Delmark
1962
Memphis Slim U.S.A.
About This Album
Memphis Slim's classic United label sessions from 1954 comprise this exceptional document of the master pianists work: 19 of the some 30 tracks he waxed during four sessions, and very well-produced, considering the time frame. A 24-year-old Matt "Guitar" Murphy contributes mightily, tenor saxophonists Neil Green and Jimmy Conley smoothly fill in the cracks, and bassist Henry Taylor and drummer Otto Allen keep thing nicely swinging along. As a blues pianist, Slim is in a class by himself. His tinklings, jazzy affectations, and distinct chordal punctuations are the mark of a true master. His singing is equally robust, occasionally wailin', but mostly in a storytellers' mode. Many of the tunes are old warhorses: "Blues All Around My Head" has two takes, one with unedited studio banter; "Blue and Lonesome" has more squawking before the slow melody line, while "Wish Me Well" is a patient boogie, if there is such a thing. Slim excels on loping, half-shuffles with horn complement, as on "Sassy Mae," "Two of a Kind," and the killer "Four Years of Torment." He plays celeste on another three, the hard swinging "Got to Find My Baby," and twelve-bar on "She's Alright" in the second take.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,5,6,8,9,11,14 and 15)

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