So Old It’s New blues and blues/rock set of influencers and those influenced by them and on down the line, generation by generation.

I initially was planning a straight blues/rock show and was going to leave it at individual, random songs. But it evolved into direct connections between artists – from a precursor Allman Brothers band playing B.B. King to B.B. King himself to another King, Albert, to Muddy Waters working with Johnny Winter to Johnny Winter on his own to John Lee Hooker to Hooker with Canned Heat, etc. So it’s all of a piece, of sorts, as the sets, to me often wonderfully, can take on lives of their own.

So we have, in some cases, various versions of the same song, like Blind Willie McTell’s original Statesboro Blues as later done by Taj Mahal which then inspired The Allman Brothers Band. Then, things like Leadbelly’s Gallis Pole and Led Zeppelin’s Gallows Pole – both derived from a centuries-old folk song The Maid Freed From The Gallows. And some songs, in a bluesy vein, like Jethro Tull’s It’s Breaking Me Up, just on their own. All of it bracketed by The Rolling Stones’ take on the Little Walter tune Blue And Lonesome, from the Stones’ 2016 blues covers album of the same name, and ending the show with Little Walter’s original version of that song. My track-by-track tales follow the bare-bones list. Song clips on my Facebook page.

1. The Rolling Stones, Blue And Lonesome
2. The Hourglass, B.B. King Medley (Sweet Little Angel/It’s My Own Fault/How Blue Can You Get?)
3. B.B. King with Ruth Brown, Ain’t Nobody’s Business (live at B.B. King’s Blues Club, Memphis 1993)
4. Albert King, Cadillac Assembly Line
5. Muddy Waters, Bus Driver
6. Johnny Winter, Lone Wolf
7. John Lee Hooker, I’m Bad Like Jesse James
8. John Lee Hooker with Canned Heat, Burning Hell
9. Canned Heat, Election Blues
10. Jethro Tull, It’s Breaking Me Up
11. Bob Dylan, Blind Willie McTell
12. Blind Willie McTell, Statesboro Blues
13. Taj Mahal, Statesboro Blues
14. The Allman Brothers Band, Statesboro Blues (live, from At Fillmore East)
15. Leadbelly, The Gallis Pole
16. Led Zeppelin, Gallows Pole
17. Robert Johnson, Ramblin’ On My Mind
18. Eric Clapton, Ramblin’ On My Mind (live, from E.C. Was Here)
19. Ten Years After, Help Me
20. Buddy Guy, Baby Please Don’t Leave Me
21. Little Walter, Blue And Lonesome

My track-by-track tales:

1. The Rolling Stones, Blue and Lonesome . . . A cover that not only pays homage to the Chicago blues but also mirrors the Stones’ beginnings as a blues band. Mick Jagger’s harmonica playing echoes Little Walter’s original, but the Stones inject their distinct rock edge, bridging the gap between traditional blues and modern rock.

2. The Hourglass, B.B. King Medley ((Sweet Little Angel/It’s My Own Fault/How Blue Can You Get?) . . . From 1968. The Hourglass was a precursor to the eventual full blown Allman Brothers Band. At first it was Duane Allman on guitar and brother Gregg on vocals and keyboards accompanied by various other musicians, within two years morphing into the initial lineups of the legendary Allman Brothers Band. I first cottoned to this tribute via the first of two Duane Allman compilations – An Anthology and An Anthology Volume II – I investigated once I became, beyond hits compilations, fully invested in the Allmans, who have come to be one of my alltime favorite bands. The Duane Allman anthologies feature Allmans Brothers tracks but more arguably interesting – since one can listen to the Allmans on their own – are the various sessions Duane played on outside of the parent band.

3. B.B. King with Ruth Brown, Ain’t Nobody’s Business (Live At B.B. King’s Blues Club, Memphis 1993) . . . B.B. largely gives the actual singing vocals over to Ruth, adding spoken word ‘accents’ to lead her on in this near 10-minute ribald, flirtatious classic featuring, as always, King’s smooth, tasteful and emotive guitar work that is a language in itself.

4. Albert King, Cadillac Assembly Line . . . A funky, bluesy working-class story set to King’s cutting guitar tone and silky smooth vocals.

5. Muddy Waters, Bus Driver . . . From Muddy’s first of three ‘comeback’ albums produced and played on by Johnny Winter, this extended blues rock tune from Hard Again, released in 1977. The other two albums in the trilogy were I’m Ready and King Bee, King Bee being Muddy’s last studio statement, all released between 1977 and 1981 and all more than worthy listens.

6. Johnny Winter, Lone Wolf . . Up-tempo blues rocker from Winter’s 2004 studio album I’m A Bluesman. I saw him at the Kitchener Blues Festival in 2011, three years before his death by which time Winter’s health was failing. He was playing concerts sitting in a chair up front, helped to the stage, but even so his guitar playing and the overall vibe was smokin’ hot and of course even when standing up during healthier days, Winter “just stood there’ out front, little movement, wailing away, wonderfully.

7. John Lee Hooker, I’m Bad Like Jesse James . . . I was listening to this the other night while prepping the show and, as often happens with great music, I think “why listen to anything else but John Lee Hooker?” But that merely fits my mantra of ‘the best song/band/artist ever is the one you are listening to, now, if you like it.’ Typically haunting if not menacing spoken-word Hooker singing style minimalist mood piece. This version is from the 1967 album Live at Cafe Au Go Go, recorded in New York City in 1966 with Hooker backed by members of Muddy Waters’ band.

8. John Lee Hooker with Canned Heat, Burning Hell . . . Hooker teamed with Heat for the 1971 album Hooker ‘n Heat. . . After about a minute of in-studio chat about record company machinations, various musicians, cooking food, yes they talk about cooking food . . . eventually in comes the music, 90 seconds in, unannounced as the banter just stops, with Hooker’s hypnotic boogie style taking over and blending seamlessly with Canned Heat’s rock and blues energy.

9. Canned Heat, Election Blues . . . Written and released in 1973 as a lament about Richard Nixon having won a landslide victory in the 1972 US election which of course later led to Watergate and Nixon’s resignation in August, 1974. While written back then, the thoughts expressed in the lyrics, about voter turnout or lack of same, about being informed if and before one votes, however one votes, forever resonate. Beyond that, it’s just a great slow blues tune.

10. Jethro Tull, It’s Breaking Me Up . . . Tull leader/singer/songwriter/flautist/myriad instrumentalist Ian Anderson has always said that the title of Tull’s first album, This Was, was appropriate in that ‘this was’ Jethro Tull because by the time the album was released in 1968, original guitarist and blues aficionado Mick Abrahams was already on his way out as Anderson wanted to embrace a different direction (while still sometimes returning to bluesy tracks like It’s Breaking Me Up) as the two men didn’t see eye-to-eye in terms of musical vision. Abrahams went on to form the blues-rock band Blodwyn Pig, great name with some great tunes I’ve played before on the show and must return to at some point.

11. Bob Dylan, Blind Willie McTell . . . It’s among the biggest ‘WTF?’ songs in Dylan’s catalogue in terms of, why did it take so long to officially release? A brilliant tribute to the legendary bluesman I’ll get to in about six minutes of song time but before that, more on Dylan. Mercurial as ever, his tribute to McTell was shelved, inexplicably to most Dylan fans once they knew of it, during the sessions for the otherwise excellent 1983 album Infidels. The song Blind Willie McTell first saw widespread commercial release – emphasis on the plaintive, emotional lyric “And I know no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell” that ends most of the verses – on the first of the now 17-volume and counting Booleg Series, Volumes 1-3 1961-1991 released in the spring of 1991. It’s essential Dylan that by now has appeared on various compilations. It’s a worthy introduction to McTell’s own work, including signature tune Statesboro Blues, and some of those who covered that classic.

12. Blind Willie McTell, Statesboro Blues . . . A masterclass in intricate fingerpicking and lyrical wit. McTell’s relaxed delivery belies the complexity of his technique, making it a blueprint for later interpretations.

13. Taj Mahal, Statesboro Blues . . . A revitilization of McTell’s original via a modern, roots-oriented approach from the multi-faceted Taj, who first recorded the tune in the band Rising Sons, with guitarist Ry Cooder, during the mid-1960s. Mahal reworked it for this version, released on his self-titled debut solo album in 1968.

14. The Allman Brothers Band, Statesboro Blues (live, from At Fillmore East) . . . Blind Willie McTell originally recorded the song in 1928. So it’s now nearly 100 years old! A tribute to the power of excellence and permanence because it doesn’t really age; it just evolves through the ages. Taj Mahal took it further in 1968 and then the Allmans, influenced by Taj’s arrangement, made it their own, transforming an acoustic blues into a rock anthem, upon release of the live album At Fillmore East in 1971 that established the band as a force in blues/rock music.

15. Leadbelly, The Gallis Pole . . . People accuse Led Zeppelin of ripping stuff off from influential blues artists and I’ve been a critic, too, while maintaining enjoyment of Zep’s music although I’ve tempered my tirades over time with the realization that lots of borrowing goes on in music, to varying degrees. And if it’s proven to be plagiarism, then a price is usually paid. The Gallis Pole is another example but at least when Zep covered it and released it on Led Zeppelin III in 1970 it was credited as ‘traditional arranged by’ unlike how they often credited songs they didn’t actually write to themselves – and in some cases later, rightly, paid for it via copyright infringement lawsuits. In any event, Leadbelly’s version wasn’t original, either. It’s all derived from a centuries-old folk song, specific origin unknown, called The Maid Freed from the Gallows, about someone facing the hangman. Great song in all its incarnations including this one featuring Leadbelly’s amazing guitar strumming.

16. Led Zeppelin, Gallows Pole . . . And here’s the Zeppelin version, which arguably many people heard first but the beauty of it all is then you can go back to the original source material. It’s as Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has said is among the highest compliments that can be paid a musician: They passed it on.

17. Robert Johnson, Ramblin’ On My Mind . . . Amazing the emotional pull one can evoke via just an acoustic guitar and haunting, personal, deeply felt vocals. He inspired so many, of course.

18. Eric Clapton, Ramblin’ On My Mind (live, from EC Was Here) . . . Speaking of those Robert Johnson inspired, Clapton pays tribute to one of his heroes and influences on this extended, guitar solos extraordinaire, live cut from an album released in 1975. Clapton originally sang and played it on the 1966 John Mayall album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. It was, with Mayall’s encouragement, an at the time reluctant to sing Clapton’s first solo vocal recording.

19. Ten Years After, Help Me . . . Slow, intoxicating extended blues treatment of a song made famous by Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), taken from the self-titled debut TYA album, released late in 1967. Williamson’s 1963 version, particularly the bass riff played by Willie Dixon, is based on the Booker T. & the M.G.’s 1962 smash instrumental hit Green Onions and it’s evident in the TYA version as well.

20. Buddy Guy, Baby Please Don’t Leave Me . . . A mesmerizing display of vocal and guitar intensity on this hypnotic cut from Guy’s 2001 album Sweet Tea, named for the Oxford, Mississippi studio in which it was recorded.

21. Little Walter, Blue and Lonesome . . . We finish as we started, sort of, in this case with the original Little Walter tune The Rolling Stones covered to start the set.

My track-by-track tales follow the bare bones list.

Song clips also available on my Facebook page.

1. Budgie, Napoleon Bona Part 1 & 2
2. George Thorogood and The Destroyers, Night Time (from Live In Boston 1982: The Complete Concert
3. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Midnight Moses
4. The Everly Brothers, Lord Of The Manor
5. Murray McLauchlan, Child’s Song
6. Gene Clark, Some Misunderstanding
7. Joe Jackson, Fools In Love (from Live 1980-86)
8. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Brave Strangers
9. David Bowie, Beauty And The Beast (live, from Stage)
10. King Crimson, Frame By Frame
11. Lee Harvey Osmond, Kingdom Come
12. T-Bone Burnett, Monkey Dance
13. T. Rex, Life’s An Elevator
14. The Rolling Stones, Moonlight Mile
15. Quicksilver Messenger Service, Mona/Maiden Of The Cancer Moon/Calvary (live, from Happy Trails)

My track-by-track tales:

1. Budgie, Napoleon Bona Part 1 & 2 . . . A slow build for two minutes then the musical “galloping” begins and from 2:45 onward in this seven-minute track we’re in Iron Maiden territory . . . except that Iron Maiden, which came into existence after Budgie had long been around with its galloping sound, complete with great echo effect, is actually in and has always been, in Budgie territory. A highly influential band from Wales but as can happen, Budgie was not nearly as commercially successful as many of the groups (like Maiden and Metallica to name two, both of whom have covered Budgie songs like, in Metallica’s case, Breadfan and Crash Course In Brain Surgery) it influenced.

2. George Thorogood and The Destroyers, Night Time (from Live In Boston 1982: The Complete Concert) . . . From a concert initially released that year as a 12-track album simply called Live In Boston, 1982 but re-released as the full 25-song show (plus two spoken-word intro to song tracks including audience participation) in a 2-CD set in 2020. Typical Thorogood raunch and roll, taken to more raucous heights in the live arena.

3. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Midnight Moses . . . A driving rocker from the band’s 1972 debut album Frame. Nice guitar work from Zal Cleminson, later a member of Nazareth for two albums – 1979’s No Mean City and the 1980 release Malice In Wonderland with its hit single Holiday.

4. The Everly Brothers, Lord Of The Manor . . . A haunting soundscape from 1968. Hey, that rhymes. 🙂 An at least somewhat uncharacteristic song if all you know about the Everlys is their early hits and sound, material like Bye Bye Love and Wake Up Little Susie. Great ones, those two, and many others, to be sure. But this one, after their halcyon days, is as good in its own way.

5. Murray McLauchlan, Child’s Song . . . A beautiful, touching, at least somewhat sad, definitely thought-provoking song about family. It’s from MM’s 1971 debut album Song From The Street, a title echoed in the excellent 2-disc compilation The Best Of Murray McLauchlan: Songs From The Street, released in 2007.

6. Gene Clark, Some Misunderstanding . . . From a song about family by Murray McLauchlan to one digging even deeper, perhaps. A meaning of life song of questions and attempts at answers from what was apparently a tortured soul in Clark, a founding member of The Byrds who arguably – despite his writing such Byrds hits as I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better and Eight Miles High – tends to be given short shrift as compared to Jim/Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of that great group. Clark later went solo and the highlight of his output, to me, anyway, is the 1974 album No Other with its terrific title cut I’ve played on the show before, among many great songs, like this outstanding extended ballad. Yet the album bombed, commercially, much to the fragile Clark’s consternation as he, thanks in part to circumstances such as a divorce, and drug abuse, declined both personally and professionally. He died at age 46, in 1991 from heart disease resulting in part from a bleeding ulcer after he had already been diagnosed with throat cancer.

7. Joe Jackson, Fools In Love (from Live 1980-86) . . . As the album subtitle says “new interpretations of 22 classic songs featuring four different bands”. It’s divided into selections from various Jackson albums and their supporting tours between 1980 and ’86. Songs are drawn from the 1980 Beat Crazy tour, the Night And Day trek of 1982-83, Body And Soul in 1984 and the Big World tour of 1986 which was the first time I saw him live. The twist is, you get revamps of songs, like this seven-minute version of Fools In Love. It first appeared, at a shade more than half this live length, on JJ’s punk/new wave album debut Look Sharp! in 1979. But, taken from the Night And Day tour for the live album, it’s rearranged (while still recognizable) in the jazzy style of that 1982 studio record that featured the top 10 single Steppin’ Out. Not to all tastes, perhaps, but I like this version. I’m a big fan, seen Jackson in concert a few times and, as he writes in the live album liner notes, he likes to keep things interesting for himself and his bands and hopefully the audiences appreciate it. I think most of his fan base does, knowing his wide variety of musical approaches through the years. And, as he says, you can always play the studio albums if you prefer those versions although inevitably, you might jar some concert-goers not fully up on Jackson and expecting note-for-note copies of the studio songs.

8. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Brave Strangers . . . . From that period of the mid- to late 1970s into the 1980s when Seger was on an amazing hot streak of hit albums and singles. The breakthrough came via Live Bullet in 1976 which – as with Kiss Alive and Frampton Comes Alive! – featured his earlier material like Turn The Page and Beautiful Loser, done in the live environment and released on what became a hit double vinyl album. Then came the studio album Night Moves in 1976 with its title cut hit single along with the song Mainstreet followed in 1978 by the Stranger In Town album that yielded Brave Strangers but also four of Seger’s enduring songs – Still The Same, Hollywood Nights, We’ve Got Tonite and the ubiquitous party hit Old Time Rock and Roll. The roll continued with the 1980 album Against The Wind, its title cut hit single and others like Fire Lake and You’ll Accomp’ny Me. I remember browsing in the old Yonge Street Sam The Record Man store in downtown Toronto when Against The Wind came out; it was playing on the store’s sound system and I overheard someone perusing the records racks close to me and all he said was ‘sounds like new Seger’ and it was. Instant buy.

9. David Bowie, Beauty And The Beast (live, from Stage) . . . From Bowie’s 1978 tour, live version of a song that met with minor singles chart success in the UK, from Bowie’s 1977 studio album “Heroes”. Fine guitar interplay between Carlos Alomar, who was in Bowie’s band from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, and Adrian Belew, known for stints with Frank Zappa, guest appearances with Talking Heads around the time of the Heads’ 1980 album Remain In Light, and as a member of King Crimson from 1981-2013.

10. King Crimson, Frame By Frame . . . Speaking of Adrian Belew in King Crimson . . . From the 1981 album Discipline which marked the return of King Crimson, with a Talking Heads-like sound of that period, after the initial disbanding of the group in 1974. The new lineup – initially called Discipline – was founding member/leader Robert Fripp on guitar along with Belew, drummer Bill Bruford, noted for his work in Yes and earlier versions of King Crimson, and bassist Tony Levin. Frame By Frame also became the name of a 1991 Crimson box set.

11. Lee Harvey Osmond, Kingdom Come . . . Up tempo chugger from one of Canadian artist Tom Wilson’s many projects, all of which I’m a big fan of including The Florida Razors, Junkhouse, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings and his solo work.

12. T-Bone Burnett, Monkey Dance . . . Swirling, hypnotic stuff from Burnett’s 1987 album The Talking Animals. A reputable artist in his own right, Burnett, a guitarist in Bob Dylan’s band during the 1970s, is perhaps better known for his production work with myriad musicians – Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp, Los Lobos, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Elton John and Gregg Allman among them – as well as film soundtrack work including the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line.

13. T. Rex, Life’s An Elevator . . . A spooky, acoustic selection about how, yes, life, like an elevator, goes up and down. Profound. 🙂 T. Rex, led by the late Marc Bolan, remains universally known for the 1972 hit Get It On aka Bang A Gong (Get It On) but consistently topped the singles and album charts in the UK. Life’s An Elevator was the B-side to the 1976 non-album single Laser Love.

14. The Rolling Stones, Moonlight Mile . . . About cocaine (‘a head full of snow”) although Mick Jagger denied it, although given the lyrics it’s part of it. But, more so, a tale of life on the road for a rock band, any touring artist or, really, people like long-haul truck drivers.

Here’s the full lyrics of this beautiful song from the Sticky Fingers album, a deep cut (although well-known and highly regarded by Stones fans) which I was blown away to see and hear the band play in 1999 in Toronto on their No Security tour.

When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
with a head full of snow
with a head full of snow
In the window there’s a face you know
Don’t the night pass slow
Don’t the night pass slow

I’m hiding sister and I’m dreaming
I’m riding down your moonlight mile
I’m hiding sister and I’m dreaming
I’m riding down your moonlight mile
There I go now coming home now baby
Yeah, there I go now coming home now baby
Yeah, I’m coming home ’cause
I’m just about a moonlight mile on down the road
On down the road, down the road

15. Quicksilver Messenger Service, Mona/Maiden Of The Cancer Moon/Calvary (live, from Happy Trails) . . . Improvisational psychedelic/acid rock from the San Francisco band that incorporates Bo Diddley’s Mona with two of Quicksilver’s instrumental originals. The songs, which segue into each other, total almost 24 minutes which momentarily gave me pause in terms of whether to play them together but this is independent radio, we’re not wedded to formatted or corporately-mandated song sets so, what the heck? I’ve done similar before with long pieces like Pink Floyd’s 23-minute Echoes, just one example. I was originally just going to go with the 13-minute Calvary but the three songs belong together as a suite. Besides which, it’s never boring, at least to me, and features great guitar interplay between John Cipollina on lead and Gary Duncan on rhythm. It formed most of the second side of the original vinyl of 1969’s Happy Trails album which concludes with the band’s version of that Roy Rogers/Dale Evans song as the title track. The first side was Quicksilver’s take on Diddley’s Who Do You Love, known as the Who Do You Love Suite. It’s split into Diddley’s song, which opens and closes the suite, around improvisations from the individual band members titled When You Love, Where You Love, How You Love and Which Do You Love.