Spotlight: Alan “The Blind Owl” Wilson
January 21, 2009
I wrote a piece for Hidden Track on Canned Heat founder and guitarist, Alan “The Blind Owl” Wilson, who lived a very unusual nd interesting life. Check it out here.
Bustle In Your Hedgerow — Chicago, IL (8/6/2006)
January 14, 2009
SET ONE
Song Remains the Same*, Ramble On, Immigrant Song $, What is and What Should Never Be, Travelling Riverside %, Four Stix, Bring it Back Home
SET TWO
Moby Dick, Over the Hills and Far Away, Fool in the Rain*, Heartbreaker, All of My Love, Good Times Bad Times > How Many More Times*, The Ocean
$. Mike Keneally on Guitar
%. Sarah Zimmerman
* Bayliss Vox
Here Bustle In Your Hedgerow with the aid of Paul Green School of Rock’s Sarah Zimmerman just nail Robert Johnson cum Led Zeppelin’s “Travelin’ Riverside Blues”. Check out Sarah’s smokin’ slide guitar solo.
Skip James — “Devil Got My Woman”
January 5, 2009
Born in Mississippi when the 20th century was but two years old, Nehemiah “Skip” James was a blues musician, share cropper, bootlegger and preacher. Recording songs in the late 20′s and into the 30′s, James disappeared from the blues/music scene and drifted in and out of music until he was discovered in a hospital by a group of blues enthusiasts that included Henry Vestine of Canned Heat in 1964. Skip would pick where he left off in the 30′s, recording for the Vanguard label. The new blues revival of the 60′s was good for sales and James found a new generation of fans, including Eric Clapton, Dion & Deep Purple amongst others. The song, “Devil Got My Woman” was featured prominently in the 2000 film Ghost World and is proof of James’ timeless legacy. Here he is performing the song in 1966:
Muddy Waters — Greenvale, NY (10/18/1977)
November 12, 2008
Instrumental, Muddy Intro, Blues Had A Baby And Called It Rock, Hoochie Koochie Man, Baby Please Don’t Go, Kansas City, Caldonia, Everything Gonna Be Alright, Got My Mojo Working
Jimi Hendrix — Voodoo Chile
October 19, 2008
Jimi’s “Voodoo Chile” is the Mona Lisa of blues rock. With an impossibly wicked lick, the song draws you in instantly. Here’s some info on the song.
From Wiki:
“Voodoo Chile” is a song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience from the album Electric Ladyland. Recorded on May 2, 1968 at the Record Plant Studios in New York City, the recording session included Mitch Mitchell, drummer of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Steve Winwood of Traffic on B3 organ, and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane on bass duties. The song, basically a 15-minute blues jam, evolved into the final product over the course of an hour.
After many of the late night Electric Ladyland recording sessions, Hendrix and the band went to one of the New York City clubs to jam with whoever was there. One such jam at The Scene Club included Steve Winwood and Jack Casady. Noel Redding was not present as he had stormed out of the Record Plant studio earlier that evening. They spent the night playing “Voodoo Chile”, and when the club closed, Hendrix invited everyone back to the studio. At about 7 a.m. the next morning they began to formally record “Voodoo Chile”. It took only three takes and the final 15 minute version was Hendrix’s longest studio recording. The second take did not come out well, since a string broke. The first and second takes are used in “Voodoo Chile Blues” that is a combination of two takes released on Hendrix leftovers-album called Blues.
While “Voodoo Chile” sounds like a live recording, the crowd noise was actually recorded afterwards. Some twenty people were brought to the studio to record appropriate background noise.
Some notable video recordings:
From the BBC’s Happening’s For Lulu 1969:
Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1983:
Zakk Wylde and Slash from 1994:
Jimi again at Woodstock:
Ben Harper:
Rolling Stones with Eric Clapton — Little Red Rooster
October 4, 2008
One of the Stones’ great early blues covers. Written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin’ Wolf, the Stones recorded and released it in 1964 and had quite the little blues/pop hit in Great Britain, reaching #3. Here are the Stones playing at Atlantic City in the late 80′s. Roughly in the same period when Mick stole Eric’s “bird”. Eric was apparently in love with Carla Bruni and she couldn’t resist Mick’s charms. Well she’s now married to the French president, Sarkozy. Funny how things happen, eh?
Willie Dixon — Back Door Man
September 26, 2008
With Stephen Stills on guitar and Norton Buffalo on harp:
And for good measure, here’s Mr. Mojo Risin’ with his cronies doing it too.
The Doors — Crawling King Snake
September 26, 2008
An old John Lee Hooker song, The Doors played this song early in their career together and then pulled it out, dusted it off and recorded it for their last album, L.A. Woman. This song showcases Mr. Mojo Risin’ at his bluesy best with snakey guitar wails from Robby Krieger and tasteful, swaggering drumming provided by John Densmore. This was recorded and broadcast for Australian television in 1971, not long before Morrison’s shocking and untimely death in Paris. While much of The Doors’ catalogue is overplayed on classic rock stations around the globe every day, this is one of their tracks that always sounds fresh to me. Hooker himself stated that he dug The Doors’ interpretation of his song. Have a listen:
Eric Clapton — Eyesight To The Blind
September 23, 2008
An old Sonny Boy WIlliamson song Eric recorded for The Who’s 1975 film, Tommy. Check out Eric as a preacher at a church that worships Marilyn Monroe:
And here’s a clip of Pete and Eric from the early 90′s:
