Born 1946, Philadelphia, USA. Singer Hunt arrived in the UK during the mid-60s and emerged as a solo act following a spell in the chorus of the London production of Hair. A series of powerful live performances ensued, including the 1969 Isle Of Wight Festival, on which she was backed by Scottish group (White) Trash.
Her subsequent career included a period hosting a chat show on Capital Radio, and Hunt later drew publicity during a successful paternity suit against Mick Jagger. The artist’s thespian ambitions were furthered as a member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre and in 1985 she published her autobiography, Real Life. Hunt’s first novel, Joy, followed in 1990 and she has subsequently become established as a writer.
The term ‘multi-talented’ can’t be thrown around lightly, but for Marsha Hunt, it’s worth mentioning the fact. Aside from being a singer, she’s acted in a few known cult and horror flicks plus theatre, modelled, written novels, been an activist and at one point dated Mick Jagger. I know the latter isn’t a talent, but unfortunately that factor crops up way too much in any articles about her so let’s get it out of the way.
Yeah, she’s the huge-haired lady in Dracula A.D. 1972 (see review of Dracula A.D. 1972 here) as well as having roles in Britannia Hospital (the last of the If… trilogy), The Sender, and The Howling II. Balanced well into the mix is her debut LP, Woman Child. So late ‘60s and early ‘70s in sound, it is perfect and quite diverse in musical styles for that period. It deserves a listen because many of the sassy hot rock tunes will be the ideal backing for a smoke-filled living room sway with you and your friends in low light.
There’s a mish mash of remakes and Marc Bolan material (according to her autobiography he actually contributed musically to the album as well), all given a funked-up tempo with Marsha’s sexual vocals probably exciting a lot of young listeners at the time (her performances were supposed to be very erotic, showing breasts as lifting her arms, that kind of thing).
Starting with an Indian vibe spliced remake of Dr. John’s, Walk on Guilded Splinters off his Gris-Gris album. Martha does it proud adding more eerie magic to proceedings. She yells out some lyrics sounding like Tina Turner and makes it her own. After a brief and quickie interlude kind of spoofing her time in the infamous stage production of Hair, Hot Rod Pappa is up-tempo head-nodding and written by Marc Bolan, as is the following mellow almost late Beatles sounding, Stacey Grove.
One of the stronger moments on the album comes as No Face, No Name, No Number, a remake of a Traffic classic, and gives Martha time to really hit some strong notes, showing she can throw out a ballad and give you goosebumps. We just go pure big sound on, My World is Empty Without You. This one could have been a lead soundtrack tune, so of its time and filled with random choices of screams and instruments.
The album has blues, funk, a bit of psychedelic, ballads, country, and overall is a satisfying album. Her acting comes into her voice, she changes her delivery along with the ever-changing styles of music presented here.
by Jay Creepy, September 24 2020
Tracks
1. Walk On Gilded Splinters (Dr. John) - 3:30
2. Facing A Dying Nation (Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado) - 0:27
3. Hot Rod Pappa (Marc Bolan) - 3:18
4. Stacey Grove (Marc Bolan) - 2:19
5. No Face, No Name, No Number (Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood) - 3:42
6. My World Is Empty Without You (Brian Holland, Edward Holland Jr, Lamont Dozier) - 3:01
7. Moan You Moaners (Spencer Williams) - 3:00
8. Keep The Customer Satisfied (Paul Simon) - 3:01
9. Long Black Veil (Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin) - 2:37
Now this is more like it! Recorded in Osaka, Japan, in 1973, Twin Peaks was Mountain's second consecutive live album (with The Best of Mountain compilation between them), albeit featuring the re-formed, somewhat reconfigured version of the group, consisting of Leslie West (guitar, vocals), Felix Pappalardi (bass, vocals), Bob Mann (guitar, keyboards), and Allan Schwartzberg (drums). It overlaps with its predecessor, Mountain Live (The Road Goes Ever On) on only two cuts, "Crossroader" and "Nantucket Sleighride," and the latter is stretched out even further here than it was on the earlier album, to 32 minutes.
The content ends up showing off the best attributes of Mountain such as "Theme from an Imaginary Western," "Mississippi Queen," "Never in My Life," "Roll Over Beethoven" and a long version of "Nantucket Sleighride." But even the latter, at over half-an-hour, was precisely what audiences of the period were paying to see and hear, and captures the band's music in all of its excessive glory. Additionally, "Nantucket Sleighride" doesn't seem that long in the actual listening, mostly because it's difficult not to be impressed with the playing, especially the guitar dialogue between West and Mann. A worthy document of a Mountain concert at their summit.
by James Chrispell
Tracks
1. Never In My Life (Leslie West, Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins, Corky Laing) - 4:15
2. Theme For An Imaginary Western (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) - 5:01
3. Blood On The Sun (Leslie West, Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins) - 3:07
Where Leslie West's The Great Fatsby touched upon different themes and showed the guitar hero able to handle Free-style blues-pop, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones comes to the party to bring a different focus. Outside of a couple of covers and Mick Jones' composition "Singapore Sling," all the material is by West, Jones, and Laing -- a progression from West, Bruce & Laing, which was a progression from Cream producer Felix Pappalardi's work with the guitarist/drummer combo in the original Mountain. Not as heavy as those other two groups,
The Leslie West Band on record has more bite than The Great Fatsby, and as with the previous project, some big name players. John Lennon/Buzzy Linhart/Jim Croce keyboardist Ken Ascher is onboard, as is bassist Don Kretmer from the Blues Project. Leslie is in good company, and makes the most of it. Where he performed Rolling Stones material on Fatsby, here we have a dark and lovely rendition of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" -- Ascher getting a chance to work on Lennon material again as he did on Mind Games. And as Fatsby had "The House of the Rising Sun," Mann and Weil's "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" gets revised by the Leslie West Band.
It's a methodical version, Led Zeppelin lite, and is a decent album track, though the music without vocals seems to be the key to this album's real magic. "Singapore Sling" has beautiful Leslie West guitarwork on the Mick Jones set of riffs, while "Sea of Heartache" is a real gem that just stuns. It's a three-minute-33-second sort of ode to Black Sabbath where the musicians bring it up another notch. "By the River" and "Get It Up" aren't bad; it's just that they don't offer much new to the Leslie West repertoire. "By the River" ends much too fast as well, like someone just decided to turn down the sound as the side concludes prematurely. The Leslie West Band has our hero slugging it out in the trenches, and he gets a "B" for effort, which isn't a bad thing. One just would've hoped he kept from sliding back to the tried and true. It's the experimenting here that really shows what could have been, and this was the perfect time for the artist to reinvent himself.
Leslie West, died on Tuesday December 23rd 2020 at the age of 75, following a cardiac arrest, according to his brother.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. Money (Whatcha Gonna Do) - 3:37
2. Dear Prudence (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 4:47
3. Get It Up (No Bass - Whatsoever) - 2:59
4. Singapore Sling (Mick Jones) - 1:44
5. By The River - 2:53
6. The Twister - 2:27
7. Setting Sun - 3:41
8. Sea Of Heartache - 3:35
9. We'll Find A Way - 3:14
10.We Gotta Get out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 4:42
All songs by Leslie West, Corky Laing, Mick Jones, except where indicated
Faith Band, like most great groups, evolved through several powerful incarnations. From The Invincibles, to The Chosen Few, with an album on RCA, to Limousine, with an album on GSF, they got strong radio airplay building a large, enthusiastic following. With 1973’s move to Terry Knight’s Brown Bag Records, Faith Band was born. In addition to the debut “Faith” album with Carl Storie, vocals and harp, Dave Bennett, guitar, Dave Barnes, drums and percussion, Johnny Cascella, keyboards, sax and vocals, and Mark Cawley on bass and vocals, they went on to release four more commanding original albums on Village/Phonogram/Mercury records and toured nonstop.
Along the way, Nigel Olsson’s cover of Faith’s “Dancin Shoes” was a Top 20 hit. Carl and Mark formed the duo Blinding Tears, releasing a CD in 1986. Mark has gone on to be an award winning songwriter whose songs have been recorded by an amazing array of artists from Tina Turner and Joe Cocker to Wynonna Judd and Chaka Kahn just to name a few. Carl released a self-titled solo CD in 1992, while Dave Bennett released the jazzy “Out of the Bleu” in 2004. John Cascella moved to John Cougar Mellencamp’s band, where he lit the fuse on “Cherry Bomb” and many more. “Boots” sparkled on accordion and keyboards with Mellencamp until his premature death in 1992. Dave Barnes joined forces with his brother and helped build one of the largest music industry service companies.
Now, the remaining members of Faith Band and John Cooper - Faith Band, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr have revisited their musical vaults and selected these 19 tunes, most never heard before, from the original sessions. Coop assembled all the tracks and with loving care and today’s vastly improved audio technology, mixed them for us as they envisioned them originally. This digital download “Boxed Set” also includes a booklet and three videos taken from live gigs. With liner notes from longtime DJ friend Mike Griffin and brand new cover art from Wille Faust who did the first two Faith Band albums, this is a labor of love and a one of a kind must have for Faith Band fans.
The lucky ones were there, and caught the band live. Most others have only heard the stories. Now, hear the legacy of music and creativity that gave voice to a generation of change. Actually their first album contains songs that already they recorded as "Limousine" renamed with new titles and different track list.
Tracks
1. Sometimes Sometimes - 5:47
2. Freedom - 3:18
3. Answer To The Master - 6:14
4. Looking For A Friend - 4:19
5. Such A Lady Such A Lover - 3:53
6. Dreamy Eyed Lady - 5:08
7. We're All Headed In The Same Way-The Last Song - 5:15
8. The Last Song - 1:05
All songs by Carl Storie, David Bennett, John Cascella, Mark Cawley, Dave Barnes
Limousine was a band that created from the ashes of Chosen Few, with the turn of the decade they changed their name and their sound to more hard Rock influence, this time with the horns in a more discreet option and the keyboards getting imposed sometimes.
The vocals are still great, and the songs passing through funky blues and hard rock waves.
Tracks
1. A Song For Monique (David "Benny" Bennett) - 1:04
2. Sometimes (John Cascella, Carl Storie) - 5:46
3. Bitin' Grace (John Cascella, Carl Storie) - 6:13
The Chosen Few were a horn-rock group from Muncie Indiana and consisted of Carl Storie (lead vocals-percussion), Jack Hamilton (bass), Dave Bennet (electric/acoustic 12 & 6 string guitars), Dave Barnes (drums) and John Cascella (keyboards).
The group, originally a garage band, had earlier recorded for the local Denim label, releasing four singles among them "It Just Don't Rhyme" and then released a single on the Talun label which led to their contract with RCA.
Surely inspired by the success of such bands as Blood, Sweat & Tears, (and the sound that was popular in the Chicago area at the time), the group changed musical direction and with the help of Pete Dino and Lee Holdridge added horn arrangements to their sound. Speaking of B, S &T and Chicago, there are early remakes of “You Make Me So Very Happy” and “Beginnings” here, but the redeeming cuts here are “Safrowillie” (wish there were more cuts like this) and the album's closer "I Will Miss You".
by Jack Dominilla
Tracks
1. Talk With Me (Carl Storie, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella) - 2:45
2. You Make Me So Very Happy (Berry Gordy, Brenda Holloway, Frank Wilson, Patrice Holloway) - 3:23
3. Maybe The Rain Will Fall (Carl Storie) - 3:06
4. Sea Of Tranquility (Carl Storie, Jack Hamilton) - 3:48
5. Spend One Night (Carl Storie, Dave Barnes, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella) - 2:35
6. Beginnings (Robert Lamm) - 3:29
7. Safrowillie (Carl Storie, Jack Hamilton) - 4:49
8. I'll Never Change You (Carl Storie, David "Benny" Bennett, John Cascella, Jack Hamilton) - 2:25
Gypsy was a American progressive rock band from Minnesota, formed as The Underbeats (1962–1968). Gypsy was the house band at the Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, California for about eight months from September 1969 to 1970 and were known in 1970 for their US Billboard Hot 100 single "Gypsy Queen Part 1 and 2". Most of Gypsy's music was composed and written by guitarist and singer Enrico Rosenbaum. Drummer Bill Lordan went on to playwith Sly & the Family Stone and a long career with Robin Trower. Keyboardist James Walsh continued the band in variousincarnations as The James Walsh Gypsy Band. The group has no relation to the British band of the same name formed in 1968, who recorded two albums for United Artists Records in the UK.
Without much success Gypsy faded into obscurity as members left, they released their third Antithesis in 1972 and their fourth Unlock the Gates 1973, with Antithesis capturing some of the old sound but with Unlock the Gates the sound changes were set in place and a new entity called James Walsh Gypsy Band evolved which followed the Unlock the Gates sound and never caught on.
Tracks
Antithesis 1972
1. Crusader (Enrico Rosenbaum, James C. Johnson) - 3:10
2. Day After Day (James Walsh, Randall Cates) - 3:15
3. The Creeper - 3:10
4. Facing Time - 4:11
5. Lean On Me - 3:15
6. Young Gypsy - 3:06
7. Don't Bother Me (James Walsh, Enrico Rosenbaum) - 3:15
8. Travelin' Minnesota Blues - 2:33
9. So Many Promises - 2:25
10.Antithesis (Keep Your Faith) - 3:22
11.Edgar (Don't Hoover Over Me) (James C. Johnson) - 3:26
12.Money - 4:53
All compositions by Enrico Rosenbaum except where stated
Unlock The Gates 1973
1. Is That News? (Enrico Rosenbaum, James C. Johnson) - 3:15
2. Make Peace With Jesus (Enrico Rosenbaum, James Walsh) - 3:15
Another one of Bill Holme's All American Releases, Indescribably Delicious was formed in the Bay Area of California in the early 60's. The band became local favorites and by the mid 1960's was opening for such acts as Steppenwolf, The Turtles, The Yardbirds and many more. The band consisted of Jim Conroy on vocals, Gary Solomon on vocals and sax, Greg Munford played guitar, keyboards and sang, Art Johnson was on rhythm guitar and Mark Cohen the drummer.
The band recorded singles for the All American label and in 1969 completed their first album that was never released. The music of the band ranges from an r&b beat style similar to the Animals (with vocals remarkably sounding like Eric Burdon) to pop and even garage sounds. This album contains a dozen songs mostly written by band members except for a fantastic poppy cover of Pete Townsend's (The Who) classic, The Kids Are Alright, and two other obscure blues numbers. In the same vein as the more "popular" bands of the day such as Shadows Of Night, Every Mother's Son, The Monkees or the Outsiders, The Indescribably Delicious is one of those long lost gems that are waiting to be discovered. The only downside to this album is that it clocks in at under 30 minutes and leaves the listener wanting more.
by Keith Pettipas
The group was formed in the Bay Area in the early sixties. By the mid 1960's the group was opening for such acts as Steppenwolf, The Turtles, The Yardbirds, and several other popular acts of the day. After recording a bunch of singles for the All American label they released this first complete recording in 1969. The album cover is quite provocative and colorful, when one considers when this was released. Today people would not bat an eyelash or give it a second glance.
This is another one of those lost treasures that Akarma has uncovered and brought to the listener's attention, once again giving us a bit of history and counting in those bands that never got a fair chance. No band is insignificant enough not to be counted. Indescribably Delicious contributed a solid album's worth of material and more that is well worth giving your time and attention. The pleasure of course… will be all yours.
by Keith Hannaleck
Tracks
1. It's Been A Hard Hard Day (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:55
2. Big Ben (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon, Bob Feldman) - 2:38
3. Is It Love (Greg Munford) - 2:43
4. The Kids Are Alright (Pete Townshend) - 2:05
5. Baby I Love You (Jerry Ragovoy) - 2:14
6. Brother Where Are You (Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown Jr.) - 2:40
7. I Gotta Love You Again (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:54
8. Take A Little Bit Of Lovin' (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 1:53
9. The Rest Of My Life (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:14
10.Take Me For One Last Ride (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:33
11.In Too Deep (Greg Munford, Ruth Batchelor) - 1:45
12.The World Is Ended Right Now (Bill Holmes, Gary Solomon) - 2:27
At 10 songs each, Hiatt’s debut and sophomore solo sets confused the critics with their variegated musical styles and delivery. In retrospect, however, they have an air of foresight about them. The likes of Space and The Divine Comedy would meld similarly disparate elements, providing a rich, if sometimes gloopy, sonic mix, which is by turns captivating and jolting.
The astronomically-titled set mixes countrified piano and slide guitar with honky-tonk, glam-claps and some audacious humming, no less. Hiatt’s dulcet tones are Joe Cocker-esque on the Traffic-like Full Moon, while the upbeat title track throws everything in.
The follow-up saw Hiatt plough further down the Randy-Newman-on-the-rocks path, slurring his way through the likes of One More Time. Saxophone should usually be used in excessive moderation, but not so here. The horn section shines on the porn-vibe I’m Tired Of Your Stuff, while Distance could be Roy Harper in full-blown lucidity. The oddly-named title track is as jolly as you like, and while the critics hated I Killed An Ant With My Guitar, it was a way ahead of its time whistling lounge-yodel. The gospel of Motorboat To Heaven also stands up, there’s much to please.
Yellow Fever is about as good as Hot Tuna gets, an LP that lies schematically somewhere between their earlier acoustic work, which was folk-influenced, good-time music, and the live-wired, guitar/bass dialogues of later albums.
Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and a delightful reworking of another folk blues classic, "Hot Jelly Roll Blues", are covers, the rest of the tracks are originals, the best of which ("Song for the Fire Maiden," "Bar Room Crystal Ball") neatly combine Hot Tuna's greatest strengths: Jorma Kakounen's unselfconscious, entertaining vocals and his knife-edged guitar work, and Jack Casady's sensitive, expertly woven bass lines.
As an entity unto itself, Hot Tuna is a relaxing little group. But when I hear the breath-taking finale to "Somebody to Love" or the solo in "Volunteers," I realize that each successive Hot Tuna album simply marks time for two gifted musicians who said it a lot more interestingly the first time around.
by Billy Altman
Tracks
1. Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed) - 6:42
2. Hot Jelly Roll Blues (George Carter) - 4:21
3. Free Rein (Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Ziegler) - 4:14
4. Sunrise Dance with the Devil (Jorma Kaukonen) - 4:28
5. Song for the Fire Maiden (Jorma Kaukonen, Greg Douglass) - 4:16
6. Bar Room Crystal Ball (Jorma Kaukonen) -6:52
7. Half/Time Saturation (Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Bob Steeler) - 4:45
Here's another classic from the archives. Recorded in 1976, this is one of my all time favorite live recordings. Johnny is simply smokin' on this CD. The audio quality is very good and really captures the powerful sound of a live performance in a large outdoor venue. The four member band of two guitars, bass and drums features Floyd Rradford on second guitar. Floyd is an excellent guitarist, although his style is more technical than emotional, especially when compared to Johnny. Yeah, I know, Johnny is about as technically proficient as they come, but he still has a very strong emotional quality to his playing.
OK, I'll admit that as a blues-rock CD, this disc is heavy on 70's rock 'n roll. But Johnny plays some awesome blues leads and rhythm riffs throughout. And the set's closer, "Sweet Papa John", is slow power blues at it's best, featuring some very strong slide guitar work and classic Johnny Winter vocals. This is one of those CDs on which it is difficult for me to choose favorite songs. The CD overall is a continual transition from one hard-rockin' song to the next. Every song in the set is killer and filled with animated guitar playing. And even though the set's slow blues closer starts off at a bit of a relaxed paced, it builds to a high intensity barrage of guitar licks.
"Highway 61 Revisited" showcases Johnny's abilty on slide guitar, as it gets down to just him and the drummer for a long lead break for a good portion of the song. This song provides all the argument I ever need when I get into discussions with others about slide guitar players. Johnny is certainly not the only great slide player around, but he is definitely among the best.
Captured Live gives a great sense of what a Johnny Winter show was like in the 70's, when his music was very popular and drew huge crowds. While Johnny has recorded many excellent CDs, both before and after Captured Live, this one gives the listener a large, high quality dose of Johnny Winter style hard driving rock 'n roll and blues-rock. This is another "must have" for every lover of blues-rock guitar, and at a typical price of $10 at local music stores, is a real bargain.
Although his early Columbia albums brought him worldwide stardom, it was this modest little album (first released on Imperial before the Columbia sides) that first brought Johnny Winter to the attention of guitarheads in America. It's also Winter at the beginning of a long career, playing the blues as if his life depends on it, without applying a glimmer of rock commercialism.
The standard classic repertoire here includes "Rollin' and Tumblin'," "I Got Love if You Want It," "Forty-Four," "It's My Own Fault," and "Help Me," with Winter mixing it up with his original Texas trio of Red Turner on drums and Tommy Shannon (later of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble) on bass. A true classic, this is one dirty, dangerous, and visionary album. The set was issued in a sonically screaming 24-bit remastered edition on CD by Capitol in 2005. It contains no bonus tracks, but it leaves the original crummy CD issue in the dust.
by Cub Koda
More than fifty years ago, Johnny Winter and his band consisting of Tommy Shannon and Red Turner made musical history as they recorded the first official Johnny Winter Lp “The Progressive Blues Experiment.”
The 1969 masterwork featured 10 exciting songs from the likes of Johnny Winter " Black Cat Bone" “Mean Town Blues” and from some of his favorite artists and friends like Muddy Waters’ "Rollin’ & Tumblin’ ", B.B. King’s “It’s My Own Fault”, Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty Four” and Slim Harpo’s " I Got Love If You Want It."
The late artist always considered this one of his favorite albums as noted “The Progressive Blues Experiment” finds me doing what I know and love the best…pure blues."
The explosive album ignited his career prior to playing the Woodstock festival, and shortly afterwards he would go on to become a worldwide rock and blues superstar.
Tracks
1. Rollin' and Tumblin' (McKinley Morganfield) -3:09
2. Tribute to Muddy (Johnny Winter) - 6:20
3. I Got Love If You Want It (James Moore) -3:52
4. Bad Luck and Trouble (Johnny Winter) - 3:43
5. Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson, Ralph Bass) - 3:46
6. Mean Town Blues (Johnny Winter) - 4:26
7. Broke Down Engine (Traditional) - 3:25
8. Black Cat Bone (Johnny Winter) - 3:46
9. It's My Own Fault (B.B. King, Jules Taub) - 7:20
10.Forty-Four (Chester Burnett) - 3:26
11.Mean Town Blues (Johnny Winter) - 4:28
12.Black Cat Bone (Johnny Winter) - 3:47
Bonus Tracks 11-12 single versions on 2000 digi pak edition
Musicians
*Johnny Winter - Vocals, Electric Guitar, National Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Harmonica
Born as John Dawson Winter III on February 23, 1944, in Beaumont, Texas, where his brother Edgar Winter was born on December 28, 1946; both brothers were albinos. They turned to music early on, Johnny Winter learning to play the guitar, while Edgar Winter took up keyboards and saxophone. Before long they were playing professionally, and soon after that recording singles for small local record labels. Both of them were members of Johnny & the Jammers, whose 45 "School Day Blues"/"You Know I Love You" was released by Dart Records in 1959.
Other singles, either credited to Winter or some group pseudonym, were released over the next several years, including "Gangster of Love"/"Eternally," initially issued by Frolic Records in 1963 and picked up for national distribution by Atlantic Records in 1964, and "Gone for Bad"/"I Won't Believe It," also a 1963 Frolic single that was licensed by MGM Records in 1965. Winter had his first taste of chart success with a version of "Harlem Shuffle," recorded by the Traits, which was released by Universal Records, then picked up by Scepter Records and spent two weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1966.
Bringing Texas white-blues lightning to the world since 1969 – but on which albums did Johnny Winter flash brightest, strike hardest and blaze hottest? Johnny Winter, like his near-contemporary scion of the Texan upper-middle class William F Gibbons, was first exposed to blues and R&B because that was what his family’s maid listened to as she cooked and cleaned. He identified with the bluesmen because, like him, they were the wrong colour: they were black and he, as an albino, was too white. As a result, his own music was what his original bassist Tommy Shannon called ‘power blues’: “Blues, but played with the power of rock’n’roll.”
Onstage from the age of 15, he played blues, rock, pop and anything else anybody would pay for. Ten years later, following a rave review in Rolling Stone, his hot-wired, super-speedy blues-rock guitar and striking looks got him signed by a New York-based manager and sent out into the world to compete with Cream, Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. Soon persuaded to ditch his Texas blues band and go full-on hard rock, he scored his biggest success with the bludgeoning Johnny Winter And, acquiring a major heroin habit in the process.
His official major-label debut was both underweight and overcooked, lacking the raw spontaneity of his Austin demos, but the ‘three-sided’ Second Winter brought it all home, mapping JW’s blues-rock landscape in all its idiosyncratic glory.
Adding younger brother Edgar to the team on sax and keys, it had a great Richard Avedon sleeve-shot and a prime selection of originals and covers, including the 120mph fireball version of Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, Little Richard’s Miss Ann slowed down to a languorous Lowell Fulson-style shuffle and a hectic sprint through Chuckleberry’s Johnny B Goode which should be entirely unnecessary but somehow isn’t.
And the home-brewed tunes which made up the final vinyl side were just spectacular: the stomping slide epics I Love Everybody and Fast Life Rider, the hyper-speed Hustled Down In Texas and the jazzy I Hate Everybody all revealed Winter to be more than just another white boy lost in the blues.
And, to add to this embarrassment of Roadhouse Deluxe riches, the Legacy edition comes bundled with a scorchio 1970 live set cut at the Albert Hall (and including an early version of bro’ Edgar’s Frankenstein, not to mention his finest enraged-bee vocal impression on the Nashville Teens’ Tobacco Road).
Relegated to the vaults after Winter dumped his original band in favour of the former McCoys, it was replaced on the release schedule by the subtle-it-ain’t-overwhelming-it-is Live Johnny Winter And, loaded with nuggets such as Good Morning Little Schoolgirl and Jumpin’ Jack Flash, which turned out to be his all-time bestseller. Still, better 43 years late than never.
His 1973 "Still Alive And Well" post-rehab ‘comeback’ album is still Winter’s grooviest, funkiest and most likeable ‘rock’ effort, though the better, bluesier half of the And Live album runs it close. Produced by Rick Derringer, who contributed a few guitar cameos as well as writing two of the standout tracks (the title song and the gorgeous country ballad Cheap Tequila), Winter’s in full-on ‘giant refreshed’ mode, kicking off with a rousing, roaring Rock Me Baby. Elsewhere: the grittily bluesy Too Much Seconal, a hectic slide shuffle called Rock & Roll and Silver Train, a Goats Head Soup song the Stones gave him even before they cut it themselves.
Sadly Johnny Winter passed away on July 16th 2014 while on tour in Switzerland during the summer of that year. His final album, the guest-laden Step Back, was released a little over a month later, and it showed his skills as a guitar player in his last days had not diminished. For blues fans this is a must whereas for fans of hard rock or blues rock these albums that should at least be listened once in your lifetime. It will make you realize why Johnny Winter is truly a legend and an often underrated guitar player.
by Charles Shaar Murray
Tracks
Disc 1 Johnny Winter 1969
1. I'm Yours And I'm Hers (Johnny Winter) - 4:27
2. Be Careful With A Fool (Joe Josea, B. B. King) - 5:15
3. Dallas (Johnny Winter) - 2:45
4. Mean Mistreater (James Gordon) - 3:53
5. Leland Mississippi Blues (Johnny Winter) - 3:19
6. Good Morning Little School Girl (Sonny Boy Williamson) - 2:45
7. When You Got A Good Friend (Robert Johnson) - 3:30
8. I'll Drown In My Own Tears (Henry Glover) - 4:44
9. Back Door Friend (Lightnin' Hopkins, Stan Lewis) - 2:57
Disc 2 Second Winter 1969
1. Memory Pain (Percy Mayfield) - 5:33
2. I'm Not Sure (Johnny Winter) - 5:24
3. The Good Love (Dennis Collins) - 4:43
4. Slippin' And Slidin' (Eddie Bocage, Albert Collins, Little Richard, James Smith) - 2:48
5. Miss Ann (Enotris Johnson, Little Richard) - 3:42
6. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) - 2:49
7. Highway 61 Revisted (Bob Dylan) - 5:07
8. I Love Everybody (Johnny Winter) - 3:42
9. Hustled Down In Texas (Johnny Winter) - 3:34
10.I Hate Everybody (Johnny Winter) - 2:33
11.Fast Life Rider (Johnny Winter) - 7:00
Disc 3 Live Johnny Winter And 1971
1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (Don Level, Bob Love) - 4:35
2. It's My Own Fault (Jules Taub, Riley King) - 11:58
3. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 4:28
4. Rock 'n' Roll Medley - 6:47
.i. Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
.ii. Long Tall Sally (Enotris Johnson, Richard Penniman, Robert Blackwell)
.iii. Whole Lotta Shakin'Goin' On (Dave Williams, Sunny David)
5. Mean Town Blues (Johnny Winter) - 9:00
6. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) - 3:22
Disc 4 Still Alive And Well 1973
1. Rock Me Baby (Big Bill Broonzy, Arthur Crudup) - 3:49
2. Can't You Feel It (Dan Hartman) - 3:01
3. Cheap Tequila (Rick Derringer) - 4:05
4. All Tore Down (Joe Crane) - 4:32
5. Rock 'n' Roll (Johnny Winter) - 4:45
6. Silver Train (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 3:34
7. Ain't Nothing To Me (Eric Dunbar) - 3:05
8. Still Alive And Well (Rick Derringer) - 3:44
9. Too Much Secondal (Johnny Winter) - 4:22
10.Let It Bleed (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 4:11
11.Lucillie (Richard Penniman) - 2:45
12.From A Buick Six (Bob Dylan) - 2:38
Bonus Tracks 11-12
Disc 5 Saints And Sinners 1974
1. Stone County (Richard Supa) - 3:36
2. Blinded By Love (Allen Toussaint) - 4:29
3. Thirty Days (Chuck Berry) - 3:02
4. Stray Cat Blues (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) - 4:18
5. Bad Luck Situation (Johnny Winter) - 2:50
6. Rollin' 'Cross The Country (Edgar Winter) - 4:35
7. Riot In Cell Block #9 (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) - 3:12
8. Hurtin' So Bad (Johnny Winter) - 4:41
9. Bony Moronie (Larry Williams) - 2:39
10.Feedback On Highway 101 (Van Morrison) - 4:26
11. Dirty (Johnny Winter) - 4:00
Bonus Track 11
Personnel
Disc 1 Johnny Winter 1969
*Johnny Winter - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
Formed from the ashes of two disbanded rival groups that had played the same southern circuit, The Allman Joys (based in Florida) and the Men-its (based in Alabama), the group was booked in early 1967 into a month-long engagement in St. Louis, Missouri, where they met members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose manager, Bill McEuen, arranged for them a contract with Liberty Records.
Moving to Los Angeles, they were soon opening for groups like The Doors and Buffalo Springfield and recording their eponymous debut album, full of lighthearted poppy soul that was quite contrary to what the group was performing in various clubs and theatres in California such as the Fillmore West and Troubadour, picked out by the label from a pool of songwriters including Jackson Browne. The album flopped, perhaps because the group, aside from Gregg Allman, was sparsely used in the studio.
Onstage, the group rarely performed tracks from the album, preferring original material by the younger Allman alongside covers of Otis Redding and Yardbirds songs. Over the next few months, however, the group lingered, unable to perform outside of southern California due to label constraints. Eventually losing bassist Mabron McKinney, they soldiered on, performing concerts and recording a second album, Power of Love, which featured bassist Pete Carr. However, like their debut, Power of Love, which also featured the songwriting skills of Gregg Allman and material that fit the group much better than the material on their debut, flopped.
Pulling out one last-ditch effort by leaving Los Angeles to work at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the group recorded a handful of tracks that, for once, showed their full potential in the studio. After these tracks were rejected by the label, the group became dejected and broke up. The group over, Duane and Gregg Allman went to Jacksonville, Florida where they jammed with folk-rockers The 31st of February, featuring drummer Butch Trucks. The others went to do session work in Muscle Shoals.
With his brother back in Los Angeles, Duane Allman temporarily joined his fellow bandmates in Muscle Shoals, eventually forming The Allman Brothers Band, enticing his brother back from Los Angeles.
In 1966 Jack Grunsky located in Vienna Austria, and for ten years he was in the top of the European charts as a singer and songwriter, a few years of which with Jack’s Angels. He had his own weekly radio show “Folk with Jack” on ORF, before he returns back to Canada in 1974.
This is his first turn in 1966, full of beautiful acoustic folkies, backing them by his voice and guitar, most of them are original compositions except five covers.
Tracks
1. A Hard Time - 1:55
2. The Sound Of My Baby's Footsteps - 3:18
3. Ten Thousand Candles (Carolyn Hester) - 1:56
4. Ramblin' Boy (Tom Paxton) - 2:27
5. The Peculiar Time Of Year - 2:07
6. Follow The Drinkin' Gourd (Traditional) - 2:00
7. Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound (Tom Paxton) - 2:43
8. Over The Sea - 2:32
9. Wild Horses - 2:15
10.New York's Jewels (Butt Wegscheider, Jack Grunsky) - 2:32
