Well, another year has gone by pretty quickly. I have mentioned previously that due to a lot of work and life blues, I wasn't very active this year on the blog, but hopefully one of my resolutions is to get back in the business of preachin' the blues online!
It seems there hasn't been a lot of blues related news this year, but I will be creatively posting about the history of blues like I used to!
I still had a lot of gigs and I'm still waiting on my EP to be crowdfunded (see my previous post). Hopefully things will turn out to be well in 2020!
Well sheeeeeeeeeeeit. I haven't posted since June. I haven't even commented on all the things happening in my musical endeavors and or new of blues world.
It is a shame really; I remember dedicating a lot of my time to this blog. I still get regular emails from artists and labels worldwide asking me to review their albums. I was voted the 18th Top Blues Blog on the internet.
Unfortunately due to many real life issues, work and family related, I was unable to keep up with the daily or weekly updates of the old days. I owe many of you apologies for this sabbatical. I really want you to know it's not intentional.
The blues as a musical genre does not garner that much public attention. Ariana Grande can simply tweet "thank u, next" and get hundreds of thousands of retweets. We don't have this privilege.
Not that we'd want it of course; we pride ourselves in the purity and meaning behind the music. However, because of the lack of general happenings, there is less news coverage, and less things going on.
It can get very frustrating when writing about something that, not only you've spoken about for years, but if there is nothing actually happening. There is just so many times I can link old videos. Writers block is a bitch.
But know that I've been playing some gigs, and I got a big one coming up next month. I am working on a new EP. I am seeking more opportunities.
upcoming gig artwork
I might have been out for a while, but I will be back. The blues never die, and neither will my message.
I thank all your support and emails. It has definitely made my blues a bit softer. I look forward to being back very soon with regular updates.
I'm happy to announce that my debut album 'Gonna Die With The Blues' has officially launched worldwide on all major digital platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Anghami, and others.
"From the sounds of the Mississippi Delta to inner city Chicago, with the stories of Ali Sleeq's personal life of blues, this album will be a one-of-a-kind blues release from the Middle East, with various inspirations across the genre"
To celebrate we prepared a small video for the occasion!
Today the day we acknowledge and thank the women of the world who have given their lives, effort, and time to take care of us. While mostly it is a time for celebration, the blues is always relevant.
Mothers go through so much to ensure we become better people, to stay healthy, to learn to do things right and to always be good.
It's definitely not easy to be a mother, so here's a small list of blues songs that talk about the hardships and tribulations of mothers everywhere.
After announcing it a while back, I am finally happy to confirm the release of my debut album 'Gonna Die With The Blues' on April 5, 2018.
It has 10 tracks and features many great musicians on board. It will be released on all digital platforms, and will follow with some launch events later.
An interview on Reverb with Buddy Guy was posted in January but I never got around to posting it until now. Please mind my delay... music and what not got in my way!
Buddy Guy is one of the last remaining OGs of the blues alive today. He's been through it all man... this is a great video for all blues, music, and guitar fans!
Another year, another heartbreak, another lonesome day. Some of us might be in love, but that don't mean you don't have it down sometimes; Valentine's is a celebration of love, but in our case, it's just another day for the blues.
Here's a few songs for you if you feelin' like giving out some love.
This marks the first time I perform in Bahrain under my own name, and I've assembled a talent group of local musicians to be my backup band, so you're in for a treat!
Also, you get 25% off on bourbon and whiskey so you can get in the real mood for the blues.
Another year has gone by, and in the mist of all the hoopla around the major pop artists, we get the neglected music section that doesn't show up on TV... the blues Grammy awards!
So from the nominees I mentioned in November, The Rolling Stones have won the Traditional Blues Album of the Year and Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo' won the Contemporary Blues Album of the Year.
It might not be the most exciting year for the blues, but it's still nice to see the old schoolers getting the wins, not discounting the other artists like Eric Bibb, Ronald Randolph, Robert Cray and the others.
So congrats to the winners and I'll see you again same time next year! Here's some songs from the winners off their winning albums:
The Blues Foundation has announced the nominees for the 39th Annual Blues Music Awards, taking place on May 10th, 2018 in Memphis Tennessee, and like every year I post them for ya!
As usual I found a nice gem for the blues; but this time from the Wu-Tang Clan.
Now if y'all don't know, I was heavy into Wu-Tang when I was a teenager. They practically raised me up; at 17 is when I found the blues and never went back. But I don't forget where I came from.
In 2005 a compilation album called 'Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture Vol. 1' which features members of the Wu-Tang Clan and their affiliates was released. In it, is a track called 'Slow Blues', which features Vast Aire, Byata, Wu affiliates Timbo King & Prodigal Sunn rapping over a minor blues progression, produced by Bronze Nazareth. It samples the song 'The Creeper Returns' by blues harpist Little Sonny.
It's a great fusion between these genres, one of the better if not best I've heard. Here it is for your pleasure, and I've also posted the original song it was sampled from:
One of the great things about blues music is that I always discover something to listen to; I've been listening and playing the blues for 17 years and I still am dumbfounded by the sheer amount of music that is available, albeit some harder to come by than others.
This album, appropriately titled 'Old Friends' is one such gem. I've been on a binge listening to the likes of Floyd Jones, Eddie Boyd, and others in the early 50's Chicago blues as of late, and while researching music by Floyd Jones, who doesn't have much on record, I found a little album that was difficult to find on CD (but (but Amazon can print it for you), but easily available on cdbaby for a $9.99 download.
And boy, I could not be happier with the internet.
In 1981, five of the biggest legends in Chicago blues got together in the studio, also in the city, and recorded 17 tracks. Everyone of these artists would get a few songs to lead on vocals; some new material and some old. What is the result? An unabashed, raw, in your face collection of the old-school blues in it's purest form, just that it's 30 years older.
The assembled cast, Kansas City Red, David 'Honey Edwards', Sunnyland Slim, Floyd Jones, and Big Walter Horton, represent a certain legacy in post-war Chicago blues. Many have played with other legends like Muddy Waters, and also became legends of their own. Horton is one of the staples of blues harp, Sunnyland is a pillar of blues piano, Honeyboy Edwards of delta style acoustic guitar, Kansas Red for his drumming, and Jones, while possibly the most obscure of the bunch, had his own unique dark songwriting.
Mashing this band altogether makes for over an hour of honest to truth blues; while many of them nearing their 60's at this point, their singing and playing remains loyal to the formula. While you will not hear anything out of the ordinary, you also shouldn't expect to.
I love the fact that this is all a live recording, as many times the band would go in and out of bars or end off time from one another, but this adds to the improvised flavor of the genre.
If you want to add an album to your whiskey drinking collection, I highly advise you get this one. Not only is it rare, but it's also like a piece of music history.
Track list:
01 - Apron Strings
02 - Gamblin' Man
03 - 43rd Street Jump
04 - The War Is Over
05 - When I Came In
06 - Banty Rooster
07 - Mr. Freddy Blues
08 - Over The Seas Blues
09 - I'm a Prisoner
10 - Freedom Train
11 - Lightnin' Struck the Poor House
12 - Linda Lu -
13 - Lula Mae
14 - That's All Right, I'll Be Around
15 - Heartache
16 - Sometimes I Worry
17 - I'm Going Back Home
This is the only video of the album on Youtube; you can listen to samples of each track in the cdbaby link above:
This song is a rare one; although a cover of the blues-soul/funk, very 80's sounding original from Johnny Taylor (see here), is a true hardcore and raw blues you would expect from me to send out to you.
A stellar fiery performance from legends Luther Allison and James Solberg who features on the track, released in 2002 on a compilation album:
Another year, another Grammy award ceremony. On January 28, 2018 the 60th Grammy Awards will take place in New York City.
Yesterday, the official Grammys website confirmed the full list of nominees for the event, and as usual the only nominees we care about are the blues artists!
In 1994, a never before released compilation of recordings was brought to light; it was a 1966 session for Testament Records, involving the underrated Floyd Jones and Eddie Boyd, accompanied by some of Chicago blue's finest: Otis Spann on piano, Big Walter Horton on harp, and Fred Below on drums.
The result is some of the most raw and emotional blues recordings ever made... and that needs to be spread out to the world for the sake of history.
Totaling 16 tracks alternating between Floyd and Eddie songs (8 each), this album is a necessary addition to any blues fan. And thanks to Youtube we have the entire album available:
Tracklist:
01. Rising Wind
02. Dark Road
03. Stockyard Blues
04. Sweet Talkin' Woman
05. Train Fare Home
06. Big Town Playboy
07. Peach Tree Blues
08. Bad Boy
09. Hard Times
10. M&O Blues
11. Playhouse Blues
12. Dark Road (alternate)
13. Feel So Bad
14. After Hours
15. Take Your Hand Down
16. Bad Boy (alternate)
Since my recent purchase of my own bluesmobile, a Lincoln Town Car, I decided to discuss a particular and relatively unknown blues song from 1938 called '13 Highway', where it discusses driving a V8 Ford (which is basically what I have) along a lonesome highway. US Route 13 is a real highway in America, that spans five states (North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, & Pennsylvania).
It was originally recorded in 1938 by Walter Davis, which I unfortunately could not find on Youtube (it is available on iTunes though; click on the song for a preview).
It's not a blues standard by any means, since only a handful of bluesmen covered it, the most high profile being Muddy Waters (he recorded it in 1963 but wasn't released until a compilation of unreleased tracks in 1994) and played it live at The Fillmore.
The song's lyrics go like this: I went down 13 Highway, drivin' a brand new V8 Ford I went down 13 Highway, drivin' a brand new V8 Ford Oh you know I was drivin' so fast, baby I couldn't hardly see the road Oh I was drivin' 60 miles an hour, all up and down the hill Oh you know I was drivin' 60 miles an hour, all up and down the hill Oh you know I was speedin' so fast, I couldn't hardly control my wheel Don't the highway look lonesome, after the sun done gone down Oh don't the highway look lonesome, after the sun done gone down Oh you know you're all alone by yourself, there ain't nobody else around
Here are the only versions available online; an Eddie Boyd version exists too but again, it's not available on Youtube:
