Eddie Boyd - Live In Switzerland 1968 (1995) [CD Rip]

This album was recorded in 1968 in Switzerland at two different venues. Tracks 1-5 are previously unreleased and tracks 6-17 were released on the Storyville label as "Eddie Boyd-Live". Boyd found Europe to his liking and moved there in the '60s, and this set has his first solo performances except for one previous track on the Sonet label. The sound is actually pretty good with a slight flatness to the sound--no doubt from the live recording techniques of the period. The booklet has an informative essay on Boyd and his music. This is somewhere between 3 and 4 "stars" but I 'm biased so I lean toward 4 "stars"--to each his own.

Boyd has a natural swing in his vocals and in his piano style. This set is a good example of authentic Chicago style piano blues. Many of these tunes are in a medium/up tempo shuffle mode with Boyd's vocals out front. He's best know for his song , "Five Long Years", which has become a blues classic, along with a couple of other tunes which are also here.

I first heard Boyd when he played with Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac way back in the late '60s. Once I heard his voice and his piano I was hooked. He recorded a couple of albums with Green, and a number of other English blues musicians that are well worth hearing. But his strongest work was done in the '50s-'60s for several labels in the Chicago area. Many of these sides have just been reissued ("Eddie Boyd Blue Monday Blues") and is a treasure chest of Chicago piano-based blues.

But on this set Boyd is all alone and sings many of his own compositions which highlight his lyrics and arranging skills. "Five Long Years" is here as is "Early In The Morning", "Third Degree", and other fine examples of his writing/playing/singing skills. If you've heard his late '60s work with Green you have some idea of how good a performer he is. And here all alone with his piano, there's no real low points--he knows the blues and how to communicate it to an audience.

Boyd never got the acclaim he should have during his hey-day except for his singles. And when the late '60s British blues era was popular he never really came to the attention of blues fans then either. and that's too bad. Boyd was a prime example of Chicago piano blues. His rolling, easy piano style and his knowing. pleading vocals, along with his song writing skills make him an unsung giant among Chicago blues piano performers. Sadly this review will reach only a few blues fans, but hopefully someone will hear Boyd and wonder how they missed hearing him until now. ~Stuart Jefferson