Magic Slim and the Teardrops– Midnight Blues

BPCD 5125

By Randy Hoffman

For the Blues Blowtorch Society

 

 

When I read that this cd has ‘guest’ artists playing on it, especially the likes of James Cotton, Lil’ ED, Lonnie Brooks, and Elvin Bishop, I just figured that its going to be a mishmash of styles and tone.  Wrong….Magic Slim shines through on every single tune.  Then I saw in the liner notes that Nick Moss produced the cd, and I knew why it came out so well.  The ‘additional Teardrops’ just add some real flavor to a fine batch of Blues.

 

This cd is mostly straight ahead, three chords and the truth, Chicago Blues.  A slice of Country and a dash of Soul provide a nice change of pace, without messing up the Blues vibe.  Its hard to pick a favorite tune, because they all stand on their own merit, but Muddy’s Crosseyed Cat seemed to grab my mojo.

 

Magic Slim plays Blues guitar like you expect it to sound.  There is nothing outrageous or particularly new, but always expressive, meaningful and tasty.  His vocals have the same qualities, but you have to add the factor that draws you into the song, whether its one of his own, or other Blues Legends he covers.

 

I enjoyed this cd much more than his last release, The Essential Magic Slim.  This one gets another road trip in the car cd player before I pass it along.

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