My Ten Favorite Blues Records
So given the shake up at the Great Northern Blues Society, which we left off the front page, I thought I would sit here and crank out a list. My ten favorite blues records. Not THE BEST, by MY favorite. I think I have a pretty good ear for this sort of thing, and I have earned a bit of a nasty habit of listening aggressively.
To be fair, the first time revisiting blues, or visiting blues, as I was a punk rock and hip hop young man, was this.
I want to be clear about this. I need to be clear. A lot of folks are going to assume that I had any real idea that it was Hendrix, and I caught onto that. No. Hendrix died when I was 1. I was a punk rock kid. The idea of me looking back to the 60s, well that was just about insane. Still, in many ways, is.
What did it for me was SRVs elbow. In the beginning of the song, his arm is moving in ways almost exactly similar to a punk rock dude. Fast, open, his whole arm movie over the strings. Not like Clapton, who barely moved at all. SRV moved his body. And as a young man, I caught that.
SRV led me to Freddie King, in one step. From there Muddy Waters. From there Buddy Guy. Form there, the world.
So here we go.
1. Bill Perry-Manny’s Car Wash LIVE. I am so proud to own this record. It is actually in my safety deposit box. There are few copies in existence, and since Bill passed away, I am sure you are not going to find it anymore.
2. Scott Holt-From Lettsworth to Legend. So yeah, Scott is one of my best friends. But, onstage, I do not think that there is anyone better on the planet. He avoided making a tribute record to Buddy for 100 Years, and finally made the one he wanted.
3. Hound Dog Taylor-Release the Hound. Dear God in heaven. This was a man who played like he was on fire. His band was charging ahead 100 miles an hour, and no brakes at all None.
4. Ass Pocket of Whisky- RL Burnside. The fact that Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is on it, it tears itself apart, and fights itself bloody. Just hooping and hollering. Fighting to the bank, and kicking your girlfriend in the ass when your both drunk.
5. Chipped Front Tooth- Scott Holt. This might be the single best incarnation of his band ever. So powerful. So fast. So rich. They are just fearless.
6. Thickfreakness-The Black Keys. Not purely the blues. But so much perfection, Sonic Youth and Hound Dog Taylor. My favorite band ever.
7. Grand Slam- Magic Slim and the TearDrops. This is what a blues band is supposed to sound like. I had the great opporutnity to have Slim play in my hometown at an event I worked on. He was everything I had hoped for.
8. Sweet Tea-Buddy Guy. Honestly, I am afraid of Buddy. This record made me even more scared of him. It just sort of announced him as a man who had looked into the face of the devil, and shouted at him. Fearless Buddy. Kick your ass Buddy.
So good he deserves two.
9. Live at Cook County Jail-BB King. I have over the years developed a friendship with the king of the blues, and my life is better for knowing him. Knowing him is something that I am so thrilled about.
This song makes me remember Mickey Larson, RIP Mick.
10. Bad Man-T-Model Ford. You can see, I like it rough. And it does not get much rougher than T Model.
I know that I have left most of your favorites, or the best ones off. But this, right here, is what I take in my car to drive to Chicago.
And like all blues music, we end it with a pretty girl.
