 Blues” bring the action to a close.
Hundreds of bluesmen have come and gone without receiving the attention they’ve deserved, and Clarence Edwards is one of them. If your tastes run to old-school Gulf Coast blues, you’ll love this one.
