Earl “Guitar” Williams – The Soul King Of Bessemer, Al
Music Maker Foundation
10 songs – 31 minutes
Well, this is a treat. The Soul King Of Bessemer, Al is Earl “Guitar” Williams’ fourth solo album, and his first on the Music Maker label. It’s also a flat-out delight from first note to last. Williams is a long-time veteran of the soul blues circuit when not running his own hair salon in Bessemer, and his experience shows in both his tasty guitar playing and his gloriously weathered voice.
The album erupts out of the speakers with “Flashlight”, an upbeat shuffle with Williams’ guitar to the fore, and a protagonist who is looking for his absent baby in daytime with a flashlight. This is good old-fashioned blues, not blues-rock pretending to be blues. Williams has a clean, muscular guitar tone that cuts through the mix without the need for distortion or volume. “Flashlight” is followed by a striking cover of “California Dreamin'”, which places the emphasis squarely on his wonderful voice (although, to be fair, the guitar solo is also first rate). Williams receives excellent support from his band: Jimbo Mathus on drums, guitars and keys, Bronson Tew on bass, and backing vocals courtesy of The Crimestoppers. Mathus also produced the album, which was engineered and mastered by Tew.
Recorded at the Music Maker Foundation studio in Fountain, NC, The Soul King Of Bessemer, Al is a powerful and hugely enjoyable reflection of the types of songs that Williams plays at home in Bessemer. Indeed, there is a sense throughout the album as if someone managed to record for posterity a typical Williams performance in a smoky juke joint on a hot Saturday night.
There are some oft-covered crowd-pleasing classics, such as “The Sky Is Crying” and “Howling For My Darlin'”, one or two unusual choices that absolutely succeed (the aforementioned “California Dreamin'”) and Williams’ signature songs “Can Of Alligator” and “Hey Mr Gip”. Throughout, Williams demonstrates his mastery of and versatility across soul (“I Know You Love Me”), blues (“Can Of Alligator” – with a special shout-out to The Crimestoppers for their sublime backing vocals on this track – and “Woke Up This Morning”) and even a hint of country (“74 Blues”). “Hey, Mr Gip” sees Williams break out his slide for a song dedicated to the owner and operator of Gip’s Place, a Bessmer juke joint in Henry ‘Gip’ Gibson’s back yard, operated by Gibson until his 2019 passing at 99 years old.
The album ends with with the threatening, lumbering half-spoken shuffle of “Bring Me My Shotgun”, which one suspects could stretch out delightfully in a live setting.
The Soul King Of Bessemer, Al is a superb release from Earl “Guitar” Williams. Beautifully recorded, top class performances and highly recommended.
