CD Review
Weepin’ Willie
"At Last On Time"
APO Records (APO 2009)
by Dick Houff
Review date: July 2000
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1999 KBA Award Winner Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by the Blues Foundation
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I’ve always believed in analog recording complete with tubes. Be it early rock classics to the blues; the sound is far superior to the digital gimmicks and high tech that pour forth on an "I-just-can’t-get-enough-music-public." The pressures and demands are
tough. However, Chad Kassem is a visionary that chose to return to that classic sound. And on Weepin’ Willie’s "At Last, On Time," that’s exactly what you get—sweet classic sound! Willie Robinson has been singing blues and R&B for forty-years going. Ironically, at the age of 73, this is his debut CD. His voice is captivating, and you’ve got to wonder why or how a person like Willie Robinson could get sidetracked.
When I’m on the road, I run across many unsung heroes on the stage that deserve to be recorded; but this guy is something else and I’m damn happy to have found him through APO. After listening to this record; I can only hope and pray that more will follow. His choice of material and his own compositions far exceed what you’d normally hear in this day and age. And the covers are absolutely right on the spot. When was the last time you heard the immortal Davenport / Cooley song "Fever?" I haven’t heard it since Little Willie John’s rendition (Ca. 1956). I believe it was in 1965, when the song took me for a ride. Robinson’s version recreates that same excitement with the song at track #2! From
the opening track, Sam McClain’s "Love Call" and everything in-between; including "Weepin’ Willie Boogie" and the final killer "Let The Good Times Roll," makes this disc rock solid with an all-star cast including Susan Tedeschi, and the late Jimmy Roger’s son Jimmy D. Lane who can hold his own ax attack with anybody in the business. My highest praise and recommendations.
This review is copyright © 2000 by Dick Houff, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.
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