I find it hard to believe that it was 50 years ago that John Broven, the indefatigable English blues scholar, first published his groundbreaking exploration of New Orleans rhythm and blues, (‘Walking To New Orleans’, published by Blues Unlimited, 1974) but then I find it equally hard to believe that I am now 78 years old.
So tempus fugit and all that.
To celebrate this milestone, Broven partnered with Jasmine Records to release this double CD as ‘An Aural Accompaniment’ to the book. And a jolly fine accompaniment it is, containing as it does 65, yes, count ‘em, 65, delicious genre-defining examples of New Orleans music encompassing blues, rhythm and blues and rock ’n’ roll.
Bookended by Fats Domino, who sets the tone on side one, track one with his hypnotic 1960 hit, ‘Walking to New Orleans’ and who ends the second CD with the plaintive ‘So Long’ with its haunting alto solo from Wendell Duconge, the two compact discs cover the very crème de la crème of the music and artists that made the Crescent City’s music so infectiously listenable and contagiously danceable.
And while all the greats are here, from Roy Brown’s initial 1948 R&B smash ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ to his stab at Rock ’n’ Roll with ‘Saturday Night', others include Archibald, Tommy Ridgley, The Spiders, Huey Smith, Sugar Boy Crawford, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry and many more, this is no 'Greatest Hits' type release. Broven has put his taste and knowledge to fine use here, including, as he has, lesser-known tunes by the better-known artists and several ‘should-have-been-known-better’ tunes by the regrettably close-to-obscure artists. Savor, if you will, Eddie Lang’s ‘Easy Rockin’, Papa Lightfoot’s ‘Wine, Women, Whiskey', Lenny Capello & The Dots ‘Cotton Candy’ or Blazer Boy’s ’New Orleans Twist', delicious slices of Louisiana culture that proudly equal the efforts of better-known artists such as Earl King, Professor Longhair, Smiley Lewis and Guitar Slim.
Little Richard is here with Slippin’ and Slidin’, which, for me, is the very epitome of that romping celebratory New Orleans sound - those saxophones dipping and weaving, rippin’ and a riffin’, peepin’ and hidin’ … oh man, it’s all a long time ago. Paul Gayten and Jewel King, Eddie Bo and Irma Thomas, Big Boy Myles and Bobby Mitchell … and let’s not forget Shirley and Lee and Joe and Ann. The latter two acts were hugely popular in Jamaica, as was the New Orleans sound generally, and which was foundational in the development of ska.
Al Johnson’s ode to “Carnival Time’, Dave Bartholomew’s ‘Monkey’, James Booker doing business as Little Booker ‘Thinkin’ ‘Bout My Baby’, drummer Charles ‘Hungry’ Williams leaning into the vocal mic with ’So Glad She’s Mine’, and Huey Smith and Jerry Hall showing us how ’Sea Cruise’ might have sounded had Frankie Ford not wrapped his tonsils around the lyric, are among these treasures, as is the seminal breakneck tempo rock ’n’ roller ‘Lights Out’ by Jerry Byrne, with its furious Art Neville piano break. Songwriter Robert Guidry, aka Bobby Charles, gets a look in with ‘I Just Want You’, as does tenor titan Lee Allen with “Creole Alley’. Incidentally, I wonder how many of these sides Lee is present on. Quite a few, I suspect! Fellow tenor player Robert Parker gives out with ‘All Nite Long, Pt.1’ and guitarist Roy Montrell extolls the virtue of ‘That Mellow Saxophone’ that he keeps hearing over and over again.
It is a crazy thing but pretty much true … just about all these recordings were made at Cosimo Matassa’s studio, which was, for many, many years, the only game in town. When asked why others never tried to establish another studio, Cosimo, or Cosmo as he was affectionately known, replied, ’Beats the hell out of me.’ Nevertheless, Cosmo deserves as much credit as the musicians for creating the sounds that came out of this fabled city, from the late forties through the sixties.
This is a great compilation … and a fine companion to John Broven’s wonderful book, now fifty years old!
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