Search - Johnny Winter :: Nothin' But the Blues/White, Hot & Blue

JW in His Prime, Taking His Time

J. Conroy | Santa Monica, CA United States | 05/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Firstly, you probably already have these on vinyl and want to know if the quality is there. Yes, these are Sony authorized productions. In fact, they are digitally remastered...it's sounds great, no worries. And yes both albums are on a single CD. Nothing But.. has been out for years and is a great blues album. Backed by Muddy's band including James Cotton on harp, this recording of original material has JW singing good time, rough, heartfelt blues. Unlike the earlier arena rock albums, he slows it down and delivers core blues. Also the relaxed time and fun in studio really comes through here. Now this is the first I've found White, Hot & Blue on CD, and thank God for that. This is a total gem of a recording. Same core blues, but definitely more plugged in. Backed by a very tight group of smoking players, this finds JW on primarily covers, putting the originals in their best possible light. The surprise is Pat Ramsey on harp, I can't say if he's technically great, but he sounds awesome. The best description of this album, "slinky." These recordings supported JW on tour enlightening us to purely American music played by a man that can only be described as a National Treasure. I dare you to listen to these recordings and be in a bad mood."

About time these albums were re released.

Mick C | New Zealand | 06/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having owned both of them on vinyl since the late 70's I was amazed to see that finally they are out together no less.Two great albums by a man on top of his game. By the way my turn table has gone the way of the steam engine but the albums are still in pristine order."

Amazing. In more ways than one

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bunching these two albums together like this doesn't do much for credibility, does it? Eh, a twofer. Can't be too great.

But guess what? It is.



"Nothin' but the Blues" is the older of these two albums by a year. It came out in 1977, the same year as Muddy Waters' excellent comeback-album "Hard Again", which Johnny Winter produced and played on. And here Johnny gets to borrow the mighty Muddy Waters Blues Band, leading them through a well-arranged set of his own compositions, and a powerful rendition of Muddy's "Walkin' Thru The Park".



Johnny Winter handles the lead vocals himself (except on "Walkin' Thru The Park"), and while his characteristic voice may take some getting used to for the newcomer, it suits these purposely traditional blues compositions pretty well.

Winter plays guitar as well, of course, and a little bit of bass and drums, and his acoustic steel guitar playing is particularly delightful.

Highlights include the acoustic slide guitar workout "TV Mama" (not the Big Joe Turner song), the swaggering, harp-driven "Tired Of Tryin'", the thumping, groovy "Bladie May", and the fine "Sweet Love And Evil Women", a showcase for "Steady Rollin'" Bob Margolin, whose shimmering lead guitar lines wind their way all around Winter's gruff, throaty vocals. There are a couple of forgettable numbers here which keep "Nothin' But The Blues" from getting a top rating, but most of these nine tracks are among the finest blues tunes Winter has ever recorded.



And, amazingly, 1978's "White, Hot & Blue" is even better. It is, to me, at least, the best studio album Winter has ever recorded, although it must be said that I am very much partial towards his blues albums rather than his somewhat more generic rock n' roll records.



"White, Hot & Blue" features Winter's excellent renditions of Jimmy Rogers' classic "Walkin' By Myself" and Junior Wells' signature tune "Messin' With The Kid", as well as a couple of fine originals.

Johnny Winter's playing is absolutely superb, fresh and exhilarating, and virtually everything here is top-notch. The tough, slinky groove of "One Step At A Time" and the salacious slide guitar-workout "Slidin' In". The acoustic Delta-styled "Nickel Blues" and the slow Little Walter-original "Last Night", which features some fine harp playing by Pat Ramsey. And the sizzling album closer, a tremendous cover of Jimmy Reed's slow boogie "Honest I Do", a superbly groovy rendition with tasty guitar playing from Johnny Winter and a sizzling harp solo, probably the best Jimmy Reed-cover I have ever heard.



It's a shame that those who already own one of these records can't just go out and buy the other one without having to pick up a cheap-looking twofer package like this one. It's a shame, in fact, that these two excellent, smouldering hot CDs haven't long since been remastered and presented in shiny new deluxe editions.

But be that as it may, these are two of John Dawson Winter III's very, very best efforts. A must-have for fans of Winter's bluesiest material. I can't recommend this music enough, really."