Search - Jimmy Mccracklin :: A Taste of the Blues: West Coast Blues Summit with

Why can't BB and Buddy's new discs be like this

Sam Mosley | Toronto, Ontario | 08/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""A Taste of the Blues" is the way special-guest filled blues CD's should be made. Unlike all the BB King and Buddy Guy albums that feature mainstream blues-rockers, this one actual has real blues artists appearing, including Johnny Otis, Lowell Fulson, Larry Davis, and Barbara Lynn. Of course the real star of the show is Jimmy McCracklin, who has been recording R&B for decades. McCracklin is one of the finest songwriters in the blues, and aside from a cover of Brook Benton's "Lie to Me", everything here is original. "Help the Bear" is a fast shuffle featuring vocal spots for Fulson, Davis, and Smokey Wilson, while "Yesterday Is Gone" is a very nice duet with Lynn. McCracklin remakes a few of his tunes, including the very nice "My Answer" and the country-ish "Outside Help" (very different from the funky-fied version on his Evejim LP). Other standouts include the laidback shuffle "I Got Juiced", the raw-funk "Not the Right Thing" and closing slow blues title track. After hearing CD's like this one and the recent James Cotton CD's, one wish there were more guest filled blues discs that weren't just aimed at the mainstream."