Robert Johnson's home in Hazelhurst being refurbished

The Associated Press recently reported here that the infamous bluesman Robert Johnson would have his birth home refurbished and outfitted as a tourist attraction in Hazelhurst, Mississippi. The Copiah County Office of Cultural Affairs is trying to raise $250,000 to repair the home that was hand-built by Johnson's stepfather, Charles Dodds.

The article also has further cited that a script is being worked on for a film of Johnson's biography. Jimmy White, co-writer for the Academy Award winning film Ray about the life of Ray Charles, is heading the project. The film had supposedly been in the works with HBO for some time but fell through. However, with the new push for restoration of Johnson's birthplace, White and others hope that it will be the publicity needed to get the seminal bluesman's life to the big screen. White supposedly has spent hours with Johnson's remaining relatives and the lone contemporary of Johnson's still alive, David "Honeyboy" Edwards.

The article does make one mistake in citing that Johnson was self-taught on guitar. Evidence in recent years though, has pointed out that Johnson learned his primary and popular recorded technique from the gospel Delta musician Ike Zimmerman (sometimes written as Zinnerman). You can read more about Johnson's life in the countless biographies that have been written about him in the last twenty years or so.

Keeping the Blues Alive Recipients Announced

The 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive Recipients from the Blues Music Foundation are:

Art and Photography: Michael Maness, Memphis, TN


Blues Club: Bradfordville Blues Club, Tallahassee, FL

Blues Organization: Connecticut Blues Society

Education: Spencer Bohren, New Orleans, LA

Festival: Heritage Music Blues Festival, Wheeling, WV

Festival International: Piazza Blues, Bellinzona, Switzerland

Historical Preservation: Eric Leblanc, British Columbia, Canada

International: Finnish Blues Association, Helsinki, Finland

Journalism: David Fricke, Rolling Stone, New York, NY

Literature: Crossroads, The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson Tom Graves, Memphis, TN

Manager/Agent: Pat Morgan, Kailua-Kona, HI

Print Media: Block, Almelo, Netherlands

Producer: Andy McKaie, Universal Music Enterprises, Santa Monica, CA

Promoter: Pozitif Productions, Istanbul, Turkey

Publicist: Richard Flohil, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Radio Commercial: Charles Evers, Jackson, MS

Radio Public: Rick Galusha, Omaha, NE

Record Label: Crosscut Records, Bremen, Germany

Visual Broadcast: Film, Television and Video: Pocket Full of Soul, Houston, TX

Mac Arnold & Plate Full O'Blues - Backbone & Gristle

Mac Arnold & Plate Full O'Blues
Backbone & Gristle
Plantation #1 Productions
Run Time: 78:40

After hearing that yet another one of Muddy Waters' former band members was recording again, my record "want" radar went off. Mac Arnold has run the gamut in the R&B/blues world as far as show business is concerned. When he was young he worked with Muddy, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, and eventually landed on the hit show Soul Train. On his second long time in coming release, Arnold puts together a band full of young blood and a contemporary sound for an interesting mix.
Most of the album would be considered contemporary soul-blues with its funky grooves, R&B laced keyboards, and Arnold's deep and enriched baritone that's full of both inspiration and experience. Tunes like "Love & Relations," "U Dawg Gone Right," and "Gitty Up" are the chemical make-up of the discs funkers that are foot stomping good times. Arnold's not afraid to slow it down and get right down in the bottom with soul blues like "I Refuse," the typical man done wrong story.
Arnold is also right at home in the 12-bar, traditional blues format, which he explores a few times throughout the disc. The all too repetitive tune that follows Mac's history of the Gas Can guitar isn't the best example. However, songs like "The Garden Song" and "Things I Don't Need" are steeped in the rural traditions from which Arnold came from. "Mean To Me" which is from a live outing in 2007 is probably the most exemplary and best effort of straight up no chaser blues that kicks it nice and raw. The title track of the album demonstrates Arnold's true knack for writing (all the tunes herein are from Arnold & Co.) as he talks about folks who don't have the back up to their words.
The album lacks a true attention grabber save for the spirited live performance of the gospelly inspiration of "I Can Do Anything" and the few others mentioned herein. Yet nothing really just pops out. It's a great overall disc and very well-rounded at its edges. Arnold is a soulful singer and has some good musicians behind. However, the staying power on listener's radar might wane after one or two listens. It's a very welcomed comeback to a forgotten polished sideman. He proves with his live shows and good performances that he's good enough to stand out in front. This disc is worth a listen to see a real deal good guy having fun and making good music with friends. If you are looking for something riveting, cutting edge, or spine tingling - you're better off looking somewhere else.

Arnold has a new release on the VizzTone Label Group that has recently come out. Look for the review of that disc here soon.

Mike Zito - Pearl River

Mike Zito
Pearl River
Eclecto Groove Records
Run Time: 55:50

Mike Zito's debut last year called Today was an eclectic collection of songwriting, craftsmanship, and held alot of promise for this young road warrior. Alot of what Today had to offer has fallen by the wayside on Zito's sophomore jinx Pearl River. The liner notes point out that the album is based around one of Zito's old stomping grounds of New Orleans and was a return to Zito's roots of blues, soul, and funk. There is a little bit of that here music wise, but what it fails to produce is the fresh ambience and new ground that Zito broke with his first release.
The first track "Dirty Blonde Hair" is a sure fire dance filler and will be sure and capture the contemporary "blooze-rocker" heart with its guitar pyrotechnics. You can catch a finer live take on the 3rd Annual Delta Groove Jam discs that came out earlier this year. Next, is one of 3 duets on the disc - the album's moody title track. Sung and jammed out with New Orleans son Cyril Neville, the tune delves deep into the history of the Civil Rights and slavery era atroticities that occured on the Pearl River's murky banks decades ago. Taking the Percy Mayfield love classic "River's Invitation" and spinning it on its head, Zito and Neville explore both the freedom and escape as well as the murder and pain that took place on this Louisiana river side. It's easily the most compelling lyrics written on the entire disc. With the exception of the John Prine-y sounding self-discovery of "One Step At A Time" with Anders Osborne; the rest of the disc is about love and love's labours lost. Most of the tunes aren't saying anything that we all haven't already heard before.
With that being said, Zito takes the oft-covered Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Eyesight to the Blind" and the warhorse "Sugar Sweet" and New Orleans funkifies them for some fresh energy to some old embattled covers. The bluesy duet with the Bonnie Raitt-sounding Susan Cowsill on "Shoes Blues" is reminiscent to a tune I remember hearing on a Tom Hambridge disc that was accompanied by Susan Tedeschi. Moody soul rockers find Zito exploring some ground already run and currently being run by another gunslinger, Tommy Castro. Songs like "C'Mon Baby," and the roadhouse shuffle of "Natural Born Lover" will be favorites of the ladies as he sings about male machismo, sweet love, and all oozing with his breathy smoked voice.
Zito sounds like he's really reaching to cross over, especially with the love ballad "C'Mon Baby." This sounds like the ever-dreaded John Mayer category that blues fanatics will shun but the million-dollar payday will welcome. Zito's got some bluesy company on the disc. Reese Wynans lays down some fine work throughout the disc. Lynnwood Slim and Randy Chortkoff add some tasteful harp on two different tunes. The song "All Last Night," a standard twelve-bar slow blues really shows off Zito's tasteful blues guitar leads and is probably as straight blues you'll ever get out of him. For me, if Zito would stick to his rocky singer-songwriter schtick he'll 1) both land the cross over he wants 2) gain credibility by staying focused. It's great that Zito has such a diverse pallette and talent, but bluesers will want something more out of him that I'm afraid they won't get - more blues material. Zito's in it for the sake of himself and the music. He's an impassioned player with good musical roots, but picking out more interesting material instead of the love/not love subject will work. It worked on tunes like "Pearl River" and "The Dead of Night" and from there it just falls in live with the rest. This, hopefully, is one river road trip Zito won't make again.

Texas Slim - Driving Blues

Texas Slim
Driving Blues
TopCat Records
Run Time: 51:13

Texas Slim has toured the world as a sideman, worked with the legendary Alex Moore and Little Joe Blue, and has a former member of the Spin Doctors of pop music fame producing and playing on this disc. Pretty impressive. He's opened for a laundry list of folks and gigs regularly with EC Scott. Slim and his band The Love Machine are a pretty well known regional act based out of Dallas-Ft. Worth. This disc sounds like it comes straight from a bar in that area of East Texas.
Writing all the tunes on the disc, Slim is another roadhouse rock guitarist. He's got a hot sounding guitar. If you're gonna play in Texas, I guess...you got to have a git-fiddle in the band. The album is chock full of muscled up Texas shuffles (the title track, "When It's Cold Outside"), to funked up blues-rockers ("Welcome To the Game," "You're Hip") and the standard 12-bar slow blues ("Three Bridges Blues," "High Alert"). Fans of the early Johnny Winter albums will especially notice Slim's akin nature to the albino bluesman both vocally and guitar-wise. Other similar comparisons could also be made to Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Shelter Records-era Freddie King. For the most part, the album was just okay. It's there. The real standout tracks seem to be when Slim steps outside of the Texas Guitar Hero box and tackles new ground. The sleazy, back room club back alley jazz of "Deville" is a clear stand out. Slim's grizzle and gravel vocals accentuate the sleaze and the nasty nature that is the underbelly of this groove. It's a definite keeper for any of those looking to start a high class call girl service or house of ill repute. The straight-up no chaser blues-rock Chuck Berry style of "Coffee Shop Girl" calls close attention to Johnny Winter's early days (anyone remember Winter's fine cover of "Johnny B. Goode"?). Slim's nasty tone and muscled up roadhouse attitude will let you forget the fact that J.W. probably never has been after a coffee shop kind of girl nor has probably been the one to sip lattes. When Slim lays down the 'lectric and puts on the dobro for the final two tracks, it's a welcome break to the action. He displays some southern rock/contemporary acoustic blues flavors that many in the Blues-Rock arena don't ever dare to touch. "Country Home" is a fine piece of work recalling some of Jimmy Page's slide work on "Travellin' Riverside Blues" from his rootsier Zeppelin days. The contemporary feel comes from an akinship to Sublime's slide guitar work (yeah, I just made a pop culture reference on a blues site. sue me!) and might win over some otherwise fairweather blues followers. Some fans though might find his vocals to be a little too rough at times. However, if you are a guitar-driven blues fan. Slim's got some interesting solos. Check out the 2nd solo on "You're Hip". It has that Freddie King swing.
Slim's a classy player that's not scared to show off his multi-directional tastes. His niche, it seems, is to be Texas through and through but is a unique part of Texas - like an armadillo or the chupacabra. In other words, Slim separates himself from all the other blues-rock garble by finding tunes that are different and playing to his strengths. Slim will be finishing out his touring with EC Scott at the end of 2009. 2010 may be the year that Slim gets the driving blues, as he drives from town to town and coast to coast in support of himself as a solo act on a big stage.