Bman's Blues Report

I just received a new release, Delmark 60 Years of Blues and it's terrific! Opening with Studebaker John's Maxwell Street Kings and When They Played The Real Blues . John on harp, guitar and vocals drives a hard Chicago line on this super track from Kingsville Jukin'. Really hot! Following this track is Junior Wells and Rock me Baby from the Southside Blues Jam sessions. With Otis Spann on piano, Louis Meyers on guitar, and Wells on vocal and harp, this is a band that is hard to beat. Wells is on top of his game and Spann is one of my all time favorite blues pianists so this track is primo! Lindsey Alexander plays Raffle Ticket with Mike Wheeler on guitar Roosevelt Purifoy laying down some excellent piano. Alexander leads a tight ship on this track released on Been There Done That. Magic Sam plays I Don't Want No Woman , from his Live At The Advant Garde. His guitar work is finely articulated and his vocals are inspired. This track is swinging! Quintus McCormic...

Eddie C. Campbel l is back with his new recording, Spider Eatin' Preacher . Campbell has a unique blues style that incorporates the ingredients of a stew of Blues, R&B, Soul, and a number of other other flavors. Campbell wrote 12 of the 15 tracks on this release and is joined by his partner, Barbara Mayson on bass and his Godson, Lurrie Bell on guitar. A particularly interesting song early in the recording is Call My Mama with some type of loose chant or call followed by a slick guitar solo. Soup Bone (Reheated) is a cool Albert King style blues and one of my favorites on the cd. Darryl takes a solo run on the keys on this one. I Don't Understand This Woman is a loping blues with some cool guitar riffs. Again Campbell's vocal styling is a strong component. Boomerang gets the swing moving and the use of guitars by Alexander Mejia with Campbell on this particular song are quite cool. Starlight is a smooth instrumental played in a Gatemouth swing style. Lurrie Bell pl...

Biography by Bill Dahl Happily, Eddie C. Campbell returned to Chicago after spending a decade entrenched in Europe. His shimmering West Side-styled guitar playing and unusually introspective songwriting have been a breath of fresh air on the Windy City circuit, reuniting the veteran bluesman with fans he left behind in 1984. Campbell left rural Mississippi for the bright lights of Chicago at age ten, sneaking a peek at Muddy Waters at the 1125 Club soon after he arrived and jamming with his idol when he was only 12. He fell in with some West Side young bloods -- Luther Allison, Magic Sam -- and honed a guitar attack rooted deep in the ringing style. Campbell paid his sideman dues on the bandstand with everyone from Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter to Little Johnny Taylor and Jimmy Reed. Koko Taylor recommended Campbell to Willie Dixon, who hired him as a Chicago Blues All-Star in 1976. Campbell cut his own debut album, the rousing King of the Jungle, in 1977 for the Steve Wisner'...