Sometime during the late-1940s/early-1950s, the Chicago blues style took over from the Mississippi Delta blues sound as the dominant voice of blues music. The biggest reason for this sea change was the migration of thousands of African-American farm workers from the south to the industrial cities of the north (primarily Chicago and Detroit) during World War II. In search of good-paying jobs, a number of talented blues musicians - Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker among them - also made the trip north.
As these musicians landed in their new hometowns, the country blues of their youth gave way to the electric, urbanized blues of the city. No longer would the blues be restricted to a single performer, or duo bangin' away at a guitar and blowin' the harp. No, the blues could, and did evolve into a slicker, more expansive sound with the addition of horns, electric guitars, bass players, and other modern flourishes. The blues became the sound of the city, and none more so than the Chicago blues.
Chicago Blues: A Living History
As the Chicago blues style enters into its seventh decade, the sound hasn't exactly been diluted as much as it has been refined. There are few purists left, and there will never be another generation as freshly creative and empowered as that which brought us Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, and their brethren. That's not to say that the music has lost any of its power, however, as shown by the excellent Chicago Blues: A Living History compilation.
Produced by musician Larry Skoller, the project features a band anchored by Skoller's brother, harp player Matthew, and keyboardist Johnny Iguana. The real attraction, though, is the talents of harpists Billy Boy Arnold and Billy Branch, and guitarists Lurrie Bell and John Primer, brought to bear on an inspired collection of 21 Chicago blues treasures, delivered chronologically from 1940 through 1991. This isn't an anthology, but rather a loving tribute performed by a group of artists with careers and associations that stretch from the beginning of the Chicago blues era to the modern day.
Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch & Lurrie Bell
Chicago Blues: A Living History opens with a swinging reading of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "My Little Machine," from 1940. Widely considered to be the first ensemble recording to use a drummer, here the song is driven by Billy Boy Arnold's sweet-as-sugar vocals and fluid harmonica play. Tampa Red's "She's Love Crazy" also features Arnold's strong vocals, accompanied by Johnny Iguana's spirited piano-bashing and Billy Flynn's twangy fretwork.
Iguana takes the spotlight with his raucous boogie-woogie pianowork on Big Maceo Merriweather's 1945 instrumental, "Chicago Breakdown." Delivering a fine, rockin' performance, Iguana captures both Merriweather's energy and the song's anarchic spirit. With Flynn adding some spitting slidework, and Iguana bangin' away at the keys, guitarist Lurrie Bell tackles Elmore James' classic (by way of Robert Johnson) "I Believe." Fueled by Bell's powerful vocals and fluid guitar, the song epitomizes the Chicago blues sound.
Moanin' At Midnight
John Primer does his best to capture the blues legend's primal growl on Howlin' Wolf's signature song, "Moanin' At Midnight." With a shuffling rhythm, fueled in part by Matthew Skoller's lonesome harp riffs, Primer and his dark-hued guitarplay perfectly recreate the song's original menacing framework. Arnold again takes the microphone for Little Walter's "Hate To See You Go," the mesmerizing 1955 Chicago blues stomp benefiting from Arnold's powerful harp play and Flynn's wicked recurring riff.
The second disc of Chicago Blues: A Living History takes off from 1955 and jumps right into the prime cuts of the style. John Primer's dusky vocals are perfectly fitted for Mel London's "Sugar Sweet;" accompanied by Bill Branch's manic, trilling harpwork, the song swings harder than a 20-pound sledge hitting solid rock. The slow-walking, fast-talking Jimmy Reed gem "Can't Stand To See You Go" spotlight's Primer's six-string skills alongside his warm vocals, the song's shuffling beat punctuated with well-timed exclamations from Skoller's harp.
Chicago Blues Harp
Billy Boy Arnold's blues roots date back to the late-1940s when he took his first lessons from the great John Lee Williamson. Arnold's "I Wish You Would" was recorded when the talented harp master was a mere 17 years old, and this version - taped better than 50 years later - has all the energy, inspiration, and bone-jarring harpwork of the original. Rice Miller a/k/a Sonny Boy Williamson II, created the original "Your Imagination" in 1956, and with Matthew Skoller's harmonica up front, this tribute, with Primer on vox and fretboard, swings harder than the original.
Junior Wells is one of the greatest of Chicago's harp masters, and his signature "Hoodoo Man Blues" is delivered with aplomb by Billy Branch, whose smoky vocals are matched by Flynn's dancing fretwork and squalls of powerful harp notes.
The great, underrated Chicago blues legend Magic Sam Maghett is remembered here with a potent reading of his 1966 song "Out Of Bad Luck." Guest vocalist Mike Avery pours a great deal of emotion into the lyrics, while Flynn's elegant guitarwork and Iguana's flamboyant piano fills vie for the listener's attention. The set closes, appropriately enough, with Buddy Guy's "Damn Right, I've Got The Blues." Lurrie Bell delivers a roaring vocal performance while Carlos Johnson's six-string razor cuts to the bone.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
With Chicago Blues: A Living History, the producers tried to create a tribute to "the past, present, and future" of the Chicago blues. They've done a fine job, using underrated - not untalented - bluesmen such as Arnold, Primer, Branch, and Bell to put their own spin on these classic and obscure songs from the history of the Chicago blues. Since the blues is a "living" art form, and the Chicago blues even more so, this fine collection elegantly frames the timeless quality of the music.
Chicago Blues: A Living History is a perfect introduction for those unfamiliar with the music and its history, and will be a welcome new friend for long-time fans of the style. The two-CD set includes an illustrated booklet with biographies of the artists covered, and the artists doing the covering, as well as liner notes about the project itself. Really, folks, the Reverend can't recommend this one enough, so if you don't already have it, get it! (Raisin' Music, released April 21, 2009)
