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Magic Slim & The Teardrops

"Black Tornado"

Blind Pig BPcD-5046

Living legend and national treasure are two terms often used to describe some of our better known blues stars. I sometimes feel the terms are over used. With that said, let me introduce the latest work of what I truly consider to be a living legend and national treasure on the blues scene.

We first saw Magic Slim several years ago at the now defunct River Blues Festival in Philadelphia, PA. Although I had read good reviews, I was not overly excited before he came on stage because of his recorded material. John Primer was part of the Teardrops at the time and did a good job of warming up. Magic Slim came on and completely blew the crowd away. This was one of the most dynamic and genuine blues performers I had ever seen. I left the festival and bought more recordings. Again, I was disappointed at what I was hearing.

There are some entertainers whose talent and energy cannot be captured on record. I have long felt this way about the Nighthawks. An absolutely wonderful bar band, or in festival, but the Nighthawks are not captured well on recordings. I had decided that Magic Slim fell in the same category. Without the smoke filled barroom, or the festival stage with the women dancing down front, you couldn't hear the real "Slim". I didn't even feel the live recording from the Zoo Bar did him justice. That was until the latest cD from Blind Pig entitled Black Tornado.

A good part of the credit for Black Tornado must surely go to producer Dick Shurman. The liner notes state Shurman set out to keep the recordings as close to a club setting as possible and to deliver tunes not previously recorded by Slim. This attempt does exactly that. I can play this cD and almost smell the beer in the barroom, hear the crowd being urged on by the driving rhythm section and see the big man hunched over his guitar. This is the real thing.

One half of the 12 songs were written by the Holt family (Magic Slim's real name is Morris Holt). Morris (Magic) wrote the title song Black Tornado, the very catchy I can't Trust My Woman, Wake Me Up Early and the moody crazy Woman. Brother Nick Holt not only plays bass on the recording (and is a permanent member of the Teardrops), but wrote and sings Playin' With My Mind on the cD as well as singing crazy Woman. Finally Slim's son, Shawn Holt, wrote and sings Young Man Blues. Shawn has his own group called Home Grown in Nebraska and his work with the Teardrops on this one song adds a new, more modern blues sound to the Teardrops.

There are covers here that Slim simply tears up with his interpretation and patented tremolo blues groove. You can't beat the force with which he delivers A.c. Reed's Jealous Man, Buster Benton's Love Like I Wanna, Hound Dog Taylor's It's Alright, or my favorite, Muddy Waters' Still A Fool.

If you don't have any Magic Slim in your collection, or if you have been disappointed with previous purchases, get this one. It will not, however, take the place of "being there".

Tim Graham