Ram John Holder is an obscure blues artist even in his adopted U.K. homeland, and virtually unknown to U.S. blues fans who have seemingly mined the 1960s British blues-rock explosion for everything of value. Born the son of a preacher in British Guyana, Holder migrated to America in the early 1950s to attend seminary, later dropping out and pursuing a degree in history from Ohio State University. It was while in college that he began singing in church, later recording his first album, a collection of Guyanese folk songs, in 1960.
Holder subsequently made his way to New York City and Greenwich Village, performing as a folk artist alongside such other notables as Bob Dylan and Ritchie Havens. Around 1962 or so he would relocate to England, becoming an influential member of London's small, but vocal black immigrant community. His intelligent lyrics reflected the issues of the day, including racial violence, poverty, and social injustice. Around this time Holder began dabbling in the stage and on TV, and for British audiences he is best known as the character "Porkpie" in the popular TV comedy Desmond's, which ran from 1989 through 1994.
Ram John Holder's Black London Blues
Holder's brief but vital recording career began with the Paul Jones-produced 1964 single "Just Across The River," and included four full-length albums released between 1969 and 1975. Black London Blues, released in 1969, was the first of these, produced by the artist himself and featuring ten original songs that casually mix up elements of blues, folk, rock, and gospel music behind seriously insightful and observational lyrics that tackle the heady issue of the immigrant experience in London. Each song is titled after a place or experience and, in the best tradition of the music, has "blues" appended to the end of the title, reminding the listener of Charley Patton or Robert Johnson.
"Brixton Blues" is a funky talking-blues number with a recurring guitar riff and Dylanesque lyrics that offer a too-true tale of life in black London circa 1969, Holder's soulful vocals matched by his resounding, scraping acoustic guitarplay. The brilliant "Notting Hill Eviction Blues" contrasts the slum-level poverty of immigrant workers with the growing prosperity of post-war Britain, Holder's electronically-altered vocals providing a haunting vibe to the lyrics, while the title track has a jazzy flair, sparse instrumentation, and almost hidden vocals. The soulful "Sleeping Alone Tonight Blues" is a period R&B torchsong with heartbreak lyrics, a great emotional vocal performance, and atmospheric piano tinkling courtesy of Tom Parker.
Bootleg Blues
Holder delivered his follow-up to the acclaimed Black London Blues two years later, with 1971's equally-impressive Bootleg Blues. While his debut focused, lyrically, on the songwriter's London experience, the original songs on Bootleg Blues expanded the artist's creative perspective to include the entire world. "Low Down In Paris" is a tortured wail of a song, with slices of funky guitar, a walking bass line from former Jeff Beck Group member Clive Chaman, and muted Chicago blues-styled vocals that speak of discrimination and alienation. A mid-tempo rocker with rapidfire vocals and dashes of Parker's jazzy pianoplay, "Saturday's Child" is a reaffirmation of life and love while "Way Up High" is a lovely acoustic folk tune with bluesy undercurrents, Holder's wan vocals showcasing a kinder, gentler side to the artist.
The soulful "Blues Over Europe" includes jagged shards of psychedelic guitar, a funky rhythmic backdrop, and Holder's taut vocals, accompanied by shots of lonesome harp and blustery drumbeats. "The Blues In Moscow" is cut from similar cloth, with Chaman's fluid bassline and a definite Chicago blues vibe permeating the lyrics, a shuffling drumbeat underlining the engaging story-song of shared troubles. A healthy bass line opens "Freedom I'm Ready," a song of transcendence and hope that echoes a lot of Curtis Mayfield's work at the time.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Ram John Holder's relative obscurity has nothing to do with the quality of his music, which is sincere, imaginative, and often electrifying. Holder's intelligent, socially-conscious lyrics and perspectives on race and poverty place him in a class with American soulmen like Curtis Mayfield and Isaac Hayes, while his curious and unique mix of music – blues as imagined by a cultural outside who was neither American nor British – is entertaining, if somewhat dated. Suffice it to say that Holder sounds unlike any blues artist you've ever heard before.
In the past decade, Holder has become a bona fide cult artist, both his Black London Blues and Bootleg Blues albums becoming sought-after collector's items demanding premium prices for old vinyl. Reissued on a single disc by Britain's BGO Records, curious listeners can now experience this talented but little-known bluesman for themselves. One minor cavil, however – while the album lists 20 songs, there seem to be only 19 on the CD as far as these ears can tell, the reissue dropping "Definition Blues" from Bootleg Blues. Regardless, this is a fine collection of music that takes the blues in unusual directions. (BGO Records, released June 14, 2011)
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