God
\ndamn<\/i>it,what a miserable day I had at work! (I have to work
\nanother job besides doing this site – being a recluse doesn’t pay
\nthe cable bill.) By the time I came home, I really needed something
\nto clear my head of the last crummy nine hours.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, I have a secret weapon for dealing with the blues.
\nThat weapon is… the blues. The blues? Damn right.<\/p>\n
I’ve often written about Alligator Records, a little label based
\nout of Chicago which has become a sanctuary for blues artists over
\nthe last 25 years. (And
\nno<\/i>, I’m not kissing up – we don’t get anything from them
\nexcept an occasional e-mail and catalog.) Their 1986 sampler of
\ntheir artists,
\nGenuine Houserockin’ Music<\/i>, showcases 11 strong artists at
\ntheir best – and is one grand introduction to both the artists and
\nthe label.<\/p>\n
One warning, though – when one says “blues,” your mind may call
\nup images of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon or Howlin’
\nWolf. The performances here embody the new generation of the blues,
\none which embraces Bessie Smith as much as Led Zeppelin and Mahalia
\nJackson.<\/p>\n
One example of this new mixture is blues legend Koko Taylor, who
\ngained national prominence on Chess with “Wang Dang Doodle.” Her
\ncontribution to this album, “Come To Mama,” has tinges of gospel in
\nher sultry voice – and frankly, it’s a welcome change. The guitar
\nlines on this one are so tasty and addictive that you’ll find
\nyourself coming back to this track often.<\/p>\n
The same goes for Lonnie Brooks, who injects just a smidge of
\nrock into his performance on “Don’t Take Advantage Of Me.” This
\ntrack may not be one of Brooks’ best known, but is definitely worth
\ngiving several spins. (Brooks is also one of the classiest acts I
\nhave ever had the privilege to meet – if I ever get a chance to
\ninterview him again, I owe him a drink dating back to December
\n1989.)<\/p>\n
Other artists will wet some people’s whistles depending on your
\nparticular tastes. I, for one, was never a big fan of Albert
\nCollins, though the track “Blackjack” (featuring Johnny “Clyde”
\nCopeland and Robert Cray) is probably one of the more pure blues
\nsongs on the disc). Likewise, I would have chosen a different track
\nfrom Lonnie Mack other than “Satisfy Suzie,” though that one has
\nbecome a live favorite.<\/p>\n
Two artists stand out in my mind on
\nGenuine Houserockin’ Music<\/i>. One of them, Fenton Robinson,
\nhas a slow, soulful delivery that goes down smooth as whiskey. The
\nfeatured track, “Laundry Man,” is a decent effort – though I
\npersonally prefer “Somebody Loan Me A Dime.” The other artist,
\nJimmy Johnson, was the second artist we reviewed on “The Daily
\nVault” way back in January. His contribution, ironically, is a
\nFenton Robinson-penned track, “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” a
\nversion that betters the original.<\/p>\n
Closing out this collection is a previously-unreleased track
\nfrom the band for whom Alligator was started – Hound Dog Taylor
\n& The Houserockers. “Don’t Blame Me” is a song that could even
\nmake the dead get up and dance, and is a hell of a present that
\nthey pulled out of the vaults.<\/p>\n
To the blues purists, many of the artists on
\nGenuine Houserockin’ Music<\/i> may not seem to be true blues
\nmusicians. My advice: lighten up. If anything, these artists embody
\nthe true meaning of the blues, which is not always to bum the
\nlistener out to the point of suicide. I put this album on, and by
\nthe time Son Seals or Roy Buchanan come blaring through the
\nspeakers, my day has been improved.<\/p>\n
If you’ve never bought an album on Alligator, this is a great
\nplace to start. Last time I checked, it’s still available at a
\nbargain price, and it has something to please every listener.
\nPresently there are four other volumes in this series – eventually
\nwe’ll get to them all. But for now,
\nGenuine Houserockin’ Music<\/i> is one hell of a handshake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5827],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-35731","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-various-artists","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35731"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35731"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}