Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
Encyclopedia
Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer recorded in and released on the Hyena label in 2001. The album features Ulmer covering fourteen blues standards recorded at Sun Studio
.
Sun Studio
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars and stated "some of the greasiest, knottiest, most surreal blues music ever... Memphis Blood is a fresh injection of blues truth... Ulmer delivers here, big time".Track listing
- "SpoonfulSpoonful"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton , itself related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan...
" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) - 2:58 - "I Want to Be Loved" (Dixon) - 3:15
- "Little Red RoosterLittle Red Rooster"Little Red Rooster" is a song that is a classic of the blues. Howlin' Wolf recorded "The Red Rooster" in 1961, a song credited to blues arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon, although earlier songs have been cited as inspiration...
" (Dixon) - 4:22 - "DimplesDimples (song)Dimples is a song written and recorded by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1956. Called a "genuine Hooker classic", it is one of his best known songs, with interpretations by several artists.-Original song:...
" (James BrackenJames BrackenJames C. Bracken was an African American songwriter and the co-founder and co-owner of Vee-Jay Records with his wife Vivian and her brother, Calvin Carter.-Life:...
, John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
) - 3:31 - "I Just Want to Make Love to YouI Just Want to Make Love to YouIn 1961, Etta James recorded the song for her debut album At Last!. Her rendition also served as the b-side to her hit "At Last." In 1996, Etta James' version became popular in the UK after featuring in a Diet Coke ad campaign. As a result, the single was re-released there...
" (Dixon) - 3:30 - "Evil" (Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
) - 2:50 - "Death LetterDeath Letter"Death Letter", also known as "Death Letter Blues", is the signature song of the Delta blues musician Son House. It is structured upon House's earlier recording "My Black Mama, Part 2" from 1930...
" (Son HouseSon HouseEddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
) - 9:41 - "Fattening Frogs for Snakes" (Willie Williamson) - 2:51
- "Money" (Hooker) - 3:34
- "I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" (Dixon) - 3:30
- "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" (Daylie Holmes, Marl H. Young) - 2:36
- "Double Trouble" (Otis RushOtis RushOtis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
) - 4:56 - "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" (Chester Burnett) - 8:25
- "Back Door ManBack Door Man"Back Door Man" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It was released by Chess Records as the B-side to Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle"...
" (Dixon) - 3:18- Recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee on April 10, 11 & 12, 2001
Personnel
- James Blood Ulmer - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Vernon ReidVernon ReidVernon Reid is an English-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader. Best known as the founder and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Living Colour, Reid was named #66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Critic Steve Huey writes, "[Reid's]...
- guitar - Charles Burnham - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Rick SteffRick SteffRick Steff is a Memphis musician who has recorded with bands such as Lucero, Cat Power, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and Hank Williams Jr.. Rick inherited his musical skills from his father, Dick Steff, a trumpet player who appeared on many songs with Elvis Presley...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, wurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer electric pianoWurlitzer 200A|250px|thumbThe Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and Tonawanda, New York...
, hammond B3 organ - David Barnes - harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
- Mark Peterson - bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
- Aubrey Dayle - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....