Tradition Magazine From 1999 02 (142)

Weepin' Willie's long-awaited debut album (he was 72 when he recorded it) finally got made thanks to the efforts of Mighty Sam McClain, who co-produced the session, wrote or co-wrote five of the songs, and sang on three. Although Willie waited 50 years to record this album, At Last, On Time certainly doesn't sound like it was 50 years in the making - McClain rather hastily steers Willie's sound in more of a soul/R&B direction, which seems to have left Willie relying on the arrangements instead of his usual blues instincts. Still, Willie manages to find his stride here, especially on the slow blues numbers "Dirty Old Man," "They Call Me Weepin' Willie," and "Can't Go Wrong Woman," the latter featuring Jimmy D. Lane on lead guitar…

Artie White has been one of the most consistent soul-blues performers, releasing top-notch discs regularly since the mid-80's. `Can We Get Together' was his final disc for Waldoxy and is probably his best to date. There are plenty of fine blues tracks, notably the tough "When You Leave Don't Take Nothin", the Little Milton-style "Lonely Lady" and a pair from the pen of the great Travis Haddix, "My Dessert" and "Made to Order". The soul material is just as strong, notably "Can We Get Together", "Back at the Hotel" (both in the cheating vein), the witty "I Can't Afford to be Broke", and the slow ballad "One More Time". Along with the great songs, Artie's singing is strong throughout, while the production is (like most Malaco/Waldoxy disc's) first rate.

Had this been released in 1982, it would have been the third album for the Bugs Henderson Group. It was not released at that time, however, due to differing thoughts on its style. In 1998 the tapes were resurrected and the vocals were re-cut. Most of Backbop is good old-fashioned rock & roll. The strongest cuts are "Help Me," which blends sounds as diverse as '70s rock and Chet Atkins; "Love Junkie," which comes the closest to blues with some nice jazzy riffs that are lessened only by too much repetition; and "Thief of the Night," which sees Henderson at his fiercest, rocking out with all the speed and bends his fans cherish.

After disbanding his group to take time off to clean up his life, Lil' Ed re-formed the Blues Imperials for this 1999 entry, his first for Alligator since What You See Is What You Get. The good news is that the time off had totally reinvigorated Ed's playing, singing, and songwriting, as he ultimately turned in a great batch of originals infused with blistering raw energy. The only non-originals out of the 14 tracks assembled here are nice takes on "Too Late" and "Pet Cream Man," both tunes written by Ed's uncle and principal inspiration, the late J.B. Hutto. Call this a comeback album if you must, but if great, raw Chicago blues is your thing, consider this one great album, period.

Absolutelly phenomenal album! Super jazz metal fusion made by true pros plus killer drumwork on this album,absolutelly mindblowing! Donati is a master of polyrhythms,his versatility is unbelieveble and this modern type of fusion can please even the most pretentious fusion lover! The sound is killer too,wonderful indeed! The diversity of the compositions is well balanced,each musician is an ace in hos work,but overall is this "not of this earth" drumming from Virgil Donati, absolutelly fantastic! Sometimes we have the impressions that the unbelieveble technical skills provided by Donati, are here only to prove his fantastic talent and this music is made only for musicians! That's not true, but to fully understand this album, there are many auditions necessary!