BIG DADDY WILSON: Songs From The Road - Live CD & DVD
Product no.: RUF 1247
Description
Release date: 18th May 2018
Musicians
Big Daddy Wilson
Vocals, Dobro, Diddley Bow
Cesare Nolli
Guitar, Back Vocals
Paolo Legramandi
Bass, Back Vocals
Nik Taccori
Drums, Back Vocals
Enzo Messina
Keyboard, Piano
Release Notes:
No matter where Big Daddy Wilson travels on this big, beautiful, mixed-up planet of ours, he takes the South with him.
Listening to the soulful storytelling of the man born Wilson Blount in a small town in the Inner Banks region of North Carolina, it's impossible not to conjure images of dusty back roads, cypress groves, a Saturday night juke joint or Sunday morning revival meeting. It's a nostalgic and – some might say – glorified image of rural America. Yet in an age of ruthless demagogues and divisive politics, Big Daddy Wilson chooses to celebrate the simple things that bond us as human beings – a smile, a shared meal, a helping hand – along with cherished values like faith, perseverance and devotion to family. For more than two decades, he has been carrying his message of hope and unity to each and every show, whether in New York, Paris, Auckland or – in the case of his new live album Songs From The Road – the village of Rubigen in central Switzerland.
The concert recorded at the Mühle Hunziken exemplifies Wilson's uncanny ability to connect with an audience. The key ingredients are honesty, his natural charisma and the sheer power of his voice. This performance from the fall of 2017 is a testament to just how far the American ex-pat and former soldier has come since answering a newspaper ad and summoning the courage to sing "Stormy Monday" for a group of young German blues musicians way back in the 1980s. He's ably supported by a tight and versatile four-piece unit comprising Cesare "Smokestack" Nolli (g), Paolo Legramandi (b), Nik Taccori (dr) and Enzo Messina (k). A band that backs Big Daddy Wilson always has to be at the top of its game, because his music isn't any one thing. From song to song, it may transform into something hard-driving or laid-back, funky or bluesy, joyful or brooding, stripped down or supercharged.
"I tried to give my listener a small view of the journey, the good, the bad, the highs and the lows," explains Wilson in the liner notes to the album. He and the band open the set sounding figuratively uptown: "Wake Up" is a steady grooving call to action, "Drop Down Here" a reggae-tinged plea for help from the man upstairs, "Miss Dorothy Lee" a guitar-fueled tribute transported on a Bo Diddley-like rhythm. The bawdy blues of "Texas Boogie" gives way to the dead serious testifying of "Ain't No Slave." Then it's time for a little side trip to the countryside: "Anna Mae" and, later, "Cross Creek Road," are sun-drenched and pastoral. The band picks up steam again on "Neckbone Stew," ultimately climaxing with the earthy "Baby Don't Like." The twelve-song live CD closes with the eloquent simplicity of "I Just Need A Smile."
As usual with the long-running Songs From The Road series, there are visuals as well. The accompanying DVD in the two-disc set includes 15 songs in all and offers a good long look at Big Daddy Wilson in action. It opens with the familiar gospel blues of "John The Revelator" and closes with something he revealingly calls his "Country Boy Medley." But don't expect to see him standing onstage in overalls and work boots. As always, Wilson is nattily attired in fine threads, a short-brimmed hat and the ubiquitous pair of dark shades.
Some years ago, Big Daddy Wilson told an interviewer that the main reason he wears sunglasses onstage is his inherently shy nature. "I'm no entertainer," he claimed at the time. Songs From The Road delivers some pretty strong evidence to the contrary. And yet, in a certain way, he's right. Wilson's music – like Wilson himself – is real. It's honest. At no point is this man ever putting on a show. "I’m just interested in singing, getting my message out and feeling the people – and hoping I can make them feel me."
Tracklist
CD DVD
001
Wake Up
00:03:17
001
John The Revelator
00:07:39
002
Drop Down Here
00:06:42
002
Wake Up
00:03:15
003
Miss Dorothy Lee
00:05:47
003
Drop Down Here
00:06:37
004
Texas Boogie
00:09:56
004
Miss Dorothy Lee
00:05:49
005
Ain't No Slave
00:07:50
005
Baby's Coming Home Again
00:05:50
006
Anna Mae
00:06:38
006
Texas Boogie
00:10:56
007
Walk A Mile In My Shoes
00:10:22
007
Ain't No Slave
00:08:14
008
Cross Creek Road
00:03:39
008
Anna Mae
00:06:40
009
Neckbone Stew
00:05:40
009
Walk A Mile In My Shoes
00:10:49
010
7 Years
00:04:48
010
Cross Creek Road
00:03:59
011
Baby Don't Like
00:09:20
011
Neckbone Stew
00:06:16
012
I Just Need A Smile
00:03:14
012
7 Years
00:04:56
013
Baby Don't Like
00:10:25
014
I Just Need A Smile
00:03:49
015
Country Boy Medley
00:19:57