( Advanced Search )  
 

BLUES & GOSPEL
Richard "Hacksaw" Harney -> Ted Hawkins

RICHARD "HACKSAW" HARNEY
SLIM HARPO
COREY HARRIS
PEPPERMINT HARRIS
WYNONIE HARRIS
WILBERT HARRISON
ROY HAWKINS
TED HAWKINS
 

RICHARD "HACKSAW" HARNEY Genes 9909 Sweet Man ● CD $16.98
10 tracks, 37 mins, highly recommended A delightful collection of mostly instrumental music featuring nigh legendary Mississippi guitarist Richard "Hacksaw" Harney. Originally performing in the 20s with his brother Maylon as "Pet & Can" he backed a couple of singers on record but his shyness and a speech impediment prevented him from taking his music to a wider audience. He was rediscovered in 1969 and made a handful of recordings prior to his death in 1973 including these previously unissued recordings from 1972. He was a superb, though not, guitar player whose music was a mix of bleus, ragtime and jazz and not really what one might expect from a Mississippi bluesman though Delta elements surface many a time. Most of the pieces are originals highlighted by the beautiful minor key piece Sweet Man. He also performs a couple of old pop/ jazz favorites Five Foot Two and Oh Red featuring charming vocals. This disc is hsort, but oh so sweet! (FS)

 
SLIM HARPO Ace CDCHD 510 I'm A King Bee - The Early Swamp Blues Classics ● CD $18.98
The first of three planned Ace CDs of Excello recordings from this Louisiana blues legend. This disc features 24 tracks recorded between 1957 and 1964 including nine previously unissued songs or alternate takes.
SLIM HARPO: Blues Hangover/ Bobby Sox Baby/ Boogie Chillen/ Buzz Me Babe/ Buzzin'/ Don't Start Cryin' Now/ Dream Girl/ I Got Love If You Want It/ I Love The Life I'm Living/ I'm A King Bee/ Late Last Night/ Lover's Confession/ Moody Blues/ My Home Is A Prison/ One More Day/ Please Don't Turn Me Down/ Rainin' In My Heart/ Snoopin' Around/ Strange Love/ That's Alright Baby/ What A Dream/ Wonderin' And Worryin'/ Yeah Yeah Baby/ You'll Be Sorry One Day

 
SLIM HARPO Ace CDCHD 606 Tip On In ● CD $18.98
25 tracks featuring Slim's later Excello sides and his 1969 Imperial session.
SLIM HARPO: Baby Please Come Home/ Dynamite/ Folsom Prison Blues/ Hey Little Lee/ I Just Can't Leave You/ I'm Gonna Keep What I've Got/ I've Been Your Good Thing For You/ I've Got My Finger On Your Trigger/ I've Got To Be With You Tonight/ Jody Man/ Just For You/ Mailbox Blues/ Mohair Sam/ Mutual Friend/ My Baby She's Got It/ Rock Me Baby/ Stick Your Chest Out Baby/ Te-ni-nee-ni-nu/ That's Why I Love You/ The Hippy Song/ The Music's Hot/ The Price Is Too High/ Tip On In (part 1)/ Tip On In (part 2)/ You Can't Make It

 
SLIM HARPO Ace CDCHD 658 Sting It Then ● CD $18.98
1961 live show - the only known live recordings of the great Swamp bluesman. Part of these recordings were previously issued on the U.S. Excello two CD set but this is the complete show. Backed his great band with Rudy Richard/ guitar, Willie "Tomcat" parker on sax and other he plays some of his own most popular songs as well as blues favorites - Buzzin'/ Lottie Mo/ Big Boss Man/ I'll Take Care Of You/ Moody Blues/ I'm A King Bee/ I Got Love If You Want It, etc. Sound is not the greatest but the remastering engineers have done a great job to make it listenable. (FS)
SLIM HARPO: Big Boss Man/ Boogie Chillun/ Buzzin'/ Everybody Needs Somebody/ Hold Me Tenderly/ I Don't Play/ I Got Love If You Want It/ I'll Take Care Of You/ I'm A King Bee/ Little Liza Jane/ Lottie Mo/ Moody Blues/ Next Disc/ Rainin' In My Heart/ Star-time Announcement/ Star-time Theme/ Sugar Coated Love/ When The Saints Go Marchin' In/ You Know I Love You

 
SLIM HARPO Hip-O 40072 The Best Of ● CD $11.98
16 classic sides including I'm A King Bee/ Shake Your Hips/ I've Got Love If You Want It/ Rainin' In My Heart and lots more.

 
SLIM HARPO Hip-O 40135 Raining In My Heart ● CD $11.98
15 tracks, 40 mins, highly recommended. Another classic Excello album reissued - this time Excello's third album and the first for their best selling bluesman Slim Harpo. This classic album was originally issued in 1962 and includes some of his best recordings featuring his nasal vocal style and reedy effective harmonica with fine accompanying musicians like Guitar Gable, Rudolph Richard, Al Foreman, Katie Webster, etc. It includes his two hits I'm A King Bee and the beautiful blues ballad Raining In My Heart. It also features his fabulous talking blues Blues Hangover, the driving I Got Love If You Want It with its effective use of maracas and such powerful slow blues as What A Dream and My Home Is Prison. This CD adds three bonus cuts to the LP My Little Queen Bee/ Late Last Night and Tip On In, Part 2. Essential sides, if you don't already have them. (FS)

 
COREY HARRIS Alligator 4837 Between Midnight And Day ● CD $16.98
Young African-American acoustic country blues performer.
COREY HARRIS: 61 Highway/ Between Midnight And Day/ Bound To Miss Me/ Bukka's Jitterbug Swing/ Catfish Blues/ Early In The Morning/ Feel Like Going Home/ Going To Brownsville/ I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More/ I'm A Rattlesnakin' Daddy/ It Hurts Me Too/ Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning/ Pony Blues/ Roots Woman/ She Moves Me/ Write Me A Few Lines

 
COREY HARRIS Alligator 4850 Fish Ain't Bitin' ● CD $16.98
17 tracks, 55 min., recommended As with the 1995 CD, Corey Leslie Harris once again plays/pays homage to his mentors, including Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson ("Jack O'Diamonds"), Blind Willie Johnson, Big Maceo, Fred McDowell/Rev. Gary Davis ("You Got To Move"), Memphis Minnie ("Bumble Bee Blues") and Frank Stokes ("Take Me Back"). Also included are 9 original traditional-based songs, four with an all New Orleans brass band, including "5-0 Blues", a song about police brutality, and "Fish Ain't Bitin'" (with Wolf Anderson on trombone), a song he wrote after living & teaching in an industrial district of Louisiana called "Cancer Alley". The engineering on this CD is the best I've heard in years. (EL)
COREY HARRIS: 5-O Blues/ Berry Owens Blues/ Bumble Bee Blues/ Clean Rag/ Fish Ain't Bitin'/ Frankie and Johnnie/ God Don't Ever Change/ High Fever Blues/ High Fever Blues (solo version)/ If You Leave Me/ Jack O'Diamonds/ Mama Got Worried/ Moosemilk Blues/ Preaching Blues/ Take Be Back/ Worried Life Blues/ You Got to Move

 
COREY HARRIS & HENRY BUTLER Alligator 4872 Vu-Du Menz ● CD $16.98

 
COREY HARRIS Rounder 3194 Downhome Sophisticate ● CD $16.98
18 tracks, very good
Corey Harris shakes loose after his Vu-Du Menz CD of 2000 with another journey across a wide musical landscape. He's not afraid to mix Delta Blues with Jamaican and current trends making the overall outcome score well. Both the title track and the topical Santoro find a smart mix of hip-hop and blues and Fire is an excellent display where he combines soulful vocals with blazing guitar. He completely revamps Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning and while it might haunt purists, there's no denying his ability to come up with magical excursions that should please a more modern audience. (CR)

 
PEPPERMINT HARRIS Blue City 815 I Got Loaded ● CD $18.98
30 track collection of sides from the 50s from this plummy voice Texas bluesman. Includes his great #1 R&B hit I Got Loaded which has been covered by a number of artists plus Right Back On It/ Hey Little Schoolgirl/ I Always End Up Blues/ I Never Get Enough Of You/ Let The Back Door Hit You/ Maggie's Boogie and others.

 
WYNONIE HARRIS Ace CDCHD 457 Women, Whisky And Fish Tails ● CD $18.98
21 tracks, 53 min., recommended
Well aware of the fact that there are already several Harris discs on the market, Ace wisely decided to focus their reissue on his later King sides, recorded between 1953 and 1957. This period of time falls after his period of regularly making the charts, but all of the material is strong and interesting nonetheless. And almost all of the titles are new to CD. Among them are Greyhound/ Christina/ Fish Tail Blues/ Shotgun Wedding/ Bring It Back, and I Don't Know Where to Go. Not a last gasp, but a last flash of brassy blues brilliance. All with Ace's usual high standards in sound quality, graphics, and liner notes. (DH)
WYNONIE HARRIS: Bad News Baby (There'll Be No Rockin' Tonite/ Big Old Country Fool/ Bring It Back/ Christina/ Don't Take My Whiskey Away/ Drinkin' Sherry Wine/ Fishtail Blues/ Git To Gittin' Baby/ Greyhound/ I Don't Know Where To Go/ I Get A Thrill/ Keep-A-Talking/ Mama, Your Daughter Done Lied To Me/ Man's Best Friend/ Mr Dollar/ Please Louise/ Shake That Thing/ Shotgun Wedding/ The Deacon Don't Like It/ There's No Substitute For Love/ Wine, Wine Sweet Wine

 
WYNONIE HARRIS Ace CDCHD 843 Lovin' Machine ● CD $18.98
26 tracks from the 50s by this great blues shouter - many previously not on CD. Includes a previously unissued version of Rot Gut preceded by a verbal exchange between Harris and King boss Syd Nathan.
WYNONIE HARRIS: A Tale Of Woe/ Adam Come And Get Your Rib/ All She Wants To Do Is Mambo/ Bloodshot Eyes/ Do It Again, Please/ Down Boy Down/ Drinking Blues/ Git With The Grits/ Good Mambo Tonight/ Here Comes The Night/ I'll Never Give Up/ Just Like Two Drops Of Water/ Keep On Churnin' (till The Butter Come)/ Lovin' Machine/ Luscious Woman/ Married Women, Stay Married/ My Playful Baby's Gone/ Nearer My Love To Thee/ Night Train/ Quiet Whiskey/ Rot Gut Previously Unissued/ Song Of The Bayou/ That's Me Right Now/ Tremblin'/ Wasn't That Good/ THE ROYALS (with WYNONIE HARRIS): All Night Long

 
WYNONIE HARRIS Delmark 683 Everybody Boogie ● CD $14.98
18 tracks, 50 min., recommended
Most R&B fans will rightfully point to Harris' hard rockin' sides for King Records (1947-54) as evidence of the artist's greatness. But Harris cut 4 sessions for Apollo between Aug. and Dec. of 1945, yielding 16 titles, and while not his finest work, still uniformly good. Backed by Illinois Jacquet and His All Stars (including Bill Doggett on piano and Charles Mingus on bass), Jack McVea & His All Stars (with Teddy Buckner on trumpet), Oscar Pettiford & His All Stars (with, probably, Wardell Gray on tenor sax), and Johnny Alston & His All Stars on the various sessions, Mr. Harris in Mr. Blues Singer, moving easily between mid-tempo (Time To Change Your Tune) and jump blues (Playful Baby). All this along with two previously unissued alternate takes (I Got A Lyin' Woman, Everybody Boogie) make it a difficult reissue to resist. (JC)
WYNONIE HARRIS: Baby, Look at You/ Everybody's Boogie/ Everybody's Boogie (Alternate Take)/ Gone With the Wind/ Here Comes the Blues/ I Got a Lyin' Woman/ I Got a Lyin' Woman (Alternate Take)/ Papa Tree Top/ Playful Baby/ Rebecca's Blues/ Somebody Changed the Lock on My Door/ Straighten Him Out/ Take Me Out of the Rain/ That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch/ Time to Change Your Tune/ Wynonie's Blues/ Young Man's Blues/ Young and Wild

 
WYNONIE HARRIS King Blues KSCD 1413 Good Rockin' Tonight ● CD $7.98
8 tracks - Good Rockin' Tonight/ I lIke My baby's Pudding/ Good Morning Mr. Judge/ Grandma Plays The Numbers/ Sittin' On It All The Time/ Lollypop Mama/ I Want My Fanny Brown/ Shake That Thing

 
WYNONIE HARRIS President PLCD 559 Here Comes The Blues - Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll Vol 4. ● CD $16.98
27 tracks, 76 min., recommended
 Before Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris began his long tenure with the King Record label in 1947, he recorded for several other labels, starting as a solo in mid-1945 with the Philco label, for whom he recorded the risque Around the Clock. His next label was Apollo. There, with Illinois Jacquet and His All Stars, he recorded Here Comes the Blues, She's Gone with the Wind, Everybody's Boogie, Take Me Out of the Rain, and Young and Wild. For Hamp-Tone, he laid down Good Morning Corrine, In the Evening, and Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop. And in late 1946, for Aladdin, he waxed Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit, Rugged Road, and Whiskey and Jelly-Roll Blues. This comprehensive English import features all of those selections and thus offers a clear sampling of Harris's work during the the early stages of his career. And sound quality, cover art, and liner notes all demonstrate the high quality of the collection's production values. (DH)
WYNONIE HARRIS: Around The Clock Part 1/ Around The Clock Part 2/ Baby Look At You/ Cock A Doodle Doo/ Come Back Baby/ Everybody's Boogie/ Good Morning Corinne/ Here Comes The Blues/ Hey Ba Ba Re Bop/ Hey Ba Ba Re Bop (2)/ I Gotta Lyin' Woman/ In The Evening/ Mr Blues Jumped The Rabbit/ Papa Tree Top/ Playful Baby/ Rebecca's Blues/ Rugged Road/ She's Gone With The Wind/ Somebody Changed The Lock On My Door/ Take Me Out Of The Rain/ That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch/ Time To Change Your Town/ Whiskey And Jelly Roll Blues/ Wynonie's Blues/ Yonder Goes My Baby/ Young And Wild/ Young Man's Blues

 
WYNONIE HARRIS Proper BOX 20 Rockin' The Blues ● CD $25.98
Most welcome four CD set featuring all the recordings made by this great and influential blues shouter between 1944 and 1950 including a number making their first appearance on CD. Comes with 52 page booklet with rare photos and discography.
WYNONIE HARRIS: A Love Untrue/ All She Wants To Do Is Rock/ Around The Clock-Part 1/ Around The Clock-Part 2/ Baby Shame On You/ Baby, Look At You/ Battle Of The Blues-Part 1/ Battle Of The Blues-Part 2/ Be Mine My Love/ Big City Blues/ Bite Again, Bite Again/ Blow Your Brains Out/ Blowin To California/ Blues/ Cock-A-Doodle-Doo/ Come Back Baby/ Confessin The Blues/ Crazy Love/ Dig This Boogie/ Drinkin' By Myself/ Drinkin' Wine Spo-dee-o-dee/ Everybody's Boogie/ Everybody's Boogie (Alternate Take)/ Feel That Old Age Coming On/ From Bad To Good Blues/ Ghost Of A Chance/ Goin' Home/ Good Morning Corinne/ Good Morning Judge/ Good Morning Mr. Blues/ Good Rockin' Tonight/ Grandma Plays The Numbers/ Hard Ridin' Mama/ Here Comes The Blues/ Hey! Ba-ba-re-bop, Part 1/ Hey! Ba-ba-re-bop, Part 2/ Hurry, Hurry!/ I Believe Ill Fall In Love/ I Can't Take It No More/ I Got a Lyin' Woman/ I Got a Lyin' Woman (Alternate Take)/ I Like My Babys Pudding/ I Want My Fanny Brown/ I Want To Love You Baby/ In The Evenin' Blues/ Lightnin' Struck The Poor House/ Lollipop Mama/ Love Is Like Rain/ Man Have I Got Troubles/ Mr. Blues Is Coming To Town/ Mr. Blues Jumped The Rabbit/ My Baby's Barrel House/ Oh Babe/ Papa Tree Top/ Playful Baby/ Put It Back/ Rebecca's Blues/ Rock Mr Blues/ Rose Get Your Clothes/ Rugged Road/ She Just Won't Sell No More/ She's Gone With The Wind/ Sittin' On It All The Time/ Somebody Changed The Lock On My Door/ Stormy Night Blues/ Straighten Him Out/ Take Me Out Of The Rain/ Teardrops From My Eyes/ Thats The Stuff You Gotta Watch/ Time To Change Your Tune/ Triflin' Woman/ Whiskey And Jelly-Roll Blues/ Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well/ Wynonie's Blues/ Wynonie's Boogie/ Yonder Goes My Baby/ You Got To Get Yourself A Job, Girl/ Young And Wild/ Young Man's Blues/ Your Money Don't Mean A Thing

 
WYNONIE HARRIS/ROY BROWN King 607 Battle Of The Blues Vol. 2 ● CD $9.98

 
WYNONIE HARRIS/ROY BROWN King 627 Battle Of The Blues ● CD $9.98
Reissue of King 627 from 1959. Both Roy & Mr. Blues are best known as Kings of jump blues. This LP is a real change of pace treat. Each King is represented by 7 slow grinders. Not their best known material but very satisfying. Roy's heard on 7 '50-'57 DeLuxe sides, including Hard Luck Blues & Sweet Peach with Wilbur Hardin and Wrong Woman Blues backed by the Tiny Bradshaw Orch. with Red Prysock on tenor. Wynonie's 7 King sides, 1950-53, include such greats as Prysock, Mickey Baker, Todd Rhodes, Ted Buckner & Big John Greer, plus on Drinking Blues , he's backed by The Lucky Millinder Orch. - Nearer My Love To Thee/ Tremblin' , etc.... GM

 
WILBERT HARRISON Fuel 2000 61599 An Introduction To Wilbert Harrison ● CD $13.98 $9.98
16 tracks, 44 mins, highly recommended
An excellent cross section of sides recorded by this fine and idiosyncratic performer between 1959 and 1966. Three of the cuts were recorded for Bobby Robinson's Fury label in 1959/ 1960 including his only hit, the classic Kansas City. The rest of the sides were recorded for various small labels in the 60s including the fine blues ballad I Will Never Trust Another Woman, the romping Off To Work Again with hot tenor sax by King Curtis, the fine Pretty Little Woman which grafts Wilbert's vocal on the backing track from Elmore James' Stranger Blues and more. Great stuff - pity it's so short! (FS)

   
WILBERT HARRISON Jamie/ Guyden 4025 Let's Work Together ● CD $14.98
14 tracks, highly recommended
What a delight! This is Wilbert's great 1969 Sue album newly remixed and remastered from original 3-track master tapes by Tom Moulton under the supervision of original producer Juggy Murray shortly before his death in 2005. Wilbert Harrison was one of a kind with his distinctive vocal style and approach to songs which seemed to change from session to session. For this album Wilbert played guitar, harmonica, piano and drums with "Thunder Thumb" on bass. The wonderfully catchy title song which was a reworking of his 1961 recording Let's Stick Together became something of a hippy anthem after being covered by Canned Heat. There's a remake of his biggest hit Kansas City, some great R&B covers like Louie Louie/ Blue Monday and a great version of Jimmy Reed's Baby What You Want Me To Do (here called Peepin' & Hidin') where he duets with the superb soul singer Tina Britt. It also includes some typical Harrison oddities like Tropical Shakedown and Soul Rattler. There are three bonus alternate takes which don't add a whole lot but are nice to have. The new remix is a revelation with a clarity and presence that blows away all previous reissues. Includes four page booklet with notes which are mostly about Murray, but definitely of interest. (FS)

 
WILBERT HARRISON Relic 7035 Kansas City ● CD $14.98
After leaving Savoy Records, Harrison cut a number of bluesy sides for Fury between 1959-61, including his biggest hit Kansas City. And while the Fury sessions offered no more hits (and too many sound-alikes), they did produce plenty of good music like Cheatin' Baby/ Let's Stick Together (reworked as Let's Work Together for a minor hit in 1969), Don't Wreck My Life/ 1960 and much more. This 22 song collection contains 2 nice unissued sides, A Woman In Trouble/ Pretty Little Woman, the latter featuring Elmore James, and presents many songs in stereo for the first time.  Good stuff. (JC)
WILBERT HARRISON: A Woman In Trouble/ At The World's Fair 1960/ C.c. Rider/ Cheatin' Baby/ Da-de-ya-da/ Don't Drop It/ Don't Wreck My Life/ Drafted/ Fell In Love/ Goodbye Kansas City/ It's Been A Long Time/ Kansas City/ Kansas City Twist/ Let's Stick Toghether/ Listen My Darling/ Little School Girl/ Messed Around And/ My Love/ Pretty Little Women/ Since I Fell For You/ The Horse/ Why Did You Leave

 
ROY HAWKINS Ace CDCHD 754 The Thrill Is Gone ● CD $18.98
P-Vine in Japan issued a Roy Hawkins CD of his recordings a couple of years ago - Ace now finally catches up with it's Hawkins release. Although there is quite a lot overlap the Ace issue does have half a dozen cuts that are not on the P-Vine so, if like me, you're a Hawkins fan you'll want this one too for these cuts and the English notes and slightly superior sound.
ROY HAWKINS: Albania/ Blues All Around Me/ Gloom And Misery All Around/ Got My Dreams Under My Pillow/ Hank's Shuffle (inst)/ I Don't Know Just What To Do/ I Walk Alone/ I'm Never Satisfied/ Just A Poor Boy/ Mean Little Girl/ Mistreatin' Baby/ My Temper Is Rising/ On My Way/ Real Fine Woman/ Royal Hawk (inst)/ The Thrill Is Gone/ Trouble Makin' Woman/ Trouble Makin' Woman (alt Tk 1)/ Where You Been?/ Why Do Everything Happen To Me/ Wine Drinkin' Woman/ You Had A Good Man/ You're A Free Little Girl/ You're The Sweetest Thing

 
ROY HAWKINS Ace CDCHD 1096 Bad Luck Is Falling - Modern, RPM & kent Recordings Vol. 2 ● CD $18.98
24 tracks, 66 mins, essential
Complementing Ace 754 this is the second collection of sides by this superb and underrated West Coast bluesman recorded for Down Town and Modern between 1948 and 1961. Although very popular in the early 50s with two R&B hits to his name very little is known about Roy's life. He was a a fabulous vocalist with a style a little bit like Charles Brown but more intense. He was also a fine songwriter with a penchant for moody minor key songs and his great The Thrill Is Gone was turned into a worlwide hit by B.B. King in 1970. Roy's original version of the song is on the first volume - this one includes a fine alternate take. Roy was accompanied by some superb bands led by the likes of Buddy Floyd and Maxwell Davis and his tracks often feature stellar guitar work from musicians like Ulysses James, Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore. One 1952 session features T-Bone Walker on guitar who provides some truly stunning accompaniments. Hawkins left Modern in 1954 and recorded little else until he returned to Modern in 1961 where he recorded a four track session which included a remake of his 1948 recording Strange Land with a wonderful band including some incredible guitar - who? Superb stuff. (FS)

 
TED HAWKINS Evidence 28000 Songs From Venice Beach ● CD $12.98
14 tracks, 46 min., essential Recorded in Nashville in 1985 and released (only in Europe) as a two-volume set called "On The Boardwalk: The Venice Beach Tapes", these tracks feature Hawkins, raw and uncluttered, with only a guitar for company. Those who only "discovered" him on "The Next Hundred Years" will find that he had been singing such songs as There Stands The Glass and his own Ladder Of Success for over a decade. And as always, Hawkins sings as if that act will expiate his sins, as if the sound of his voice has the power to heal. Maybe it does.  (JC)
TED HAWKINS: All I Have To Offer You Is Me/ Good Times/ Gypsy Woman/ Having A Party/ He Will Break Your Heart/ I Got What I Wanted/ Just My Imagination/ Ladder Of Success/ Quiet Place/ Searching For My Love/ Share Your Love With Me/ Somebody Have Mercy/ There Stands The Glass/ Too Busy Thinking About My Baby

 
TED HAWKINS Evidence 28002 Final Tour ● CD $16.98
The great Ted Hawkins bares his musical soul for the last time on these recordings on these recordings from his last tour just a few months before his death.

 
TED HAWKINS Evidence 28003 Love You Most Of All - More Songs From Venice Beach ● CD $16.98
18 tracks, 58 mins, highly recommended More incredible singing from this wonderful performer including the remaining 13 tracks from the legendary "Venice Beach Tapes" recorded in Nashville in 1985. Accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar he performs a wide range of material ranging from the anthemic Bring It On Home To Me originally recorded by his biggest vocal influence Sam Cooke, to John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads, to Otis Reddings' Dock Of The Bay to Bob Dylan's Blowin' In The World. All covers but all completely personalized by Ted. His version of Hank Williams' Your Cheatin' Heart is one of the few that truly captures the beauty and anguish in Hank's vision. The last five cuts are from a 1990 session, 3 songs previously unissued and all are Hawkins originals. Though not among Ted's better composition they are well worth a listen, particularly the lovely Return with his wife Elizabeth on backing vocals. (FS)

 
TED HAWKINS Rounder 2024 Watch Your Step ● CD $16.98
15 tracks, 38 min., essential This reissue of Hawkins' largely acoustic first album is as fresh sounding today as it was in 1982 when it was issued or 1972 when it was recorded. His voice, part Otis Redding, part Sam Cooke, manages to uplift the spirit even as it describes the misery of children (The Lost Ones) or the dual nature of illness as simultaneously mundane and life threatening (Sorry Your Sick). Hawkins' sense of humor is sometimes displayed openly (TWA/ Who Got My Natural Comb?), sometimes mingled with the bittersweet realities of his and everyone else's life (Peace And Happiness), but never missing. Every song is original, personal, moving, and somehow speaks to that which is fundamentally human--no mean feat. A blessing. (JC)
TED HAWKINS: Bring It Home Daddy/ Don't Lose Your Coo/ I Gave Up All I Had/ If You Love Me/ Peace & Happiness/ Put In A Cross/ Sorry You're Sick/ Stay Close To Me/ Stop Your Cryin'/ Sweet Baby/ The Lost Oned/ TWA/ Watch Your Step (acoustic)/ Watch Your Step (band Version)/ Who Got My Natural Comb

 
TED HAWKINS Rounder 2033 Happy Hour ● CD $16.98
A superlative set of 12 tunes (10 originals) which embrace a multitude of genres. For the most part Hawkins carries the album solely by his simplistic approach to acoustic guitar coupled with an honest, no-nonsense vocal delivery. On 3 tunes - My Last Goodbye/ California Song & the Hank Williams flavored title track, Ted is joined by a backing quartet, the Angry Old Men. The other cover tune is the Curtis Mayfield classic Gypsy Woman. Joining Ted on this & the raunchy You Pushed My Head Away is guitarist "Night Train" Clemons who sounds a lot like Robert Cray.

 

Back To Blues Index





Roots & Rhythm
P.O. Box 837
El Cerrito, CA 94530 USA
Toll Free Order Line : 888-ROOTS-66

© 2017 Roots & Rhythm. No part of this site may be reproduced without written permission