Tag Archives: Robert Johnson

February 26, 2017

365 Days of Album Recommendations – Feb 26

By pbistyping

Kokomo Arnold – Restored & Remastered Hits

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As with a great many early blues recordings from canonical artists, there are now many different ways to get your Kokomo Arnold. Different compilations, different record labels, new remasters, etc. I spend a fair amount of time listening through different versions of collections like these, trying to find the ones I think offer the best combination of quality and “naturalness”—what I mean by naturalness in this case is, I prefer NOT to hear the heavy hand of the remaster.  If I have to choose, I’ll take the “original” scratchiness over absurd amounts of filtering and manipulation.

This is why it was such a pleasant surprise to stumble on this collection of Kokomo Arnold recordings. I know nothing about the label other than that they’re based out of Italy, and that they’ve done a similar treatment with Cab Calloway’s music. But what I can tell you is that the sound quality here is really fine; warm, natural, clear, and you can REALLY hear what Mr. Arnold is gettin’ up to w/ that slide.

Kokomo Arnold’s influence is unmistakable, and probably fairly widely acknowledged at this point, given that two of Robert Johnson’s most well-known recordings—Sweet Home Chicago and Milkcow’s Calf Blues—are clearly swiped nearly wholesale from Mr. Arnold. Not to mention that Elvis did him some Kokomo as well!

Unlike many still-living early-era blues players sought out by enthusiasts in the 60s, Kokomo Arnold didn’t take up the offer to return to music, so all we have are his earlier recordings, but honestly, that’s more than enough to enshrine the man in hallowed halls.

His commanding voice, both urgent and powerful, had a moxie all its own, and his effortlessly clear and cutting falsetto is remarkable. His sense of melody was virtually flawless as well, which helped make so many of his compositions so timeless. But it’s his guitar playing that really raises the bar. Take a listen to The Twelves (Dirty Dozens) if you want to hear a flat-out clinic on how to play acoustic slide guitar. It’s just lethal.

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January 26, 2017

365 Days of Album Recommendations – Jan 26

By pbistyping

Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. I & II

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First off, don’t listen to any box sets, or reissues, or alternate takes, or versions purporting to be the correct speed, or anything else. Instead, just listen to the issued takes, as they were issued by Columbia in 1961 and 1970 respectively, in the order they were issued in. Preferably on vinyl, if possible.

I have original mono vinyl of both these albums. I got them in 1984-1985, somewhere in there. Full disclosure, yes, I have every bloody reissue ever released as well. But, the mono vinyl is where it’s at. Mono. As issued.

Robert Johnson was a synthesist operating at an almost unbearable level of proficiency and intensity. Virtually every composition and performance has an obvious antecedent, yet the songs are somehow entirely his own as well. Come On In My Kitchen draws straight off the well of Leroy Car and The Mississippi Sheiks. Sweet Home Chicago bleeds Kokomo Arnold’s blood. Hellhound on my Trail is Robert’s uncanny channeling of Skip James. And so forth.

For me, it’s Johnson’s lethal combination of meticulousness and venom that makes this music so awe-inspiring, so compelling, so hypnotizing. His precision is otherworldly, even as he’s howling, snapping, and cracking his way through the frenzied deliverance of a song.

Recommended track to start with: Preachin’ Blues

Why this track? Because he pulls out literally every stop to push this maniacal 2 minutes and 52 seconds of country blues perfection over the top. It’s a complete tour de force. It’s his master stroke, his Guernica.

After Robert, only God.

 

 

 

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July 1, 2016

It Was A Set Your Daddy Dug Tonight [Live Tracks Included]

By pbistyping

Preacher Boy - Virgil Thrasher - The National Blues

The inestimably excellent Virgil Thrasher brought his groovily moody and soulfully squallfull harmonica to the stage this evening, and together we ran down a set list which—upon retrospecting—I rather dig.

Here’s the full list of the songs we spelunked in and out of over the course of two solid hours tonight (please click the hyperlinked tracks to hear live, guerrilla-live recordings straight from the stage to vibrating drums:

If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (arr. PB, after Robert Johnson)

Rollin’ Stone (arr. PB, after Rev. Robert Wilkins)

Evil Blues (arr. PB, after Mance Lipscomb)

Revenue Man Blues (arr. PB, after Charley Patton)

Levee Camp Blues (arr. PB, after Mississippi Fred McDowell)

Settin’ Sun (PB, from “The National Blues”)

Comin’ Up Aces (PB, from “Demanding To Be Next”)

I Just Hang Down My Head And I Cry (trad., arr. PB, after Mance Lipscomb)

Catfish Blues (trad., arr. PB, after Willie Doss)

Jackson Street (PB, from “Demanding To Be Next”)

The Dogs (PB, from “The Devil’s Buttermilk”)

Obituary Writer Blues (PB, from “The National Blues”)

Down And Out In This Town (PB, from “Gutters and Pews”)

Red Cedar River Blues (PB, new-unreleased)

My Car Walks On Water (PB, from “The National Blues”)

99 Bottles (PB, Demanding To Be Next”)

That’s No Way To Get Along (arr. PB, after Rev. Robert Wilkins)

Casey Bill Weldon (PB, new-unreleased)

You’ve Been A Good Old Wagon (arr. PB, after Dave Van Ronk)

Death Letter Blues (arr. PB, after Son House)

~

Yeah man. I dig. I dug. I dig.

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May 31, 2016

Setlist Chronicles -or- The Strange Bird Songs I Played Tonight

By pbistyping

Preacher Boy, Mission St. BBQ, photo by Jake J. Thomas

(Preacher Boy, live at Mission St. BBQ. Photo by Jake J. Thomas.)

Kind of an intriguing set tonight, if I do say so myself. I certainly bookended with a pair of the usual suspects, and there were a few other familiar chirps throughout as well, but all in all, quite a lot of strange birds making sonic appearances tonight. Lots of country blues in here. Here’s the full list of what I ran down:

  1. If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (Robert Johnson, arr. PB)
  2. Preachin’ Blues (Son House, arr. PB)
  3. Levee Camp Blues (Mississippi Fred McDowell, arr. PB)
  4. Old Jim Granger (from the Preacher Boy album “The Tenderloin EP”)
  5. Diving Duck Blues (Sleepy John Estes, arr. PB)
  6. Evil Blues (Mance Lipscomb, arr. PB)
  7. A Little More Evil (from the Preacher Boy album “The National Blues”)
  8. Revenue Man Blues (Charley Patton, arr. PB)
  9. Milk Cow Blues (Mississippi Fred McDowell, arr. PB)
  10. Catfish Blues (Willie Doss, arr. PB)
  11. The Dogs (from the Preacher Boy album “The Devil’s Buttermilk”)
  12. Spoonful Blues (Charley Patton, arr. PB)
  13. Down And Out In This Town (from the Preacher Boy album “Gutters & Pews”)
  14. Sliding Delta (Mississippi John Hurt, arr. PB)
  15. Stagolee (Mississippi John Hurt, arr. PB)
  16. A Person’s Mind (from the Preacher Boy album “The National Blues”)
  17. Down South Blues (Sleepy John Estes, arr. PB)
  18. Coal Black Dirt Sky (from the Preacher Boy album “Crow”)
  19. Black Crow (from the Preacher Boy album “Crow”)
  20. Railroad (from the Preacher Boy album “Gutters & Pews”)
  21. Motherless Children (Blind Willie Johnson,/Mance Lipscomb/Dave Van Ronk, arr. PB)
  22. Shake ‘Em On Down (Bukka White)

And for your listening pleasure, two straight-from-the-stage-to-yer-ear-buds guerrilla-live tracks:

Preacher Boy – Sliding Delta [LIVE]


(arrangement based on the Mississippi John Hurt version)

Preacher Boy – Levee Camp Blues [LIVE]


(arrangement based on a recorded performance by Mississippi Fred McDowell)

For the guitar heads amongst ye, this version of Sliding Delta is performed on a ’36 National (Grandpa’s National), which is set up for standard tuning. This chords are based on Key of E forms, but the guitar is capo’d at the 4th fret. Levee Camp Blues is performed on a different ’36 National (THE National), and the guitar is tuned to an Open G tuning, then capo’d at the 2nd fret.

For the footwear fanatics amongst ye, the stomps come courtesy of my cowboy boots, which are a Size 13.

 

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March 5, 2015

Blues Under The Moonlight: The Setlist From Tonight

By pbistyping

If every picture is a poem, this is a haiku:

PB_LiveBlues_Moonlight

 

What song to sing when
the moon’s white eye shines? Which tu-
ning, and how open?

~

In alphabetical order, these are the songs I chose:

  1. 99 Bottles (PB)
  2. A Little More Evil (PB)
  3. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Bukka White)
  4. Big Road Blues (Tommy Johnson)
  5. Catfish Blues (Willie Doss)
  6. Comin’ Up Aces (PB)
  7. Cornbread (PB)
  8. Dead, Boy (PB)
  9. Death Letter Blues (Son House)
  10. Down & Out In This Town (PB)
  11. Down South Blues (Sleepy John Estes)
  12. Down The Drain (PB)
  13. I Shall Not Be Moved (Mississippi John Hurt)
  14. If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (Robert Johnson)
  15. Jesus, Make Up My Dying Bed (Blind Willie Johnson)
  16. Livin’ On A Bad Dream (PB)
  17. My Car Walks On Water (PB)
  18. Seven’s In The Middle, Son (PB)
  19. That’s No Way To Get Along (Rev. Robert Wilkins)
  20. There Go John (PB)

PB_#SauceAndASideOfSlide

 

 

 

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February 5, 2015

What’s A Preacher Boy Setlist Look Like These Days?

By pbistyping
The stage at Aptos St. BBQ

The stage at Aptos St. BBQ

To be honest, I’m not much of a setlist person, though I will say, there do tend to be patterns as regards the songs I select, and the order I play them in. More often than not, it comes down to simple questions of tuning. Because I use a number of different tunings, I generally try to do songs in such an order that I don’t spend the entire time mucking with the pegs.

So, what’s a Preacher Boy set list look like these days? Well, it’s pretty heavy on the country blues, that’s for sure! Here’s the crop from tonight’s show at Aptos St. BBQ, though to be honest, I have no idea what order I played these in, but I do know these are the songs I played (in parentheses, either the composer, or the musicianer I got the arrangement off of):

  1. If I Had Possession Over My Judgement Day (Robert Johnson)
  2. Fixin’ To Die (Bukka White)
  3. Death Letter Blues (Son House)
  4. Jack & Jill Blues (Sleepy John Estes)
  5. Cornbread (PB)
  6. One Good Reason (PB & Eagle-Eye Cherry)
  7. Catfish Blues (Willie Doss)
  8. That’s No Way To Get Along (Reverend Robert Wilkins)
  9. Baby, Please Don’t Go (Bukka White)
  10. 99 Bottles (PB)
  11. Old Jim Granger (PB)
  12. There Go John (PB)
  13. A Golden Thimble (PB)
  14. A Little More Evil (PB)
  15. Down & Out In This Town (PB)
  16. My Car Walks On The Water (PB)
  17. Need Mo’ Blues (Sleepy John Estes)
  18. Seven’s In The Middle, Son (PB)
  19. Death Don’t Have No Mercy (Reverend Gary Davis)
  20. Motherless Children (Dave Van Ronk)
  21. Slidin’ Delta (Mississippi John Hurt)
  22. Cornbread (PB)

I’m just starting to read Dave Van Ronk’s autobiography, so that’s what got me in the mood to play one of his arrangements. The book is:

and so far, it’s pretty delightful. Dave Van Ronk was such a huge influence for me. All those Tom Waits comparisons over the years used to just make me laugh, ‘cuz for fuck’s sake, haven’t you ever heard of Dave Van Ronk before?

The first time I ever performed a country blues kind of tune before an actual audience was courtesy of my old high school English teacher substitute Mr. Tom Nolet. He was a blues player, and knew I was hopelessly into it all as well, and very graciously invited me to sing a song at his gig at a coffeehouse. I was 16, and I played (or attempted to play, I should say) Dave Van Ronk’s version of Po’ Lazarus, and I was bloody awful, and Tom apparently lost the gig, and well, that wasn’t a very good start to my career (and obviously not good for his either!) and I don’t think I sang on mic again for another 5 years!

But I still play Po’ Lazarus sometimes, as well as a spin-off of Dave’s version of Come Back, Baby, and of course the version of Motherless Children that I noted above.

So that was me tonight. The Mayor of Aptos St. BBQ.

If ya’d like a lil’ taste, here’s a VERY rough live track from tonight’s show. The tune is “A Little More Evil,” a never-yet-recorded-and-released PB cut (and that thumpin’ sound is me boot!):

Preacher Boy: A Little More Evil (live at Aptos St BBQ, 2.15.15) 

Lyrics below:

a little more evil

jesus christ, look at you, you lookin’ like you dead wrecked
i wish i had a way to pay for you to get your head checked
you so fuckin’ strung out man it’s time to face the music
you ain’t got but the one life and you about to lose it

that isn’t opportunity
that’s knockin’ on the door
and it ain’t fire that you playin’ with
it somethin’ that’s a little more evil
a little more evil

it’s always a maria gettin’ suckers like you laid up
tryin’ to live the myth the ones that came before ya made up
i hate to break it to ya but her name is not maria
she might look ya in the eyes but i swear she doesn’t see ya

that isn’t opportunity
that’s knockin’ on the door
and it ain’t fire that you playin’ with
it somethin’ that’s a little more evil
a little more evil

i ain’t gon’ to be the john to baptize ya in the river
and you too old to be a baby that i’m called on to deliver
there’s a train to judgment and you got a ticket to go
but it ain’t gonna be the lord who come to meet ya at the depot

that isn’t opportunity
that’s knockin’ on the door
and it ain’t fire that you playin’ with
it somethin’ that’s a little more evil
a little more evil

(p) PreachSongMusic/KobaltMusic/BMI

 

 

 

 

 

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