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Blues Editor's Picks: Best of 2000
By Ed Kopp
Top 10 Blues Recordings of 2000
- King Ernest Baker - Blues Got Soul: He died in a car crash last March, but this singer left a whole lot of his spirit behind on this soul-drenched CD.
Rick Holmstrom - Gonna Get Wild: A master of tone, this L.A. guitarist took time off from Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers to generate the year's best party disc.
Alvin Youngblood Hart - Start With the Soul: A remarkably diversified blues-rock effort that crosses over into hard rock, country, R&B, reggae and other realms.
Terry Evans - Walk That Walk: Nobody sings with more soul than this Mississippi native. Ry Cooder's guitar work is fantastic, as usual.
Robert Ward - New Role Soul: How many blues guitarists have a readily identifiable sound? Ward's best since Fear No Evil.
Super Chikan - What You See: A dash of Mississippi blues, a pinch of Memphis soul, and a smidgen of rustic funk. With his quirky sense of humor, fiery guitar, and raw rhythmic tunes, James Louis Johnson is one funky Chikan.
Colin Linden - Raised By Wolves: Transcendent roots 'n blues from a supremely talented Canadian.
Magic Slim and the Teardrops - Snakebite: Another blistering set from one of the hardest rocking bands in the world, blues or otherwise.
Sue Palmer - Boogie Woogie and Motel Swing: Great boogie-woogie piano and a smattering of old-time jazz.
Mighty Sam McClain - Blues for the Soul: Deep soul feeling, intense singing, and a great horn section.
Random Thoughts on the State of the Blues
- Riding With the King, the slick but likable collaboration between B.B. King and Eric Clapton, smashed the competition on last year's blues charts. Maybe the public is more discerning than we think.
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and Shannon Curfman sold far more CDs than blues greats Mighty Sam McClain, Eddy Clearwater and Koko Taylor. On second thought, the public has lousy taste.
- Favorite blues performance of 2000: A cooking set by Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers in the pouring rain at the Pocono Blues Fest in Pennsylvania.
- Best CDs we didn't review in 2000: Paul Pena's New Train; Jerry "Boogie" McCain's This Stuff Just Kills Me; John Mooney's Gone to Hell; North Mississippi All Star's Shake Hands With Shorty
- Most overrated CD of 2000: R.L. Burnside's Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down. Another Fat Possum release marrying the blues to hip-hop. While Burnside is a treasure and the album has its minor charms, I'm wary of any blues trend that heightens the role of the producer. Fat Possum more than redeemed itself with atypical releases by King Ernest and Super Chikan, and a mellow classic by Robert Belfour.
- Best reissue of 2000: Otis Rush's The Classic Cobra Recordings
- Favorite bluesy jazz release of 2000: Barbara Dennerlein's Outhipped
- Blues deaths in 2000: Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Johnnie Taylor, King Ernest, Mabel Scott, Roy Searcy, Clarence Holliman, Ervin Charles, Cub Koda, Bill Barth, Willie Willis, Diamond Teeth Mary, Willa Mae Buckner, Little Jeno Tucker, Johnny "Two Voice" Morisette
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