In 1968, Tennessee's "Sleepy" John Estes was, in many ways, the polar opposite of modern Chicago bluesmen like Muddy Waters or Junior Wells. Whereas the Chicago players were urbane and sophisticated, leaving their Delta roots far behind them, Estes remained in the south, pursuing his distinctive vision of the country blues.
Estes spent years on the road during the 1920s and '30s traveling the well-worn medicine show circuit, often accompanied by guitarist Yank Rachell and harp player Hammie Nixon. Estes would be "re-discovered" in the early-60s in Brownsville, Tennessee, enjoying a brief revival of touring and recording until his death in 1977.
Recording Electric Sleep
At first blush, the idea of placing a rural bluesman like Estes in the studio with some of Chicago's most mature and talented blues musicians seemed like pure madness. However, Delmark's Bob Koester had seen Estes perform live alongside some of these players, easily keeping pace with his urban peers, and he thought that it would work in the studio.
The result was originally released in 1968 as Electric Sleep, the album featuring Sleepy John accompanied by an all-star band of Chicago bluesmen, including pianist Sunnyland Slim, guitarist Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins, harp master Carey Bell, and drummer Odie Payne, Jr., among others. Although reviled by blues purists at the time, in retrospect it was a gutsy move by both Estes and Koester, and the album - reissued in 2007 as On The Chicago Blues Scene - holds up well after all these years.
Sleepy John Estes' On The Chicago Blues Scene
With the legendary Sunnyland Slim tickling the ivories with his magic fingers, and with Jimmy Dawkins adding his stellar six-string work, On The Chicago Blues Scene opens with the lively "I Ain't Gonna Sell It." Estes' normally languid voice is up to the challenge, the 69-year-old country bluesman keeping the beat in time with drummer Odie Payne's rhythms.
"Laura Had A Dream" jumps off the line with slower-paced vocals and a shuffling rhythm, Estes' voice wrapping the lyrics in soul as Payne delivers some interesting martial drum fills. Slim spanks the keys and Dawkins embellishes the song with his great tone and smooth-as-silk fretwork.
Walking Down Beale Street
The rollicking "Walking Down Beale Street" hits the ears like straight Chicago-styled blues, with Dawkins' resonant guitar and Slim's ever-present piano dominating the soundtrack. Carey Bell, best-known for his effervescent harp playing, adds a distinctive element to the song with a rolling bassline that zigs-and-zags beneath Estes' trebly vocals, the lyrics name-checking a veritable history of blues and hillbilly songs in its homage to the blues roots of Memphis.
"Everybody Oughta Make A Change" is a dynamite slow blues-romp with its roots firmly on Maxwell Street, Bell blastin' away at the harp and providing a solid underpinning to Estes' passionate vocals. "Need More Blues" is another raucous, deliberate Chicago blues stomp, Slim slamming notes like punches in a prizefight. Estes' punch-drunk vocals show the full range of the artist's incredible fire and emotion, Dawkins' jazzy six-string flourishes attempting to bring order to the out-of-control bout.
Estes' "How To Sing These Blues" is a lesson from the master, his understated voice staggered and swaggering beneath the mix, the legendary Earl Hooker providing a steady rhythm to the song as Bell brings his harp, full-tilt, to the forefront while Slim's piano riffing knocks out a few sparks of its own in the background. It's a rockin' number, a thoroughly enjoyable blues romp. By contrast, "Easin' Back To Tennessee" is a laid-back walk through the country blues, Estes' voice showing its full power, soaring above a sparse but energetic soundtrack.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Although it was seen at the time as pure blue blasphemy, Sleepy John Estes' On The Chicago Blues Scene a/k/a Electric Sleep was a worthy pairing of a still-vital elder statesman of the blues with the cream-of-the-crop of Chicago blues musicians. Not every performance here works, but more often than not Estes works well in the studio with talents like Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Dawkins, and Carey Bell.
Never a spectacular guitarist, his rhythm more of placekeeper than headcutter, Estes' voice was his ace-up-the-sleeve, a strong instrument capable of understated dignity and unbridled power alike. Combined with instrumentalists of the aforementioned caliber, On The Chicago Blues Scene is a worthy, albeit left-field observation on the Chicago blues. (Delmark Records)
