Delmark Records artist: Junior Wells - Southside Blues Jam - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Southside Blues Jam, by Junior Wells and it's great! This is another in a series of reissues from Delmark with in this case 6 additional tracks. This release was recorded in December '69-January '70 at Theresa's Blues Bar and one could only have wished to be at one of these shows! Opening with Sonny Boy Williamson's Stop Breaking Down, Spann hits the first key and Wells unleashes that monster voice. It's really great to hear this band featuring the kings of Chicago blues (Wells, Guy, Myers, Spann, Earnest Johnson and Fred Bellow). Wells has such control and composure with Spann who is one of my personal favorites. Excellent! I Could Have Had Religion is up next and Spann is right there! This track comes and goes so quickly but Spann in crystal clear and Wells has the blues in the palm of his hand. Willie Dixon's Just Make Love To Me (I Just Wanna Make Love To You) is right down in the groove and Spann is stellar. Wells really digs down and Buddy is heard scampering over the vocals with his guitar riffs. Spann steps out with a great intro on one of my favorites, Lend Me Your Love. Wells' vocals are focused and direct and Otis really kicks it on an extended solo. Guy plays some of his notorious riffs, rough and raw. An almost perfect track. On Morganfield's Long Distance Call, Wells pulls out the harp and quietly coaxes riffs from Spann and Guy. Excellent! On Williamson's In My Younger Days, Wells plays a cool intro and Spann keeps a solid piano base under Wells' vocals. Of course a perfect track for Wells to blow it out, that he does and a full out romp starts with Louis Myers adding really nice guitar riffs to the mix. Guy takes the mic on Trouble Don't Last and consequently adds more of his own distinctive guitar riffs in echo to his own vocals. It is a such a great thing to hear Guy and Spann together with Guy singing and Wells on harp. Guy takes a bit more of an extended solo on this track as well. Excellent! The next 7 tracks weren't a part of the original release and are a terrific bonus here. It's Too Late Brother cooks with Wells riding high on vocal and terrific harp work. Myers is just perfect on guitar on this track with an almost jazz attack and Spann plays low on the keyboard creating a super dynamic. At over 6 minutes, this is a cool jam. Warmin' Up is a cool little clip of Spann and Guy jamming. At only about a minute long, a well worthy addition with hot riffs! Love My Baby has a strong Morganfield feel and Guy cuts loose nicely on this track. Spann's signature is ever present and these are not just extras...these tracks are great! An alternate take on I Could Have Had Religion is up next and Wells really sings over the top. At over 7 minutes this turns into a super jam with Wells vocal improv, Spann, Guy, Below and Johnson. Morganfield's Rock Me is up next and Wells sets a really nice groove. Spann's signature is so pure and evident that you wonder how anyone ever listened to Chicago blues without him. Wells rips loose on his harp against a fairly quiet background creating a super dynamic. Got To Play The Blues is a seven plus minute track with a funky blues feel. Myers holds down the guitar spot on this track and Spann and Wells trade riffs. This is an excellent release of materials for both enthusiasts and seasoned listeners. There is also included a 16 page liner notes and super photos from Bob Koester. Also of note is that this is the final studio recording of Spann.

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Elevationist Women In Town - Dave & Louis Myers

Though he was certainly capable of brilliantly fronting a band, remarkably versatile guitarist/harpist Louis Myers will forever be recognized first and foremost as a top-drawer sideman and founding member of the Aces -- the band that backed harmonica wizard Little Walter on his immortal early Checker waxings.
Along with his older brother David -- another charter member of the Aces -- Louis left Mississippi for Chicago with his family in 1941. Fate saw that the family move next door to blues great Lonnie Johnson, whose complex riffs caught young Louis' ear. Another Myers brother, harp-blowing Bob, hooked Louis up with guitarist Othum Brown for house party gigs. Myers also played with guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Spires before teaming with his brother, David, on guitar and young harpist Junior Wells, to form the first incarnation of the Aces (who were initially known as the Three Deuces). In 1950, drummer Fred Below came on board.
In effect, the Aces and Muddy Waters traded harpists in 1952, Wells leaving to play with Waters while Little Walter, just breaking nationally with his classic "Juke," moved into the frontman role with the Aces. Myers and the Aces backed Walter on his seminal "Mean Old World," "Sad Hours," "Off the Wall," and "Tell Me Mama" and at New York's famous Apollo Theater before Louis left in 1954 (he and the Aces moonlighted on Wells' indispensable 1953-1954 output for States).
Plenty of sideman work awaited Myers -- he played with Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and many more. But his own recording career was practically non-existent; after a solitary 1956 single for Abco, "Just Whaling"/"Bluesy," that found Myers blowing harp in Walter-like style, it wasn't until 1968 that two Myers tracks turned up on Delmark.
I'm a Southern Man
the Aces re-formed during the '70s and visited Europe often as a trusty rhythm section for touring acts. Myers cut a fine set for Advent in 1978, I'm a Southern Man, that showed just how effective he could be as a leader (in front of an L.A. band, no less). Myers was hampered by the effects of a stroke while recording his last album for Earwig, 1991's Tell My Story Movin'. He courageously completed the disc but was limited to playing harp only. His health soon took a turn for the worse, ending his distinguished musical career.
The Aces was one of the earliest and most influential of the electric Chicago blues band in the 1950s. Led by the guitarist brothers Louis and Dave Myers, natives of Byhalia, Mississippi, the brothers originally performed under the name The Little Boys; with the subsequent addition of harmonica player Junior Wells, they rechristened themselves the Three Deuces, followed by the Three Aces. The 1950 enlistment of drummer Fred Below prompted another name change, this time to the Four Aces; finally, to simplify matters once and for all, the group performed as just The Aces. Influenced in large part by jazz, they developed an urbane, sophisticated style well ahead of its time; in particular, Below's refined rhythms led to the rise of the blues shuffle beat, and helped launch the drums to a new prominence within the blues band hierarchy.

In 1952, Wells quit to join the Muddy Waters band, filling the vacancy created by the recent departure of Little Walter; Walter himself quickly signed the remaining Aces as his new backing unit, renaming the trio The Jukes to capitalize on his current hit single, "Juke". A series of seminal recordings followed - "Mean Old World," "Sad Hours," "Off the Wall," and "Tell Me Mama" among them - before Louis' 1954 exit resulted in the Jukes' gradual dissolution as Little Walter's band, but freeing up the members to reform as a backing band for other Chicago blues musicians such as Otis Rush, Eddie Boyd, and others.

In the late 1950s Dave Myers switched from guitar to the electric bass, becoming one of the first Chicago bluesmen to adopt this relatively new instrument, and helping to popularize it in Chicago blues. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s the original Aces periodically reunited for recordings, tours, and festival gigs.
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Take A Little Walk - Louis Myers

Though he was certainly capable of brilliantly fronting a band, remarkably versatile guitarist/harpist Louis Myers will forever be recognized first and foremost as a top-drawer sideman and founding member of the Aces -- the band that backed harmonica wizard Little Walter on his immortal early Checker waxings.
Along with his older brother David -- another charter member of the Aces -- Louis left Mississippi for Chicago with his family in 1941. Fate saw that the family move next door to blues great Lonnie Johnson, whose complex riffs caught young Louis' ear. Another Myers brother, harp-blowing Bob, hooked Louis up with guitarist Othum Brown for house party gigs. Myers also played with guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Spires before teaming with his brother, David, on guitar and young harpist Junior Wells, to form the first incarnation of the Aces (who were initially known as the Three Deuces). In 1950, drummer Fred Below came on board.
In effect, the Aces and Muddy Waters traded harpists in 1952, Wells leaving to play with Waters while Little Walter, just breaking nationally with his classic "Juke," moved into the frontman role with the Aces. Myers and the Aces backed Walter on his seminal "Mean Old World," "Sad Hours," "Off the Wall," and "Tell Me Mama" and at New York's famous Apollo Theater before Louis left in 1954 (he and the Aces moonlighted on Wells' indispensable 1953-1954 output for States).
Plenty of sideman work awaited Myers -- he played with Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and many more. But his own recording career was practically non-existent; after a solitary 1956 single for Abco, "Just Whaling"/"Bluesy," that found Myers blowing harp in Walter-like style, it wasn't until 1968 that two Myers tracks turned up on Delmark.
I'm a Southern Man
the Aces re-formed during the '70s and visited Europe often as a trusty rhythm section for touring acts. Myers cut a fine set for Advent in 1978, I'm a Southern Man, that showed just how effective he could be as a leader (in front of an L.A. band, no less). Myers was hampered by the effects of a stroke while recording his last album for Earwig, 1991's Tell My Story Movin'. He courageously completed the disc but was limited to playing harp only. His health soon took a turn for the worse, ending his distinguished musical career.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”
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Elevationist Women In Town- Louis Myers

Though he was certainly capable of brilliantly fronting a band, remarkably versatile guitarist/harpist Louis Myers will forever be recognized first and foremost as a top-drawer sideman and founding member of the Aces -- the band that backed harmonica wizard Little Walter on his immortal early Checker waxings.

Along with his older brother David -- another charter member of the Aces -- Louis left Mississippi for Chicago with his family in 1941. Fate saw that the family move next door to blues great Lonnie Johnson, whose complex riffs caught young Louis' ear. Another Myers brother, harp-blowing Bob, hooked Louis up with guitarist Othum Brown for house party gigs. Myers also played with guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Spires before teaming with his brother, David, on guitar and young harpist Junior Wells, to form the first incarnation of the Aces (who were initially known as the Three Deuces). In 1950, drummer Fred Below came on board.

In effect, the Aces and Muddy Waters traded harpists in 1952, Wells leaving to play with Waters while Little Walter, just breaking nationally with his classic "Juke," moved into the frontman role with the Aces. Myers and the Aces backed Walter on his seminal "Mean Old World," "Sad Hours," "Off the Wall," and "Tell Me Mama" and at New York's famous Apollo Theater before Louis left in 1954 (he and the Aces moonlighted on Wells' indispensable 1953-1954 output for States).

Plenty of sideman work awaited Myers -- he played with Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and many more. But his own recording career was practically non-existent; after a solitary 1956 single for Abco, "Just Whaling"/"Bluesy," that found Myers blowing harp in Walter-like style, it wasn't until 1968 that two Myers tracks turned up on Delmark.

The Aces re-formed during the '70s and visited Europe often as a trusty rhythm section for touring acts. Myers cut a fine set for Advent in 1978, I'm a Southern Man, that showed just how effective he could be as a leader (in front of an L.A. band, no less). Myers was hampered by the effects of a stroke while recording his last album for Earwig, 1991's Tell My Story Movin'. He courageously completed the disc but was limited to playing harp only. His health soon took a turn for the worse, ending his distinguished musical career.

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