John Hammond – Bear’s Sonic Journals: You’re Doin’ Fine
Owsley Stanley Foundation
www.owsleystanleyfoundation.org
45 songs – 3 hours 15 minutes
The son of the top producer and talent scout at Columbia Records, guitar John Hammond learned his craft while hanging out with a galaxy of stars from the first generation of country blues on his dad’s label and transporting them to gigs in New York City. He already was a major star himself with more than ten LPs when this three-disc album was recorded. But you’ve never heard him sounding better than what you’ll hear here.
What makes this collection different than anything else that’s been captured in Hammond’s 60-year career is the actual recording process, which is a story unto itself.
Laid down across two nights in 1973 at The Boarding House in San Francisco, The man running the board was Owsley Stanley, aka Bear, the Dead’s longtime soundman. And while you might recognize his name because of the version of LSD that psychedelicized the ’60s, Owsley was a genius in many ways. He was a genius in whatever he did, including electronics and his passion to capture a live performance in a way that no one else did.
Obsessive about high-fidelity sound, it was his desire to capture the Dead and all of his subjects in a manner that emulated the same feel produced in rehearsal. When it came to live shows, his goal was to reproduce the music emanating from the stage along with all of the ambient sounds of the audience in addition to the star himself – an approach that differed from mainstream labels, which re-engineered the product to eliminate all but the tunes themselves.
He achieved the feat after years of tinkering thanks to the careful and precise placement of microphones around the room, and he called the end result his “Sonic Journals.” And many of his best recordings were captured at The Boarding House, then the top nightclub in Bay Area, a place that hosted musical talent that ranged from Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead to Dolly Parton and the Talking Heads and the occasional bluesman and launched the careers of Robin Williams, Steve Martin and other top comics, too.
Young John lives again through this performance. You can hear a pin drop as he sits on a stool mid-stage accompanied by only his harmonica and acoustic guitar. Every string he hits, rings like a bell, beginning with a cover of Willie Dixon’s “Wang Dang Doodle,” concluding with Chuck Willis’ “Too Late, She’s Gone” and sandwiching 43 other tunes from the first half-century of blues in between. And all the applause and interplay between the singer and the crowd are so fresh and clear, you’re virtually seated in the audience, too.
All of your favorites are here, including Muddy Waters’ “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” Dixon’s “Help Me” and “Shake for Me,” Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Honeymoon Blues” and “Traveling Riverside Blues,” Billy Boy Arnold’s “I Wish You Would,” Slim Harpo’s “King Bee,” Elmore James’ “Look on Yonder’s Wall,” Little Walter’s “You’re So Fine,” Blind Boy Fuller’s “Rag Mama” and “Truckin’ Little Baby,” Tampa Red’s “It Hurts Me Too” and John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen” and “Ground Hog Blues.”
And not to be overlooked are L’il Son Jackson’s “Gambling Blues,” Black Ace’s “Hitchhiking Woman,” Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Death Bells,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Riding in the Midnight,” Mose Allison’s “Ask Me Nice,” Son House’s “Preachin’ Blues,” Chuck Berry’s “No Money Down” and more – all of which are delivered passionately by John, who breathes new life into all of them with few repetitions in the set.
As great as the music is in and of itself, making this collection an over-the-top success is the packaging. The CDs are housed within a 68-page booklet — essential reading that details Owsley’s work, all aspects of the nights in question and also takes a deep, deep dive into Hammond’s early career along with a remembrance from Tom Waits, who served as John’s opening act for these sessions.
Don’t miss this one. It’s special!