John Primer & Bob Corritore — “Crawlin’ Kingsnake” — VizzTone Records
If you’re a true-blues fan, there’s nothing quite like a dose of old-school blues to satisfy your soul.
“Crawlin’ Kingsnake,” the fourth and latest collaboration between harp-master and album-producer extraordinaire Bob Corritore and veteran guitar-slinger/singer John Primer, is so old school that you can smell the eraser dust in the 12 vintage tracks on this outstanding collection of Chicago-style blues.
Primer and Corritore get stellar help from sidemen Bob Stroger on bass, Jimi “Primetime” Smith on second guitar, Anthony Geraci on piano, and Wes Starr on drums. It’s a tight and tasty aggregation that cuts right to the blues bone.
It all begins when “Take a Message” shuffles out and rocks hard to break things open, with Corritore’s tough harp riffs and Primer’s still-potent 79-year-old chops sounding appropriately down and dirty. The title track is next — it’s a wicked take on the classic “Kingsnake” blues, with a fierce guitar break that only serves to highlight Primer’s surrounding vocals.
“Down In the Bottom” and “Hiding Place” (a Primer original) roll out next, both hard-driving romps teeming with the vitality of the blues. Like all the cuts here, everybody steps into the music, and the results are definitely blues with a feeling. “Chains and Things” slows the pace with a mournful blues lament about a ” cold-hearted wrong-doin’ woman,” teased with a sensuous Geraci piano solo.
“Stuff You Gotta Watch” is the first of three Muddy Waters songs — this one updated with a quicker pace and Corritore’s blazing harp work. Next up, Waters’ “Rosalee Blues” is a lesser-known tune, but filled to the brim with Muddy’s spirit by Primer’s soulful vocals and stinging slide guitar. Geraci’s piano work adds a vital classic element.
“You’re the One” lays down a funky feel before the music shifts into the gospel strains of “Bow Down On Your Knees,” a brief departure from the “devil’s music” that pays tribute to some of the spiritual headwaters of the blues.
The medium-tempo “This Little Voice” returns to full-throated blues rich with Primer’s vocals wrapped in Corritore’s passionate harp and swampy guitar riffs. The sturdy shuffle of the gritty “Gravel Road” is a tribute to the infectious music of the great Magic Slim, whose guitar work delivered the blues with powerful simplicity.
The closer is the third Waters’ cover, “Feel Like Going Home,” a masterful 6 1/2-minute finale to this effervescent set that gives everyone a chance to demonstrate the vitality of this classic music.
“Crawlin’ Kingsnake” is simply an excellent album; that rare studio session that captures the attitude of a smoky blues club filled with half-century-old music that remains as vital as ever.
Here’s “Crawlin’ Kingsnake” from the album:
Tracklist:
1. Take A Message (4:24)
2. Crawlin’ Kingsnake (3:27)
3. Down In The Bottom (4:28)
4. Hiding Place (4:16)
5. Chains and Things (5:18)
6. Stuff You Gotta Watch (3:31)
7. Rosalee Blues (4:50)
8. You’re the One (4:36)
9. Bow Down On Your Knees (1:39)
10. This Little Voice (4:54)
11. Gravel Road (3:42)
12. Feel Like Going Home (6:48)
Blues Roadhouse 