Top notch blues album - I love the sound of electric guitar over horns, and this album exemplifies the style. A few tunes reveal an R&B influence with backing vocals and the like, but mostly this is hard blues recorded for a blues audience without much concession to mainstream tastes. Enough variety to appeal to all blues fans - fine stuff.
Ground breaking, electric guitar performances from 50 s - Clearly, anyone interested in this CD, from music createdback in the 50 s and 60 s, will do so, for:- love of rhythm and blues (Muddy Water, Elmore James, Robert Johnson)- appreciation of the Blues, Mississipi Delta and Chicago sound Howlin Wolf style guitar- probably knowledge of 70 s, 80 s popular music- familiarity with artists that knew how to play, vs. were obsessed with their looks- want to become familiar with the source of electric guitar- perhaps have interest in learning and playing the guitar (less likely)- have read literature about rock and roll, from the 50 s, touching upon the rock industry personalities, stars, iconoclasts- are not fooled by the one-hit wonder, glossy magazine, marketing agency creationsthat dominate TV and Radio since 1981, when Video Killed the Radio StarAll in all, the performer tends to repeat the same riff over a few numbers, butthe lyrics change from tune to tune, and a different twist to the electric guitaris given to each number.The legacy of this musician was greater than this early work in his career, but it smore than enough to be able to perceive the originality, the ground breaking talenton the electric guitar, than inspired 10,000 + guitarists in the next 50 years to come.
This IS Johnny Guitar Watson s Greatest Hits CD - I m just repeating here what I wrote for my Gangster of Love review: Ignore all the compilations and Best of Johnny s, because Gangster of Love and 3 Hours Past Midnight are your definitive recordings. Johnny Guitar Watson smoked em out of the hall every time he picked up a guitar. You can hear Johnny s licks in most rock and blues played after this, but he played with style. I m not a big fan of the 70 s funk scene that he took part in, but his blues and rock & roll are all-time hits. It s right here. And get Gangster of Love, another top-ten all-time rockin & rollin blues recording you ll wonder how you lived without. These two Cds never find their way back to the shelf in my house.
GRIM FACTS - WARNING: 10 SECONDS OF ANY SOLO ON THIS CD MAY MAKE YOU DOWNRIGHT VIOLENT! HERE S THE FACTS FOLKS: GUITAR WATSON IS A SLOPPY SHRED MASTER OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. HE CAN MAKE FOOLS LIKE JOE SATRIANI LOOK PLAIN SILLY! IN A 1992 RADIO INTERVIEW FRANK ZAPPA WAS ASKED TO LIST HIS DESERT ISLAND ALBUMS, THE VELOURS AND Three Hours Past Midnight WERE THE ONLY TWO NON-CLASSICAL TITLES ON A 16 ALBUM LIST. WHEN ASKED TO NARROW IT DOWN TO ONLY ONE ALBUM, HE SAID [WITHOUT HESITATION] Three Hours Past Midnight BY JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON. IF THAT AIN T ENUFF FOR YA, THIS SUCKER HAS AN ENTIRE ALBUM S WORTH OF EXTRA TRACKS SHUFFLED IN! CAN YOU DIG IT?
Frenzied R & B big band Blues! - Even though I have had this cd for some years it did not click with me until a while ago! After reading Wolfman Jack s autobiography and his suggestions of artists he played (like Johnny) I listened again and was able to appreciate it from a non strict Blues point of view. Some tunes are also rockin , add to that his fun way of singing, his raw guitar playing and you have a varied & jumpin cd! Play him often on The Crazy Coyote Blues and Jazz Power Show 1490 KOTY in southcentral Wa. state.