Articles & Reviews

Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty

Tribute to Carey Bell with Special Guests

Delmark

Almost fifty years after iconic harpsman Carey Bell released Carey Bell’s Blues Harp, his debut album for Delmark, his four sons pay a recording tribute to their dad for the first time.  Lurrie Bell, on vocals and guitar, the elder statesman and best known of the four, leads his brother Steve on harmonica (John Primer Band), Tyson on bass (Shawn Holt), and the youngest, drummer and vocalist James.  Together with special guests Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch, Eddie Taylor Jr., and pianist Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi, they have dozen tunes, some written by Carey, others being staples in Carey’s live shows.

This is the eighth Delmark album for Grammy-nominated Lurrie Bell.  Recalling a conversation I had with Steve Bell last summer, Lurrie and John Primer are the only two Chicago guitarists playing traditional blues today. Expect nothing less here and, naturally, the harp is ever present in each selection too.  Keep in mind that Lurrie was old enough to have played on two of his dad’s albums – Carey’s Gettin’ Up and his own Delmark debut from 1977, now available as Heartaches and Pain.

Tunes appear from Carey’s contemporaries: Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, and three of his own. James wrote “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” and reveals a terrific vocal style, much different than his older brother Lurrie’s raspy style but just as soulful. Some already consider him the best vocalist to emerge from the Bell clan.  He also sings on “What My Momma Told Me” and “When I Get Drunk.” Come to think of it, his drumming is usually right in the pocket but often has unconventional patterns too.  As you listen to Steve Bell, you’ll note a striking similarity to his dad’s harmonica style.  Listen more closely. It’s a little edgier too.

Charlie Musselwhite is more a peer of Carey’s, as both men established themselves in Chicago in the ‘60s.  Charlie’s harp is featured on Little Walter’s “I Got to Go,” a staple in Carey’s live shows. Billy Branch takes the harp chair on Carey’s slow simmering “So Hard to Leave You Alone” and later sings and blows on a tune he wrote for the project, “Carey Bell Was a Friend of Mine,” where he and Steve perform intertwining imitations of Carey’s style.  Ariyoshi plays the role of Pinetop Perkins on the two Branch tunes and the closer, “When I Get Drunk.”

If you’re missing that traditional blues sound amidst so many blues-rock and other conventional trappings, this is your record.  This is REAL DEAL BLUES from certified players.  You can tell right away that the Bell genes have blues running through and through.

As a parting note, this is a huge year for Delmark, celebrating its 65^th anniversary.  Delmark has released on this same day, Tribute, newly recorded tunes by an array of current Delmark artists including the Bell Dynasty.  Both Carey and Lurrie made their debuts with Delmark. The concept of the album is having the living artists pay tribute to those originally on the Delmark roster –  a veritable who’s who of blues – Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Jimmy Dawkins, Big Time Sarah, Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, J.B. Hutto, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Bonnie Lee, and Roosevelt Sykes.  The 2018 Chicago Blues Festival will hold three days of special commemoration of the label, its founder Bob Koester, and Lurrie and Steve will be among the featured performers. Jim Hynes

BLUES X BLUES

DISCO DE LA SEMANA: LURRIE BELL & THE BELL DYNASTY, TRIBUTE TO CAREY BELL (2018)

Decía Carey Bell que sus hijos eran superdotados para la música, “cualquiera de ellos toca la armónica mejor que yo”. Dejando a un lado la pasión de padre por sus vástagos, está claro que si desde que eres un mocoso que apenas andas te rodeas del contexto musical de primera que siguió siempre a este icono de los años 50 del blues, no tienes muchas opciones. Carey Bell fue una referencia en el mundo del blues en años duros para el estilo y nexo de unión entre el blues más añejo y su salto al mainstream del los años 70-80. Pero lo suyo no fue un camino de rosas, hasta que pudo sacar su Blues Harp en Delmark records (disco que es homenajeado en éste por sus hijos) , sudó lo suyo tocando en las calles y siendo asalariado para las bandas de Waters y W. Dixon. Así, poco a poco, fue reconocido y junto a James Cotton conservó esa vitola de armonicista de la vieja escuela. Pero su manera de tocar la armónica trajo bastantes cambios tanto por los efectos innovadores en su amplificación como licks caracterísiticos que en este disco se encargan de imitar su hijo Steve Bell también a la armónica (Lurrie a la guitarra, James en la batería y Tyson al bajo)   y los ilustres invitados Charley Musselwhite y Billy Branch. En este homenaje brillan con fuerza los Bell, especialmente el consagrado Lurrie, del que ya damos justa información en cada joya que saca en estos últimos años. El tributo está grabado en Delmark Records, cuarenta años después del debut, además con la incursión guitarrística de otro heredero de aquel disco, Eddie Taylor Jr. Este disco tiene una energía increíble, la fuerza y el poderío de los hermanos en cada tema te deja sin aliento. Para mí, sin duda, la banda más poderosa que existe en materia de blues de la actualidad. Este año, la lista de los mejores discos de blues va a estar encabezada por este y , a continuación, a bastante distancia, el resto, que no es malo en lo que llevamos de año.