Eddy
“The Chief” Clearwater - West Side Strut
Alligator Records # ALCD 4921
www.alligator.com
www.eddyclearwater.com
By James “Skyy Dobro” Walker
12 songs; 53:15 minutes; Library
Quality
Genre: Chicago Blues with some Rockabilly, Rock and Roll, Soul, and
Gospel
Who would have given credence to a
Clearwater revival? Two men did: the 73-year-old bluesman himself,
Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater and Bruce Iglauer, president of blues’
biggest indie label, Chicago’s Alligator Records. After a decades’
long career, Clearwater has released his first album on Alligator,
and it just may be his best ever.
“It’s a dream come true. Recording for
Alligator is a dream I’ve had for many years, and it’s worked out
ten times better that I expected,” says Clearwater in an interview
with Jeff Johnson, blues writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Johnson
further mentions in the liner notes Clearwater’s “pride” with the
album “after previous efforts for the [labels] Rooster Blues,
Rounder and Bullseye, among others.”
He was born Edward Harrington (a cousin
of late harpist Carey Bell Harrington) on January 10, 1935 in Macon,
Mississippi. With music from Blues to Gospel to Country & Western
surrounding him, southpaw Eddy taught himself to play guitar
left-handed and upside down. After moving to Chicago in 1950, Eddy
met many of Chicago’s blues stars, namely “Magic Sam” Maghett, who
would become one of Eddy’s closest friends and teachers.
By 1953, as “Guitar Eddy,” he made a
strong name for himself working the South and West Side bars
regularly. During the 1950s, Chicago’s West Side was a hot bed of
some of the world’s greatest bluesmen. Otis Rush, Freddie King,
Luther Allison and others ruled the clubs. He met and befriended
everyone from Sunnyland Slim to Earl Hooker, picking up licks and
lessons along the way. After hearing Chuck Berry in 1957, Eddy added
that Rock and Roll element to his blues style, creating a unique
sound that defines him to this day.
Drummer Jump Jackson invented Eddy's
stage name “Clear Waters” – later just “Clearwater,” as a takeoff on
the name of “Muddy Waters” (McKinley Morganfield). “The Chief” is a
nickname from often opening shows wearing a Native American
headdress as an ode to his grandmother’s Cherokee ancestry.
The album’s title West Side Strut is a
tribute to his old neighborhood. “West Side Blues” is frequently
mentioned in blues circles, but a good definition differentiating it
from other styles is as illusive as a good paying club gig during a
recession. The “Classic Chicago Blues” style was developed by fully
amplifying Delta blues, putting it into a small-band context. Adding
drums, bass, and piano to the basic six-string guitar and harmonica
duo created the now standard blues band lineup. Singers, guitarists,
pianists, and harmonica players can be the featured performer in
front. Later, with newer and younger guitarists taking their ideas
from the lead guitar work of truly creative national heroes, the
“West Side” subgenre was born. Suggested to be the model used by
power-trios like Eric Clapton’s Cream, West Side Blues put the
guitar player out front in a strong and powerful role. “You had to
have a lot of energy....You had to come on strong, or you wouldn’t
be out there,” says Clearwater. With producer Ronnie Baker Brooks
and guests, Clearwater demonstrates his ability on the album to play
several styles.
The smile inducing first track has
clever Clearwater/Brooks lyrics and a Classic Chicago Blues
ensemble. With guests Billy Branch on harmonica, Daryl Couts –
piano, RB Brooks on second guitar, and Brooks’ band regulars on bass
(Carlton Armstrong) and drums (Maurice “Moe” Taylor), The Chief
plays lead guitar and sings, I am going to give you (instead of a
damn-good-whuppin’) “a damn ‘Good Leavin’ Alone.’”
“Hypnotized” showcases that West Side
sound with Brooks peeling off scorching riff after riff in front of
Steve Herrman arranged horns. Horns were often used in early West
Side sessions, like for Otis Rush on Cobra.
Changing the tempo and mood, the third
track, “Gotta Move On” is a plaintive ballad featuring Eddy’s
formidable vocals. This track was first to catch me singing along on
the second listen. It captivates with swelling organ and horn
harmonies and solos courtesy of Dennis Taylor’s saxophones, Earnest
Williamson’s clarinet, and Hermann’s trumpet.
Muddy Waters’ “Walking through The
Park” and Lowell Fulson’s “Trouble, Trouble” are the only covers
with the former being a fun, full-ensemble romp through the park and
the latter a slower, heartfelt rendition.
Old friend and father of Ronnie Baker,
Lonnie Brooks drops by the studio for a humorous, burning guitar
number, “Too Old To Get Married” (but too young to be buried).
Reflecting his more serious side,
Clearwater takes us to church twice, first on a Leipziger/Flemming
original “Do Unto Others” with vocal guests Otis Clay and Jimmy
Johnson on co-leads and Lonnie Brooks on background vocals. The
theme of altruism continues in the Clearwater/Brooks song “A time
For Peace” featuring what sounds like a full Gospel choir with
accompanying organ swells.
A Chicago legend who has recorded for
50 years, Clearwater is an intense, flamboyant blues-rocking
showman. With his fierce guitar playing, soulful and emotive vocals
and wild stage shows, Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater, and this album,
easily belong on everybody’s Chicago’s A-list.
James
“Skyy Dobro” Walker
is a noted Blues writer, DJ and Blues Blast
contributor.
His weekly radio show “Friends of the Blues” can be heard each
Thursday from 4:30 – 6:00pm
on WKCC 91.1 FM in Kankakee, IL
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