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Review (++)

Jimmy won an award for "Fast Fingers", an award he got in the French town Orange. This album, recorded during an European tour in November 1971, is Dawkins tribute to the town. When I bought this very ugly looking LP, I had high expectations. After listening to the album for the first time I was very very disappointed and I still am! I almost can´t stand to listen to this album. Let me state that Jimmy Dawkins is great on the album. He plays excellent fluent guitar with a nasty sound and his singing is also among his best. It´s the band that gets to me. They are the worst band, by far, I heard back Jimmy Dawkins. Especially Gatemouth Brown on rhythm guitar and Cousin Joe on piano manage to destroy every good intention Jimmy Dawkins has. This could have been such a good album! Buy it for Jimmy's sake. Listen to the guitar. Try to forget the band. I can´t and that´s why I can´t listen to the album.

On the cd there are four tracks added from Black & Blue 33.510 with Otis Rush, gtr; Jerome Van Jones, org, James Green, bs and Bob Plunkett, dms. A better band, but still not enough the change the review for the cd.

• Off Business (5.54) (called All for business on the CD ?)
  The typical "All for business" chord changes are missing here, which makes this version the least interesting of the versions there is. Jimmy Dawkins plays some very intense guitar, but when Cousin Joe excels in stiff handed piano clinks, the song never gets a groove.
• You´ve got to keep on trying (6.08)
  Jimmy Dawkins plays complex and stunning guitar and when he throws in those fat fat chords I give up. Jimmy Dawkins wins the fight against the band on knockout!
• Ain´t never had nothing (3.11)
  I have to turn up the stereo and yes! The band is still there somewhere in the studio. Too bad. A slow shuffle with not as intense guitar from Jimmy Dawkins as on the first two tracks and that make this the weakest track so far.
• Born in Poverty (4.36)
  Cousin Joe plays the riff which is supposed to drive the song forward. Jimmy's voice sounds too weak and my God, Gatemouth Brown is making some kind of noise in the back. Next song...
• Marcelle Morgantini´s cassoulet (6.00)
  A John Lee Hooker stylish boogie that won´t make nobody happy. These kind of songs needs a good band or at least a heavy-handed band. Here it´s plain boring. It´s fun for a moment to here Jimmy play a boogie riff, but just for a moment.
• Your love (3.25)
  If the song above sounded as Hooker "Your love" reminds of Otis Rush´s "All your love". If think this is the best band effort on the album. Even Cousin Joe and Gatemouth Brown manages to find a groove. Unfortunately Jimmy´s guitar is a bit to deep down in the mix and it´s clear Jimmy is no Otis Rush on vocals.
• Tribute to Orange (4.21)
  An up tempo Texas kind of instrumental shuffle where Jimmy and Gatemouth Brown swaps solos. Jimmy is no T-Bone Walker on rhythm guitar! And who gave Ted Harvey his toykit drums?
• Mississippi Bound (6.30)
  Again the band and Jimmy Dawkins fights it out, but on the last track the band gets even and knocks Jimmy Dawkins out cold in the first round. Isn´t there some sound technician out there who could isolate Jimmy's guitar and voice and then record a new rhythm section?
  
  Cd-tracks

• Life Is a Mean Mistreater (6.10)
  Evidence have added tracks from a completely different album with an entirely new band. Well, maybe they realized something had to be done to heighten the sale potentials... In fact these tracks were recorded at the same session which led to the album Screamin' and cryin' by Otis Rush. Otis Rush plays second guitar, but what is missing here is the touch of disaster which turns Screamin and Cryin' from mediocre to moving. The Jimmy Dawkins solo tracks are still heavy intense seventies blues. Life is a Mean Mistreater might be the best song on this cd. An intense slow blues.
  
• It serves you right to suffer (3.42)
  A solid and heavy version, but not as good as on Fast Fingers.
  
• Marcelle Jaques et Luc (3.53)
  An instrumental with some tough tremolo licks and lots of heavy organ. Great, but a wee bit long.
  
• Ode to Billie Joe (2.59)
  Heavy and compressed guitar from Jimmy, but nothing near the intensity on Come back baby, called JD's Jam, or the complexity on Blisterstring. Still a good version, the worst take is also on Come back baby, 8.06 of true boredom.
  
• Mean Atlantic Ocean (5.46)
  A slow shuffle with a nice solo. Jimmy is longing home to hos women but the mean ocean is in the way.
  
• Off business (take 1) (7:20)
  Well, back to the weird backup from Tribute... again. Compare the heavy blues feeling from the other bonus tracks with the strange sounds Ted Harvey and Gatemouth are making. Do I have to tell you that 7.20 is 7.20 too long. again the chord changes from All for business are missing and there´s really nothing good with this track.
  
• Instrumental shuffle (3:32)
  This is also the same band as on Tribute to Orange but here they sound real cool! Better than anything on the Lp. An uptempo instrumental with some nice guitar..