The Too Bad Jims – Over The Hill

Thunder Town Music – 2024

https://thundertownmusic.com

10 tracks; 31.54 minutes

This is a new band, based in the UK but containing two Americans. Little Victor Mac is perhaps best remembered for his work with the late Louisiana Red; Son Jack Jr. moved to England more recently from his Seattle location. Both men are avid fans of the North Mississippi Hill Country style of blues, and of RL Burnside in particular. They had met over social media and as soon as both were living on the same side of the pond they decided to work together. Their choice of drummer was Nick Simonon, and if that name sounds familiar, yes, Nick is the brother of The Clash’s Paul. Between them they bring plenty of energy to the music; Little Victor actually played with RL (as well as others including Jesse Mae Hemphill and Robert Belfour), Son Jack enjoyed a successful career in the States, releasing three albums under his own name and touring with Charlie Musselwhite; Nick has toured with The B52s and The Clash and plays in a style not unlike RL’s grandson, Cedric Burnside. The material here is drawn entirely from RL’s catalogue and the sleeve notes explain in detail the origins of the songs, many drawn from traditional sources but usually credited to RL in that long-standing blues practice of appropriation.

Vocals are shared between Victor and Jack and both play guitar. Much of the material is relentlessly upbeat, typified by the opener “Miss Maybelle”, the grungy guitars over basic and insistent drums, all very much in the style of the originals. “Going Down South” is perhaps RL’s best known song, having been covered many times; the Jims’ version is heavy on the slide work, the vocals sounding a little ‘distant’. “Long Haired Doney” rattles along before “Peaches” provides more of a John Lee Hooker approach. We return to the faster pace with another well known RL tune, “Black Mattie” before some Elmore James style slide on “Out On The Road” (also known as “I Got To Find My Baby”), again with distorted vocals. “Jumper On The Line” was the title track of one of RL’s albums, another tune that barrels along impressively. It’s quite a short track, as are “Skinny Woman” and “Over The Hill”: RL’s tribute to his wife, “Alice Mae”, completes the album.

Fans of North Mississippi Hill Country blues should enjoy this tribute, clearly put together with admiration by the band, or, in their own words, “a humble tribute to our hero RL Burnside and his music”.

Blues Blast Magazine Senior writer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK who enjoys a wide variety of blues and roots music, especially anything in the ‘soul/blues’ category. Favorites include contemporary artists such as Curtis Salgado, Tad Robinson, Albert Castiglia and Doug Deming and classic artists including Bobby Bland, Howling Wolf and the three ‘Kings’. He gets over to the States as often as he can to see live blues.

Blind John Davis – Magic Carpet

Document Records

http://www.document-records.com

24 Tracks – 76 minutes

John Henry Davis was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on December 7, 1913. His family moved to Chicago when he was just two years old. At age 9, John stepped on a rusty nail and was incorrectly treated causing an infection that resulted in his blindness. He learned to play the piano in his father’s speakeasy and started his career in 1937 as a staff pianist. Between 1937 and 1942, he recorded with Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Tampa Red and many others.  He later teamed up with Lonnie Johnson in the 1940’s and toured Europe with Big Bill Broonzy in the early 1950’s, where he gained greater recognition than in the US.

Davis frequently said he did not really like to play the blues but preferred to play Fats Waller styled jazz. Memphis Slim explained that recording with Davis generally involved John starting a blues or boogie pattern and then the artist he was recording with improvised their sound to accompany him.

In 1938, the first six songs on the album were recorded for Vocation with George Barnes on electric guitar on the first four and Willie B. James (possibly) on acoustic guitar for tracks 5 and 6. and Alfred Elkins on bass for all six.  The album opens with “Jersey Cow Blues” with a slight double entendre involving the cow. Next up is “Booze Drinking Benny”, a tale of a man who “if he can’t get liquor, he will drink kerosene”. On “Alley Woman Blues”, he says, “I don’t want no woman from the avenue, one from the alley will do”.  He proclaims that he has “Got the Blues So Bad” “since my baby went away”. In later years, Davis disavowed his involvement with ” I Love My Josephine” and some believe John “St. Louis Mike” McBailey might actually be the vocalist, but it is still attributed to Davis as the vocals sound more like Davis.  “Anna Lou Breakdown” introduces us to Davis’ boogie -woogie style.

The next three songs include Ransom Knowling on stand-up bass and either George Barnes or Nate Harper on acoustic guitar.  these were likely recorded in 1948. “No Mail Today” is a sad statement of loneliness as he “dreams my baby came back to me”. “Walkin’ and Talkin'” gets a jazzy upbeat as he says, “that is all I have done since you have been gone”.  On “My Red”, he cries “look what you have done to my heart…you deceived me all the time”.

The next three songs also probably from 1948 again features Knowling on bass, but with Willie Lacey on guitar. On “Honey Baby” he declares, “You told me that you loved me, was mine completely, then you turned around and left me all alone”.  The “Telegram to My Baby” read “I will be home soon, never more to roam, I know I have been bad…please take me back baby”. “Your Love Belongs to Me”.  is a sweet love song as he tells her “Like the flowers on the vine, your love just gets sweeter than wine”.   The next two songs also from 1948 again features Barnes and Knowling.  He proclaims, “The Day Will Come” “when you regret the many wrongs you did to me”. “Magic Carpet” is a rollicking boogie-woogie instrumental with George given an opportunity to shine as well.

In 1951, while traveling with Big Bill Broonzy in Europe, John was given the opportunity to record nineteen solo instrumentals for Vogue Records, the first of those eight are included next starting with the rousing Paris Boogie (Boogie Woogie)”. “O Solo Mio” is a jazzy piano solo of the well-known song. “Sunrise Boogie” and “Rockin’ in Boogie” gets things jumping again. “Everybody’s Got the Blues” is a moody, jazzy solo. “How Long Blues” and “Hometown Blues” are laidback blues numbers. “Davis Boogie” concludes the set of eight songs in high style.

The final two songs on the album were recorded in 1961 with Al Wynn’s Gutbucket Seven. A lengthier, vocal version of “How Long Blues” is the first cut.  On “Honey”, he declares that “I loved you from the very first, my little angel”.

As noted in the title, this is the first of two volumes, the latter likely picking up in in the latter years of this volume and extending into numerous albums recorded up into the 1970’s. Blind John Davis died in 1985 after suffering a heart attack in Chicago as his son was driving him to the airport to go to a concert in Charleston, South Carolina.

This album was previously released in 1999, but Document Records re-mastered the recording. While some surface noise still exists on the early recordings, as anyone familiar with the transfer of old 78 records to modern sounds would expect, their noise reduction offers a quality sound that is not impacted by the slight hiss that remains.

If you are not familiar with Blind John Davis, or even if you are, if you enjoy piano blues, this would be a highly recommended album for any blues lover. John is an accomplished blues pianist with a warm, smooth voice.

Writer John Sacksteder is a retired civil engineer in Louisville, Kentucky who has a lifelong love of music, particularly the blues. He is currently the Editor of the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s monthly newsletter.

Cary Baker – Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking & Street Music

Jawbone Press

http://jawbonepress.com

256 Pages Softcover Edition

As we learn in Cary Baker’s “A Brief History of Busking,” the introduction to Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking & Street Music, street singing and public entertainment, particularly musical entertainment, have been around since the days of ancient Roman. In fact, there were recorded instances of street singing in ancient Greece as well.

Baker goes on to explain the etymology of “busking” and how the term described those street musicians: The term busker may have its root in the Italian word ‘buscare,’ along with the Spanish word ‘buscar,’ meaning to look for. The Spanish word traces its origins to the Indo-European word ‘bhud-sko,’ meaning to win or conquer. From there, it seems to have entered the English lexicon as what Merriam-Webster defines as ‘a person who entertains in a public place for donations.’

After this highly informative introduction, Down On The Corner (DOTC) takes the reader on a historical journey through both time and place. The book is divided into five (5) key sections: Part 1 is the origins of street music from Baker’s personal perspective as a youngster growing up in Chicago; Parts 2, 3, and 4 tell the story of street music and busking through the eyes of individuals from the East Coast through the South and Midwest and, finally, to the land of California, while Part 5 touches on the street musicians of Europe.

Cary Baker is a highly-regarded music industry insider…a publicist, journalist, author, and reissue record producer.

The forward by Dom Flemons, titled “Feeding the Street,” is a terrific piece of self-reflection and insights. Flemons, a Grammy Award-winning artist and music scholar, and a co-founder (now, a former member) of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the groundbreaking all string Black band. Flemons explains the term “feeding the street” as busking in his home state of Arizona helped him develop as a musician and performer:

“Once I began to play in clubs and bigger venues, I never forgot the lessons in resilience and stagecraft I learned feeding the street. When you know that the audience doesn’t have to give you their attention, your method of delivering a performance changes drastically to get it.”

Flemons goes on to tell how live musical performances affect audiences, even those just passing by.

“Music has always been about connecting with one another. Whether vocal or instrumental, there is nothing like a live musical performance and the impression it leaves on the audience. It can change the mind, melt the heart, or bring the hairs of the arm or head up on end in sheer excitement. There are many ways to experience music, but none are more organic and visceral than the sound of the busker standing out on the street and entertaining for everyone to hear.”

The book kicks off with Baker’s memories of Chicago’s Maxwell Street, located west of The Loop and close to the downtown campus of the University of Illinois. Maxwell Street may best be remembered as the iconic urban neighborhood scene from The Blues Brothers movie. In the 1940s, Maxwell Street and its outdoor markets and became the “outdoor stage” for many Chicago blues greats, including: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Robert Nighthawk, and Chuck Berry.

Maxwell played a key role in Baker’s interest in the blues and the Black musicians who played in the legendary neighborhood on Sundays. Baker provides the reader with vivid details of the music and activity on Maxwell Street, right down to flea market merchants loudly hawking their wares to the sound and smell of Polish sausage frying in vendor stalls. For Baker, it was the music, mostly blues music, that drew him back to Maxwell almost every Sunday, and one of those local musicians, Blind Arvella Gray, became the subject of Baker’s first published article. As Baker puts it, I was sixteen, and my life as a writer had begun.

Part One continues with a history of urban “doo-wop” groups that performed on the streetcorners of major U.S. cities, primarily in the North and Midwest. Of particular interest is the territoriality and rivalries among doo-wop groups and their rising stars, which was based on neighborhood pride and, often times, on ethnicity. Famous doo-wop crooner Dion, for example, was a member of a Bronx-based Italian gang.

DOTC returns to the blues with a chapter on three bluesmen from the pre- and post-WWII eras who started out busking and eventually influenced a new generation of blues artists. Blind Lemon Jefferson, born and raised in Texas, performed on the streets of the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas. Reverend Gary Davis played and preached in front of storefronts for most of his adult life, starting in Durham, North Carolina, and making his way to New York City. The Reverend Pearly Brown was from Abbeville, Georgia, and made his home in Americus, about an hour by car. Brown’s slide-playing style was said to have influenced both Duane Allman and Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers Band.

Part Two begins with anecdotes about the folk music revolution in New York’s Washington Square Park, including the likes of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Oliver Smith (out of Atlanta), Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin), and, of course, the men on DOTC’s cover: Satan (Sterling Magee) and Adam (Gussow). The unlikely duo came to prominence when briefly featured playing on a Harlem street in U2’s 1988 Rattle and Hum concert movie.

The historical journey moves to the South and Midwest in Part Three with anecdotes about Cortelia Clark, a blind street singer who performed in Downtown Nashville. Founding members of the Nashville-based Old Crow Medicine Show reflect on their origins, playing on the streets. Busking in New Orleans is given prominence with two (2) chapters detailing street singing in the Big Easy for more than a century. Of particular interest is the brief profile of Grandpa Elliott, a soulful blues singer who, during the 1980s and 90s, became a fixture in the French Quarter.

DOTC’s journey finally goes west to the land of California, where the reader learns about modern-day troubadours like Peter Case, the re-birth of Grammy-winner Fantastic Negrito, and the beachfront carnival that is Venice Beach.

Elvis Costello is featured in the beginning of Part Five: Europe, which, frankly, could be an entire book by itself. This part contains more interesting anecdotes, including award-winning Irish musician Glen Hansard being encouraged in his early teens to take his “guitar into town and start busking” by the headmaster of his school. Other noteworthy stories include American-born satellite-radio DJ ‘Mojo Nixon’ recalling his early twenties as a busker in London.

For the music history enthusiast, Down On The Corner offers remarkable insight into the world of street musicians and singers, some of whom went on to commercial success and some whose legacies have faded with time. A highly recommended must-read and must-have.

Writer Ken Billett is a freelance writer based in Memphis. He is a Blues Foundation member and former docent/tour guide at the Blues Hall of Fame. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Ken writes about travel, music, and the Mississippi Delta.

Jola Recchioni – Gone To Find My Blues

Self Release

https://jolarecchioni.bandcamp.com

11 songs time – 43:38

I truly try to be fair in my reviews, but there come times when something just can’t be spun without fudging the truth. Polish “singer” Jola Recchioni is a difficult pill to swallow. Even after repeated listens to adjust to her accent, it isn’t a pleasant experience trying to decipher her lyrics. Producer Oliver McKiernan’s guitar and bass playing is much more talented and pleasing. He knows his way around blues and blues-rock styles. The only other musician is an un-credited drummer. Jola wrote or co-wrote every song.

If you can make heads or tails out of the lyrics there are a few creative moments. In the song “Welcome To The Mundane” Jola talk-sings her way through this recording. I find it an awkward listen.

On the mysterious “The Sorceress” I like the line “Time is not your friend”. “Oh You Blues Tunes” makes references to Memphis, St. Louis, crossroads, The Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson, Big Mama Thorton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Janis Joplin among others.

The star of the show as I previously mentioned is Oliver Mckiernan’s varied guitar skills. Witness his electric slide guitar on “Tiny Missed Beat”. He often overlays two guitar parts. His chosen guitar tones are uplifting. Jola’s “singing” recalls Natasha from The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle or a spy interrogating a prisoner-“We have ways of making you talk”. Make of this what you will, but the only thing I like here is the musical accompaniment. I calls ’em like I sees ’em.

Reviewer Greg “Bluesdog” Szalony hails from the New Jersey Delta.

It’s possible you didn’t know his name before, since he supports others being in the spotlight.  But you probably have appreciated Mike Merritt’s outstanding talent.  At times it appears that he is omnipresent, with so many artists hoping to benefit from his expertise in the bass guitar.  He has toured with Johnny Copeland and Levon Helm, was seen for years as part of the band on all of Conan O’Brien’s late-night TV shows, consistently plays the Big Blues Bender as part of the Bender Brass Band and is frequently featured in bands scheduled to play on blues-themed cruises.

Merritt’s father, Jymie, was considered a key figure in the jazz world during the late 1950s and 1960s.  However, he actually straddled both the jazz and blues worlds, playing with Art Blakey and touring with BB King.  When his parents separated, Merritt’s father moved to New York and Merritt later started spending summers with him, learning more about his work.

“I was initially turned off from music as a young child because my school insisted that I should learn flute and the instructor was not a nice guy.  I was a little kid and would always run out of breath at the lesson. I would feel light-headed and feel like I was going to pass out, but he was a taskmaster and would say ‘get back to it’.  I thought that if this is what it is like to play music, I didn’t want to do it.  But then, a few years later, my dad got me started playing bass.  I got interested in what he was doing when I saw that he played electric bass as well as the upright, and I met his musical peers, (jazz players like Freddie Hubbard and Philly Joe Jones).  That is what got me into playing music, and I took private lessons from some of his colleagues in Philly. They were in a group my dad put together called The Forerunners.  I also took some upright bass lessons from a classical teacher, but mostly it was learning from my dad’s colleagues.”

Merritt moved to New York in the 1980s, where he met and ended up touring with Johnny Copeland.

“Johnny gave me my start in the blues world.  I toured the world with him, and he was a huge influence on me.  I learned a lot about life and the blues from him.  His whole personality as a blues man had a strong effect on me, along with the other people who were in the band.  He was a very original blues man, and he had a unique take on the world and a unique presence on stage.  I’m so glad that the opportunity was there.  He was one of the best that I have ever had the chance to play with and learn from.”

When asked if he could identify the most important lesson he learned from Copeland, Merritt did not hesitate to respond.

“Dealing with adversity.  You have to figure out a way to keep going.  For example, we were playing in a small New England town, and we were an integrated band playing to a white audience.  There were guys at the bar making borderline racist comments and for a minute we thought we might have to fight our way out of there.  Then a guy made a racist comment about watermelon, and Johnny said, ‘hey—when you find some, let me know where it is.’  He defused the situation, and a lot of the folks there dug it even more.  He just had that way about him.  He came out of Houston, Texas and was a boxer as a young man.  He had been through so much and had this wisdom that was beyond his years.  He also showed me that it doesn’t matter if you are playing for a thousand people or ten people, always give 110 percent.  Johnny would always give it everything he’s got.”

After playing with Copeland, Merritt joined Johnnie Johnson’s band, as did Jimmy Vivino.  When Vivino and Max Weinberg put the band together that auditioned to be the house band for Conan O’Brien’s Late-Night show on NBC, Merritt got the call. O’Brien was impressed with the band’s performance.

“He said the reason he liked it is that we were enthusiastic, with great energy and didn’t act like we were too cool for the room.  So, as The Max Weinberg Seven, we became the house band for the host who replaced David Letterman.  It was a shaky start, since Conan was an unknown and there were these big expectations, as Letterman was so revered.  But the show found its footing and we did it for over 25 years.”

With over four thousand shows, it was understandably difficult for Merritt to identify one favorite Conan O’Brien story.

“All I can say is that what I liked best about Conan, and when he was the funniest, was when he went off-script.  He is quick on his feet and very smart and always found a way to make gold out of any circumstance.  He was also always positive with the guests.  He always respected the guests and was never condescending.  Some of the musical guests that came on in the beginning were not well-known at the time, like Sheryl Crow and Green Day, but went on to be very successful, so the show became known as a place for up-and-coming musical artists and stand-up comedians.”

Merritt had moved to Los Angeles during the time he was on the show, first on The Tonight Show, and then on Conan at TBS.  After that show ended, he was doing some free-lancing around L.A.

“But then the pandemic hit and everything stopped.  I was not feeling positive about staying in L.A., so decided to move to Las Vegas, as I had a few musician friends who were living there.  I met Jimmy Carpenter when he was doing a gig at the Sand Dollar and one day he asked me to step in and play.  He later asked me if I would do the Big Blues Bender as part of the Bender Brass Band in 2021, and I have done every Bender since then.  The Bender Brass Band also did an overseas festival in France in 2023.  Then we started doing the Big Easy Cruise.”

As part of the Bender Brass Band, Merritt must be able to quickly learn a large number of songs to back a variety of different types of artists.

“I can adapt very quickly to people’s styles.  You have to come in with a skill set and learn quickly how to adjust to them.  But all that I did for the TV shows prepared me for that.  You would get musical guests come on and I would not be scheduled to play with them, but then at the last minute I would have to learn their song in just a few minutes without sheet music and try to play it like I’ve been playing with them forever.  That skill set came in very handy at The Bender, where there are dozens of songs to learn and so many different artists.  You have to give them what they need to make them shine.”

When asked about his preferences for instruments/equipment, Merritt noted the following:

“My favorite instruments are the 64’ Fender Jazz Bass, 62’ Reissue Fender Jazz bass, Sadowsky J-Bass and Fodera Custom Monarch bass guitars.  For amplification I prefer Aguilar, Guitar straps by Jodi Head and strings by D’Addario.”

Merritt is currently working on an album that is a tribute to the man who played such an important role in influencing his career, Johnny Clyde Copeland.

“This project has been kicking around in my head for a couple of years.  Towards the end of 2023 I was on the road, sitting in a hotel room, somewhere in the world, thinking about how I got here, and I thought all the way back to when I started.  I thought about how Johnny was so instrumental in getting me to where I am.  I was thinking about the time I spent with him and the songs I played with him, so this recording project is a reflection of the time I spent with him.  I picked a dozen of his songs that resonated the most with me and decided to reach out to some of my colleagues and friends in the business.  I asked some guest artists to sing these songs and hope to make it something that would show to a younger audience of fans what Johnny was like as a songwriter.  I have guests like Joe Bonamassa, Popa Chubby, Jimmy Vivino, Joe Louis Walker, and his daughter, Shemekia Copeland. The work is still in progress, but I hope to have it finished by the middle of the year.  I’m excited about it because it is heartfelt.  I want to show some attention to how great a blues man he was, and how he was a great songwriter.”

Merritt is also an avid fan of classic movies and helps educate others about classic films.

“Several years ago, I noticed on Turner Classic Movies that they were inviting people to submit themselves to be a guest programmer. I’ve been a classic movie fan forever, so, I applied, and they accepted.  I introduced the 1946 film, The Best Years of our Lives, about the soldiers coming back from WWII.  I introduced that movie with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and had a great time.  Later I became friends with the late Ted Balch, who was head of the film program at Harvard Westlake in Los Angeles, and he would invite me to come in and introduce and comment on some classic films.  We shared so much of the same enthusiasm for those films.”

Most recently, Merritt joined The Musician Advisory Committee as part of the Blues Foundation, in Memphis.

“They wanted to put together this advisory board to reflect the concerns of musicians in the blues community.  They asked me to join, along with Billy Branch, Terrie Odabi, Kevin Burt, Wayne Goins and Molly Young.  Another thing I am involved with is the National Recording Preservation Board at the Library of Congress.  This is a board made up of people in the industry, including producers, engineers and musicians.  They make recommendations to the Library of Congress about what should get enshrined and preserved for cultural and artistic significance.  I’ve championed some artists that were not yet represented, like Ruth Brown and Ike Turner’s song, ‘Rocket 88’.”

Reflecting back on his career so far, Merritt stated that he believes he has “a history of being at the right place at the right time”.  However, it is clearly his considerable talent that has given him these outstanding opportunities.  You know you’ve seen him before—now you know his name. You can find out where Mike Merritt is performing next by going to www.mikemerritt.com, Facebook: Mike Merritt, Instagram: merritt8163

Writer Anita Schlank lives in Virginia, and is on the Board of Directors for the River City Blues Society. She has been a fan of the blues since the 1980s. She and Tab Benoit co-authored the book “Blues Therapy,” with all proceeds from sales going to the HART Fund.