ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 20, 2009 By Steve Newton George Thorogood has made a good living covering crusty old gems by blues legends, but is that something we should hold against him? I think not. Every rock-loving kid that Thorogood turns on to someone like John Lee Hooker via his hellraising rendition … Continue reading Album review: George Thorogood and the Destroyers, The Dirty Dozen (2009)
Tag: Willie Dixon
Album review: Jeff Healey, Songs from the Road (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 30, 2009 By Steve Newton I saw the original Jeff Healey Band play numerous times in the ’80s at Vancouver venues like the Yale and the 86 Street Music Hall. While always blown away by the searing talent of the young blind dude with the Strat on his … Continue reading Album review: Jeff Healey, Songs from the Road (2009)
That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
By Steve Newton Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote (and co-wrote) some damn fine songs, but he didn't mind covering somebody else's tunes either. When I did my second interview with him in 1990 his latest album was In Step, which included covers of sixties blues tunes by Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, and Willie Dixon. When I … Continue reading That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, In Step (1989)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 4, 1989 By Steve Newton It's been four years since Stevie Ray Vaughan's last studio album, but with In Step he's made the long wait worthwhile. The Texas blues-rocker covers a lot of musical bases on this latest effort, and comes through with flying colours. The album kicks … Continue reading Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, In Step (1989)
Album review: John Hammond, John Hammond Live (1984)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 1, 1984 By Steve Newton If you happened to see John Hammond's recent Vancouver appearance, this LP--recorded live at McCabe's Concert Hall in Santa Monica, California last year--should prove a worthy remembrance of that night. Performing solely on acoustic guitar, and with his own harmonica accompaniment, Hammond gets to the root … Continue reading Album review: John Hammond, John Hammond Live (1984)
The Outlaws’ triple-guitar attack outshines Foghat’s boogie-blues in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 4, 1987 By Steve Newton The raunchy guitar sounds of the '70s were all the rage at the Commodore last weekend (November 27 and 28), with British boogiemeisters Foghat headlining over Florida-based southern rockers the Outlaws. But it was the triple-guitar attack of the openers that was the real highlight both nights. I'd … Continue reading The Outlaws’ triple-guitar attack outshines Foghat’s boogie-blues in Vancouver
Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Sky Is Crying (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 21, 1991 By Steve Newton Stevie Ray Vaughan fans who thought they were getting a treat when his posthumously released Vaughan Brothers album came out have more reason to smile with the release of 10 more studio tracks by the cherished blues-rocker. But while The Sky is Crying … Continue reading Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Sky Is Crying (1991)
The Doors announce 50th anniversary deluxe edition of killer debut album
By Steve Newton I was only nine when the first Doors album came out in January of 1967, so I didn't run out and buy it. But I sure remember them playing the hell out of "Light My Fire" on the radio when it was released as a single four months later. Damn I loved … Continue reading The Doors announce 50th anniversary deluxe edition of killer debut album
Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, says Willie Dixon was her right arm
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 2003 By Steve Newton When Koko Taylor was a youngster, living with her poverty-stricken family on a sharecropper’s farm in Tennessee, she used to find joy in her meagre existence through the music B.B. King liked to play. It wasn’t King’s own soulful blues that caught her ear, though; it … Continue reading Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, says Willie Dixon was her right arm
Eddy Clearwater took Magic lessons on Chicago’s West Side
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 24, 1999 By Steve Newton Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater chose a good guy to hang with when he moved to Chicago’s West Side in 1950. As a budding, 15-year-old bluesman, Clearwater became close friends with Magic Sam, the legendary West Side guitarist who died of a heart attack at the age … Continue reading Eddy Clearwater took Magic lessons on Chicago’s West Side
Chicago blues legend Otis Rush still gets around: “It’s a job, you know, and I got to work.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 19, 1997 By Steve Newton In conversation, blues legend Otis Rush comes across like one of his classic guitar solos: direct and to the point. He’s no fancy talker, but he gets to the heart of the matter. When I track the 62-year-old musician down at his home in Chicago, and … Continue reading Chicago blues legend Otis Rush still gets around: “It’s a job, you know, and I got to work.”
Tinsley Ellis shed blood en route to blues mastery
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 16, 2008 By Steve Newton Like many of today’s top blues-rock guitarists, Tinsley Ellis was hugely influenced by the six-string action of the early Rolling Stones. He recalls being particularly entranced by the fretwork of Brian Jones on the Stones’ 1965 cover of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”. “I heard … Continue reading Tinsley Ellis shed blood en route to blues mastery