You are hereAlbum Review: Jimmie Vaughan - Plays More Blues Ballads and Favorites (Proper)
Album Review: Jimmie Vaughan - Plays More Blues Ballads and Favorites (Proper)
Whilst we had to wait a good nine years for Jimmie Vaughan's last solo album, BLUES, BALLADS AND FAVORITES released in 2010, the follow up comes hot on its tails less than twelve months later with more of the same; another selection of classic songs, once again recorded in the Bluesman's hometown of Austin, Texas. With the cover shot remaining the same, this time going from yellow to green and with the addition of the fine slender figure of one Lou Ann Barton promoted to almost duo status here with her name emblazoned on the cover, the record could once again have been recorded in the 1950s, judging by its unmistakably authentic post war R&B feel and vintage sleeve design.
It's like discovering an old juke box stocked up with gems from another era. With more than a passing nod to his musical hero Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, the Texan guitarist brings more 'sneer-like' guitar licks, whilst backed by a tight band and horn section, who deliver each song with a deep respect and mature understanding of the genre. Lou Ann Barton once again is there to duet with Vaughan, this time on the late Bobby Charles' No Use Knocking, Annie Laurie's I'm in the Mood for You and Breaking Up is Hard to Do - not the twee Neil Sedaka hit I hasten to add, but the Jivin' Gene and the Jokers R&B classic.
Other songs awarded the Jimmie Vaughan treatment include Big Sambo and the House Wreckers' The Rains Came, Webb Pierce's I Ain't Never, Ray Charles Greenbacks, Hank Williams' I Hang My Head and Cry, Jimmy Liggins' Teardrop Blues, the aptly named Nappy Brown's Cried Like a Baby, Jimmy Reed's I Want to Love You, Amos Milburn's Bad Bad Whiskey and the list goes on. The album closes with a live version of Faye Adams' Shake a Hand, with Vaughan introducing the singer he met when she was just 18, and from whose performance that night he has never quite recovered from 'Star time for Lou Ann Barton' he announces. Absolutely.
Allan Wilkinson
Northern Sky
