Beggin'

Only bad luck and the follies of the record industry have prevented Larry Davis from being the well-known blues star he should be. Davis has never received either sustained label support or concentrated marketing and thus is only a footnote when he should be a full chapter. His playing is energetic and varied, while his vocals are animated, soulful, and expressive. He recorded the nine tracks on this '85 date (newly reissued on CD by Evidence) with longtime blues and soul producer and instrumentalist Oliver Sain at the controls, and Davis demonstrated his convincing appeal on Sain's title track, as well as the defiant "I'm A Rolling Stone" (another Sain original), Davis' own anguished "Giving Up On Love," and "Please Don't Go," a Chuck Willis composition.

Revered songwriter Big George Jackson's songs didn't have the same snap, crackle, and pop when he recorded them himself - they always came off better when sung by other singers. Jackson's low voice wasn't the best vehicle to sell the hearty Southern dramas he wrote so prolifically; it was better suited for uptempo blues, the material that comprises the lion's share of Beggin' Ain't for Me. He wrote eight of the ten songs, but the most lively numbers are Elmore James' "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "Kitchen Sink Boogie" (credited to a trio of writers) with its strong lead guitar play. Jackson's no spring chicken, but "Ella May" sounds as if a much older man is singing; the lyrics don't get much more complex than, "Ella May what you got cookin' today"…