Blues Harp

Homesick James was an American blues musician known for his mastery of the slide guitar. He worked with his cousin, Elmore James, and with Sonny Boy Williamson II. The year of his birth is uncertain. He stated that he was born in 1905, 1910, or 1914, while his union records give 1924. His actual birth name has given as James Williamson or John Henderson. He developed a self-taught style of slide guitar through playing at local dances in his teens. He may have first recorded for RCA Victor in 1937, but this is also unconfirmed, and by 1938 may have begun playing electric guitar. His first known recordings were in 1952 for Chance Records, recording the tracks "Lonesome Ole Train" and "Homesick", which gave him his stage name.

This dynamic recording consists of ten original compositions that highlight the bands depth, virtuosic talent, and tongue in cheek humor, while still staying true to the blues. A must have for any blues aficionado.

The actual feeling you are listening to a Bluesman who absorbed nickname "Boogie" comes with an all-acoustic title song although first two swampy cuts deserve an equal attention. Further "Tumblin' In The Sea" is an instrumental with harp and keyboards dominating, "Long Arm Of The Law" is why we love Jerry McCain, then is "(She Might Sell My) Teddy Bear" and it goes like it should go: Blues, only Blues and nothin' but the Blues with Jerry McCain speaking through his harp on acoustic again "Lucy Pearl". "I Ain't Got Time" is a pearl both in terms of music/performance and lyrics. Slow blues "Just A Little Bit" with super class harp solo, precedes closing track "I Want to Be Your Santa Claus" with excellent harp work again.

It's unfortunate that Tom Rush's third album has such a strong reputation among rock listeners – not that it doesn't deserve it, but it sort of distracts them from this album, which was as natural a fit for rock listeners as any folk album of its era. Rush's debut album is filled with a hard, bluesy brand of folk music that's hard on the acoustic guitar strings and not much easier on his voice; he sings stuff like "Long John" and "If Your Man Gets Busted" with a deep, throaty baritone that's only a little less raw than John Hammond's was while doing his work of the same era. Rush had the misfortune to be equated with Bob Dylan, but he had a more easygoing and accessible personality that comes out on numbers here such as Woody Guthrie's "Do-Re-Mi" and Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues," which are thoroughly enjoyable and quietly (but totally) beguiling. Additionally, he isn't such a purist that he felt above covering a Leiber & Stoller number such as "When She Wants Good Lovin'."

Various Artists - Just Wailing: 50 Masterpieces By 26 Blues Harmonica Heroes (2013) [2CD] {Fantastic Voyage}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 423 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 290 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Fantastic Voyage Records | FVDD157
Blues / Harmonica

There’s nothing to compare to the sound of an amplified Hohner Marine Band harmonica in the hands (and mouth) of a master like Little Walter, Walter Horton, Snooky Pryor or Sonny Boy Williamson. All of them were just as adept with the unamplified specimen but the addition of electricity takes this miniscule instrument into a different realm. Many musicians heard here were disciples in one way or another of John Lee Williamson (the original Sonny Boy), who played his harp through a microphone in clubs but never recorded that way. The list of these men is a long one, including Billy Boy Arnold, Walter Mitchell, Doctor Ross, Forrest City Joe and Robert Richard, while Little Walter influenced younger men like Junior Wells, Jerry McCain, James Cotton and George Smith.