Homesick James – Blues On The South Side – Prestige Records OBCCD-529-2 (PR-7388) 

When I reminisce about all the great times I’ve had at the Chicago Blues Festival over the years, certain constants about the event from many years ago remain in the forefront of my mind.  And if I even give the slightest of effort, the details of those instances flood back to me.  They come back to me crystal-clearly, and without fail, bring a smile to my face. 

I’ve always stayed at The Palmer House Hilton when attending the Chicago Blues Festival, and the short walk to Grant Park (the site of the Chicago Blues Festival) was without fail a joyous morning stroll, as my anticipation would be running high for all the great blues I was about to witness.  As I made my way east to Michigan Avenue and then south, on the southeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Jackson, for years, legendary Chicago harmonica player, singer, and songwriter Little Mac Simmons would be busking for dollars from passers-by, having plugged into a found electrical power source for him and his band.  Here was a bona fide top-shelf Chicago blues artist playing for whatever could be thrown into his tip jar.  It always seemed as if Simmons and his band would ply their trade there year-after-year. 

Too, if it was time for the Chicago Blues Festival, that meant that Honeyboy Edwards would be playing on one of the event’s many stages.  The legendary Delta blues guitarist and singer would appear each year. And the crowds that flocked to his performances underscored his stature as a living link to the pre-war blues period, and the numerous iconic bluesmen he played and traveled with, including Robert Johnson.

And, each year, usually on the Chicago Blues Festival’s Front Porch Stage, Homesick James would appear, bringing his slide guitar wizardry, idiosyncratic sense of timing, and wailing vocals to an adoring audience.  James’ appearance was always met with zealous enthusiasm by the assembled crowd. 

So how did this stirring work being reviewed here come about?  In short, the story goes that renowned blues documentarian, Sam Charters, after being fired from Folklore, a Prestige Records offshoot, took a job at Vanguard Records editing the 1964 Newport Folk Festival recordings.  Vanguard Records, at that time, was primarily involved with recording and releasing works in the folk and classical veins, along with some jazz efforts, as well.  While at Folklore, though, Charters recorded two Chicago blues sessions, one each by Homesick James and Billy Boy Arnold.  These experiences in the Chicago blues world made a deep impression on Charters, and as any studied blues fan knows, led Charters to eventually produce the seminal Vanguard collection entitled Chicago / The Blues / Today! (Vol. 2 of which was previously reviewed and can be found linked on the “Recording Reviews” link on the Curt’s Blues blog). 

Blues slide guitar essentially allows a blues artist to convey any pitch desired, and in many ways, acts as an extension of the voice, making it seemingly able to also express any emotion.  It can be of jubilant tenor, it can cry and thus wail in agony and distress, and it can shape any mood between these two extremes.  That is what James is found doing on this amazing blues collection. 

James’ vocals can convey the depths of the blues’ chasms, and he is proficient on mining the troughs of the human experience on certain of the blues found here.  Too, he can communicate staunch confidence and assuredness via his singings, as he relates his convictions to particular affairs of the heart.  And in amongst these two extremes, James excavates all levels of melancholy through his sung words, allowing the listener the belief that he has lived the blues stories he is reliving.  But, whatever the temperament of James’ blues, his vocals are always keening and impassioned.  

James’ slide guitar effortlessly glides and slides, with a melodic output designed to complement the gist of his blues storylines.  At times, James’ slide guitar work can seem busy, but that shouldn’t be seen as poor form.  No, it is apparent that James is using his slide guitar proficiencies as an offshoot of his voice, with his blues thoughts rushing forward through his guitar.  Yes, there are periods when James’ eccentric sense of timing come to the fore, but before they can deconstruct the proceedings into disarray, they find their footing, and all is fine. 

It must also be firmly understood that James’ slide work can be co clean and slithering as if to cause the listener to wonder if another blues guitarist has stepped into the recording. 

Plus, and make no mistake about this, James could pick a blues guitar pattern as well as anyone.  A couple of engaging instrumentals on this collection bears witness to this fact. 

Blues giant Eddie Taylor provides bass work that bubbles with foundational structure.  The whole of this recording would collapse without his exceptional efforts. 

Clifton James’ superior, economical, and spartan-yet-essential drumming holds the binding tight around all of the blues James and his crew provide.  James’ work is “blues drumming 101”.    

Finally, blues piano titan Lafayette Leake continuously looms in the background across this outing, ideally furnishing corresponding shades to James’ blues ambiances. 

Whenever James appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival, it generated an elevated sense of excitement that forced the audience to move closer to the stage and sit in rapt attention for one of post-war Chicago blues’ all-time greats.  He always seemed to be something of a mystery, but when he would start sliding, the energy level would climb, and demonstrative outbursts from the collected blues-loving crowd would begin to intensify.  There was just something so moving about James’ slide guitar resonance.  James was a rightful Chicago blues colossus, and this recording comes with the utmost of recommendations!