Search - Johnny Maddox :: Red Hot Ragtime Volume 1

A ragtime pioneer

"Gimpy" Peach Johnson | 11/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the 1950s, Johnny Maddox almost single-handedly (you know what I mean) spearheaded that decade's honky-tonk ragtime revival. His many recordings on the Dot label sold very well and are still highly regarded today. I have quite a few of them and count myself among his many admirers.



This CD was recorded in the late 1980s and features Maddox at the keys of a 1908 upright piano. This isn't Rifkin-style "classical" ragtime. As the title of the CD indicates, this is "Red Hot" saloon-style ragtime. The piano is slightly out-of-tune and the hammers hit the strings with that percussive "tinny" sound. I typically don't care as much for this honky-tonk style, but for what it is, this CD (and its companion Volume 2) is quite good. Maddox's arrangements of these standard tunes are nothing spectacular, but they capture the saloon atmosphere nicely--they are enough to keep me interested in each piece from beginning to end. While Maddox's playing is quite accurate note-wise, he seems to have trouble keeping a steady rhythm in spots. Some of the pieces feel unsteady. Still, I'm glad that the CD presents Maddox on his own: there's no drum acompaniment or bass player added as on many other honky tonk piano albums.



The sound quality is very nice--many recordings of this kind of music have been made by budget or independent labels that often leave a lot to be desired sound-wise. Not so here! The piano is well-miked and has a great "presence." Unfortunately, the CD contains no real liner notes in its 4-panel insert, just a brief paragraph about Maddox, a track listing, and short credits blurb.



The disc is also a little on the short side, just 39:30. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's good to pull this CD out and play a few tracks at a time, but I find that my ears typically tire of this rinky-tink, honky-tonk ragtime after five or six tracks. The arrangements and tempos are so similar that soon I'm longing for a slow ballad, maybe a waltz, or something else to add a little variety to the playlist.



As I write this, Johnny Maddox is still alive and well, and performing ragtime regularly--some fifty-five years after his pioneering ragtime recordings if the early 1950s. Here's to many more, Johnny!"

The King of Ragtime

"Gimpy" Peach Johnson | 04/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The name Johnny Maddox is about as close as there is to a brand name in the revival of ragtime music of the 1950s and `60s. This CD reissue is the first in a series that includes some of the great recordings of Maddox's LPs, with a healthy sampling of the staples of ragtime music, both from the original era and the later years of pop music in the ragtime genre. The first track is the now famous "Crazy Otto Medley", and it's the logical choice to lead off the series. Formed from a number of composers, it is the perfect mood setter for what's to come.Along the way we get to hear once again such Maddox classics as his rendition of "San Antonio Rose", "Yes Sir! That's My Baby", and "Beer Barrel Polka." The classic rag of Scott Joplin, "The Entertainer", and contemporaneous "Red Wing" of Kerry Mills hark back to earlier times. As always with Johnny's play lists, there is a nice mixture of the unexpected but perfectly appropriate, such as "Music! Music! Music!" and the light classic entry "The Glow Worm", by the German composer of cakewalks and ragtime, Paul Lincke.Maddox's light-hearted approach and even glimpses of humor are spread throughout his music. Try the famous musical fable, "Frankie and Johnny" (no relation!) that includes at the end a couple of the best piano-played gun shots I've heard. Johnny Maddox is really at the top in this music, the result of vast knowledge, research, enthusiasm and, of course, terrific musicianship.By David Reffkin, Director, The American Ragtime Ensemble; Producer/Host, "The Ragtime Machine" (KUSF, San Francisco)"