Junior Wells - Calling All Blues (2000)

He was one bad dude, strutting across the stage like a harp-toting
gangster, mesmerizing the crowd with his tough-guy antics and
rib-sticking Chicago blues attack. Amazingly, Junior Wells kept at
precisely this sort of thing for over 40 years; he was an active
performer from the dawn of the '50s until his death in the late
'90s.

Born in Memphis, Wells learned his earliest harp licks from another
future legend, Little Junior Parker, before he came to Chicago at
age 12. In 1950, the teenager passed an impromptu audition for
guitarists Louis and David Myers at a house party on the South Side,
and the Deuces were born. When drummer Fred Below came aboard, they
changed their name to the Aces.

Following his recorded debut as a leader for States Records, Wells
signed with Mel London, producing a number of sides for the
producer's Chief and Profile imprints. Perhaps best-known for his
spectacular harmonica playing, this period, documented on Calling
All Blues, saw Wells emerging as an outstanding vocalist as well. A
consummate performer with a firm grasp of the range of emotions the
music can produce, Wells wrings every drop of feeling out of the
lyrics.

The singer growls, shouts, howls, moans across these 24 tracks
including two versions of his great "I Could Cry" and other classics
like "Little By Little," "Cha-Cha-Cha in Blue," and "Lovey Dovey
Lovey One." While it has a great deal of overlap with the
collections from Paula Records, Calling All Blues remains a fine
introduction with no glaring omissions. The bulk of the compositions
come from three sources: his employer, London; the "poet of the
blues," Willie Dixon; and Wells himself. While the recording quality
may be shaky at times, it's to be expected and in fact only adds to
the feeling of authenticity emanating from the music.

It's like stepping inside a hot, sweaty room for a forbidden peek at
a late-night jam session. Wells and company imbue the material with
such intensity, it can almost be overwhelming at times. For the most
part, the singer leaves his harp alone, but the handful of harmonica
moments are memorable. On the instrumental title track, he lays into
his instrument, battling for space amongst piercing guitar and piano
leads. Only when the music is tempered by the more popular forms of
rock & roll and R&B on songs like "I'll Get You Too," "One Day
(Every Goodbye Ain't Gone)," and "I Need a Car" does it begin to
lose its potency.

Leading up to the sessions that produced Wells' classic 1966 album
Hoodoo Man Blues, this is electric blues at its fiery best.