Magic Sam – That’s Why I’m Crying
Louis Myers – Top Of The Harp
Leo Evans and the Jazz Prophets – Coming Down With The Blues

I’m not sure where I picked up this collection, I’m thinking it was during my time in the Midwest, maybe in Rockford, IL at Toad Hall Records. Toad Hall was truly an experience, records everywhere, more or less organized, mostly less, with an upstairs, a downstairs and a bulding across the street just filled with records. When I went there (around 1998 and 1999) there was an older guy in a wheelchair in the center room who I always assumed was the owner. He’d always chat with me about the records I was looking for, generally jazz at that time, and about artists who he had seen and that he loved. I figure I got the record there just because of the condition of the LP, with a bit of mildew at the top, there were always a few water damaged LPs at that store, which is to be expected when you just have mountains upon mountains of records.

Regardless of the condition, I absolutely had to get this one, cause I’m a major fan of Magic Sam. Sam Maghett is perhaps my single favorite blues artist, certainly my favorite blues singer with a fantastic soaring tenor. His career was cut tragically short,just as it was taking off, from a heart attack at 32. Needless to say, there aren’t a lot of Magic Sam recordings out there, so seeing his name on the front intrigued me enough to pick up this record and I was overjoyed to find that 6 of the 11 songs featured Magic Sam’s distinctive vocals (especially “That’s Why I’m Crying”) or guitar stylings (“Top of the Harp” with harmonica player Louis Myers, I’ve included here, but the Eddie Shaw led instrumentals “Ridin’ High” and “Blues for the Westside” are also stellar and only found here).

The rest of this collection is really top-notch, including some fine early work from Luther Allison that is especially notable for the use of Hawaiian Steel Guitar. There’s also a mystery with this album in the form of Leo Evans and the Jazz Prophets. I’m not sure if this group ever recorded again, I haven’t been able to find any other credits though the notes mention “performances” the group recorded. The Jazz Prophets are described as an avant-garde group that played in Hyde Park, but none of the names seem familiar to me based on the Chicago Avant-Garde scene at that time. To top it all off, for some reason “Leo Evans” is listed as “Lefty Lopez” on the front of the LP, which adds a different mystery in who the hell is “Lefty Lopez”? Did someone mis-hear “Leo Evans” as “Lefty Lopez” or was this actually a person? Even the sound of “Coming Down With The Blues” is a little mysterious. The track was apparently recorded in 1968, but sounds like it could have come earlier. As much as I love Magic Sam, this is the track that I’ve come back to more often over the years. There’s just something about the sound, everything seems distant and pushed back a bit in the mix, giving it this different sonority than the other songs on the collection. Just a stunning piece of music that everytime I play it I wish there was more. I suppose I should just be thankful that this collection exists and that it made it’s way to my hands and my turntable.

Cheers,

Michael

…while looking up info on Toad Hall, I came across this nicely done promo video for them. The old guy in the wheelchair doesn’t seem to be the owner any more, but clearly the place is still a digger’s delight.

Mose Allison – Wild Man On The Loose
Mose Allison – No Trouble Livin’
Mose Allison – War Horse

There are few artists I can think of who can match the quiet coolness of Mose Allison. A major part of his coolness is in his voice. Born in Mississippi, Allison’s voice has a lot of the South in it. The words roll out with this smoothness that never sounds forced, never sounds like any thing other than just the man himself. It’s easy to see why this unaffected style has been such a big influence (though much more in the UK with Georgie Fame, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello), and it also fits the personality of his songwriting perfectly. Allison writes a lot of observational songs, often with wry witticisms that you just don’t find in a lot of “jazz” singers. His classic “Your Mind Is On Vacation” is probably his best example, but on this album “No Trouble Livin'” has always been a personal fave, with that chorus, “I Don’t Have No Trouble Livin, It’s Just the Dyin’ that bothers me”.

Another representative of that trademark sly style of Mose Allison is the title track of this record. “Wild Man On The Loose” remains my single favorite track from Mose, with it’s portrait of a man out for nothing but trouble. Even though all told the story is done in just a shade over 2 minutes, the “Wild Man” is so finely characterized that I could see him easily serving as the basis of a fantastically violent and debauched film.

Look out! Stand Back!
Wild man on the loose,
Been in the country for 30 days,
Saved up his money, got some hell to raise,
Soaking up that juice,
Wild man on the loose,

Look out! Stand back!
Panther on the prowl,
Get yourself some coffee and a glass of water,
Lock up your wife and hide your daughter,
There’s one man tonight to howl,
Panther on the prowl,

Look out! stand back!
Tiger in the street,
Gonna find a woman, beg, steal and borrow,
gonna wake up feelin’ bad tomorrow,
a fight will make the night complete,
Wild man in the street,

Look out! Stand back!

What kept this album in my mind over the years (I must have owned every Mose Allison album up to 1970 back when I had a load of records, even did a two-hour tribute to him back in the day on WRAS) was not just his singing and great style, but his playing as a piano player. This album has some of his best piano work on instrumental tracks like “Night Watch,” “Power House” and “War Horse.” As well known for being a King of Cool with his vocals, Mose was and is a highly under-rated piano player and someone who should truly take his place with all the greats in the post-bop era.

Interestingly enough (and a fact I was only aware of after I’d chosen to post this record), Mose just celebrated his 84th Birthday on 11-11-11. Even into his 80s, the man still performs, even recorded a new album last year and sounds just as cool as did when he stepped fully on the scene in 1957.

Cheers,

Michael

Pete Rodriguez – Oh That’s Nice
Pete Rodriguez – Fango
Pete Rodriguez – Asi Asi

Still mired in grading with my academic work, but here’s a brilliant no brainer of a latin LP. Joe Cuba’s “Bang Bang” might have been the first big Boogaloo song, but in my opinion, Pete Rodriguez’s “I Like It Like That” is one of the biggest latin crossover tracks of all time. Rodriguez and his band followed up that success with this LP, released later in 1967, and featuring one of my favorite all-time dance floor numbers, the title track “Oh That’s Nice.”

I’m a well known sucker for a soul clap, and I don’t think there’s another song that is soul clapperific as “Oh That’s Nice.” Right from the start the rhythm hits hard, those hand claps hit even harder and all together it makes it impossible to sit still. It’s a can’t miss and can’t fail track for just about any soul party. For me there’s nothing cooler than seeing a dance floor packed with people lift there hands up to sky during the breakdown in the middle and start clap along Pete Rodriguez and his band…pure magic.

Though “Nice” has been comped several times, this is definitely an LP worth tracking down, for a couple other nice Boogaloo tracks, including a rare all in spanish boogaloo “Asi, Asi” which breaks down just what the Boogaloo is all about (I’m pretty sure they say it’s like a crazy Guajira, no?), and the upbeat proto-Salsa tracks, “Que Mania” and “Fango.”

Quite nice indeed…

Cheers,

Michael

David Porter – Pretty Inside
David Porter – Storm In The Summertime
David Porter – I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over

Tracked down a copy of this in August, at a local record show that was going on just before my birthday. I think I was literally the last person to show up with most of the vendors having already packed up, and the rest starting to pack up. Kevin from Action Records had a spot there and was extra willing to make deals at the end of the day. This was a record I’d been looking for a solid copy of for quite some time and I was more than happy with where the price ended up given the time of day. Sometimes it seems, the late bird gets the worm too.

Most people know this record because of an absolutely monster of song, “I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over,” which has been sampled in some classic ways by a host of producers in Hip-Hop. The LP is also notable as a rare “Soul Opera,” a concept album that plays out with dialogue between each track and each song telling story that fits where the “Opera” is at.

The basic story is as follows, at a surprise birthday party thrown for David, he meets a girl, Shirley, who’s dating a friend of his. Against the wishes of his other friends he begins a relationship with this girl, leading to her boyfriend and his friends beating him up. Later as Dave tries to mend his wounds and his broken heart, the woman tells him that she’s leaving, but even though things are over, he can’t get this woman out of his mind. His friend attempts to take him to the beach for a beach party (which includes some unfortunate homophobia), but David can’t forget Shirley, eventually he discovers that she’s moved to Philly and, with his friend’s help, he appears to be on his way, I say appears because unfortunately we don’t really discover what happens. “Airplane Ticket, Bus Ride, Can I Borrow Your Car?” closes out the record but leaves things open as to whether David and Shirley actually get back together. I suspect Porter believed he’d be able to continue the story on his next record, but I also imagine that this record couldn’t have been very popular when it was released and any plans for a true follow-up must have been dashed.

The project for me is marred by the very elements that make it unique, the story telling segments that accompany each track. First off, the woman who is playing Shirley is clearly reading her lines, she has no rhythm to her lines and she doesn’t get into her role the way David gets into his lines, especially on the rap in the restaurant that begins “Pretty Inside.” I’m actually not sure why the album is even called Victim of a Joke, no one is joking with Porter on this record, unless he thinks falling in love is a joke. Perplexing…

There’s nothing perplexing at all about the music, in addition to “Masquerade,” this record includes a couple of Porter’s better songs, especially “Strom In The Summertime.” It also features a really amazing sound, especially the way the horns are captured. I’m not sure if Porter is responsible for that, or if we should thank the incomparable Dale Warren of 24-Carat Black fame. I lean towards Warren.

If the album had been released as a standard LP, without the serio-drama elements, I think it could have been a winner for Porter, especially if they’d released “Masquerade” as a two-part single. Posting this record, I find it funny how things seem to make more sense changing up the order here with Pretty Inside then to Storm to Masquerade…If the album had just been these three songs it would be one of my favorites of all time, or at least one of my favorite Soul album sides of all-time.

Cheers,

Michael