Johnny WINTER - I´m the Bluesman 2004

Johnny WINTER - I´m the Bluesman 2004

Blues

Texas guitar-slinger Johnny Winter bares some of his deepest roots on his first album of new recordings since 1998. In a rare turn on acoustic slide six-string, he performs fellow Lone Star State legend Hop Wilson's "That Wouldn't Satisfy" with the sweet, lovely simplicity of a street corner singer. Then Winter plugs in for Lazy Lester's stomping primal rocker "Sugar Coated Love." But after years of health issues, Winter, who's 60, has lost the roaring vocal authority of his earlier albums and no longer takes dizzying solos at jet speed. Instead, he makes all the notes of a tune like "Lone Wolf" count, whether he's crafting a slide melody or literally howling. "The Monkey Song," a playfully sleazy double-entendre number, proves his sense of humor is intact. And harmonica ace James Montgomery, who recently joined Winter's band, provides perfect accompaniment to Winter's vocal and guitar lines. Ex-Stevie Ray Vaughan keyboardist Reese Wynans also contributes to this overdue addition to Winter's dynamic blues-rock legacy.
By Ted Drozdowski. AMG.
**
On guitar-slinger Johnny Winter's 2004 outing, I'M A BLUESMAN, his spicy style of playing keeps with a legacy dating back to the late 1960s, when he was playing on the club circuit of tiny Beaumont, Texas. Tapping Roy Buchanan/Albert Collins producer Dick Shurman to man the console, Winter wisely brings his touring band into the studio with him.

Although the albino axe-wielder's guitar tone sounds oddly compressed, his still-impressive playing does much to dispel any distractions. Such is the case when the sixtysomething Texan plays the spurned-lover card, be it on the organ-soaked howler "Cheatin' Blues" or the subtler, but no less suspicious, "I Smell Smoke." Despite nearly being eligible for Social Security, the rail-thin Winter still opens it up, as evidenced by the howling and crackling slide guitar adorning "Lone Wolf" and the equally tempestuous stomper "Sweet Little Baby." Winter also tips his Stetson to Lazy Lester and Hop Wilson with the former's "Sugar Coated Love," served up as a snappy, mid-tempo shuffle, and the latter's "That Wouldn't Satisfy," cast as a mournful, acoustic steel-guitar lament.
**
Johnny Winter- Guitars, Vocals
Paul Nelson- Guitar
Tom MacDonald, Scott Spray, Brad Hallen- Electric Bass
James Montgomery- Harmonica
Reese Wynams- Keyboards
Tom Hambridge- Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
Wayne June- Drums
**
01. I'm A Bluesman 4:12
02. Cheatin Blues 3:21
03. I Smell Smoke 3.57
04. Lone Wolf 3:25
05. So Much Love 3:21
06. The Monkey Song 6:14
07. Shake Down 3:59
08. Sweet Little Baby 2:49
09. Pack Your Bags 4:02
10. Last Night 3:09
11. That Wouldn't Satisfy 4:09
12. Sugar Coated Love 3:58
13. Let's Start All Over Again 4:23
**

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