This is another record I inherited from my friend Bob Bob(ala). I’ve posted so many of his old records already that I think he needs his own tag. I confess that when I first looked at Ray Charles Live (1973, recorded in ‘58 and ‘59) I thought it was a decent addition to the collection, but didn’t expect it to rock my world. I was wrong. I’ve played this entire double album many times since I got it a few years back.
Ray Charles can tear the roof off any place and in a variety of styles. There is everything here from some swinging hard bop jazz instrumentals to classic blues soul numbers like “The Right Time.” In fact, there are two recordings of that song on here and it’s still not enough for me. When the Raylette Marjorie Hendricks starts screaming “BAAAY-BAAAYeee” repeatedly I get the goosebumps. The excellent notes inside the gatefold cover describe her singing as “powerful soulfulness-bordering-on-hysteria.” It doesn’t get any better than that for me.
UK-based Russell Porter chronicles alt music culture in the Porter Report with aggressive wit and offbeat charm. Today, the “professional chancer and well known layabout” joins us on Boing Boing TV for a live session by alt-blues-punk band the Guillotines (Sounds Like: “we suffer for our music and now it’s your turn.”) Next, some wasted chick with a double mohawk tries to hit our host up for spare change.
I actually like the song, but my favorite part of the video is at the end when Porter says:
We’ve got a carte blanche to go crazy. It could be the future of broadcasting. It could be a waste of everybody’s time. There’s only one way to find out. That’s to get on with it.
Like that tricky panoramic photograph? I can’t find a credit for the album art in the liner notes. Danny Gatton grew up in Southeast D.C. and this album title was his address. Anyone who is a serious student of guitar probably knows of Mr. Gatton, but I don’t think his audience ever got much broader than that. 88 Elmira St. came out in 1991 and it was his major label debut. The record has a little of everything that can be considered American roots music, including jazz, blues, rockabilly and funk. I have played this album at least 100 times and I’m still stunned by the imagination, soul and ferocious speed of his playing.
Danny Gatton committed suicide in 1994. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. His fans included Les Paul and Steve Vai. He was the guitarist’s guitarist.
G. Love and Special Sauce have put out a bunch of records since this 1994 debut. Even though I love this album I never bought any of their other stuff. I don’t know why, and I’m not very familiar with their later work. This self-titled debut is a classic in my opinion. I love the combination of blues, beats and hip hop. The musicianship is crazy good, and so are G. Love’s singing and lyrics. The big hit was “Cold Beverage” but my favorite is “Garbage Man.”
I never beg ba-by
I never get down, on my knees
I’m gonna get you just the same
I’ll get you just the same
In Step is the last album to come out from these boys before Stevie died in a helicopter crash. It’s also his first album after he had sobered up. The album definitely has a more upbeat vibe than the earlier records. But positivity and the blues don’t really go together. In Step seems to be missing the grit of the first three records, but if that’s the price of being sober please stop killing yourself. All that said, I do like the whole record. Surprisingly, my favorite song is the nine minute jazz instrumental “Riviera Paradise” that closes the album. It’s blissfully smooth and low-key, not what you expect from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
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