Jimmy Burns — “Full Circle” — Delmark Records

“Full Circle” is such a great name for this fine album by soulful blues singer Jimmy Burns, aging ??? who at the age of 83, has revisited the still-potent music he recorded as long as a half-century ago. ??

This excellent 10-song session gives this splendid vintage music fresh vitality with the Soul Message Band. Burns’ vocals are strong and smooth; the band’s supple soul message behind him lays down a gorgeous late-night club vibe.

Burns was born in Dublin, Miss., where he sang in a church choir (the sanctified origin of much blues and soul music) and learned to play guitar. His favorite blues musician was Lightnin’ Hopkins. Burns’s father was a sharecropper who performed as a singer in medicine shows.

When he was 12, Burns’ family moved to Chicago, where he later recorded some doo-wop with The Medallionaires. He went on to record mostly solo singles in the 1960s, the source for much of the music on this album. Burn’s 1972 single, “I Really Love You,” included here, was named in the top 500 singles of Northern soul in 2000.  Burns took a long break from the music industry after the early 1970s to raise his family and run a barbecue stand.

He performed infrequently until the early ’90s, when he returned for a lengthy stint at Chicago’s Smokedaddy Club, when he was signed by Delmark Records and released his debut album in 1996 — “Leaving Here Walking.” The album won Best Blues Record of the Year award from National Association of Independent Record Distributors, and won two W.C. Handy Award nominations (the Handys have since become the Blues Music Awards).

For the retrospective “Full Circle,” Burns suggested a list of some of his favorite songs, and teamed up with the Soul Message Band, featuring Burns on lead vocals and guitar; Lee Rothenberg, guitar; Chris Foreman, Hammond B-3; Geof Bradfield, tenor sax; Greg Jung, alto sax; Greg Rockingham, drums; and Typhanie Monique, vocals.

They open the session with “Express Yourself,” with a soulful Latin groove from 1970, and Burns expressing himself with considerable vigor on the vocals. “World of Trouble” follows, written by Big Joe Turner in 1957, with Foreman swinging a bluesified B3 and a sensual sax solo from Bradfield, all behind Burns’ soulful pipes.

Next is a remastered version of Burns’ uptempo Northern Soul classic “I Really Love You,” written by Robert Newsome in 1970, with Burns’ emotional pleading over Monique’s backing vocals. “Ain’t That Funk For You” is a jazzy instrumental, with Foreman’s B3 dancing merrily with Jung’s alto sax.

“Too Much Lovin’,” written by Lowman Pauling of the fabulous “5” Royales in 1953, gives Burns a chance to soar on vocals again with Monique. “Give Her Love To Me,” written by Charles Colbert, is playful early soul, originally recorded by Burns in 1965. “It Used to Be” is a Burns original with a jazzy guitar interlude and a sassy duet with Monique.

The classic “Since I Fell For You” from Buddy Johnson in 1945 is rendered as a simply gorgeous instrumental; an elegant slow-burning piece of jazz haunted by the blues. Burns churns out “Rock Me Mama,” by Melvin ‘Lil’ Son’ Jackson from 1950, in blues-shouter style, as the band rocks steady behind him. The closer, “Where Does That Leave Me,” by Barry George Despenza and Gregory C. Washington, is another soulful pleasure, leaving us wanting still more.

“Full Circle” not only revisits the early years of Jimmy Burns; it reshapes this powerful music with a modern sensibility without losing its essence. Burns sounds terrific. The Soul Message Band rolls majestically around him; the sultry Hammond B3 pulses throughout. Burns’ vocals, and his choice of songs, are a welcome reminder of just how thoroughly enjoyable a great soul-blues vocalist can be.

Let’s have some more.

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Here’s “It Used To Be” from the album:

Tracks and credits:
EXPRESS YOURSELF 4:19
Charles W. Wright (Music Power, Warner-Tamerlane
Publishing Group Corp, BMI)
2 WORLD OF TROUBLE 6:28
Big Joe Turner (BMI)
3 I REALLY LOVE YOU 4:28
Robert Newsome, Moo-Lah Publ. Co., BMI
4 AIN’T THAT FUNK FOR YOU 5:41
Albert Grey, Second Floor Music, BMI
5 TOO MUCH LOVIN’ 4:26
Lowman Pauling (Fort Knox Music Inc,
Trio Music Company, BMI)
6 GIVE HER TO ME 4:38
Charles Colbert (Author Music, Inc., BMI)
7 IT USE TO BE 4:32
James Olin Burns (Silver Fox Productions Inc, BMI)
8 SINCE I FELL FOR YOU 6:46
Woodrow Buddy Johnson (Warner Bros. Inc, ASCAP)
9 ROCK ME MAMA 4:29
Melvin Jackson (EMI Unart Catalogue Inc, BMI)
10 WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ME?

JIMMY BURNS: VOCALS (ALL TRACKS), GUITAR (9)
SOUL MESSAGE BAND
CHRIS FOREMAN: HAMMOND B3 ORGAN
GREG ROCKINGHAM: DRUMS
LEE ROTHENBERG: GUITAR (ALL TRACKS, EXCEPT 4, 8)
GEOF BRADFIELD: TENOR SA X (2, 3, 7, 9)
GREG JUNG: ALTO SA X (4, 8)
GUEST MUSICIANS
STEVE EISEN: BARITONE SA X (1, 5, 6), TENOR SA X (1, 6)
TYPHANIE MONIQUE: VOCALS (3, 5, 6, 7)

Dave Keyes — “Two Trains” — MoMojo Records

Dave Keyes has put more than 40 years into his two-fisted blues and boogie keyboard work, plus his singing and songwriting, working with countless rock and blues legends, and still finding time for his own illustrious career.

The culmination of all that is “Two Trains,” his eighth album, and a superb musical statement about his journey through American roots music.

“For me this album is about coming home to my roots and paying tribute to all the styles that have influenced me since I was a kid,” Keyes says. “Blues, boogie, country blues, urban blues, gospel and some funky stuff. From Ray Charles to Leon Russell and everyone in between. I’m not a purist, but I respect my roots, and I stand on the shoulders of those that have gotten me here.”

Keyes gets first-rate assistance here from Bernard Purdie and Frank Pagano on drums, John Putnam on guitar and pedal steel, Jeff Anderson and Mike Merritt on bass, Rob Paparozzi on harmonica, Hasan Bakr on percussion, Chris Bergson on slide guitar, Alexis P. Suter and Vicki Bell on background vocals. The late acoustic guitarist Woody Mann plays and sings Big Bill Broonzy’s “Worrying You Off My Mind.” Keyes and songwriting partner Mark Sameth contribute eight of the ten sparkling tracks on the session.

The shuffling toughness of the opener, “Blues Ain’t Looking for You,” sets the tone for what’s in store, with a stinging guitar and sharp harp adding to its power. Keyes romps through “Boogie Till The Cows Come Home” with ferocious abandon before launching the swampy philosophy of the title track. “I’m Alright” is soaked with gospel enthusiasm and glorious call and response.

The soulful gem, “Long Way From Right, Right Now,” arrives with its mournful harp counterpoint to Keyes elegant piano. The complex social commentary of “What Just Happened” gives way to the simple rhythms of the piano instrumental, “Boogie For Patty,” with Keyes’ powerful left hand underlying the melodic boogie-woogie.

“Trust in Love and Fate” shines with optimism, and then Woody Mann shares vocal and guitar with Keyes, both shining on the old-time country blues of Broonzy’s “Worrying You Off My Mind.” The closer is the tender ballad, “Rest In Peace,” an eloquent tribute to his late wife, Pat Cannon,

Keyes says these songs “are topical, both on a personal level and on a world level. There is something here that everyone can relate to: love, loss, joy and pain and how we deal with it all.”

Dave Keyes has given us a fine sampler of music from his heart on “Two Trains.” It’s enjoyable on many levels, but the essence of his music is that it’s thoroughly enjoyable.

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Here’s a sample of Dave Keyes live:

Tracklist and credits:

1. Blues Ain’t Lookin’ For You 3:26 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
2. Boogie Till The Cows Come Home-3:48 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
3. Two Trains 2:36 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
4. I’m Alright 5:49 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music/ Benny Turner- Nola Blue Music(BMI)
5. Long Way From Right Right Now 5:16 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
6. What Just Happened 3:00 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
7. Boogie For Patty 5:00 Dave Keyes/Keyesland Music ASCAP
8. Trust in Love and Fate 5:09 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP
9. Worrying You Off My Mind 3:17 w/special guest Woody Mann -William Lee Conley Broonzy/ Boot House of Tunes BMI
10. Rest In Peace 2:31 Dave Keyes, Mark Sameth/Keyesland Music ASCAP

Dave Keyes: Piano, B-3. Lead vocals
Bernard “Pretty “Purdie: Drums tracks 1,3, 8
Frank Pagano: Drums tracks 2,4,6, plus Background Vocals tracks 1,2,3,4,6,8
John Putnam: Guitar tracks 1,2,3,4,6,8 and Pedal Steel on track 4
Jeff Anderson: Bass tracks 1,3,8
Mike Merritt: Bass tracks 2,4,6
Rob Paparozzi: Harmonica tracks 1,3,4,5,6
Hasan Bakr: All Percussion
Chris Bergson: Slide guitar track 8
Alexis P. Suter and Vicki Bell: Background Vocals tracks 1,3,4,6
Woody Mann: Guitar and vocal Track 9

Bob Corritore & Friends — “Early Blues Sessions” — VizzTone Label Group

If there’s any type of blues that makes me sit up and listen these days, it’s the classic sound of real-deal electric blues.

And that’s just what Bob Corritore has conjured up with his latest “From the Vaults” compilation, the magnificently curated “Early Blues Sessions.” Corritore has been recording tracks such as these for years, and his thoughtful productions are keeping the essence of this great music alive and breathing hard.

The 16 songs here, remixed and previously unreleased, span the years 1984 to 2007, and feature artists who’ve helped fire the molten core of the blues. including Lowell Fulson, Little Milton, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sam Lay, Henry Gray, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin and others. Corritore’s harp work weaves righteously throughout, ??? each song???

The first searing track is Corritore’s previously unreleased 2002 collaboration with the legendary Little Milton, “I Wanna Be the One,” written just for that session. It kicks off the album with appropriate down-home juice, with Henry Gray blending his gusty blues piano seamlessly into the effort, while Corritore takes a fierce solo.

Blues drummer Sam Lay contributes the slow-drag, down-home “So Glad I’m Living,” with its belt-buckle polishing invitation. On a side note, in an example of musical cross-pollination, Lay was the drummer Bob Dylan chose when he introduced his electric self at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Dave Riley offers a shuffling “On My Way,” then Jimmy Rogers creates a jazz-like “She Loves Another Man” that highlights one of the blues’ many facets. Chico Chism digs deep into the classic deep-blue “Five Long Years.” Robert Lockwood Jr. puts his snappy guitar work front and center on the intrumental “The Naptown Blues,” with some elegant organ work midway. Lil Ed brings his nasty slide guitar to “Hip Shakin’,” and Henry Gray returns with the hard-driving “Showers Of Rain.”

The magic of this fine blues journey continues through a lineup that include Lockwood’s memorable “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” Tomcat Courtney, Clarence Edwards, King Karl, Jimmy Dotson and Lowell Fulson, whose closer, “West Texas Blues,” leaves you ready for Volume 2.

“Early Blues Sessions” is a remarkable collection of musicians and their music that highlights the electric essence of classic American blues. Its historical value is exceeded only by the pure joy of the music. Let’s hope that Bob Corritore has more of the same.

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Here’s the unreleased 2002 studio track “I Want To Be The One” with Little Milton.

Tracklist:
01. I Want To Be The One (feat. Little Milton)
02. So Glad I’m Living (feat. Sam Lay)
03. On My Way (feat. Dave Riley)
04. She Loves Another Man (feat. Jimmy Rogers)
05. Five Long Years (feat. Chico Chism)
06. Naptown Blues (feat Robert Lockwood Jr.)
07. Hip Shakin’ (feat. Lil Ed)
08. Showers Of Rain (feat. Henry Gray)
09. I Wonder (feat. Tomcat Courtney)
10. Coal Black Mare (feat. Clarence Edwards)
11. Hear That Rumblin; (feat. Clarence Edwards)
12. Cool, Calm, Collected (feat. King Karl)
13. My Fault (feat. Sam Lay)
14. Ramblin’ On My Mind (feat. Robert Lockwood Jr.)
15. Tired Of Being Alone (feat. Jimmy Dotson)
16. West Texas Blues (feat. Lowell Fulson)

Roomful of Blues — “Steppin’ Out” — Alligator Records

About 58 years and 55 musicians ago, in 1967, guitarist Duke Robillard and pianist Al Copley got together in Rhode Island and formed the band Roomful of Blues to re-create the grit of Chicago-style blues.

By 1970, they were exploring the sounds of R&B and jump blues from the 1940s and ’50s. Then they added a horn section, including saxman Rich Lataille, who’s still swinging with today’s Roomful.

While band members have come and gone, their joyous music rolls on, still swinging hard and wringing every last drop of musical pleasure from their little band that sounds so very big.

In addition to their band recordings, Roomful provided backing for notable albums with legends of the blues such as Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy McCracklin, Roy Brown, Big Joe Turner, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and Earl King.

“Steppin’ Out” is Roomful’s 20th album, and its glorious 14 tracks do exactly that behind the sassy vocals of D.D. Bastos, the first female singer to record with the band. Roomful’s current lineup includes guitarist and bandleader Chris Vachon, who first joined in 1990, keyboardist Jeff Ceasrine, bassist John Turner, drummer Mike Coffey, baritone and tenor sax player Craig Thomas and trumpeter Christopher Pratt, plus Vachon, Lataille, and Bastos.

The album opens with sassy horns and rhythmic percussion kicking out a cover of Billy “The Kid” Emerson’s “Satisfied” behind Bastos’ swaggering vocal, and continues swinging its way through a choice assortment of little-known songs from well-known blues legends: Big Mama Thornton (“You Don’t Move Me No More”), Big Maybelle (“I’ve Got A Feeling” and “Tell Me Who”), Etta James (“Good Rocking Daddy”), Buddy & Ella Johnson (“Why Don’t Cha Stop It”), Jimmy McCracklin (“Steppin’ Up In Class”), Tiny Bradshaw (“Well Oh Well”), Z.Z. Hill (“You Were Wrong”), Smiley Lewis (“Dirty People”), and a supremely soulful rendition of James Wayne’s “Tend To Your Business,” with a gorgeous trumpet solo. (Complete track list and credits at end of post.)

“Steppin’ Out” is a sumptuous feast of timeless swinging blues by the equally timeless Roomful of Blues. Bastos’ passionate vocals, drenched in old-school R&B, carry the music to new heights. Enjoy this music soon and often.

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Here’s “Steppin’ Up In Class” from the album:

Tracklist:

1. Satisfied 3:36 (William R. Emerson, Riverline Music, BMI)
2. You Were Wrong 2:50 (Z. Z. Hill, Bira Music, BMI)
3. Steppin’ Up In Class 3:27 (Don Robey, Jimmy McCracklin, EMI Unart Catalog, Inc., BMI)
4. Slippin’ And Slidin’ 2:52 (Edwin J. Bocage, Albert Collins, Richard W. Pennimen & James Smith, Bess Music Company & Sony/ATV Songs, LLC, BMI)
5. Please Don’t Leave 3:43 (Wilbert Smith, M. Jones Publishing Co., BMI)
6. Tell Me Who 2:34 (Billy Myles, Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc., BMI)
7. You Don’t Move Me No More 2:43 (Willie Mae Thornton, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMI)
8. Good Rockin’ Daddy 3:18 (Richard Berry & Joe Josea, Universal Music Careers, BMI)
9. Tend To Your Business 3:00 (Dave Bartholomew, EMI Unart Catalog, Inc., BMI)
10. Well Oh Well 2:44 (Henry Bernard, Sydney Nathan, & Myron C. Bradshaw, Ft. Knox Music, Inc.,/Trio Music Company, BMI/Quartet Music, ASCAP)
11. Why Don’t Cha Stop It 3:16 (Woodrow Buddy Johnson, Sophisticate Music Inc., BMI)
12. I’ve Got A Feelin’ 3:34 (Sidney J. Wyche, Primary Wave 3 Songs, BMI)
13. Dirty People 3:28 (Smiley Lewis, EMI Unart Catalog, Inc., BMI)
14. Boogie’s The Thing 2:50 (Writer and Publisher unknown)

Musicians:

DD Bastos Lead Vocals, Claves (7), Maracas (12)
Chris Vachon Guitar, Background Vocals (8, 14)
Jeff Ceasrine Keyboards, Background Vocals (8, 14)
John Turner Upright Bass
Mike Coffey Drums
Rich Lataille Tenor and Alto Sax
Craig Thomas Tenor and Baritone Sax
Christopher Pratt Trumpet

Garry Burnside — “It’s My Time Now” — Strolling Bones Records
Kent Burnside — “Hill Country Blood” — Strolling Bones Records

The Mississippi Hill Country blues is an intriguing variation on the music that came out of the Mississippi Delta region and eventually moved to the urban north.

The Hill Country is part of northern Mississippi, bordering Tennessee, and the music that developed there emphasizes rhythm and percussion, often resulting in a trancelike, hypnotic musical groove. One of the first musicians to become widely known for performing in this style was Mississippi Fred McDowell, who influenced later artists like R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.

Burnside, Kimbrough and other Hill Country musicians (who deserve a much wider audience), such as Othar Turner, and Jessie Mae Hemphill appeared in the 1991 British documentary “Deep Blues,” created by music critic and author Robert Palmer and film maker Robert Mugge, leading to wider knowledge and popularity of the style. Recordings of Hill Country artists followed on the Fat Possum Records label, created just to feature that music.

Fast forward through about 30 years of Hill Country artists to the present, as Garry Burnside, R.L. Burnside’s youngest son, and Kent Burnside, R.L.’s grandson, step out with their own albums of original music after years of honing their musical and songwriting skills and developing their own performing styles. Garry’s brother is Duwayne Burnside, who has played with the North Mississippi Allstars, and his nephew and Kent’s cousin is the Grammy-winning Cedric Burnside.

Garry and Kent both released their albums on Aug. 15 (yes, I’m late to the party) and on the same label, and together they’ve created a more contemporary Hill Country sound, but one that’s still deeply infused with their musical heritage.

Garry played for years with Hill Country legend Junior Kimbrough and following Kimbrough’s death in 1998, began playing and recording regularly with the North Mississippi Allstars, the Hill Country Revue, brother Duwayne Burnside (for whom he ghostwrote most of the album, Under Pressure), and Grammy-award-winning nephew Cedric Burnside (with whom Garry received a Grammy nomination for their collaboration, Descendents of Hill Country). Garry has also recorded with blues greats Jesse Mae Hemphill and Bobby Rush, and many others.

Garry describes his music as “Hill Country with a lil bit of funk” and, about the album, says “I spent most of my career playing bass or guitar with other bands, so it feels amazing to say this will be my first album being released with all of my own music on it. Coming up under my pops [R.L. Burnside] and Junior Kimbrough, I learned so much. This album really is a testament to them, what they taught me, and my growth as a musician. I hope it makes them proud.”

“It’s My Time Now” features nine original songs, one co-write with Kimbrough, “Ramblin’,” and one classic R.L. Burnside cover, “Bad Luck City.” Garry’s very personal take on the Hill Country sound features fascinating rhythms and a unison vocal/guitar style that creates a mesmerizing rich and cohesive sound. Three instrumental tracks — “High,” “AGF Out” and “Bad Luck City” add to the musical intensity.

Kent Burnside has also spent a couple of decades building his own style and career, starting as a
guitarist in Jimbo Mathus’ post-Squirrel Nut Zippers band in 2005-2006. After leaving Mathus’ band,
Kent has fronted his own band at blues clubs and festivals.

Kent’s album, “Hill Country Blood,” includes eight original tracks, with splendid covers of John Lee Hooker’s “Crawling King Snake” and Kimbrough’s “You Better Run.” Kent plays guitar and Garry plays bass. Kent says, “Hill Country Blood is a high-energy, deeply authentic blues experience that honors the past while charging into the future.”

“Daddy Told Me” opens this session with a traditional, hypnotic Hill Country vibe that honors his forebears, while “Hill Country Blood” opens a new vein with a tougher, rocking style, adding a standout guitar solo. “Crawling King Snake” is another fiercely drawn cut. The closer features Garry’s acoustic guitar on Kent’s winsome ballad, “I Miss You,” with sentiments that could have just easily closed Garry’s album.

Taken together, these two excellent albums revisit the origins and traditions of Mississippi Hill Country blues and bring fresh vitality to its storied past. If you’ve never heard this powerful blues style, you owe yourself a musical treat by enjoying both sessions. If you have, you owe yourself the musical treat of this fresh approach, or as Kent says, “charging into the future.”

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Here’s a track from each album:

Tracklist for “It’s My Time Now”:
High
Young Country Boy
It’s My Time Now
Hanging In There
Bad Luck City
Ramblin’
Hold My Woman
I Been Looking
She’s Gone
AGF Out
Garry’s Night Out (Bonus Track) *CD and Digital Only
All songs written by Garry Burnside except Bad Luck City written by RL Burnside and Ramblin’ written by Garry Burnside and Junior Kimbrough

Tracklist for “Hill Country Blood”:
Daddy Told Me
Hill Country Blood

Crawling King Snake
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
Damian Pearson – harmonica
I Heard
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
I Go Crazy
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
Damian Pearson – harmonica
One More Chance
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
Damian Pearson – harmonica
Rob and Steal
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
I Can Feel It
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums

You Better Run
Kent Burnside – vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside – bass
Jake Best – drums
I Miss You
Kent Burnside -vocals, electric guitar
Garry Burnside- acoustic guitar
Damian Pearson-harmonica

All songs written by Kent Burnside
Kent Burnside Music / Strolling Bones Independent Music Publishing (ASCAP)
Except You Better Run by Junior Kimbrough – Music River Publishing Company (BMI)
and Crawling King Snake by John Lee Hooker – Universal Music Careers (BMI)

Mud Morganfield — “Deep Mud” — Nola Blue Records

The album “Deep Mud” roars to life with the Chicago blues toughness of “Bring Me My Whiskey” — and its vocal echoes of the legendary Muddy Waters, courtesy of his son, Larry “Mud” Morganfield.I

It’s hard to think of Mud, who just turned 71 on Sept. 27, as a young man helping to cap off his father’s magnificent career as a bluesman. Instead, he’s a polished performer of his own, devoted to the music that is his heritage, whose vocal tone and phrasing just happen to sound a lot like his father’s.

Still, Mud didn’t consider becoming a professional musician until after his father’s death in 1983. And he didn’t really come into his own until the 2000s, when he began to perform more widely and recorded several albums. The old-time classic Chicago blues singer Mary Lane gave Mud some of his earliest opportunities to perform on the West Side. “Deep Mud” is his recording debut on the Nola Blue label.

This album captures the essence of his blues roots, produced by Chicago blues traditionalist Studebaker John, who also plays harp on ten tracks. His regular backers appear here: Guitarists Rick Kreher and Mike Wheeler, drummer Melvin Carlisle, bassist E. G. McDaniel, and keyboardists Sumito Ariyo Ariyoshi and Roosevelt Purifoy. Trumpeter Phil Perkins adds the horn arrangements. Twelve of the fourteen tracks are originals; two come from his father’s considerable body of work.

The music here is pure, unadulterated Chicago blues: “Listen, man” Mud says, “it is Chicago blues. No rock-blues here for Mud. I talk and I sing about real things, real live people, real situations…So, it’s Chicago blues at its best. They ain’t trying to do that no more, but that’s what it is.”

Maybe “they” aren’t trying to do that, but Mud certainly is, and these results breathe new life into this classic music.

The rollicking “Bring Me My Whiskey” and “Big Frame Woman” get the music started in high spirits, followed by the scorching slow blues of “Strange Woman,” written by Muddy the Elder, on which Mud plays bass. Mud’s vocals here are a haunting memory of his dad’s, but that’s no to say that they don’t stand completely on their own. Mud is a powerful singer with a deep, rich voice.

“Don’t Leave Me” flows in behind John’s supple harp, and the upbeat “She’s Getting Her Groove On” adds Perkins’ trumpet and a danceable R&B flavor. “Ernestine” features a rousing, shouted vocal and “Strike Like Lightning” is another slow-dragging gem. “Cosigner Man” brings the horn section back for more R&B with a gospel-like choral backup, and “Lover Man” rides a frisky harp.

“In and Out of My Life” strikes a funkier note, with softer vocals and a backup refrain. “The Man That You’re With” brings back the Chicago sound with a steamy guitar solo and deep blue harp. “Carolina” shuffles in with an ode to “sweet Carolina,” followed by a tough cover of Muddy’s “Country Boy.”

The closer is the eloquently soulful “A Dream Walking,” roused to life with a glorious Purifoy organ intro, and a gospel-drenched lyric that pays tribute to Mud’s late mother, Mildred Williams.

“Deep Mud” is a powerful reminder of the strength and vitality of the classic Chicago blues sound, which was driven to a large extent by the music of Muddy Waters. His eldest son, Mud Morganfield, lets us revisit that era and those blues with his own magnificent musical statement.

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Here’s “She’s Getting Her Groove On,” from the album:

Mud Morganfield Deep Mud Track Listing and Credits

1. Bring Me My Whiskey  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
2. Big Frame Woman  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
3. Strange Woman – (McKinley Morganfield, Ralph Bass © Watertoons Music, Padua Music Co)
4. Don’t Leave Me  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
5. She’s Getting Her Groove On  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
6. Ernestine  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
7. Strike Like Lightning  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
8. Cosigner Man  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
9. Lover Man  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
10. In and Out of My Life  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
11. The Man That You’re With  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
12. Carolina  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)
13. Country Boy – (McKinley Morganfield © Watertoons Music)
14. A Dream Walking  (Mud Morganfield  ©Pops Daisy Entertainment)

All songs written by Mud Morganfield (©Pops Daisy Entertainment) except Strange Woman and Country Boy.
Produced and arranged by Studebaker John.
Horn arrangements by Phil Perkins.
Engineered, mixed and mastered by Brian Leach and Studebaker John at Joy Ride Studio, Chicago, IL
Additional mastering at Studio Jack, Brookfield, IL
Mud Morganfield – vocals (all tracks), bass (3); Rick Kreher – guitar (all tracks); Melvin “Pooky Styx” Carlisle – drums (all tracks); Studebaker John – harmonica (1,2,3,4,6,7,9,11,12,13); Mike Wheeler – guitar (all tracks except 3,13,14); E.G. McDaniel – bass (all tracks except 3,13); Sumito Ariyo Ariyoshi – piano (1,2,3,4,7,9,10,11,12); Roosevelt Purifoy – piano (5,6,8), organ (5,6,8,14); Rodrigo Mantovani – upright bass (13); Phil Perkins – trumpet (5,8); Felicia Collins – background vocals (8, 10, 14); Kristen Lowe – background vocals (8, 10); Jacole Avent – background vocals (14); Demetrias M. Hall – background vocals (14).