There are some days when everything seems to go just right, and it was one of those days when LIGHTNIN' SLIM'S CD came through the letterbox and landed on the mat.
Lightnin’ Slim was born Otis V. Hicks in 1913 and is widely regarded as one of the top bluesmen from the 1950s. He got off to a late start, not making it on to record until he was forty one years old. However, from that time until his early death in 1974 he gave us twenty years of classic blues – in fact The Cramps even covered ‘It’s Mighty Crazy’ on their ‘Blues Fix’ E.P. back in 1992, so it’s great that those nice chaps at Alive Natural Sound Records have decided to release this late period masterpiece.
‘High & Low Down’ originally dates from 1971, and this reissue is packaged as the original vinyl, complete with the original introductory sleeve notes by B.B. King and Swamp Dogg. B.B. King said about this album that it “merits all the qualities that a great artist and a hit album should have”.
I tend to second B.B's emotion as this is a lovely guitar blues album, augmented by keys and horns. Slim has one of the best gruff blues shouts in the business, probably second only to John Lee Hooker.
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There are ten tracks on the album, featuring a mix of Slim’s originals and some well chosen covers such as ‘Things I Used To Do’ by Chuck Berry and a couple of Willie Dixon-penned numbers such as ‘My Babe’ (which was a big success for Little Walter back in 1955) and also ‘Crazy ‘Bout You Baby’ which was recorded by Howlin’ Wolf.
In all honesty, there are few words that can really do justice to an album this good. ‘High & Low Down’ is a classic example of early 1970s Louisiana blues and Stax horns; there isn’t a duff track on the album and there’s no filler either. Each track is a perfect blues, and albums like this are rare.
This is an extremely welcome reissue and should go far to putting Lightnin’ Slim back where he belongs, around the top of the blues tree. Buy this album and you won’t be disappointed. Hopefully there will be more reissues on the way. This one, certainly, is one not to be missed!
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