MEDIUM Vinyl Record
WEIGHT 180gr (black vinyl) 33rpm
CONDITION sealed
COVER Standard
CONDITION COVER M mint
SERIALNUMBER No
LIMITED Yes
MISCELLANEOUS Stereo
COVER DAMAGES No, we take care about that
MUSICIAN HOMEPAGE --
J. W. Williams - bass
Ray Allison - drums
Buddy Guy - guitar
Junior Wells - harmonica, vocals
Phil Guy - rhythm guitar
pleading the blues - 7:41
it hurts me too (when things go wrong) - 4:21
cut out the lights - 7:49
quit teasing my baby - 4:29
i'll take care of you - 6:57
take your time baby - 4:03
just for my baby - 4:12
i smell something - 8:56
The year was 1959
The occasion was a 'Battle of the Blues' at the Blue Flame Club in Chicago
A young harmonica player Junior Wells – who got his start as Little Walter Jacobs’ replacement in Muddy Waters’ band back in ’52 — probably didn’t imagine he would come in second
After all, he had already put down both Otis Rush and Magic Sam
Still to come, though, was this fleet-fingered, skinny young Louisiana cat — Buddy Guy, who came first
As the climax to his blistering solo, Guy tossed his guitar in the air, then caught it by the neck … one handed
As it slid through his fingers, Buddy created this high levee moan
Crowd gone wild
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship
That chance meeting set in motion more than a relationship
This early, and profound, respect translated into a partnership that somehow superceded Wells’ early work with one of the most important people in the blues
Wells and Guy would produce some of the most unabashed and deeply cool West Side blues recordings
This album recorded for the French Isabel label, in 1979 is a companion piece to Guy’s “Blues Giant” recording of the same year
There’s the gentle blues shuffle of “It Hurts Me Too”, made famous by Elmore James
There’s the electric-blues muscle of the title tune
Finally, as a bonus track, there’s the funky, clearly James Brown-influenced “I Smell Something”
This is a fine recording — and certainly one of Junior’s best little-known releases
RECORDING at the Condorcet Studio Toulouse on October 31 1979
ENGINEERING Didier Tricard
LABEL Isabel
RE MASTERING Ray Staff
RE RELEASED February 2014
AVERAGE RATING 4 ½ Stars out of 5
PRESSING by Pallas Germany
MADE IN Germany / England
STYLE Blues / Chicago Blues
AVAILABLE as long as inventory
