Edgar Winter Celebrates Brother’s Legacy With All-Star High-Octane Tribute Album

To any more frequent visitors of the blog or folks who know my music taste otherwise, this post shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. As somebody who digs blues and blues-rock, I simply couldn’t ignore Brother Johnny, Edgar Winter’s blazing new tribute to his older brother and Texas blues legend Johnny Winter, which came out last Friday (April 15). Sure, packing an album with impressive guests like Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh and Ringo Starr doesn’t automatically guarantee a great outcome but, man, this album truly cooks!

In addition to renditions of Johnny Winter originals Mean Town Blues, I’m Yours and I’m Hers, Stranger, Guess I’ll Go Away and Self Destructive Blues, the 17 tracks on Brother Johnny feature a number of classics the guitar slinger from Beaumont, Texas covered, such as Johnny B. Goode, Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Got My Mojo Workin’. There are also two new songs written by Edgar Winter.

According to this Rock & Blues Muse review, the idea for a tribute album first emerged in the wake of Johnny Winter’s death in July 2014 at the age of 70.  “Many people immediately started trying to convince me to do a Johnny Winter tribute album,” Edgar recalled. “But I was totally devastated, and the timing just didn’t feel right to me.”

Edgar added, “It wasn’t until after I completed the Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest, a tour we were meant to do together with our respective bands, that the idea of a tribute record started to take form.” Looks like from there it still took quite a bit of additional time for the project to materialize, but the wait was certainly worth it. Let’s check out some of the goodies!

The fireworks start with the opener Mean Town Blues, featuring Joe Bonamassa on badass slide guitar. First released on February 18, the track is one of three songs that appeared as singles ahead of the album. Johnny Winter originally recorded Mean Town Blues for his 1968 debut album The Progressive Blues Experiment.

On Lone Star Blues, one of the tunes penned by Edgar Winter, things turn acoustic, sparse and personal. Keb’ Mo’ does a neat job on what sounds like a resonator guitar and also shares vocals with Edgar. “I don’t think this album would be complete without at least one, heartfelt, personal tribute from me to my brother–in the form of a song,” Edgar wrote in the album’s liner notes, as separately reported by Rock & Blues Muse. Well, I was born in Beaumont left when I was in my teens/I hit the highway, going down to New Orleans/I was playing music, searching for just what life means…

One of Brother Johnny’s standouts is I’m Yours and I’m Hers, featuring Billy Gibbons and Derek Trucks. Winter included this original tune on his eponymous sophomore album that came out in April 1969. With Trucks arguably being one the best contemporary slide guitarists and Gibbons being no slouch either, you just know this rendition has to be good. Well, check it out!

This review wouldn’t be complete without highlighting Johnny B. Goode, a track Winter recorded for his third studio release from October 1969, a double album somewhat misleadingly titled Second Winter. Johnny B. Goode became a regular of Winter’s live set. On Brother Johnny, the Chuck Berry classic is delivered with help from Joe Walsh (lead vocals), David Grissom (lead guitar), Bob Glaub (bass) and Gregg Bissonette (drums). Meanwhile, Edgar Winter demonstrates his saxophone chops with a nice solo. Additional vocals are provided by guitarist Phil X. Yes, Johnny B. Goode has been covered a million times, but this is just a killer rendition.

Let’s do one more: Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Winter included what is one of my all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs on his first live album Live Johnny Winter And, released in March 1971. Johnny Winter And was actually the name of Winter’s band at the time. This new version features the above-mentioned Phil X.

Some additional comments about the other musicians on the album. The above-mentioned Gregg Bissonette provides drums on all tracks except Stranger, which features Ringo Starr. Sean Hurley and Bob Glaub share duties on bass. Other guests include Doyle Bramhall II, John McFee, Robben Ford, Warren Haynes, Steve Lukather, Michael McDonald, Doug Rappoport, Bobby Rush, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Waddy Wachtel.

The album also features the late Taylor Hawkins who provides lead vocals on Guess I’ll Go Away. This marks the ex-Foo Fighters drummer’s first posthumous recording following his untimely death on March 25, as reported by Rolling Stone.

Here’s a Spotify link to the album.

The album was produced by Edgar Winter and Ross Hogarth. According to Discogs, his previous production credits include artists, such as Melissa Etheridge, Ziggy Marley, Rita Coolidge and Gov’t Mule. The album appears on Quarto Valley Records. According to Rock & Blues Mule, label founder Bruce Quarto was and remains a loyal and enthusiastic fan of Johnny, classic rock, and blues music. It was his positive energy that made Edgar realize that the time to pay musical respects to his departed brother had finally arrived.

Brother Johnny is a true labor of love. The one thing I find a bit unfortunate is the total absence of female artists. It certainly cannot be for lack of talent. Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Shemekia Copeland, Ana Popović, Dani Wilde and Sue Foley are some who in my mind could have been great fits. I understand Raitt and Wilde have shared the stage with Johnny Winter. Of course, there could be legitimate reasons for what on the surface does look a bit surprising.

Sources: Wikipedia; Rock & Blues Muse; Rolling Stone; Discogs; YouTube; Spotify

Sue Foley’s New Album Celebrates Texas Blues

If you frequently read my blog or know my music taste otherwise, this post probably won’t come as a big surprise. My latest Best of What’s New installment included Dallas Man, an excellent tune by Canadian blues veteran Sue Foley from her new album Pinky’s Blues. When the music is so great, there’s no way I wouldn’t check out the album. Well, that’s what I did, and I very much like what I heard.

Released on October 22, Pinky’s Blues is the 11th studio album by Foley who relocated to Austin, Texas in her early ’20s, drawn to the lone star state by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Freddie King. Now, after all these years, Foley decided to pay homage to some of the blues artists who were born in Texas or ended up there.

According to a news post on the website of Foley’s record label Stone Plain Records, Pinky’s Blues was recorded last year during COVID lockdown at Fire Station Studios in San Marcos, Texas. In addition to Foley (guitar, vocals), the album features Jon Penner (bass), Chris “Whipper” Layton (drums) and Mike Flanigin (organ) who also served as producer.

Seven of the 10 tracks are renditions of songs by artists like Lavelle White, Frankie Lee Sims, Lillie Mae Donley and Angela Strehli. While there’s no Stevie Ray Vaughan or Freddie King here, it’s still a compelling set of tunes Foley picked to cover. And there are three great original songs, including the aforementioned Dallas Man.

“What you’re hearing is live, off the floor, in the moment the music was played totally spontaneously and, mainly, improvised,” Foley explained. “And, we wanted to make something representative of the Texas blues that we had been schooled on in Austin. So, we picked great songs and I wrote a few of my own to round things out. Everything on it is a labor of love.”

Well, I’d say the time has come to sample some of the goodies! Let’s start with the title track, which also happens to be the opener. Pinky’s Blues, an instrumental written by Foley, refers to her pink paisley Fender Telecaster (called Pinkie) she’s played for decades. Check out that neat sound!

Since I recently covered Dallas Man, I’m skipping it here and go to Southern Men. Originally called Southern Women, the song was written by Leonard Allen and recorded by blues and R&B artist Tommy Brown in 1954.

Here’s Hurricane Girl, the third tune written by Foley. I just love how that song is shuffling along and could totally picture Stevie Ray Vaughan play it. This is so good!

Next up: Stop These Teardrops, a tune written by Lavelle White that appeared on her debut album Miss Lavelle from 1994. What a great rendition! If you’re curious, the compelling original is here.

The final track I’d like to call out is Boogie Real Low, another great cover. The song was written by electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims and titled She Likes to Boogie Really Low. Sims recorded it in 1958.

Further reflecting on her music journey, Foley said, “The fact that I have ended up back in Austin just seems right. My home is Canada and I definitely identify as a Canadian. But I had a yearning for this music and I can’t even put my finger on why or how. It got in my soul when I was a teenager. I guess I was open and I got imprinted by the sound and the force of blues music. I saw my first blues show at 15 and I swear I’ve never been the same.”

To support the release of her new album, Foley has embarked on a large tour of the U.S. and Canada. “After being home for so long, all I really want to do is turn up and play my guitar for as many folks as I can,” Foley said. “I can’t wait to get out on the road.” Her tour schedule is here.

Sources: Wikipedia; Stony Plain Records website; Sue Foley website; YouTube

Best of What’s New

Welcome to another look at newly released music. This week’s installment is a pretty international and multi-cultural affair. My selections include Syrian-American and Norwegian singer-songwriters, a Canadian blues guitarist and a new hard rock band from Sweden. Unless noted otherwise, all tracks are on albums that came out yesterday (October 22). Let’s get to it!

Bedouine/The Solitude

My first pick for this week is by Bedouine (née Azniv Korkejian), a Los Angeles-based Syrian-American musician. Korkejian whose family is Armenian was born in Aleppo, Syria and later moved with her family to Saudi Arabia where they lived until she was ten. After winning in a green card lottery, Korkejian and her family moved to the U.S. In 2017, Bedouine released her eponymous debut album. The Solitude, written by her, is the opener of Bedouine’s third and new album Waysides. I really dig her soothing voice.

Okay Kaya/If I Can Help Somebody

Okay Kaya (née Kaya Wilkins) is a Norwegian-American singer-songwriter and actress from New Jersey. According to her profile on Apple Music, Raised in Nesoddtangen, a village outside of Oslo, Wilkins grew up with a brother who played in black metal bands and a mother who whose record collection became the foundation of her musical education. Early on, she was more captivated by studying dance than making music, but that changed in her late teens, when she moved to New York to work as a model. Her first songs — which she wrote on a guitar she got when she was 13 — were musical diary entries that allowed her to explore her deepest thoughts with darkly witty lyrics and delicate acoustic melodies. Wilkins began releasing her music as Okay Kaya in 2015, when the label Hot Charity issued the singles “Damn, Gravity” and “Clenched Teeth.” Her debut album Both was released in June 2018. If I Can Help Somebody is a tune from The Incompatible Okay Kaya, her just released third album.

Sue Foley/Dallas Man

After two mellow tunes it’s time to step on the gas a bit with new music by Canadian blues guitarist and singer Sue Foley. Foley who was born in Ottawa learned to play guitar as a 13-year-old. After graduating from high school, she moved to Vancouver where she founded the Sue Foley Band. By 1989 when she was 21 years old, Foley was living in Austin, Texas. Three years later, her debut album Young Girl Blues appeared. Fast forward 19 years to Pinky’s Blues, Foley’s 16th and new album, which is named after her signature pink paisley Fender Telecaster. Here’s Dallas Man, a tune written by Foley. According to this review in Rock and Blues Muse, the song is an homage to blues guitarists who came from the Dallas area, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, T-Bone Walker and Freddie King. Love that groove!

Fans of the Dark/The Running Man

Let’s wrap up things with some melodic hard rock by Swedish band Fans of the Dark. According to this piece in Maximum Volume Music, the group was formed in the summer of 2020 by Freddie Allen (drums) and Alex Falk (lead vocals), who had known each each from high school in Stockholm. The band’s line-up also includes Oscar Bromvall (guitar) and Robert Majd (bass). In early August, Fans of the Dark released their debut single Escape from Hell, the first tune from their upcoming self-titled debut album that is scheduled for November 5. Here’s The Running Man, another song that appeared upfront on October 7. It was penned by Allen, the group’s main songwriter. Most of contemporary hard rock I’ve heard isn’t my cup of tea, but this tune is catchy and grabbed me. Also, check out this great and for a hard rock band unusual lead vocalist.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Rock and Muse Blues; Maximum Volume Music; YouTube