|
The acknowledged kingpin of the Louisiana school of blues, Lightnin' Slim's style was built on his grainy but expressive vocals and rudimentary guitar work, with usually nothing more than a harmonica and a drummer in support. It was down-home country blues edged two steps further into the mainstream. As the first great star of producer J.D. Miller's blues talent stable, Lightnin’ Slim continued to record regional hits that were issued on the Nashville-based Excello label for over a decade, with one of them, "Rooster Blues," making the national R&B charts in 1959.
Lightnin' Slim's music always remained uniquely his own, the perfect blues raconteur, even when reshaping other's material to his dark, somber style. He also possessed one of the truly great voices of the blues; unadorned and unaffected. His exhortation to "blow your harmonica, son" has become one of the great, mournful catchphrases of the blues, and even on his most rockin' numbers, there's a sense that you are listening less to an uptempo offering than a slow blues just being played faster. Lightnin' always sounded like bad luck just moved into his home approximately an hour after his mother-in-law did.
He was born with the unglamorous handle of Otis Hicks in St. Louis, Missouri on March 13, 1913. After 13 years of living on a farm outside of the city, the Hicks family moved to Louisiana, first settling in St. Francisville. Young Otis took to the guitar early, first shown the rudiments by his father, then later by his older brother.
But the rudiments were all he needed, and by the late '30s/early '40s he was a mainstay of the local picnic/country supper circuit around St. Francisville. In 1946, he moved to Baton Rouge, playing on weekends in local ghetto bars, and started to make a name for himself on the local circuit, first working as a member of Big Poppa's band, then on his own.
The '50s dawned with harmonica player Schoolboy Cleve in tow, working club dates and broadcasting over the radio together. It was local disc jockey Ray "Diggy Do" Meaders who then persuaded Miller to record him. He recorded for 12 years as an Excello artist, starting out originally on Miller's Feature label. As the late '60s found Lightnin' Slim working and living in Detroit, a second career blossomed as European blues audiences brought him over to tour, and he also started working the American festival and hippie ballroom circuit with Slim Harpo as a double act. When Harpo died unexpectedly in 1970, Lightnin' went on alone, recording sporadically, while performing as part of the American Blues Legends tour until his death in 1974. Lazy, rolling and insistent, Lightnin' Slim is Louisiana blues at its finest.
This 24-song UK collection undoubtedly overlaps with some of the U.S.-issued Excello material -- including the same alternate takes of "Rooster Blues" and "It's Mighty Crazy". The sound is excellent, and the stuff is worthy of inclusion with the best of Slim's work.
Tracklist:
01. Long Leanie Mama (2:11)
02. My Starter Won't Work (Alt Take) (2:47)
03. It's Mighty Crazy (Alt Take) (2:35)
04. Blues At Night (2:47)
05. I'm Leaving You Baby (Alt Take) (2:33)
06. Feelin' Awful Blue (3:00)
07. Sweet Little Woman (Alt Take) (2:09)
08. Lightnin's Troubles (2:57)
09. I Gonna Leave (3:05)
10. Rooster Blues (Alt Take) (2:44)
11. G.I. Slim (2:29)
12. Driftin' Blues (2:45)
13. Too Close Blues (2:01)
14. My Little Angel Child (2:46)
15. Greyhound Blues (2:49)
16. I Just Don't Know (2:16)
17. Somebody Knockin' (3:08)
18. Just A Lonely Stranger (2:54)
19. Cool Down Baby (2:17)
20. Nothin' But The Devil (3:02)
21. Goin' Away Blues (2:58)
22. I'm Tired Waitin' Baby (2:50)
23. Death Valley Blues (2:59)
24. Hello Mary Lee (2:45)
Media Info:
Bitrate: 256 kbps
Channels: stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.89
MPEG-1 layer 3
MUCH Peace n luv to my friends at 1337x and blazinseedboxes
you can listen to tunes like these and more 24/7 on 1337x radio
the ministry of piracy at http://1337x.net/0-radio.php
ENJOY!!
**tyvm and all due respect to the original uploader and all those who care enough to share
|
