Search - Gary Smith :: Blues for Mr. B

What a great blues-harp CD!

Zvi M. Aranoff | Brooklyn, NY United States | 11/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hands down, one of the best blues CDs around.



Gary Smith is one of the most under-appreciated harp masters. It's a pity. He deserves to be enshrined with all the big named stars. I've listened to this CD hundreds of times and it's still a fresh listening every time. What a great CD!



Get it! You won't be disappointed."

FANTASTIC Harp Playing

Mr. Mambo | Burnsville, MN USA | 06/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If it's so great, why only four stars?



Only because it's very derivative--and there's nothing wrong with that! Walter Jacobs casts a giant shadow over the entire world of Chicago blues and amplified harp playing. He was and is the acknowledged master, the originator, the innovator, the "maestro" of the little instrument known as the "Mississippi Saxophone". Without Little Walter, there would have been no Junior Wells, no George Smith and consequently no Rod Piazza, no Paul Butterfield, no James Cotton, no Charlie Musselwhite, no Kim Wilson, no Jerry Portnoy, no William Clarke, no Mark Hummel, no--well, you get the point.



Seems like there are hundreds if not thousands of decent harp players out there, and at some point, all of them come face to face with Walter Jacobs and his music. You literally cannot escape it. What do you do? Do you copy it, and try to learn from it? Well, there's no better place to start! Gary has learned his lessons well. In fact, I would say that this extremely humble and seriously under-recorded harmonica genius from California is the foremost exponent of amplified Chicago blues ala Little Walter.



Gary does his versions of at least three Jacobs tunes on this recording, and on many of his own compositions here--most notably Chrome Bullet Boogie--he cops licks straight from Little Walter. But again, that is perfectly fine!! He does them so well, in fact, I would say he enhances them. He uses them as a foundation and then takes the music to new heights. How does one improve on Walter's The Toddle? Well, through better sound clarity, heavier tone, and tighter instrumentation.



Despite the obvious influence of Little Walter throughout, I would be the first to say that Gary is not a slavish imitator of anyone; this recording contains many unique, polished and innovative tunes which any artist would be proud of. Gary's singing is OK; he very wisely chose to play down his singing, and to include at least six fantastic instrumentals on the disk. His playing has a remarkable crackling weight to it, and from the first tune to the last, he blows the doors off. Not that he overplays; quite the contrary, he has a wonderful sense of when and when not to play. Throughout the harp is really up front and on top, but it never overpowers the rest of the instruments or becomes monotonous. Everything is perfect here: all of the pieces rock big-time, and some of the pieces are indescribably beautiful.



Gary Smith is a perfect example of someone who can do a lot with what many would call a limited instrument. I may be wrong, but I believe you'll only find one acoustic harp number on the record; I may be wrong again, but I can't recall any chromatic playing either. Nor will you hear any of the higher register blowing mastered and made popular by the likes of Jimmy Reed or Sugar Blue, which most harp players feel they need to employ to feel legitimate. None of this is intended as criticism of Gary's playing. I think it's all the more admirable that he was able to create such a brilliantly diverse record, with such varied sounds and approaches, without resorting to some of the aforementioned techniques or tools.



There are few artists alive or dead who've captured the beautifully fat tone and magnificently fluid warbling tremelo to the degree that Mr. Smith has. So smooth, so heavy, so emotional, so thrilling!



If you love amplified harp, you MUST acquire this album (along with Little Walter's two-disk Chess set!); it's a landmark. You will never tire of it.



P.S.: Why are there only two reviews of this fantastic record??!!? Wake up, people!"