Development of the British Blues and Rhythm
  --- show 50 ---   7-27-2016

Long John Baldry                                 1996
Gary Moore, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker   1994
Eric Clapton                                  1994 & 1991
The Blues Band                                    2003

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These last three editions of our British Blues saga seem like it has taken forever to get around to, because they have!  I believe this show was scheduled for the second Wednesday in June but I opted instead to use the month to celebrate the Blues Marathon later that month.  I think a desire to do something different from the Brit Blues just might have had something to do with that decision.  Then a health issue caused me to miss my next two scheduled rotations and here we are.  I am okay; it was a gall bladder issue and I would have looked it up online but I figured with all the musical stuff I’d looked up it would direct me to The Gaul Stones, which is a French tribute band covering Mick Jagger and company.  Okay, that is SO not true, but each time it crosses my mind a smile also crosses my face so I thought I would throw it in.
Anyway, after 47 shows to get us through the 50s, 60s and 70s, things are going at a considerably quicker pace lately.  Our last two airings covered the 80s, overlapping into the 90s, and it takes less than a full show to cover the rest of the 90s today as our Blues Band set bumps us into 2003.  Our next show will conclude our timeline at 2009 and we’ll close up with a retrospective program I’ve had planned for almost two years now as the perfect (in my opinion, anyway) way to put it all in perspective, so let’s see if we can get through these last episodes.  It’s been fun but it’s also time to move on.  Enjoy

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We are fortunate today to start off with two of my favorite vocalists.  Preceding Jack Bruce is one of our earliest contributors, Long John Baldry, who goes all the way back to the original Blues Incorporated before Cyril Davies broke off from Alexis Korner and formed his own All Stars; After the split, Baldry performed with both ensembles as the situations arose, preferring Davies over Korner’s use of several vocalists where with Cyril, John would be the main man.
This album, Right to Sing the Blues, won a 1997 Juno Award in the category of Blues albums.  In addition to vocals, Baldry provides the 12-string guitar heard on three of the tracks.  Canadian Bluesman Colin James contributes lead guitar on the title track only but his road band is the backup for the Vancouver session, about half of the album.  Papa John King, a longtime accompanist for Baldry, adds lead or slide guitar on all the tunes.  The rest of the LP was recorded in Toronto with some more unfamiliar names, but who cares about Canadians, eh?

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After two disappointing albums with guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing of Mountain and a decent release with Robin Trower and his drummer Bill Lordan (BLT), it seems Jack Bruce hit on the right combination in creating another power trio a la Cream.  Perhaps it was teaming up once again with Cream’s drummer Ginger Baker or perhaps it was the powerful guitar provided by Gary Moore but the fit was right to make BBM’s 1994 album Around the Next Dream hit the mark, but I think you’ll agree that it succeeded.  The trio’s sound is augmented with Tommy Eyre on keyboards.

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And since Bruce and Baker were reunited, it only makes sense that the filler set for this show be Eric Clapton.  He came back to his Blues roots in fine form with a full album of nothing but in 1994 with the album From the Cradle.  I’ve always felt Clapton’s voice rang a little hollow, but for this set (especially the opening tune) it doesn’t seem to bother me.  The closing number, Watch Out, comes from his 1991 live double disc set, 24 Nights.  It is one of four tracks that had American guests as his backup (guitarists Buddy Guy and Robert Cray, pianist from Chuck Berry’s heyday Johnnie Johnson, Cray’s bass player Richard Cousins and drummer Jamie Oldaker).  As I was preparing to put this show together I found myself really disappointed because I thought these four songs would provide a good strong set.  I knew the other disc and a half were pretty much retreads of Clapton’s pop stuff but the three other Blues tunes were just too slow for the energy level I prefer.

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We’ve already heard the first three Blues Band albums recently and this jump ahead to 2003’s Few Short Lines brings us another example of why they are likely my favorite of all the discoveries I have found during this 52-episode saga, and we are not quite done with their members yet.

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Since it is still relatively new, I thought I’d mention that KKUP is now streaming on the internet and, while it is still in a developing stage, we have been putting out the word.  I’m not all of that good with high-tech stuff, but it seems pretty easy to access.  If you go to our website at KKUP.org you will see on the home page a strip of options immediately above the pictures of the musicians the next to the last option being LISTEN ONLINE.  By clicking this, it brings up a choice of desktop or mobile.  I can only speak for the desktop but after maybe a minute I was receiving a crystal clear feed.  As already mentioned, this is still a work in progress and we are currently limited to a finite number of listeners at any one time.  I mention this so you will be aware to turn off the application when you are not actually listening.  (I put the player in my favorites bar for the easiest of access.)  Now we can reach our listeners in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, even my family in Canada.  Let your friends elsewhere know they can now listen to your favorite station, and while they have the home page open they can check out our schedule.

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Right to Sing the Blues
They Raided the Joint
Easy Street
I’m Shakin’
East Virginia Blues
Midnight Hour Blues
   Long John Baldry   24min

Waiting in the Wings

City of Gold
High Cost of Loving
Can’t Fool the Blues
Glory Days
Why Does Love (Have to Go Wrong)
I Wonder Why (Are You So Mean to Me)
   BBM (Baker, Bruce, Moore)   36min

Few Short Lines

I Believe I’m in Love with You
Pay It No Mind
Suddenly I Like It
Statesboro Blues
My Toot Toot
It Take Love
Road
You Can Dance to the Blues
   The Blues Band   38min

Blues Before Sunrise

Reconsider Baby
Hoochie Coochie Man
I’m Tore Down
How Long Blues
Goin’ Away Baby
Blues Leave Me Alone
Motherless Child
Sinner’s Prayer
It Hurts Me Too
Driftin’ Blues
Watch Yourself
   Eric Clapton   41min

Work So Hard

Whoa Back Buck
It’s Too Late, Brother
Morning Dew
Midnight in Berlin
   Long John Baldry   20min