CD Review
Earl Gaines
"Lovin' Blues: The Starday King Years, 1967-73"
Westside (WESA 802)
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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Earl Gaines is currently enjoying a resurgence of interest as part of the Nashville blues/R&B revival. "Lovin Blues..." captures Gaines' time at Starday-King on the Hollywood and DeLuxe labels. It combines the original "Lovin' Blues" compilation with several singles, and five previously unissued tracks. Gaines, a singer in the same class as Bobby Bland, was inspired to take up the blues by B.B. King, Lowell Fulson and Louis Jordan. The songs here feature Gaines fronting a classic R&B line-up, complete with horns and organ, and Johnny Jones (another Nashville stalwart) plays guitar on several tracks. Favorite tracks include "From warm to cool to cold," "Tell me tonight", the stunning "What in the world can I call my own," and the instrumental closer "Finger lickin'." Great stuff.
Westside: www.vci.com
This review is copyright © 1999 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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