Mr. Iverson Minter, better known around the world as Louisiana Red, is an expatriate American bluesman living in Germany who has brought his incendiary guitar and raw, soulful vocals to appreciate blues fans in both the U.S. and Europe since the early-1950s. Although his unique style of gritty Delta-influenced juke-joint blues are often overlooked by stateside audiences, Red has released better than two-dozen albums throughout his lengthy career, and performed alongside legends like John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins.
Jumping at the chance to work with his musical idol in the studio, album producer and guitarist Little Victor picked out a flat dozen of his favorite Louisiana Red tunes and enlisted guests like harpists Bob Corritore and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, as well as pianist Dave Maxwell, to record Back to the Black Bayou at the Juke Joint Studios in Notodden, Norway. Working with a core band of Norwegian blues musicians in an old-school, 24-track analog studio with real 2" tape, RCA ribbon microphones, and a vintage 1960s mixing console once owned by Stax Records, Little Victor and crew captured the brilliant energy and passion of each one of Louisiana Red's performances.
Louisiana Red's Back to the Black Bayou
Little Victor delivers on his promise, putting together a fiery set of gutbucket juke-joint blues that ring with twin guitars, powerful rhythms, and old-fashioned piano-pounding. The opener, "I'm Louisiana Red," is more than just an often-recorded song for the blues veteran, it's also a statement of purpose...and his purpose here is to rock the house. With a deep blues groove driven by Bill Troiani's booming upright bass and Alex Pettersen's steady drumbeats, Red shouts out his semi-biographical lyrics in a soulful blast of energy as guest Kim Wilson adds his hypnotic harp drone to the tune. Victor slaps in some guitar and Reidar Larsen's piano rolls away in the background, contributing to the song's mesmerizing vibe.
"Alabama Train" is a rhythm & blues rave-up with a heavy emphasis on the "blues" half of the phrase. Driven by Bob Corritore's tortured harp notes and Victor's lead guitar, the song's slippery groove slides in and between Red's funky vocal turn, with a veritable wall-of-Delta-blues-sound assaulting your senses. Red breaks out the slide for the houserockin' joint "Crime In Motion," his wiry fretwork complimented by Dave Maxwell's pulse-pounding 88s and Victor's solid rhythm guitar. There's a lot going on here in the mix, a delicious aural banquet with scraps of various instruments darting in and around Red's hearty vocals.
An Underrated Slide Guitarist
The potent "Sweet Leg Girl" is a slow-tempo bonfire blues that seemingly crosses a New Orleans-styled, Delta-dirty funk with a bit of Chicago's brassy blues sound. Jostein Forsberg provides a little harmonica trills, but it's Red's high-toned swamp-blues slide-guitar that dominates the song, slinky notes running left and right behind the vocals. "The Black Bayou" holds on to the swamp-blues sound, adding a little Mississippi Delta flavor to the song's pure black cat moan. Fans of slide-guitar will have passed out from the heat by this time, but those of you still conscious should lap up Red's tasty, muted six-string tones. A true underrated genius of slide-guitar, Red brings a fever to his playing that a lot of younger guitarists just can't sustain.
Lousiana Red recalls a gospel song from his youth, "Don't Miss That Train" provided a passionate vocal reading and a sparse, but effective arrangement that emphasizes Red's joyous voice, single-note leads, and Pettersen's slam-bang drumwork. With a rollicking rhythm that straddles the line between the Bo Diddley beat and Carl Perkins-styled rockabilly, "I Come From Louisiana" is a fast-paced rocker with cool clashing guitarwork, an underlying circular riff, energetic drumbeats, and a swinging bassline. "Roamin' Stranger" is a raucous old-school blues, evoking memories of both Robert Johnson and Elmore James in its provocative guitar lines, sassy piano runs, and Little Victor's imaginative blasts of harp.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Although Louisiana Red has played many of these songs hundreds, if not thousands of times onstage, and has recorded some of them several times, with Back to the Black Bayou he imbues each performance with a vibrancy and raw energy one wouldn't think achievable. In the capable hands of producer and fellow bluesman Little Victor, who captures Red's essence perfectly on these cuts, the blues veteran has found a musical foil and sympathetic ear that helps him deliver one of the better recordings of a career that has lasted better than a half-century. If you prefer the flame-singed, ragged edges of mud-crusted, Delta-styled blues, look no further than Back to the Black Bayou. (Ruf Records, released March 10, 2009)
