1969 UK Blues LP Rarity "Fat Mandolin" Given Stunning Remast
Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 12/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Issued in late 1969, "Fat Mandolin" was Johnny Young's sole LP on the now legendary UK cult label Blue Horizon. This CD is based around that album. Listed at £80 or more in most UK price guides, I've only ever seen one original copy of the LP in the 15 years I've been mail-ordering rare records. "Fat Mandolin" (Blue Horizon 7-63852) was reviewed by the specialist publications in the UK Blues Press at the time, received precious little airplay, let alone distribution, and is therefore reckoned to have sold less than 500 copies! This 2007 reissue finally gives this legendary and expensive rarity a full-on CD remix & remaster and adds on four previously unreleased tracks from the album sessions bumping its 12-track run up to 16.
The band consisted of:
JOHNNY YOUNG - Vocals/Mandolin/Lead Guitar
PAUL OSCHER - Harmonica
OTIS SPANN - Piano
SAMMY LAWHORN - Bass/Second Guitar
S.P. LEARY - Drums
All songs were written by JOHNNY YOUNG excepting:
Track 5 "Jackson Round" is a Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson cover
Track 11 "Prison Bound" is a Leroy Carr cover
Track 13 "Mean Black Snake" is a Victoria Spivey/Jesse Johnson cover
Track 14 "Stealin'" is a William Shade cover
The four previously unreleased tracks are 7, 14, 15 and 16. There are also extended versions of some songs; Track 5 features a false start followed by the master version; Track 8 is the same; Track 9 features 3 false starts & then the master take (take 4, the master take, starts 2 minutes in); Track 11 has 2 false starts and then the master take.
Using iTunes editing on 5, 8, 9 and 11 - you can sequence the original 12-track LP track run as follows; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
The tapes have been supervised and transferred by Mike Vernon, Sean Lynch and Graham Sharp at Sound Mastering and a typically fabulous job they've done too - muscular, clean and in your face. There's an in-depth booklet, pictures of the UK and US album artwork, discussion of his career and the album session itself, the Blue Horizon logo's on the label and there's even a nice card wrap on the outside giving the whole package a classy feel. With way too many inches on his waistline and his preferred instrument being the mandolin (unusual for Blues players), it's also not difficult to work out how the album got its name!
Born in 1918 in Mississippi, Johnny Young had a voice similar to Little Walter. And yet, like Big Joe Turner too, there was also a sly sense of fun about him. He played both guitar and mandolin and was of the hard-hitting Chicago Blues tradition - mean, miserable and magnificent! Young hung out with and played with Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson in the mid Forties, Snooky Prior in the Fifties and also had stints with Walter Horton, James Cotton, Otis Spann and even Mike Bloomfield in the Sixties. The band on "Fat Mandolin" as you can imagine is tight, seasoned pros and just so up-for-it! Fans of OTIS SPANN in particular will adore this release - his piano fills and runs are just fantastic and brilliantly complimentary to PAUL OSCHER'S mean harmonica playing throughout. From the original master tapes, it looks like most tracks were accomplished in one-to-four takes and the entire album recorded in New York in one day - 5 June 1969! (The remaster has been waiting around since 1998 for a release).
Young made some more albums for ABC in the States, but died of cardiac arrest in 1974 (his huge weight having contributed). He remains something of an unknown compared to the huge names he played with through the years - and hopefully this superb CD reissue will bring him back into the hearts of those who love their blues low-down and dirty. Another top release from Blue Horizon and one I urge you to buy!"
