February 2016’s JOVM Spotify playlist will likely continue the wild variety I’m so proud of but with a number of mainstay artists including tracks by Victoria + Jean, Anna Rose, Rene Lopez, Anika, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Gosh Pith, Marco Benevento, New Order, Boulevards, Mavis Staples, Sofi Tukker, Charles Bradley, Majid Jordan, La Sera, Pr0files, Atmosphere, We Are Temporary, Beacon, Elephant Stone, Caveman, Octo Octa and several others who you’ve become familiar with through this site. But you’ll also come across a couple of tracks from one of my favorite new artists of the year, Sophie and the Bom Boms, some classic blues from Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and George Thorogood, porto-metal and stoner rock and countless more. Check it out!
Tag: Muddy Waters
Back in January, I wrote a post on Reno, NV-born and Nashville, TN-based alt rock/blues/rock artist Jack Berry. Berry can trace the origins of his recording career to when he wrote and recorded his first album while studying in Los Angeles. Berry then worked and performed along the West Coast as one half a of a duo before before he decided that it was time to go solo. Relocating to Nashville, Berry spent several months couch-surfing and writing and recording material with the hopes that he could catch the attention of that city’s local press. Eventually, Berry began receiving praise from outlets such as Nashville Scene, The Deli Magazine, Blues Rock Review and others, which resulted in slots at Toronto‘s North by Northeast (NXNE), CMJ and SXSW‘s Red Gorilla Festival. Since then, Berry has played a number of venues between his hometown and NYC; however, 2016 may be his breakthrough year with the Spring 2016 release of his latest album, Mean Machine.
Now, as I mentioned a little earlier, back in January I wrote about Mean Machine‘s first single “The Bull,” a sultry and bluesy single that paired arena rock-friendly power chords, propulsive and carefully syncopated drumming, an anthemic hook and Berry’s seductive crooning and howling that sonically seems to draw from Soundgarden (think of “Mailman” “Spoonman,”and “Fell on Black Days” off Superunknown) as it does from old-school blues and contemporary rock. Mean Machine‘s latest single “Bad Dog” continues where “The Bull” left off: arena-friendly power chords, propulsive drumming paired with Berry’s sultry crooning; however, the song possesses a cocksure swagger and menace that pushes the song towards the old school blues territory — in particular think of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.
Over the last few years, Daptone Records has released a series of albums documenting the gospel and church-based music from the Mississippi River Delta region — in particular Como, Mississippi. The third album in the series, Panola County Spirit is the debut effort from The Walker Family Singers, who were originally discovered and featured on the Daptone Records compilation, The Voices of Panola County: Como Now.
Comprised of Raymond and Joella Walker, three of their four daughters, Alberta, Patricia and Delouse, and their two songs Robert and Bobby, the gospel quintet is well known throughout their hometown: the Walkers have a long history of preaching the gospel as the Walker men have been preachers for many generations and the entire family continues a long and proud musical tradition that goes back quite some time. In fact, this should tell you well regarded the Walkers are in Mississippi Delta region — back in the day, Raymond Walker was once recruited by Fred McDowell and the legendary Sam Cooke to back them on tour for what would have been a rather significant amount of money. And as the story goes, the Walker patriarch refused unless McDowell and Cooke did gospel instead of the blues. McDowell vehemently refused and the rest is pretty much history.
Although the deeply religious would consider the blues as the devil’s music, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that the gospel and the blues from the region share so much deeply in common sonically, spiritually and aesthetically, and when you hear “Jesus Gave Me Water,” the first single off the album slated for a March 18 release, you’ll immediately feel as though you were taken back in time; perhaps to the days of Alan Lomax running around making field recordings of the blues musicians and gospel singers, who would become some of the towering and most influential names of contemporary music — in particular, think of Robert Johnson (who was murdered three weeks before Lomax arrived to record him), Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and countless others. Much like those classic and dusty recordings, the song possesses deceptive simplicity — led by Raymond Walker, the song features the vocalists singing acapella in a gorgeous and layered call and response harmony in a song that describes finding Jesus in a profound yet very simple fashion.
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New Video: The Rollicking and Playful New Video for Reed Turner’s “I Got Love”
With the release of his 2013 full-length debut effort to critical acclaim, Ghosts In The Attic, Austin, TX-based indie folk singer/songwriter Reed Turner exploded on to the national map. As a result of the attention on the album, Turner wound […]
With the release of his 2013 full-length debut effort to critical acclaim, Ghosts In The Attic, Austin, TX-based indie folk singer/songwriter Reed Turner exploded on to the national map. As a result of the attention on the album, Turner wound up sharing stages with an impressive list of acclaimed artists including Gary Clark, Jr., Mark Broussard, Will Hoge and Jessica Lea Mayfield, among many others — and the album wound up on several “Best Of” lists that year.
After a year of solitude marked by health issues, Turner turned his backyard shed into a makeshift workspace and studio, compelled to create rather than wallow. Along with his backing band, Turner and company wrote and recorded material that would wind up comprising his forthcoming Native Tongue EP live to tape on an old Studer A827, much like how they did during the Sun Records days.
As you’ll hear on Native Tongue‘s first single and EP opening track “I Got Love” possesses a bluesy, shuffling stomp and swing reminiscent of Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf — in particular I think of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” and “Get Rhythm,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Poor Boy (The London Sessions version),” Muddy Waters’ “Mean Ol’ Frisco Blues,” and Bo Diddley‘s “Who Do You Love” (although George Thorogood‘s version is infinitely better). And much like those songs, it feels as though it could have been recorded around that period, as it possesses the looseness of a band playing at a dirty whiskey bar or an old fashioned honky tonk. But interestingly enough the song balances an old-timey sweetness beneath the stomp and braggadocio; it’s the sort of song you’d can picture couples line dancing, swing dancing or blues dancing late into the night.
If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, you’ll likely be familiar with Lee Miles, a Louisville, KY-based alt country/folk-rock/blues-rock artist who records and performs under the moniker of Chief Ghoul. And as […]
Lee Miles is a Louisville, KY-based alt-country/folk-rock/blues-rock artist, who records and performs under the moniker of Chief Ghoul. And under the Chief Ghoul moniker, Miles has developed a reputation for a sound that channels the […]
Almost every contemporary, Western genre of music in some fashion owes a great debt to the blues. And if you know about rock and in the blues, you’d know about one of rock’s greatest guitarists and producers, […]
The heart and soul of almost every contemporary genre of Western music arguably comes from the blues. And if you know anything about rock and the blues, you’d be familiar with the legendary Johnny Winter. […]
If you truly know anything about music, you know that the blues and folk are deeply intertwined – especially when you talk about the early acoustic blues albums. if you don’t believe me, listen to […]
When you think of the blues, you immediately think of colorful characters such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson and others. And in the last 50 years or so, Dr. John immediately comes to […]
I came across this one and had to post it for several reasons – i still wanted to pay homage to one of the greatest and most influential bluesmen that ever lived, and because this […]
Muddy Waters is arguably the most influential bluesman ever, and this April 4th marks his centennial. With that in mind, check out this incredible live footage shot back in 1966 of the legendary bluesman and […]
The folks at Soundstage, a Chicago-based live concert series which was on air from about 1974-1985, invited the legendary Muddy Waters, who had called Chicago his hometown for most of his adult life to perform […]
a Q&A with Anna Rose
Although she’s the daughter of Alan Menken, the pianist, musical theater and film composer best known for the beloved Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and others, the […]