Chicago guitarist Jimmy Dawkins would have preferred to leave his longtime nickname "Fast Fingers" behind. It was always something of a stylistic misnomer anyway; Dawkins' West Side-styled guitar slashed and surged, but seldom burned with incendiary speed. Dawkins' blues were generally of the brooding, introspective variety -- he didn't engage in flashy pyrotechnics or outrageous showmanship.
It took a long time for Dawkins to progress from West Side fixture to nationally known recording artist. He rode a Greyhound bus out of Mississippi in 1955, dressing warmly to ward off the Windy City's infamous chill factor. Only trouble was, he arrived on a sweltering July day! Harpist Billy Boy Arnold offered the newcomer encouragement, and he eventually carved out a niche on the competitive West Side scene (his peers included Magic Sam and Luther Allison). Sam introduced Dawkins to Delmark Records boss Bob Koester. Fast Fingers, Dawkins' 1969 debut LP for Delmark.
by Bill Dahl
First released in 1969, after guitarist Jimmy Dawkins had served a long apprenticeship as a sideman in the Chicago electric blues scene, Fast Fingers remains one of the finest pure electric blues albums of its era. Dawkins proves to be a solid songwriter and an able singer, although the best moments on the album invariably come when he tears off a casually perfect, deeply soulful, but never showy electric solo. Highlights include the stomping instrumental "Triple Trebles," featuring an outstanding Dawkins solo over a funky horn-driven rhythm, and the mellow, laid-back opener, "It Serves Me Right to Suffer."
The album was finally reissued on CD in 1998 with a new cover and two fine outtakes from the original sessions, "Sad and Blues" (which features an exceptional extended solo by Dawkins) and "Back Home Blues," which is a 1969 recording with a new (1998) vocal by Dawkins.
by Stewart Mason
Tracks
1. It Serves Me Right To Suffer - 4:11
2. I Wonder Why - 3:09
3. I'm Good For Nothing - 5:16
4. Triple Trebles - 2:47
5. I Finally Learned A Lesson - 3:47
6. You Got To Keep On Trying - 4:17
7. Night Rock - 3:30
8. Little Angel Child - 3:59
9. I Don't Know What Love Is - 6:01
10.Breaking Down - 5:35
11.Sad And Blues - 4:55
12.Back Home Blues - 3:51
All songs by James Dawkins
Musicians
*Jimmy Dawkins - Guitar, Vocals
*Ernest Gatewood - Bass
*Joe Harper - Bass
*Lester Dorsie - Drums
*Lafayette Leake - Organ, Piano
*Mighty Joe Young - Guitar
*Eddie Shaw - Tenor Sax
Thanks very much, Marios.
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