CD Review
Arthur Williams with Boo Boo Davis
"Harpin' On it"
Fedora Records (FCD 5013)
by Gordon Baxter
Review date: December 1999
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1999 KBA Award Winner Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by the Blues Foundation
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"Harpin' On It" is the debut from 61 year old St. Louis based harp player Williams. It's 11 tracks (6 originals) of harp based Blues, with Williams' playing reflecting elements of SBWII, Little Walter and Jimmy Reed, and some of the powerhouse style of Frank Frost--Williams played the Mississippi jukes with Frost and Sam Carr in the early 1960's. The vocals are shared between Williams and drummer James "Boo Boo" Davis. Stand out tracks are the cracking instrumental title track, "Chitlins and Hot Sauce", Don Robey's "Mother In Law Blues" and the closer "Talkin' Too Much." The overall musical style is Chicago-based, but the delivery is much more no-nonsense Mississippi juke joint, not a million miles from the feel of Frank Frost and Sam Carr's "The Jelly Roll Kings". Top stuff.
Fedora Records: www.jazzdepot.com
This review is copyright © 1999 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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