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| BLUES FOR KIDS' SAKE - VARIOUS ARTISTS (2003) |
| Apart from the fact that this CD was created as a labour of love for children, it�s indeed one of the best collections of blues music ever recorded. It was the brainchild of �Big Brother� Tom Johnson and Kelly Knight. Tom is a volunteer with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties organization, and Kelly is a local musician and producer at 2 Fish Studios, who produced the CD. Tom took charge of rallying well-known blues musicians in Joliet, Illinois, to donate their talents, some of which are recordings from their own individual CDs, and the result is spectacular! The CD opens with a devil-chasing saxophone and guitar-dominant recording called �Strong Hearted Women�, by Johnny Moore, from the Little Johnny & The Unknown Blues Band�s Workingman�s Blues. This is followed by T-Bird Huck�s organ-funky take on �You Can�t Judge a Book� (Bo Diddley) and Kelly Knight (also of the Kelly Knight Blues Project) covering J.B. Lenoir�s �Talk to Your Daughter�. As much as I liked these tracks, my ears perked up with �Lowdown in Lodi�, featuring The Pauline York Band doing a great take on John Fogerty�s CCR classic, �Lodi�. The CD just gets better and better, with Keith �Jr. Blues� Zofkie�s blues-rockin� �Carter�s Place Cut-Up� (from his They Call Me Junior CD), kickstarting Marty Big Dog Mercer�s manic �Blues Brothers� rendition of Jerry Reed�s soulful r&b tune, �Alabama Wildman� that just begged for a brass section. This track can also be heard on his Backwoods Barnyard Boogaloo CD, which title pretty well says it all. Slowing down the pace quite a bit was a pleasing acoustic guitar spiritual by Kraig Kenning called �Hey Brother� � very nice playing and singing here! Reverting back to electric (down and dirty) blues, the Chicago Kingsnakes offer the title track (by James Anderson) from their Blues Island CD. Along with the emotion-filled vocals and sweetly searing guitar strains, it also features a subdued keyboard layering and a non-standard coda. It�s one of my favourite tracks on the CD, but then I�m partial to this kind of blues music. Kathi Smith, a powerful, engaging vocalist who reminded me of Seattle�s Nicole Fournier, then performs Junior Wells� �Little By Little�. This lady deserves a much higher profile in the international blues music scene. This track, as well, contains some great harmonica, guitar and keyboards. Brent James Moats (of cleverly-named Moatzart Studio) and Kevin Wright knocked me out with a heartfelt perspective on poverty on �Rattlin Tin Cup�, featuring some wild electric and resophonic guitar. Twist Ferguson and Al "Hurricane" Spears perform an upbeat medley on piano and guitar, with the traditional �Hey Johnny�, which merges into T-Bone Walker�s �Stormy Monday�. I don�t know what it is, but I cringe whenever I hear T-Bone�s classic mournful litany �jazzed up� like this, even though many artists have covered it in this manner. If you disregard the origins, it�s still an enjoyable performance. Next up is my overall favourite � slide guitarist J.B. Ritchie (with Teardrop Records' Frank Bandy on bass) doing �Nervous Breakdown�, from his Power Blues CD. He was the first musician whose own CD I eagerly obtained, after hearing sound samples from Blues for Kids� Sake. I'd like to make a deeper musical acquaintanceship with all of these impressive players. Another female blues artist � Deb Seitz (of the Chicago Blues Posse) � also knocked me out with her version of Susan Tedeschi�s �Rock Me Right�. Apologies to Susan, but I prefer Deb�s vocals. The CD ends with a brief but fast-paced slide dobro solo by Kraig Kenning on his own �Slide Steppin��. Fans of Nick Vigarino or Tim Langford would appreciate this one. There are various special guest appearances on the CD, but they are not specifically credited. Released in 2003, this CD received numerous accolades, particularly in the state of Illinois, but I would like to see support for these kinds of projects continuing all over North America, and not just from musicians (God bless 'em all). What is more precious to the future of the world than the mental and physical well-being of our children? For more information on how to purchase the CD and contribute to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Organization in Joliet, Illinois, go to www.bbbswillgrundy.org/blues.htm or listen to the CD first at www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbbs. The CD is also available in England at Tower Records. |
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