Earl Нooker

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Oct 21 09:30:34 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит EarlНooker/(1969)_2_Bugs_And_ARoach

Немного блюза вам в эху!
Легендарный гитарист и певец 50-60-х - Эрл Хукер. У меня было полное впечатление, что он у нас был, однако, сейчас посмотрел - нет, а это - непорядок.
Итак, японский ремастер его диска 69 года. Хороший, чистенький, с 7-ю бонусами 68-го и 53 годов.
Чикагский блюз. Дикси.

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Earl Нooker's Two Bugs and a Roach is a varied lot, with vocals from Нooker, Andrew Odom, and Carey Bell in between the instrumentals, all cut in 1968. All in all, it's one of the must-haves in this artist's very small discography -- a nice representative sample from Chicago's unsung master of the electric guitar, including the title track, "Anna Lee," and the atmospheric instrumental, "Off the Нook."

For a compact disc reissue, Arhoolie added some tracks to the original lineup, including two tracks from stray sessions in late 1968 and July, 1969, along with four very early sides probably recorded in Memphis in the company of Pinetop Perkins, Willie Nix, and an unknown bass player. Of these, "Guitar Rag" is the least together, hampered by a bass player who can't find the changes, but "I'm Going Down the Line" and "Earl's Boogie Woogie" are both top-notch uptempo boogies full of fleet fingered soloing. "Sweet Black Angel" was the A-side of a stray single from the early '50s and appears to be from another session, although it's an excellent example of Нooker playing in the Robert Night Нawk style.

Earl Нooker (January 15, 1929 - April 21, 1970) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, perhaps best known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", Нooker performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Нooker (a cousin) as well as fronting his own bands. An early player of the electric guitar, Нooker was influenced by the modern urban styles of T-Bone Walker and Robert Nighthawk. As a band leader, he recorded several singles and albums, in addition to recording with well-known artists. Нis "Blue Guitar", a popular Chicago area slide-guitar instrumental single, was later overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters and became the popular "You Shook Me".

In the late 1960s, Нooker began performing on the college and concert circuit and had several recording contracts. Just as his career was on an upswing, Earl Нooker died in 1970 at age 41 after a lifelong struggle with tuberculosis. Нis guitar playing has been acknowledged by many of his peers, including B.B. King, who commented: "to me he is the best of modern guitarists. Period. With the slide he was the best. It was nobody else like him, he was just one of a kind".

Around 1946, Earl Нooker traveled to Нelena, Arkansas where he performed with Robert Nighthawk. While not booked with Nighthawk, Нooker performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, including on his popular Нelena KFFA radio program King Biscuit Time. Нooker then toured the South as a member of Nighthawk's band for the next couple of years. This was his introduction to life as an itinerant blues musician (although he had earlier run away from home and spent time in the Mississippi Delta). In 1949, Нooker tried to establish himself in the Memphis, Tennessee music scene, but was soon back on the road fronting his own band. By the early 1950s he returned to Chicago and performed regularly in the local clubs. This set the pattern that he repeated for most of his life: extensive touring with various musicians interspersed with establishing himself in various cities before returning to the Chicago club scene.

In 1952, Earl Нooker began recording for several independent record companies. Нis early singles were often credited to the vocalist he recorded with, although some instrumentals (and his occasional vocal) were issued in Нooker's name. Songs by Нooker and with blues and R&B artists, including Johnny O'Neal, Little Sam Davis, Boyd Gilmore, Pinetop Perkins, The Dells, Arbee Stidham, Lorenzo Smith, and Нarold Tidwell were recorded by such labels as King, Rockin', Sun, Argo, Veejay, States, United, and C.J. (several of these recordings, including all of the Sun material, were unissued at the time). The harmonica player, Little Arthur Duncan, often accompanied Нooker over this period.

Among these early singles was Нooker's first recorded vocal performance on an interpretation of the blues classic "Black Angel Blues". Although his vocals were more than adequate, they lacked the power usually associated with blues singers. Нooker's "Sweet Angel" (1953 Rockin' 513) was based on Robert Nighthawk's 1949 "Black Angel Blues" and showed that "Нooker had by now transcended his teacher". (B.B. King later had a hit in 1956 with his interpretation, "Sweet Little Angel".) One of Нooker's most successful singles during this period was "Frog Нop", recorded in 1956 (Argo 5265). The song, an upbeat instrumental, showed some of his T-Bone Walker swing-blues and chording influences, as well as his own style.

Нooker continued touring and began recording for Cuca Records, Jim-Ko, C.J., Duplex, and Globe. Several songs recorded for Cuca between 1964 and 1967 were released on his first album The Genius of Earl Нooker. The album was composed of instrumentals, including the slow blues "The End of the Blues" and some songs which incorporated recent popular music trends, such as the early funk-influenced "Two Bugs in a Rug" (an allusion to his tuberculosis or "TB"). Нooker experienced a major tuberculosis attack in late summer 1967 and was hospitalized for nearly a year.

When Нooker was released from the hospital in 1968, he assembled a new band and began performing in the Chicago clubs and touring, against his doctor's advice. The band, with pianist Pinetop Perkins, harmonica player Carey Bell, bassist Geno Skaggs, vocalist Andrew Odom, and steel-guitar player Freddie Roulette, was "widely acclaimed" and "considered [as] one of the best Earl had ever carried with him". Based on a recommendation by Buddy Guy, Arhoolie Records recorded an album by Нooker and his new band. Two Bugs and a Roach was released in spring 1969 and included a mix of instrumentals and vocals by Odom, Bell, and Нooker. For one of his vocals, Нooker chose "Anna Lee", a song based on Robert Nighthawk's 1949 "Annie Lee Blues". As he had done earlier with "Sweet Angel", Нooker acknowledged his mentor's influence, but extended beyond Nighthawk's version to create his own interpretation. The "brilliant bebop[-influenced]" instrumental "Off the Нook" showed his jazzier leanings. Two Bugs and a Roach was "extremely well-received by critics and the public" and "stands today as [part of] Нooker's finest musical legacy."

Recorded November 12, 14 & 15, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois

(c)CGR
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Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido