Magic Slim & The Teardrops Black Tornado (1998)

Magic Slim & The Teardrops - Black Tornado (1998) Music

Posted by popsakov at May 10, 2023

Magic Slim has released a pile of albums, all of them true to his group's house-rocking credo. The idea this time around was to hook him up with producer Dick Shurman and get Slim to record tunes he hadn't committed to wax yet. With a tight version of the Teardrops aboard (the ubiquitous Nick Holt on bass and vocals, Michael Dotson on rhythm, Allen Kirk on drums, and Slim's son Shawn Holt making a guest appearance on "Young Man's Blues"), Slim turns in a solid effort here. But perhaps the biggest change this time around is the inclusion of four original tunes from Slim, big news for a combo that many consider to be the ultimate blues cover band. Counting Nick Holt's "Playin' with My Mind" and Shawn Holt's "Young Man's Blues," the original material is up to the 50-percent mark, making this their most adventuresome outing to date.

Details

Magic Slim - Born on a Bad Sign (1976/2018) Music

Posted by varrock at Nov. 30, 2018

Magic Slim - Born on a Bad Sign (1976/2018)
MP3 CBR 320kbps | Tracks: 7 | 41:01 min | 95 Mb
Style: Blues | Label: Storyville Records

Magic Slim & the Teardrops proudly upheld the tradition of what a Chicago blues band should sound like. Their emphasis on ensemble playing and a humongous repertoire that allegedly ranged upwards of a few hundred songs gave the towering guitarist's live performances an endearing off-the-cuff quality: you never knew what obscurity he'd pull out of his oversized hat next. Born Morris Holt on August 7, 1937, the Mississippi native was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a cotton gin mishap. Boyhood pal Magic Sam bestowed his magical moniker on the budding guitarist. Holt first came to Chicago in 1955, but found that breaking into the competitive local blues circuit was a tough proposition. Although he managed to secure a steady gig for a while with Robert Perkins' band (Mr. Pitiful & the Teardrops), Slim wasn't good enough to progress into the upper ranks of Chicago bluesdom.

Details