I have just received the new reissue of
The Original Honeydripper, a live recording of
Roosevelt Sykes made in 1977 in the small basement blues club of the Blind Pig Cafe. This is a great spontaneous recording capturing Sykes in stride, opening with
Cow Cow Blues featuring his pounding piano riffs and hootin' and hollarin' singing technique. On
Drivin' Wheel, Sykes settles into a 12 bar roll with great vocal phrasing and piano presence. An earlier unreleased super rendition of
St James Infirmary really highlights Sykes ability to play with sophisticated intensity complimented by his sense of seriousness. On Ray Charles'
What I Say, Sykes adds his own flavor crossing back from Charles' style and his own barrelhouse style. On boogie
track
I'm A Nut, Sykes has the crowd rockin' and cheering. Always a crowd favorite,
Viper Song is a great story track giving Sykes a great venue to showcase his vibrant personality and light handed fingers on the keyboard. Another unreleased track,
Don't Talk Me To Death, is a great addition to this original release showing Sykes in control of the crowd and exhibiting some of his best vocal and key work on the release.
Early Morning Blues is one of my favorite tracks on the release showing just the perfect balance between Skyes' powerful vocal and piano. Closing the release is
Dirty Mother For You, a fun filled boogie track with Sykes leading you through the innuendo. This is a great documentation of one of the blues piano greats. If you don't already have a copy, now is the time!
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This is not a track from the release but does show Sykes in action:
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