Blues Piano Orgy

by Blues Piano Orgy / Various

Overview

Thanks in part to the luridly alluring title and the enthusiastically informative liner notes by Bob Koester, this solid collection was many a young musician's introduction to the men who pioneered blues piano in the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt Sykes is the best represented artist here, and his leering vocals are hard to resist: After hearing the ribald metaphor of "Dresser Drawers," you'll never view furniture quite the same way again. His "Kickin' Motor Scooter" is truly a marvel of smiling euphemism, with the song devoted to boasts of how he's "A dangerous motor scooter...A tricky motor scooter!" Other artists, while not always as inventive lyrically, show a wide range of piano styles, from the bouncing syncopated jazz of "Stendahl Stomp" to the trickling upper registers and restrained bass coaxed by Curtis Jones from a battered old piano in "Tin Pan Alley Blues #2." Not every track is unaccompanied piano, though. "Every Time I Get to Drinking," a blues dirge to the bottle, revolves around the elastic pull of an upright bass. The closing instrumental, Otis Spann's "Three-in-One Blues," features ominous bass chords wracked by a scattershot backing of drums. Despite being essentially a glorified soundcheck, and by far the least structured piece on the album, it's also the most primally satisfying. ~ Paul Collins

Product Details

Release Date:	09/10/1996
Label:	Delmark
UPC:	0038153062620
Rank:	148607

Tracks

1. Blues Hurt My Tongue to Talk  -  Public Domain  -  Speckled Red
2. Dresser Drawers  - Roosevelt Sykes  - Homesick James Williamson
3. Concentration Blues  - Roosevelt Sykes  - Homesick James Williamson
4. Kickin' Motor Scooter  - Roosevelt Sykes
5. (New Year's) Resolution Blues  - St. Louis Jimmy Oden  - Roosevelt Sykes
6. My Baby's Coming With a Marriage License  - Albert Luandrew  -  Sunnyland Slim  - Homesick James Williamson
7. Poor Boy  - James Burke Oden  -  Sunnyland Slim  - Homesick James Williamson
8. Everytime I Get to Drinkin'  - Albert Luandrew  -  Sunnyland Slim  - Homesick James Williamson
9. Depression Blues  - Albert Luandrew  -  Sunnyland Slim  - Homesick James Williamson
10. Stendahl Stomp  - Little Brother Montgomery
11. Tremblin' Blues  - Little Brother Montgomery
12. No Special Rider Blues  - Little Brother Montgomery
13. Bass Key Boogie  - Little Brother Montgomery
14. Five O'Clock Blues  - Otto Allen  - Ernest Cotton  - Neil Green  -  Memphis Slim  - Curtis Mosley  - Matt "Guitar" Murphy
15. Nat Dee Special  - Otto Allen  -  Memphis Slim  - Curtis Mosley  - Matt "Guitar" Murphy
16. Lonesome Bedroom Blues  - Curtis Jones
17. Takin' Off  - Curtis Jones
18. Tin Pan Alley  - Curtis Jones
19. Three-In-One Blues  - Otis Spann

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Speckled Red   Primary Artist,Piano
Curtis Jones   Primary Artist
Little Brother Montgomery   Primary Artist,Piano
Roosevelt Sykes   Primary Artist,Piano
Matt "Guitar" Murphy   Primary Artist,Guitar
Memphis Slim   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Otto Allen   Primary Artist,Drums
Sunnyland Slim   Primary Artist
St. Louis Jimmy Oden   Primary Artist,Vocals
Homesick James Williamson   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar
Curtis Mosley   Primary Artist,Bass
Neil Green   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Ernest Cotton   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Otis Spann   Primary Artist,Piano
Fred Below   Drums

Technical Credits

Speckled Red   Performer
Steve Wagner   Digital Producer
Curtis Jones   Composer,Performer
Erwin Helfer   Engineer,Supervisor
Roosevelt Sykes   Composer,Performer
Robert G. Koester   Producer,Supervisor,Liner Notes
Otis Spann   Composer,Performer
Little Brother Montgomery   Performer,Composer
Sunnyland Slim   Performer
Albert Luandrew   Composer
Public Domain   Composer
Stu Black   Engineer
Bill Kline   Engineer
James Burke Oden   Composer
Kate Hoddinott   Packaging
Ray Flerlage   Photography