Whitey Johnson – Live From Printer’s Alley
For a live recording, this is impressively pristine. Every note is clearly detected & Whitey Johnson (guitar/vocal) is captured with distinction. The Reese Wyans piano (who also plays the Hammond B3 organ) is saloon crisp & accentuates perfectly on the opening number “Livin’ It Down.” Johnson isn’t a blues artist in the tradition of the juke-joint growlers of yesteryear, but he possesses the blues spirit. He has a lived-in voice, a tinge of experience; a prominent groove hammered into his showcase.
The style persists in “Devil Goin’ Fishin’” a good lyric & a hungry beast of a groove. Heavy, balanced, & voracious. Johnson takes the blues to a higher level. He adds the embellishments required to addict a modern audience without falling prey to blues as entertainment.
There are 11 well-conceived blues on Whitey Johnson – Live From Printer’s Alley (Drops Sept 11/Independent/61:01), recorded in downtown Nashville – a previously unreleased 2016 performance recorded a decade ago. Whitey Johnson is a blues alter ego. The Clark Kent identity of Grammy-winning producer Gary Nicholson (who produced this set) performed these with a tight band specifically at the Bourbon Street Blues Bar. Each musician is well-represented, & they all lay down some fine music with all their musical rotors rotating at top speed.
Some songs, while performed sensibly & without any free-form meandering, slide into jam-type energetic musical breaks. They’re as hot as any jazz band or Grateful Dead mélange. Every song has its exciting moment woven into captivating performances. There are slides into humor (“Memphis Women & Fried Chicken”), but the music is what punctuates each set. Whitey’s vocals are reliable throughout. Some blues tunes here are slicker than others, but no loss of muscle.
The blues-rock frame is further sanded by Whitey in a Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds) delivery. The only thing missing is a wailing harmonica. You can’t have everything. But it’s a blues that gets toes tapping & hips swinging. And that matters. It’s wired with the lively current of guitar & Hammond. There aren’t many ways to refresh the blues without deviating from its traditional form, but Whitey injects personality through his vocal delivery despite looking like a hip Leon Redbone.
However, with “Blues In Black & White,” the band goes darker like Tito & Tarantula, Los Lobos, or a bluesy Tom Waits. Shows a good degree of distinctiveness. Worth its weight in blues finesse.
The video here is from 3 years ago, & while this tune is on this LP, it’s not the Bourbon Street Blues Bar performance. No brass.
Highlights – “Livin’ It Down,” “Devil Goin’ Fishin,’” “Lie No Better,” “Same Kind of Crazy,” “Blues In Black & White” & “Brilliant Conversationalist.”
Musicians – Colin Linden (guitar), Mike Joyce (bass) & Lynn Williams (drums).
Image courtesy of Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar. CD @ Amazon & https://www.garynicholsonmusic.com/info-whitey-johnson-live-printer-s