BILLIE HOLIDAY

Ok. Crazy weather here. Was in the high 70's yesterday and now it's about to snow. Cold and windy out. Here's a little music to warm you for the night. Billie Holiday, doing what she does best, singing sophisticated, sultry, jazz music with her darkly beautiful voice that warms your soul to no end, filling you with sorrow and joy. Here's a few from "Billie's Best", one of my all time favorite albums.

Come Rain Or Come Shine - Billie Holiday

Comes Love - Billie Holiday

THE CRAWDADDYS

The Crawdaddys were a band from California fronted by Steve Potterfand and Ron Silva that came out in the late 1970's. They specialized in playing scorching 1950's R&B and blues with a 1960's garage punk aesthetic. Their sound does not fit their time. Their music is blazing, energetic, soulful, yet straightforward and unprententious. They remind me a bit of The Yardbirds, but they really have their own sound that is instantly recognizable. Check out their album "The Crawdaddy Expreess". You can listen to many full tracks from it here. A few of my favorites are 'Rainin' In My Heart" and "Crawdaddy Express". HIghly recommended.

SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS

Screamin' Jay Hawkins. My favorite blues singer of all time. The man, whose real name is Jalacy Hawkins, has had a bizarre career. He started out studying classical piano with a goal of being an opera singer. This dream was put on hiatus when he went into the military in World War Two. After the war, he became a formidable boxer. After a while, he gave up boxing and decided to become a blues singer. His first single was "I Put a Spell on You"(1956). The entire band was extremely intoxicated during the recording of this song. The energy and emotion of this song is overwhelming, frighteningly ecstatic and heartbreaking at the same time, a remorseless, embittered love song fueled by the throes of inebriation. "I Put a Spell on You" has been covered by countless bands, including Creedence Clearwater Revival. Screamin' Jay Hawkins began taking on a macabre, colorful, voodoo and horror inspired stage persona, dressing in colorful yet creepy attire and emerging from a coffin at the beginning of his shows. He has recorded consistently great material up to the time of his death in 2000. His sound is akin to a deranged witches brew of Little Richard, Howlin' Wolf, and Tom Waits. Of course, Hawkins is one of Tom Waits' major influences.

The hard part is finding a couple of Screamin' Jay Hawkins releases that you could name as definitive Hawkins material, a couple of albums that you could give to someone and say "look, this is what represents Screamin' Jay Hawkins' sound in a nutshell." I have two albums that I think would serve this purpose well. The first is "Voodoo Jive: The Best of Screamin' Jay Hawkins"(1990). This greatest hits compilation concentrates on his more macabre, campy material. Hawkins has a rich, deep, booming voice, and he has the vocal power to pull this kind of horror-blues trick off. This album includes 'I Put A Spell on You", "Little Demon", "Alligator Wine", and other deranged classics. Some of these tracks have a slightly cartoonish feel, with way out there, deviantly brilliant lyrics. As always, he is backed by an excellent, gritty band and horn section.

The next one is "Screamin' the Blues"(1979). This one is more straight ahead, dirty, grimy, painful sounding blues. There is not too much of the shock element here. This album draws from his more traditional yet mean and intoxicating blues material from the 1950's through the 1970's. A few of my favorite tracks are "This is All", and "Baptize Me in Wine". Overall, the more guttural and emotive of the two. If you are looking for some quintessential vintage blues, this is the one to get.

Both of these are out of print, but you can download "Voodoo Jive" for really cheap from Amazon. I've checked the price on "Screamin' the Blues" and it is very reasonable, about the same price as buying a new CD at any major music chain store.

Here's "I Put a Spell on You" and "Little Demon" from "Voodoo Jive".

I Put a Spell on You - Screamin Jay Hawkins

Little Demon - Screamin Jay Hawkins

And here's "Baptize Me in Wine" from "Screamin' the Blues".

Baptize Me In Wine - Screamin Jay Hawkins

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART'S "DOC AT THE RADAR STATION"

Captain Beefheart's "Doc at The Radar Station"(1980) is a very strong release that is often overshadowed by his monumental experimentalism on "Trout Mask Replica" and other releases of the late 1960's/early 1970's. "Doc at the Radar Station", however, is not an album that should be overlooked. Captain Beefheart and his band draw from the bizarre, surreal, improvisatory sound of "Trout Mask Replica" but make it leaner, meaner, more frightening and accessible. The horns and the dissonant disturbing guitar work are there but more streamlined, with more of a blues feel. The stop on the dime time changes are still there. Captain Beefheart's vocals are deep, raspy, and nightmarish. The music sounds as if Howlin' Wolf recorded an album in hell. And the lyrics! They are brilliant surreal poetry, at times bordering on Dada, especially on the unsettling track "Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee". The album ranges from the extremely catchy ("Hot Head"), to the unsettling and deranged ("Ashtray Heart"). Overall "Doc at the Radar Station" has a disturbing, nervous, nightmarish vibe to it with just enough hooks to make you want to come back for more again and again. For the adventurous music listener only.

Here's "Ashtray Heart"...

Doc at the Radar Station

...and the brilliant "Making Love To A Vampire With a Monkey On My Knee". Enjoy!

Making Love To A Vampire With A Monkey On My Knee (2006 Digital Remaster) - Captain Beefheart

MUDDY AND THE WOLF

"Muddy and The Wolf". This is the album that introduced me to the work of legendary blues men Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters a long time ago, and one that I still have a sentimental attachment to to this day. The title is a little misleading. The first half is tracks taken from Muddy Water's album "Father and Sons" and the second half from Howlin' Wolf's "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions". Both of these were originally released in the early 1970's. "Muddy and the Wolf" features some of the two's strongest electric material from the 1970's, and is an excellent place for both the uninitiated to start and for the die hard fan to enjoy. Howlin' Wolf's material is especially unique as he is performing with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman (bassist for The Rolling Stones) backing him. This is not an overview of the two's career, but a great snapshot of their impressive sound at that time. Here's Muddy Waters' "All Aboard" and Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking?'' Enjoy.

All Aboard - Muddy Waters

Whos Been Talking? - Howlin Wolf

MOSE ALLISON

Mose Allison was a highly innovative jazz singer/piano player from the Mississippi Delta in Tallahatchie County. He started recording music in the late 1950's. His music, an ultra-modern fusion of jazz and blues, was way ahead of it's time. The lyrics are very cynical and pessimistic, in stark contrast to the mid-to fast paced jazz/blues. The music does convey a certain sense of helplessness though. It is in a minor key, and conveys the feeling of being caught in a world spinning out of control. Mose Allison's vocals are highly detached, almost spoken, and are a desperate cry for help in a world that is too fast paced for people to notice what is going on around them. His dry style is somewhat similar to the vocal delivery of Tom Waits. He has influenced a huge range of artists, from Blue Cheer to The Rolling Stones.

A great place to start if you're curious is the 20 track CD "The Best of Mose Allison". Every track is great. You can't go wrong with this one.

Here's "Stop This World" and "I Don't Worry About a Thing", two of my all time favorite songs. Hope you like 'em.

Stop This World - Mose Allison

I Dont Worry About A Thing - Mose Allison