Search - Washboard Sam :: Complete Recorded 6

A Study in Singles

gailtodd | McGregor, IA United States | 06/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In Vol. 6 of Washboard Sam's collected material, we find the singer working through several groups of increasingly tighter arrangements. The bulk of the material is with Big Bill Broonzy on guitar and Memphis Slim on piano. Six tunes feature Roosevelt Sykes on piano and a clarinetist whose work adds a jumpier, Bourbon Street feel. All the songs work at some level. Fascinatingly, as they are layed out chronologically, one can hear the development of arrangements as they coalesce towards releasable, single-worthy product. A case in point are tracks 4, 5, 6: on each, an uptempo, two-stepping, 12-bar blues form is layed across Slim's pounding piano and Sam's surprisingly clear vocal delivery and washboard rhythms. Broonzy's guitar work is key to following the arrangement's development towards a finished triumph. On track four he lays down a hook-filled solo, albeit with a few mistakes. #5 refines the solo with little to distract, but by track six the arrangement has delivered its full potential: the solo is tight and flawless, Sam and the band stomping their way through a gem.Several track groups advance in a similar way, but in differing blues veins. Listening to the artists search for that 3-minute, press-worthy expression of clarity is as much fun as the end product itself.To be sure, several tracks appear in full bloom like isolated flowers, their arrangement work lost to history. My favorite among these is "Get Down Brother," about a loafing guest who just won't leave. (Parenthetically, I've never heard a blues artist with so many songs NOT directly about love. That is refreshing.) Highly recommended, lots of fun. I prefer to hit the "shuffle" button on my player and let the many variations spill out randomly: it's like a tour de force in 30's down home and jump blues styles."