50 Texas Blues Licks

Modern electric blues guitar can be traced directly back to this Texas-born pioneer, who began amplifying his sumptuous lead lines for public consumption circa 1940 and thus initiated a revolution so total that its tremors are still being felt today. Few major postwar blues guitarists come to mind that don't owe T-Bone Walker an unpayable debt of gratitude. B.B. King has long cited him as a primary influence, marveling at Walker's penchant for holding the body of his guitar outward while he played it. Gatemouth Brown, Pee Wee Crayton, Goree Carter, Pete Mayes, and a wealth of other prominent Texas-bred axemen came stylistically right out of Walker during the late '40s and early '50s.

Any cd which starts out with Blues Power featuring Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown on vocals, Eric Clapton on guitar, and Leon Russell playing piano and doing vocals is worth a listen to. Long Way Home continues to impress with every track. Brown demonstrates his musical skills, and careful choice of music. His all star cast includes Clapton, Russell, Ry Cooder, John Loudermilk (who wrote Tobacco Road and does the vocals on the cd) Sonny Landreth and Maria Muldaur. Great tracks besides Blues Power are Don't Think Twice with Maria Muldaur doing vocals with Gatemouth, Mean and Evil with Leon Russell sharing the stage with Gatemouth and of course Tobacco Road. This is a great cd for a blues or rock fan.

Ruff Kutt Blues is the name of the project started by James Goode, a Rockabilly Hall of Fame bass player and fan of Texas Blues. The other name you need to know on this project is the name of Texas Blues guitar legend Anson Funderburgh. James and Anson go way back. And together, they have recruited an all-star cast of musicians to work on a special CD called Mill Block Blues. The CD features Anson Funderburgh in an exciting new role. Not only is Anson laying down more classic Texas Blues guitar licks all over this CD, but he's also lending his experience as arranger and producer to this album. And that results in a landmark album that every blues lover needs in their collection.

Only 12 songs long, this collection remains the best place to begin appreciating why so many young Texas blues guitarists fell in love with Gatemouth Brown's style (until MCA decides to compile the ultimate Brown package, anyway). Listen to the way his blazing axe darts and weaves through trombonist Pluma Davis' jazzy horn chart on 1954's "Okie Dokie Stomp," and/or the stratospheric licks drenching "Dirty Work at the Crossroads." Brown proves that a violin can adapt marvelously to the blues (in the right hands, anyway) on "Just Before Dawn," and blows a little atmospheric harp on "Gate's Salty Blues."