Description
Release Date: 2013
Label: Ace UK
Track List
1. Silas Hogan – Just Give Me A Chance
2. Slim Harpo – That’s Alright
3. Lazy Lester – Late In The Evening
4. Clifton Chenier – Worried Life Blues
5. Thaddeus Declouet – Catch The Morning Train
6. Lightning Slim – Big Fat Woman (aka I’m Him)
7. Joe Rich – Dreaming, Dreaming
8. Jimmy Dotson – Oh Baby
9. Mr. Mojo – They Say The World Loves A Lover
10. Jimmy Anderson – In The Dark In The Park
11. Blues Boy Dorsey – Walkin’ Out My Door
12. Joe Mayfield – I’m A Natural Born Man
13. Boogie Jake – Early Morning Blues
14. Honey Boy Allen – I’m A Real Lover Baby
15. Boozoo Chavis – Forty One Days
16. Thaddeus Declouet – Trouble Trouble
17. Talton Miller – Long Journey (Life’s Journey)
18. Lefthand Charlie – Gonna Miss My Lognion
19. Lightning Slim – I Ain’t Got No Money
20. Lonesome Sundown – I’m A Samplin’ Man
21. Lazy Lester – I’m Gonna Leave You Baby
22. Lightning Slim – Stranger In Your Town
23. Silas Hogan – Sitting Here Wondering
24. Leroy Washington – Lost Love Letter Blues
25. Joe Rich – Lonesome Lover Blues
26. Jimmy Anderson – I Want You, I Need You
27. Sylvester Buckley – I Can Be On My Way
28. Johnny Sonnier – Slow Walking Fever And The Asiatic Flu
Review
Another entry in Ace’s ongoing series of recordings from the vaults of Louisiana record men J.D. Miller and Eddie Shuler — not partners but rather two producers who shared similar taste and aesthetics — 2013’s Bluesin’ by the Bayou may be the best of the bunch. Unlike the similarly minded Rhythm ‘N’ Bluesin’ by the Bayou, there are many stars to be heard on this collection of material originally released on T-Bird, Flyright, Zynn, Folk-Star, Rocko, and Rocket. There are giants here: Slim Harpo and his laconic boogie, his match Lazy Lester, Lightnin’ Slim, Clifton Chenier, the king of the zydeco, and Boozoo Chavis. The catch is, a fair number of these heavy-hitters are represented by unreleased cuts and, like on Rhythm ‘N’ Bluesin’, there is a significant chunk of unheard sides here: a full half of the 28 songs here are unearthed for the first time, while several others only saw the light of day on reissues in the ’70s and ’80s. The fact that so much of this sat in the vaults suggests just how much Miller and Shuler cut, along with the consistently high quality of what they released, because this is uniformly dynamite blues and zydeco. Some of it is down, dirty, and swampy; some of it suggests a nimbleness and tunefulness that could’ve crossed over onto the R&B charts; some of it is redolent of the bayou with its wailing accordions and breakneck boogie, and all of it is infectious, the kind of record that ignites a party on a grey day. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
