Last Week's Recording Reviews

Barrelhouse Chuck & Kim Wilson’s Blues All-Stars – Driftin’ From Town To Town – The Sirens Records SR-5021

Barrelhouse Chuck exhilarated blues fans the world over his absolute dedication to the blues, a contract he entered into when he ventured northward to Chicago to submerge himself into the domain of not only his venerated blues piano giants, but the city’s blues culture itself.  He went about it the proper way, as he achieved the trust of the blues piano supermen who were still exercising their high tiers of craft in venues all over late 1970s Chicago; living with them, absorbing distinctive singular skill sets from them, gathering and respecting their life’s accounts, and utilizing their sage guidance within the blues world as life knowledge. 

Kim Wilson spent his formative years in California before making the move to Austin, Texas in the mid-1970s, after spending a bit of time fronting a band in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In Austin, history was written when he and Jimmie Vaughan formed the wildly popular blues and roots band, The Fabulous Thunderbird, a group that achieved tremendous success.  Wilson’s complete dedication to his harmonica craft has led to his status as undoubtedly the foremost living authority of the humble instrument.  His singing has always been confident and strong, and many believe this aspect of his musicianship to be as equal to his harmonica proficiencies in quality.

For years while between tours with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Wilson has taken various assemblages of his Blues All-Stars band on the road, surrounding himself with only the top-tier of musicians, to continue to pay honor to those who framed the blues in its earlier expressions, especially in the post-war Chicago mold.

Such as it is idyllically found on this supreme 2013 collection, as Barrelhouse Chuck and Wilson continued to frame their firm musical connection with not only each other, but with keeping the blues alive in its purest and best forms.  Assisting them in their blues visions were indeed an all-star cast of men with grand musical competencies including  low-end bass master Larry “The Mole” Taylor, the human metronome, Richard Inness, guitarist, mandolin practitioner, harmonica stylist, and vocalist Billy Flynn, guitar artist Jeremy Johnson, and horn master Sax Gordon. 

Quite simply, this 13-cut outing represents contemporary Chicago blues that will firmly grab and hold the rapt attention of the already-dedicated blues fan, but also those new to the genre.  It is that exemplary.

Recorded in March, 2012, Steven Dolins, the visionary behind The Sirens Records label, is to be applauded for again presenting, at the time, one of the last of the living traditional Chicago blues keyboardists plying his vocation amidst a legion of like-minded genre greats.

This collection finds one original by both Barrelhouse Chuck and Kim Wilson, along with well-selected covers by Cal Green, Clara Smith, Robert Nighthawk, legendary post-war Chicago greats Floyd Jones, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Young, Chuck Berry, Jody Williams, Sunnyland Slim, and Willie Dixon, plus one by Booker T & The MG’s.

Having seen Kim Wilson’s All-Stars a number of times, I knew what the core of Wilson, Barrelhouse Chuck, Taylor, Innes, and Flynn were exceptionally capable of; thrilling audiences by conveying them back to the halcyon days of post-war 1950s-1960s blues.  And across the panorama of this CD, that is exactly what delightfully comes through.  Succinctly, the whole of this outing is why the majority of us find great pleasure in classic Chicago blues, and blues in general.  All involved are widely experienced players whose broad skill sets are showcased to ideal effects.  Though Barrelhouse Chuck and Wilson are the featured artists here, each musician shines with what they do best.  And that is brightly displayed within each selection, regardless of its tempo or tenor.  Everyone was at the top of their game on this peerless collection, and truly dedicated to what was obviously its determined goal to present Barrelhouse Chuck’s and Wilson’s blues visualizations in their best lights.

This CD belongs on the shelves of your blues collection.  It is a contemporary blues benchmark work.  Period.

Essential blues!