Friday, May 18, 2007

Famous Blues Session



Mick Jagger & The Red Devils

The Famous Blues Session

(aka Nature Of My Game)





"The Nature of My Game" is Mick Jagger interpreting his favourite blues singers, such as Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson. Still, this is a white man's blues. The overall sound makes me think of those 60s British and American pop groups playing the blues, say The Yardbirds and The Animals in their early days. The pace is usually uptempo and the band lays down a very tight and not too subtle rhythm with too much stres on bass and drums. The guitar playing is rather uninspired, but the harmonica is fine. There must be hundreds of white blues bands sounding like The Red Devils. The sound is rather muted, but acceptable. An equalizer or sound field processor will upgrade the sound quality to a certain extent, but will not do away with the hiss and rumble in the background. Still, I wish the Stones or Jagger would release more stuff like this.


Track listing:
1: Mean Old World (Little Walter)
2-4: Blues With A Feeling (Little Walter - 3 takes)
5: You Better Watch Yourself (Little Walter)
6-7: Still A Fool (Two Trains Running) (Muddy Waters,2)
8: Checkin' Up On My Baby (Sonny Boy Williamson)
9-10: One Way Out: (Sonny Boy Williamson - 2 takes)
11: Talk To Me Baby (Can't Hold Out) (Elmore James)
12-14: Evil (Howlin' Wolf - 3 takes)
15: That Ain't Your Business (Slim Harpo)
16: Shake 'm All Down (Bukka White)
17: Don't Go No Further (William Dixon)
18-19: Dream Girl (J. D. Miller & Slim Harpo - 2 takes)
20-21: Forty Days and Forty Nights (B. Roth - 2 takes)