Three Little Pigs

ilentertainer | September 29, 2006

Blind Pig Records‘ 30th anniversary collection, Pearls From Swine, is a two-CD-plus-DVD package celebrating the Chicago blues and blues rock label’s upcoming pearl anniversary in 2007. From its humble beginnings in 1977 in the basement of the Blind Pig, an Ann Arbor, Michigan blues club, the label has grown into one of the world’s foremost blues record companies.

The compilation’s 33 tracks cover a wide range of material and mix the old and the new. Tommy Castro‘s “Just Like Me” kicks off Disc One, which also contains songs by Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King, Arthur Adams and B.B. King, Renee Austin and Delbert McClinton, Big Walter Horton, Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, James Cotton, Debbie Davies, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Savoy Brown, Jeremy Spencer, Big Bill Morganfield, and Popa Chubby. Buddy Guy and Junior Wells are featured live on “Hoodoo Man Blues” from the infamous Drinkin’ TNT ‘N’ Smokin’ Dynamite album.

Magic Slim And The Teardrops open Disc Two with “I’m A Blueman” from Blue Magic, featuring co-producer Chubby on guitar. Dr. Duke Tumatoe closes the disc with “Moanin’ After Blues” from his new release, You’ve Got The Problem. Sandwiched between are tracks by John Mooney, Harper, Mighty Joe Young, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Kim Wilson, Nick Curran And The Nitelifes, Hamilton Loomis, Albert Cummings, Rod Piazza And The Mighty Flyers, E.C. Scott, Norton Buffalo and Roy Rogers, Deanna Bogart, George “Harmonica” Smith, Bill Perry, Pinetop Perkins, and Otis Clay, singing “Nickel And A Nail” from Respect Yourself.

An appropriate title for the compilation could have been “Then And Now,” as it provides a history lesson of sorts through 30 years of blues recordings. The Chicago stuff is atmospheric, conjuring images of a night at the old Checkerboard Lounge or Theresa’s; I found myself feeling nostalgic listening to Horton, Cotton, Perkins, Young, and “Harmonica” Smith. The newer material is solid and well recorded, featuring a varied mix of styles from the heat of Perry’s “Leavin’ Home” to the funky grooves of Bogart’s “Real Time.” The bonus DVD is more guitar-driven with performances by Castro, Chubby, Magic Slim And The Teardrops, Kubek and King, lone piano man and comedian Wirtz, and Rod Piazza And The Mighty Flyers.

The DVD contains standout performances by Honey Piazza on keyboards and Jon McDonald, rhythm guitarist for The Teardrops. Given the excellence of the CD set, however, I found the inclusion of the DVD, with its different bands and performance venues, distracting and somewhat gratuitous. It would have been nice, too, if the producers had chosen a more representative cut from one of Slim’s six Blind Pig CDs, but hey, you can’t have it all. Overall, this compilation is a winner!

NEW RELEASES: Nice collection of crunchy blues and blues rock from Guitar Shorty on his latest release, We The People (Alligator). Shorty was influenced by Guitar Slim and in turn influenced his guitar-playing brother in law, Jimi Hendrix, as well as Buddy Guy, so you’ve gotta know there will be fireworks! Shorty’s original tunes are topical; the title track and “Cost Of Livin'” speak to the plight of the working man, while the haunting “Down That Road Again” is about helping a friend battle drug addiction. “Fine Cadillac” is a funky, gritty Texas-style shuffle that lightens the mood a little. We The People is co-produced by former Mother’s Finest bassist Wyzard, who also plays on the session. Wyzard co-wrote “Cost Of Livin'” and the funky “Can’t Get Enough” . . . Shoulder To Shoulder (Alligator) is the latest release by Piedmont master guitar and harmonica duo Cephas & Wiggins. Six originals and six cover tunes comprise this melodic journey through the Tidewater region of the South. Especially moving is the Mississippi John Hurt-inspired “All I’ve Got Is Them Blues” written by John Cephas, whose unique fingerpicking meshes seamlessly with Wiggins’ rhythmic harmonica accompaniment. Ann Rabson of Saffire â€“ The Uppity Blues Women joins the duo on four songs . . . The Desperate Kingdom Of Love (World Village) by zydeco singer and accordionist C.J. Chenier was recorded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and has a more somber quality than his previous “bon ton roulette” recordings. Uptempo zydeco numbers are tempered on the P.J. Harvey-penned title track, “Black Snake Blues” and “Ain’t No Need In Cryin'” by his famous father and King Of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, Hank Williams’ “Lost On The River,” and closer, “Comfort You,” by Van Morrison. Chenier dedicates Clifton’s “Bogalusa Boogie,” to the “late great Clarence ‘Gatemouth Brown,'” who died just days after Katrina destroyed his Slidell, Louisiana home . . . Aphrodisiac (Pravda) by gravel-voiced Andre Williams with the Diplomats Of Solid Sound is a quirky mix of blues, soul, R&B, rap, and rock. Williams’ five-year career is storied: A&R man, record producer, and songwriter for Motown during the label’s heyday. He wrote the hits “Shake A Tailfeather” and “Twine Time” and produced records for Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells, Funkadelic, and others. Williams’ unique take on Katrina, entitled “Three Sisters,” is a funky, uptempo groove that describes the devastation in New Orleans . . . Say Yes (Arhoolie) is a rousing sacred steel recording by Jacksonville’s The Lee Boys, a family band consisting of brothers Alvin, Keith, and Derrick plus three of their nephews. They infuse sacred steel, or “praise music,” with a contemporary sound based in gospel, R&B, blues, jazz, rock, and world music. The final track, “Lee Brothers Praise Jam,” is jazz-infused praise tune at its wildly energetic best. Catch The Lee Boys live when they play Buddy Guy’s Saturday, October 28th.