Disc of the day
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
Features Disc of the day
Bobby Charles
Bobby Charles
(Bearsville, 1972)
Lost Louisiana songsmith enlists The Band to create Cajun-roots masterpiece...
If you ask anyone to run through the list of superstars who made an appearance at The Last Waltz in 1976, the name Bobby Charles is highly unlikely to emerge. But listen to the recording of The Band’s last hurrah and you can hear Robbie Robertson step up the mic, determined to make sure everyone knows that a major talent, revered by every single one of the assembled musicians, is about to take the stage. “He’s a great, great songwriter,” enthuses the guitarist seemingly unsatisfied with the crowd’s response. “He wrote See Ya Later Alligator!” he then yelps, reemphasizing that the Louisiana native standing before them is truly worthy of their respect and cheers. With the likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Dr John and Muddy Waters all waiting in the wings that night, the phrase “great, great songwriter” may have temporarily lost some of its potency, but Bobby Charles deserved the title as much as the rest of them. By the early ‘70s, the former Robert Charles Guidry had penned at least two r&b standards (See Ya Later Alligator and I Don’t Know Why I Love You But I Do) but his solo debut – an album rooted in the slow-groove Cajun-country jams of the south – is his real triumph. Co-produced by Rick Danko and featuring contributions from the rest of The Band, Bobby Charles bridges the gap between the hillbilly, Appalachian sounds of the Catskill Mountains and the swinging, r&b of New Orleans, filling the gap between Music From Big Pink and Randy Newman’s Good Ole Boys. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking Newman had a hand in the likes of I Must Be In A Good Place Now and Let Yourself Go, such are the similarities between the two men’s vocal styles. It took me an eon to find this on CD, but don’t fret - Rhino reissued a very nicely priced version of the album earlier this month, so for those of you who don’t already own Bobby Charles, you now know what to do.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 20/08/2008
Further Listening
The Band - Cahoots (Capitol, 1971)
Link Wray - Link Wray (Polydor, 1971)
Dale Hawkins – LA, Memphis & Tyler, Texas (Bell, 1969)
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All right. I agree completaly. It's a wonderful album, in the likes of The Band. Songs like "Small Town Talk" or "I must be in a good place now" or "Tennessee Bues" are really extraordinary. I owned the edition of Castle in 1999 and expect with illusion the reissue of Rhino. Wow!
Posted by carneham at 8:18 PM GMT 22/08/2008 Report Abuse
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