Gray, Arvella & Friends: Blues from Maxwell Street 1960 & 1965
Gray, Arvella & Friends: Blues from Maxwell Street 1960 & 1965
Format: CD
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Artist: Gray, Arvella & Friends
Label: Document
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 714298569223
Genre: Blues
Field recordings made in July 1960 by Paul Oliver and Donald R. Hill. This reissue has been extended to CD length by the inclusion of three singles, issued on Gray's eponymous label a few years later. The 45s and the LP are all scarce items, and this will be a welcome release in music collecting world. James Brewer plays very assured guitar on his arrangement of a Peetie Wheatstraw song. Daddy Stovepipe's simple, vigorous, understandably brief performances offer an interesting glimpse of a mostly non-blues repertoire. Stovepipe once remarked that 'Old Time Religion' would sell better than 'foxtrots and blues, adding that 'I've got blues but I don't like blues much. I don't like to play them. Them wine-heads ain't got nothing to give you. The white folks, that's where your money is.' King David (because he played on his harp) was Maxwell Street Jimmy s accompanist but is heard solo here. He was a disciple of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. 'Don't Start Me Talkin". Five tracks are enough to show what King David can do but he does it enjoyably, playing and singing with fervour, and stompinq an energetic foot. Blind Arvella Gray ticks a lot of romanticising boxes, as a former hobo, gandy dancer, gambler, dope dealer and stickup artist. He was blinded and lost two fingers of his left hand when he was shot. His subsequent determination to survive on his own terms compels admiration - it's not hard to see why 'John Henry resonated strongly with him. His bottleneck guitar work was unsurprisingly simple. That said, these are forceful performances, which include some unusual images. 'Blues From Maxwell Street' is a vivid and valuable impression of what was going on at street level (literally) in 1960, and for a more rounded picture of Chicago blues, it's a necessary presence alongside the studio output of Chess, Vee-Jay Cobra and the like.
Tracks:
1.1 South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
1.2 Tennessee Waltz
1.3 Old Time Religion
1.4 The Monkey ; the Baboon
1.5 I'm So Glad Good Whiskey's Back
1.6 Fannie Mae
1.7 Sugar Mama
1.8 Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl
1.9 .38 Pistol
1.10 44 Blues
1.11 Corinne, Corrina
1.12 Have Mercy, Mr. Percy
1.13 Railroad Work Songs ; John Henry
1.14 Have Mercy, Mr. Percy, Pt. 2
1.15 Freedom Riders
1.16 Freedom Bus
1.17 You Are My Dear
1.18 Deborah
1.19 John Henry
1.20 The Walking Blues
