PoohsDay Blues: Clearing Cobwebs

After having glam metal stuck in my head for a few days, need some pallet cleansing. Hence the "Genres" playlist on the 'Pod:

1. "Hideaway" - Freddie King. Blues soloing by numbers. Revise and extend. Everyone from Clapton to Mayall has recorded this bad boy.

2. "Katy Mae Blues" - Tommy McClennan. Of the Robert Johnson/Skip James era of bluesman, not as well known as either, grittier singer than both. First heard about him from my former guitar instructor who almost refused to give me lessons after I expressed admiration for RJ. I believe his expression was "Eric Clapton, Greil Marcus inspired bullshit legend." Don't hold back on my account.

3. "Don't Go No Farther" - Muddy Waters. Whenever I do one of these and Muddy comes up, I sometimes wonder why I ever, ever listen to anything else.

4. "Darling Do You Remember Me" - David Johansen. That's right kids, Buster Poindexter sings the blues. Not altogether terribly...

5. "Ventilator Blues" - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Banjos and fiddles in a blues Rolling Stones cover? Wha?

6. "Mr. Downchild" - Sonny Boy Williamson. Blues, meet radio. Radio, blues.

7. "Cherry Red" - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Guitar and Harp are the standard blues lead instruments by practice, not by neccesity. Despite this, the 'what the hell is a saxophone doing on my blues' reaction is still somewhat natural. But this track is too rough to be jazz, too grimy to be big band, so blues it is.

8. "I Feel Good Again" - Junior Kimbrough and Charlier Feathers. Fat Possum Records seems to have a monopoly on a certain genre of lovable, crusty old blues bastards, what with Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and Asie Payton.

9. "Crackin' Up" - Bo Diddley. Much like KISS, his image is much harder than his music, even though he does have a cobra snake for a necktie.

10. "Ed Heads' Boogie" - Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials. Anybody who's seen these guys live will recognize this as the number where Ed goes on a journey, duck walking on tables, dancing with pretty ladies, making his cookie monsterish eyes bulge and google more than usual. Good, good times.