Hoodoo Man Blues
is one of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s, and one of the first to fully document, in the superior acoustics of a recording studio, the smoky ambience of a night at a West Side nightspot.
Junior Wells
just set up with his usual cohorts -- guitarist
Buddy Guy
, bassist
Jack Myers
, and drummer
Billy Warren
-- and proceeded to blow up a storm, bringing an immediacy to
"Snatch It Back and Hold It,"
"You Don't Love Me, Baby,"
"Chitlins con Carne,"
and the rest of the tracks that is absolutely mesmerizing. Widely regarded as one of
Wells
' finest achievements, it also became
Delmark
's best-selling release of all time. Producer
Bob Koester
vividly captures the type of grit that
brought to the stage. When
and his colleagues dig into "Good Morning, Schoolgirl," "Yonder Wall," or "We're Ready," they sound raw, gutsy, and uninhibited. And while
Guy
leaves the singing to
, he really shines on guitar.
, it should be noted, was listed as "Friendly Chap" on
's original LP version of
;
thought
was under contract to
Chess
, so they gave him a pseudonym. But by the early '70s,
's real name was being listed on pressings. This is essential listening for lovers of electric Chicago blues. ~ Bill Dahl & Alex Henderson