I was originally going to do a ‘blues masters’ show. It’s something I’ve done on occasion but as things developed I took a slightly different path and wound up also featuring a healthy dose of tracks, mostly slow which is the type of blues I most enjoy, from artists like The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, early Fleetwood Mac and The Allman Brothers who were influenced by and celebrated the masters/originators.
Many of the songs in the set by those artists are covers but some, like the Stones’ deep blues Down In The Hole, an outlier on the Emotional Rescue album and for my money its best cut, are originals. I also like Clapton’s Derek and The Dominos’ slower, extended and bluesier take on the widely known, faster Cream version of Robert Johnson’s Crossroads. And then there’s the wonderful collaborations where the founding masters team with those they influenced, as on Muddy Waters’ Deep Down In Florida, after Johnny Winter produced and played on Muddy’s last three studio albums and on the tour that resulted in Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters Live, a terrific concert document.
The set list . . .
1. Elmore James, Blues Before Sunrise
2. Albert King, I’ll Play The Blues For You, Parts 1 & 2
3. Alvin Lee & Co., Every Blues You’ve Ever Heard (live, from In Flight)
4. The Rolling Stones, Down In The Hole
5. The Allman Brothers Band, Stormy Monday (live, from At Fillmore East)
6. Albert Collins, Master Charge
7. Rory Gallagher, Loanshark Blues
8. Boz Scaggs, Loan Me A Dime (Duane Allman on slide guitar)
9. Earl Hooker, Wah Wah Blues
10. John Lee Hooker, It Serves You Right To Suffer
11. Johnny Winter, Be Careful With A Fool
12. The Robert Cray Band, Phone Booth
13. Son Seals, Telephone Angel
14. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, She’s Tuff
15. Fleetwood Mac, Love That Burns
16. Led Zeppelin, Since I’ve Been Loving You
17. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ain’t Gone ‘N’ Give Up On Love (live)
18. Derek And The Dominos, Crossroads, (from Live At The Fillmore)
19. Muddy Waters, Deep Down In Florida (from Muddy ‘Mississippi’ Waters Live)