***A Blues Piano Treat- The Blues Of Mr. Memphis Slim
DVD REVIEW
Memphis Slim: Live At Ronnie Scott’s, Memphis Slim, 1986
If you listen to enough blues. If you watch enough films about the blues. If you read enough blues liner notes you not only will become “educated” about this genre but will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. In other words who’s paid the dues to the blues, and who hasn’t. I have spilled plenty of ink in this space discussing the various personalities, who formed that great post-World War II electric blues explosion centered on Chicago and its environs. I have extolled Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Magic Slim, John Lee Hooker and the like. And rightly so. However, every once in a while one needs to freshen up the list as one reviews more material. That was the case with my recent “discovery” of the legendary country blues master, Bukka White. I now add Memphis Slim to the electric blues side.
It is not as if I did not know the name Memphis Slim. And heard his work in various blues compilations, especially from his Chess Record days and on the American Folk Blues series from the 1960's. As noted above once you are immersed in the blues genre and begin to find out who the blues greats acknowledge as their own these things get sorted out quickly. I kept hearing the name Memphis Slim uttered from their lips, as companion and influence. Strangely, after the golden age of the barrel house piano player in the 1920’s and 1930’s there was something of a hiatus in the blues piano as the electric guitar began to dominate. Memphis Slim carries that blues piano tradition forward to the “new age”.
Frankly, every once in awhile a blues piano is the kind of thing that you need to while away your own blues. It provides a more evocative, cleaner sound that the hyper-energetic electric guitar of late Saturday nights. As Memphis Slim himself mentions in between songs in the film, when discussing what he believes the blues are all about, the blues are about hunger, sorrow, longing for love, lost loves and the like. But they are also about happier events as well. Both lyric renditions and piano styles are on display here as Memphis goes through his paces to an appreciative British audience (Ronnie Scott’s is, or was, a famous night spot in London) in 1986. So if you want to watch a master at the blues piano and no mean blues vocal stylist this is your address.
"Rack 'em Back Jack"
You know I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
They tell me love is a gamble
But I've never been able to win
Blue an' disgusted
That's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
My baby walked out on me
You know she gave me a raw, raw deal
(piano &
I come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
Come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
An' when I go to work ev'ry mornin'
My baby, she's just comin' in
That's why I'm blue an' disgusted
An' that's the way I feel
So blue an' disgusted
People, that's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
"Beer Drinking Woman"
(piano 'Dragnet' intro)
Spoken:
The story's true ladies and gentlemen.
All the names have been changed to
protect the innocent.
The year 19 hundred and forty.
The city, Chicago. The place, Rubin's Tavern
The story goes something like this:
I walked into a beer tavern
To give a girl a nice time
I had forty-five dollars when I enter
When I left I had one dime
Wasn't she a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't ya know, man don't ya know?
She was a beer-drinkin' woman
And I don't want to see her no more
Now, when I spend down to my last dime
She said, 'Darlin' I know you're not through'
I said, 'Yes, baby doll
And the trophy belongs to you'
Wasn't she a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't you know, man don't you know?
She was a beer-drinkin' woman
And I don't wanna see her no more
Now she'd often say, 'Excuse me a minute
I've got to step around here'
And ev'ry time she came back
She had room for another quart of beer
Wasn't that a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't ya know, man, don't ya know?
She was a beer drinkin' woman
And I don't want to see her no mo'.
"I.c. Blues"
(harmonica & piano)
Gonna catch that Illinois Central
Gonna ride around the bend
I'm gonna catch that Illinois Central
I'm gonna ride around the bend
Well, and the Lord only know
Just when I'll be back again
I'm goin' back home
Where I know I have a friend
Well, I'm goin' back home
Where I know I have a friend
They'll be so glad to see me
They won't even ask me where I've been
Conductor, raise your hand
So the engineer can ring the bell
Conductor, raise your hand
So the engineer can ring the bell
When those wheels start turnin' over
I wanna be at the north, farewell
(harmonica & piano)
This time, tomorrow
There's no tellin' where I'll be
This time, tomorrow
There's no tellin' where I'll be, Lord
But you can bet your bottom dollar
I'll be somewhere down on the I. C.
"Baby Doll"
What's wrong, baby doll?
We can't get along
What's wrong, baby doll?
We can't get along
We'll have fun together
Now baby, tell me what's wrong
Have your mind made up
Before you walk out that door
Have your mind made up
Before you walk out that door
Because one woman, one chance
You don't get back no mo'
(guitar & instrumental)
I've been good to you
As I intend to be
I've been good to you
As I intend to be
Now, it seem like, baby doll
You tryin' to run out on me.
"Blue And Disgusted"
You know I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
They tell me love is a gamble
But I've never been able to win
Blue an' disgusted
That's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
My baby walked out on me
You know she gave me a raw, raw deal
(piano &
I come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
Come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
An' when I go to work ev'ry mornin'
My baby, she's just comin' in
That's why I'm blue an' disgusted
An' that's the way I feel
So blue an' disgusted
People, that's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel.
"When Your Dough Roller Is Gone"
Did you ever wake up an' find
Your dough roller, gone?
Did you ever wake up an' find
Your dough roller, gone?
Well, an' you hang your head
You cry all night long
I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my feet to walk
I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my feet to walk
People, I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my tongue to talk
(piano)
Lord, I told my dough roller
Before I left that town
Well, I told my dough roller
Before I left that town
'Baby, don't let nobody
Tear my playhouse down.
DVD REVIEW
Memphis Slim: Live At Ronnie Scott’s, Memphis Slim, 1986
If you listen to enough blues. If you watch enough films about the blues. If you read enough blues liner notes you not only will become “educated” about this genre but will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. In other words who’s paid the dues to the blues, and who hasn’t. I have spilled plenty of ink in this space discussing the various personalities, who formed that great post-World War II electric blues explosion centered on Chicago and its environs. I have extolled Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Magic Slim, John Lee Hooker and the like. And rightly so. However, every once in a while one needs to freshen up the list as one reviews more material. That was the case with my recent “discovery” of the legendary country blues master, Bukka White. I now add Memphis Slim to the electric blues side.
It is not as if I did not know the name Memphis Slim. And heard his work in various blues compilations, especially from his Chess Record days and on the American Folk Blues series from the 1960's. As noted above once you are immersed in the blues genre and begin to find out who the blues greats acknowledge as their own these things get sorted out quickly. I kept hearing the name Memphis Slim uttered from their lips, as companion and influence. Strangely, after the golden age of the barrel house piano player in the 1920’s and 1930’s there was something of a hiatus in the blues piano as the electric guitar began to dominate. Memphis Slim carries that blues piano tradition forward to the “new age”.
Frankly, every once in awhile a blues piano is the kind of thing that you need to while away your own blues. It provides a more evocative, cleaner sound that the hyper-energetic electric guitar of late Saturday nights. As Memphis Slim himself mentions in between songs in the film, when discussing what he believes the blues are all about, the blues are about hunger, sorrow, longing for love, lost loves and the like. But they are also about happier events as well. Both lyric renditions and piano styles are on display here as Memphis goes through his paces to an appreciative British audience (Ronnie Scott’s is, or was, a famous night spot in London) in 1986. So if you want to watch a master at the blues piano and no mean blues vocal stylist this is your address.
"Rack 'em Back Jack"
You know I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
They tell me love is a gamble
But I've never been able to win
Blue an' disgusted
That's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
My baby walked out on me
You know she gave me a raw, raw deal
(piano &
I come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
Come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
An' when I go to work ev'ry mornin'
My baby, she's just comin' in
That's why I'm blue an' disgusted
An' that's the way I feel
So blue an' disgusted
People, that's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
"Beer Drinking Woman"
(piano 'Dragnet' intro)
Spoken:
The story's true ladies and gentlemen.
All the names have been changed to
protect the innocent.
The year 19 hundred and forty.
The city, Chicago. The place, Rubin's Tavern
The story goes something like this:
I walked into a beer tavern
To give a girl a nice time
I had forty-five dollars when I enter
When I left I had one dime
Wasn't she a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't ya know, man don't ya know?
She was a beer-drinkin' woman
And I don't want to see her no more
Now, when I spend down to my last dime
She said, 'Darlin' I know you're not through'
I said, 'Yes, baby doll
And the trophy belongs to you'
Wasn't she a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't you know, man don't you know?
She was a beer-drinkin' woman
And I don't wanna see her no more
Now she'd often say, 'Excuse me a minute
I've got to step around here'
And ev'ry time she came back
She had room for another quart of beer
Wasn't that a beer drinkin' woman?
Don't ya know, man, don't ya know?
She was a beer drinkin' woman
And I don't want to see her no mo'.
"I.c. Blues"
(harmonica & piano)
Gonna catch that Illinois Central
Gonna ride around the bend
I'm gonna catch that Illinois Central
I'm gonna ride around the bend
Well, and the Lord only know
Just when I'll be back again
I'm goin' back home
Where I know I have a friend
Well, I'm goin' back home
Where I know I have a friend
They'll be so glad to see me
They won't even ask me where I've been
Conductor, raise your hand
So the engineer can ring the bell
Conductor, raise your hand
So the engineer can ring the bell
When those wheels start turnin' over
I wanna be at the north, farewell
(harmonica & piano)
This time, tomorrow
There's no tellin' where I'll be
This time, tomorrow
There's no tellin' where I'll be, Lord
But you can bet your bottom dollar
I'll be somewhere down on the I. C.
"Baby Doll"
What's wrong, baby doll?
We can't get along
What's wrong, baby doll?
We can't get along
We'll have fun together
Now baby, tell me what's wrong
Have your mind made up
Before you walk out that door
Have your mind made up
Before you walk out that door
Because one woman, one chance
You don't get back no mo'
(guitar & instrumental)
I've been good to you
As I intend to be
I've been good to you
As I intend to be
Now, it seem like, baby doll
You tryin' to run out on me.
"Blue And Disgusted"
You know I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
I'm gonna pray
Lord, never let me love, again
They tell me love is a gamble
But I've never been able to win
Blue an' disgusted
That's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel
My baby walked out on me
You know she gave me a raw, raw deal
(piano &
I come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
Come home ev'ry night
My baby goes out about ten
An' when I go to work ev'ry mornin'
My baby, she's just comin' in
That's why I'm blue an' disgusted
An' that's the way I feel
So blue an' disgusted
People, that's the way I feel
Feel like a broken spoke
In some farmer's wagon wheel.
"When Your Dough Roller Is Gone"
Did you ever wake up an' find
Your dough roller, gone?
Did you ever wake up an' find
Your dough roller, gone?
Well, an' you hang your head
You cry all night long
I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my feet to walk
I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my feet to walk
People, I've got the blues so bad
It hurt my tongue to talk
(piano)
Lord, I told my dough roller
Before I left that town
Well, I told my dough roller
Before I left that town
'Baby, don't let nobody
Tear my playhouse down.
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