Magic Secx

This album's color cover photo is an action shot, showing Magic Sam in the process of choking and bending his strings, a good hike up the fretboard. It isn't clear exactly what he is playing from the picture, although that certainly didn't stop dozens of pimply hippie guitar players from trying to figure it out. In the meantime, the record goes on and the first soloist out of the gate is Eddie Shaw, playing tenor sax. He is blowing over the top of an R&B riff that, although not out of the syntax of Chicago blues, would also have been quite fitting on a Wilson Pickett record. It is unfortunate that Magic Sam's recording career came to such an abrupt end, as he was one of the best artists working in the musical area between the urban blues tradition and newly developing soul music forms. This fusion was on the minds of many blues artists during the late '60s, and not just because it was aesthetically conceivable…

The ten 1963-1964 sides that make up the majority of this set have sort of fallen through the historical cracks over the years. They didn't deserve such shoddy treatment - Sam didn't record "Back Door Friend" or "Hi-Heel Sneakers" anywhere else, and he's in top shape throughout The Late Great Magic Sam. Two live tracks at the set's close from 1969 don't add much to the overall package.

This album's color cover photo is an action shot, showing Magic Sam in the process of choking and bending his strings, a good hike up the fretboard. It isn't clear exactly what he is playing from the picture, although that certainly didn't stop dozens of pimply hippie guitar players from trying to figure it out. In the meantime, the record goes on and the first soloist out of the gate is Eddie Shaw, playing tenor sax. He is blowing over the top of an R&B riff that, although not out of the syntax of Chicago blues, would also have been quite fitting on a Wilson Pickett record. It is unfortunate that Magic Sam's recording career came to such an abrupt end, as he was one of the best artists working in the musical area between the urban blues tradition and newly developing soul music forms. This fusion was on the minds of many blues artists during the late '60s, and not just because it was aesthetically conceivable…

The Wolf record label has served Magic Slim & the Teardrops well, producing eight CDs between 1986 and 1992, when the band was emerging from Chicago to tour the world. They are deserving on many fronts as the self-proclaimed "best blues band on the planet," and these tracks, marketed as "Magic Slim's best 14 songs," certainly go a long way to proving that assertion. Of the album's 14 tracks, 11 come from the studio and three are previously unissued live concert sessions in Austria, all with Slim, the remarkable second guitarist John Primer, brother and bassist Nick Holt, and different drummers. Only one of the tunes was written by Slim, the others taken from classic blues songwriters and heroes of the lead vocalist and guitarist, whose distinctive sound comes shining through from start to finish. Albert King for sure is a favorite of Magic Slim…

Led by Trinidad-born singer/songwriter Romeo Stodart, London's Magic Numbers blend the melodic experimentation of artists like the Flaming Lips and David Axelrod with the sweet harmonies of '60s pop groups like the Lovin' Spoonful and the Mamas & the Papas. Stodart began making music with drummer Sean Gannon almost immediately upon moving to the U.K. from New York City in the early 2000s. They were eventually joined by Romeo's sister Michele on bass and Sean's sister Angela on percussion and melodica.

More than 20 years after Captain Beefheart's last musical outing, the Magic Band (sans the Captain) reconvened for the 2003 All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Actually, it's a Magic Band that never was, consisting of Drumbo (John French) on drums, vocals, and harmonica; Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) on bass; and guitarists Mantis and Feelers Reebo (Gary Lucas and Denny Walley, respectively). (For the live shows, Robert Williams – another Magic Band alumnus – took over the drum chair when Drumbo had to sing and play harp.) Of course, these guys knew the material, but they don't just play the tunes, they attack them, summoning up the controlled chaos that made the original Captain Beefheart recordings such singular achievements.