Feed Christa Wells

Were it not for Junior Wells's superlative harmonica playing and expressive voice, You're Tuff Enough might have been a muddle of drums and horns. Wells, however, was a strong enough musician that it's he, not his backing band, that stands out most strongly on this recording. This recording illustrates Wells's prescience in incorporating elements of funk and rock into his music. Check out the James-Brown- inflected "Up in Heah," or the rock-out feel of the title track, which appeared on national R&B charts in 1968. One hears echoes of Brown on "You Ought to Quit That" as well. But Wells could sing the blues straight up as well, as he shows with a sweet rendition of "You're the One." While not quite the classic that 1965's Hoodoo Man Blues (which featured Buddy Guy on guitar) was, You're Tuff Enough is an excellent collection, one whose reissue on CD is long overdue.

–Genevieve Williams

A lot of very good blues from a couple of masters, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, caught live in a small club. George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, Eric Clapton, Ace Frehley, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and also has a son, Michael, known as hip-hop/rap producer IceDrake. He is the older brother of late blues guitarist Phil Guy.

Buddy Guy coaxes the audience to go along with him and Junior Wells way down deep, and way back to the rawest roots of urban blues in a tribute to Muddy Waters. The tune begins with silence – the room is dead. And you suddenly realize that Guy is plucking out barely audible chordal accompaniment on his guitar, anticipating Wells’ murderously bittersweet harmonica bends and subtle lines. They slink along together as the rest of the band comes in to offer support. Wells’ voice emerges quietly, but right from the beginning it seems to traverse the full range of a blues voice, as if multiple bluesmen were all being channeled at once – we get soft and sweetly melancholy, gut-wrenching scoops, growls, shouts and all the rest you can imagine.

Composer and conductor Bob Chilcott (born 1955) has been steeped in the British choral tradition since he was a boy chorister. A former member of The King’s Singers, he is now one of the UK’s most prolific and creative choral composers, writing appealingly direct and accessible music with memorable melodies reminiscent of John Rutter at his best.

The historical details surrounding the recording session that became Buddy & the Juniors are almost as entertaining - and oddly satisfying - as the music itself. Released on Blue Thumb in 1970 on multi-colored wax, this session, was it not for a very real economic necessity due to Buddy Guy's feud with Vanguard Records, would never have happened. It appears that Vanguard wouldn't pick up the tab for Guy to fly to New York to mix an album he'd cut with Junior Mance and Gary Bartz - also produced by Cuscuna. Being an ever-enterprising genius, Cuscuna pitched the idea for a recording between Guy, Mance, and Junior Wells to Blue Thumb label boss Bob Krasnow, who jumped at the chance. The all-acoustic Buddy & the Juniors was recorded on December 18 of 1969, and on December 19, they mixed this album and the Vanguard date…

Following his recorded debut as a leader for States Records, Junior Wells signed with Mel London, producing a number of sides for the producer's Chief and Profile imprints. Perhaps best-known for his spectacular harmonica playing, this period, documented on Calling All Blues, saw Wells emerging as an outstanding vocalist as well. A consummate performer with a firm grasp of the range of emotions the music can produce, Wells wrings every drop of feeling out of the lyrics. The singer growls, shouts, howls, moans across these 24 tracks including two versions of his great "I Could Cry" and other classics like "Little By Little," "Cha-Cha-Cha in Blue," and "Lovey Dovey Lovey One." While it has a great deal of overlap with the collections from Paula Records, Calling All Blues remains a fine introduction with no glaring omissions…