Sunday, January 10, 2010

At The Fabulous King King



The Red Devils
King King
1992
@ 192
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The Red Devils were a Los Angeles-based band who played blues-rock music. They were active during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The band members included drummer Bill Bateman (also of The Blasters), guitarist Dave Lee Bartel, bassist Johnny Ray Bartel (also of The Knitters), guitarist Paul "The Kid" Size and harmonica player Lester Butler.

The band's musical visionaries are often criticized for blasphemously blending musical styles. This was the case with Lester Butler. The Red Devils had mixed styles of American music, blues and alternative rock. Butler would also perform blues, backing luminaries Billy Boy Arnold, King Ernest and Finis Tasby.

The Red Devils, received the attention of producer Rick Rubin (the producer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty) while playing their favorite haunt, the King King. With Rubin, they released their only full-length album, King King, which was named after that haunt. Their sound attracted the likes of Mick Jagger, who took them into the studio(sans Butler), but the tracks were never used until one of them surfaced on a Jagger hits collection (that was released in 2008).

Like many bands, the Red Devils battled with drug use and Butler left the band due to this problem. He appeared on the Blackwater Roll record in 1994, however, his earlier promise had was lost because of his addiction. Butler died from his addictions at age 38.
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Review by Char Ham

Ranges from straight-ahead, stick-to-the-formula, stock blues to foreshadowings of Butler's next agglomeration, "13," mixing blues and alternative rock. Named after and recorded at their favorite haunt, the live recording includes Butler telling his bandmates the next song on the playlist and what key to play in.


   
Playlist:
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  1 Automatic 
  2 Goin' to the Church 
  3 She's Dangerous 
  4 I Wish You Would 
  5 Cross My Heart 
  6 Tail Dragger 
  7 Devil Woman 
  8 No Fightin' 
  9 Mr. Highway Man 
  10 I'm Ready 
  11 Quarter to Twelve 
  12 Better Cut That Out

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Get it HERE

1 comments:

Mredondo said...

T

This is such a great album. I have this one already... but a MUST HAVE!

Mredondo