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Review

November 10th. 1976. Out from the studio - in to "Big Duke´s". Richard Kirch on guitar. Sylvester Boines on bass and Tyrone Centuray on drums - and Jimmy Dawkins on guitar and vocals. This could have been great. This could have been an epic Lp! If there had been some people other than the recording engineers in the club... if the band had talked over which songs they´re going to play... If the producers had thought of something else than a lonesome black man playing sad and lonely slow blues... What´s left on the Lp is Jimmy Dawkins´ Guitar - and this takes the album a long way.

The cd on the other hand is something else, and a side note to Joerg Leukel at Joe´s Corner - Now the album kicks ass! Of the the four added tracks on the cd three of them are fast songs, two heavy instrumentals - they´re among the best Jimmy ever recorded, and two standard Albert King songs transformed by Jimmy´s wild, weird and visionary soloing to totally different experiences. The band which seems to be sleeping on the Lp suddenly are groovier than James Brown in 1970. The sound quality still is not the best, Jimmy´s voice never gets a chance, but who cares when he lets his guitar do the talking.

• Come back baby (5.49)
  The first seconds of the song makes you gasp - That Guitar - That Sound, so typical Jimmy Dawkins. After awhile you realize nothing more happens. The only thing there is, is the sound and tone. Anyway, "Come back baby" is a very good start to this album and at least I look forward to listening to the next song.
• I got wise (8.35)
  A slowblues again, this time a regular 12 bar blues. Again the guitar is what you notice. And again, nothing really happens. Next song!
• Cross Road Blues (5.54)
  A slowblues... The same tempo an sound as before. Oh well...
• Hard road to travel (6.48)
  A slowblues... As on the other tracks there´s some intense guitar.
• Blue shadows falling (5.23)
  A medium fast shuffle. It could have been great if you could hear the band...
• Ode to Billie Joe (8.06)
  I loved this song on "Blisterstring", here I can´t stand to listen through the song. Awful take! The first minutes are quite promising, but the last five minutes are a pain!
  
  CD bonus tracks
• Big Duke´s (4.46)
  A version of Chitlin´ con Carne and as on Blisterstring, this instrumental is a chance for Jimmy to warm up. Tyrone Centuray is great on drums here.
• J.D.'s Jam (3.33)
  This is Ode to Billie Joe, but when you compare this take with the incredible lame one on the Lp, the people at MCM must have had some kind of breakdown. Where the lp-take is uninspired with poor sound, on the cd-bonus Jimmy is mean and angry as hell. After one short round playing the melody, Jimmy immediately starts to rip things. He plays staccato riffs, holding and bending notes to the verge of distortion and then into distortion. I have have never heard any blues guitar player playing with such intense cold rage as Jimmy when he´s at his best - and here he is! Even when I´m writing this I want to hit something hard and drain a bottle or two. Tuff Stuff!
• Nature Ball (5.46)
  Nature Ball (sic) is nothing like Albert King played it. The band is funkier and Jimmy´s guitar is much uglier. On his last solo Jimmy really tries to find the micronotes between the scales with his bends.
• Pretty Woman (4.44)
  At first it seems as a standard cover, and it´s not as exciting as Nature Ball, but Jimmy doesn´t fall into the trying to sond like Albert hole. He is his own man.