Junior Wells will always be thought of being one of the greatest harmonica players of the post war age, replacing Little Walter in Muddy Waters’ band when he was just 18 in 1952. He was releasing material under his own name by the following year, but it wasn’t until 1965 that he released an album, ‘Hoodoo Man Blues’. This 33-track double CD/double vinyl set brings together many early singles and comes packaged with full liner notes from music critic and historian Dave Thompson as well as full personnel listings. Sadly, I only have the digital version, but given that it contains classics such as “Hoodoo Man,” “Lovey Dovey Lovey One,” and of course “Messin’ With The Kid”, that’s just fine with me.

When it comes to the blues my two favourite periods are pre-war acoustic, and post-war electric (up to about the mid-Sixties), and this album definitely falls firmly in the latter. There is the drive from the bass and drums combined with the staccato strident guitar (Wells of course recorded a lot with Buddy Guy), while in Wells we have not only a great harmonica player but a genuine singer. Many of the bands leader of the day were there primarily for their musical skills, with vocals a poor second, but Wells had a wonderfully melodic tone and had plenty of songs where he did not even play the harmonica but let the guitar take the lead. Just listen to the emotion on “I Could Cry”, and one can feel his love of the blues to his very core.

This set is incredibly varied, with different line-ups and styles from gospel and soul through to some rock, all firmly played with the blues at its heart. To have this set being made available alongside full details of who played on what along with context, is something all lovers of classic blues need to dig out. For those who prefer their music fully digital this is also available on Bandcamp!

Rating: 8/10

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Links:
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https://cleorecs.com/