Eddie BOYD - The Sonet Blues Story 2006

Eddie BOYD - The Sonet Blues Story 2006

Blues

Although Eddie Boyd's signature tune "Five Long Years," a venerable blues standard, is absent from this SONET BLUES STORY set, there is plenty of evidence here that the Chicago bluesman's hit was no fluke. Boyd was a fine songwriter in the classic electric blues tradition, as the 12 tunes here prove. The tracks were recorded in Scandinavia, Boyd's adopted home in the last decades of his life, but the vibe is pure Chicago Southside. The musician is joined by a rollicking band that includes bass, drums, sax, and harmonica, but Boyd's driving piano and soulful, plaintive voice lead the charge.
From HB Direct.
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Like several of the black jazz and blues players of his generation, pianist Eddie Boyd, tired of the racism in America and the general treatment afforded musicians, moved permanently to Europe in the mid-'60s, where labels like Sweden's Sonet Records were more than happy to record him. The session presented here took place in Stockholm in 1974, and features Boyd on piano and vocals performing original blues numbers backed by young Swedish players (and one American, Ed Thigpen, on drums), and while things don't have the powerful edge of a classic Chicago Chess Records session, it's close, and there is a charmingly loose and fluid feel working here, one that is perfect for the kind of easy, almost elegant blues that was Boyd's stock in trade. Things get off to a great start with the opener, "Lovesick Soul," and pretty much stay at the level through the set, with the impressive "Tell the Truth," the bubbling "Dedicated to My Baby" (an alternate version is added as a bonus track), and the refreshingly arranged "Zip Code" (which allows Boyd to cut loose on piano a little bit) being among the clear highlights. At his best, Boyd delivered a kind of light, airy, and transcendent version of the blues, one that featured as much hope as misery, and this set is a perfect example of his unique approach.
By Steve Leggett. AMG.
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Eddie Boyd- (Vocals, Piano)
Peps Persson- (Guitar, Harmonica, Background Vocals)
Christer Eklund- (Tenor Saxophone)
Rolf Aim- (Bass Guitar)
Ed Thigpen- (Drums)
Stockholm Slim- (Back-up Vocals)
**
01. Lovesick Soul 4:00
02. I'm a Fool 3:06
03. Kindness for Weakness 4:11
04. Tell the Truth 3:45
05. The Cannonball 3:39
06. Black, Brown and White 4:32
07. It's a Mellow Day 3:33
08. Do Yourself a Favor 4:17
09. Dedication to My Baby 2:35
10. Zip Code 5:06
11. Do Yourself a Favor (Alt. Take) 4:24
12. Dedication to My Baby (Alt. Take) 2:42
**
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