Jimmy Johnson North - - South

(1981/82 'Delmark') (40:09/09) Nach seinem wegweisenden 'Johnson's Whacks'-Album erschien dieser Nachfolger, der leider soundtechnisch enttäuschte - und auch die CD-Fassung klingt nicht viel besser als die LP. Musikalisch Soul/Blues erster Güte, technisch: na j.a / After his groundbreaking first Delmark album 'North//South' was a disappointing follow-up record. The music's fine (soul/blues), but the sound is rather dull. The re-mastered CD version doesn't sound much better than the original LP.

Jimmy Johnson came dramatically to the attention of the blues world with the release of his first American album, Johnson's Whacks (Delmark 644), in 1979, one of the few albums around that time to project a new and distinctive blues personality. Originally issued in '82 North // South contained all original compositions reflecting Jimmy's background in blues, soul, gospel and jazz. Songwriter and blues aficionado Doc Pomus wrote on the original LP, 'Individuality is a sign of the great ones. When you hear a bar or two, and you know immediately who's hitting the notes, you know you're listening to a master - and that's how it is when you're hearing Jimmy Johnson. He's an incredible blues singer, guitarist and songwriter.'

JIMMY JOHNSON

How About Me? Pretty Baby

JIMMY JOHNSON

 

How About Me? Pretty Baby

 

In 1954 and 1955 The Sunset Riders were the house band at local radio personality Ray Odom's big Saturday night shows at Madison Square Garden in downtown Phoenix. The band, featuring 19-year-old string genius Al Casey on steel and lead guitar, backed most of the touring national acts and all of the locals. Casey's teacher, Forrest Skaggs, played bass, Gene Pine was on piano and Jimmy Johnson played rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals. Soon producer and writer Lee Hazlewood was using this band to back up local star Jimmy Spellman on his country Viv label releases and get his own compositions recorded. Johnson and his wife, Billie, had written a new song Cat Daddy (Volume One) that Hazlewood liked enough to invest in a drummer for the session, Larry Vanlandingham, to give the primitive rockabilly number some extra punch. Hazlewood's song How About Me? Pretty Baby was the flip side of this great record that was pressed on both 78 and 45 RPM speeds. Casey's Sun Records-influenced guitar riff really pushes this side along with a boppin' rhythm. Like all the other releases however, it never garnered more than local airplay and most of the early Viv records got buried in Hazlewood's garage. This was the first two-sided rocker from Phoenix and it sounds as good today as the day it was recorded at Ramsey's Recording Studio in 1955.

 

 

Various Rockin' And Boppin' In The Desert Vol.2

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