Like
John Lee Hooker,
Memphis Slim was very much a label-hopper -- from the '40s to the '80s, it was safe to assume that the singer/pianist wouldn't stay at one label for too long. In the '50s,
Slim did some of his best work for
United, a Chicago-based indie whose catalog has since been acquired by
Delmark (another Windy City label).
Slim's
United period of 1952-1954 is the focus of
The Come Back, a 20-track collection that
Delmark assembled in 2002. This is a
blues CD that has both
jazz and
rock appeal.
Slim, like
Jimmy Witherspoon and
T-Bone Walker, was always a very
jazz-influenced bluesman -- his love of
jazz comes through on vocal gems like
"Call Before You Go Home" and
"5 O'Clock Blues" as well as free-spirited, improvisation-minded instrumentals that include a previously unreleased performance of
Arnett Cobb's
"Smooth Sailin'." The
jazz influence gave
Slim's band a certain amount of urban sophistication, but not at the expense of grit -- being sophisticated and gritty at same time was never a problem for
Slim. The House Rocker who does the most to give
The Come Back some
rock appeal is
Matt "Guitar" Murphy, a tough, rugged electric guitarist who was never afraid to sweat. These 1952-1954 recordings came just before the
rock & roll revolution, and
Murphy was the sort of bluesman who helped pave the way for that revolution -- you can be sure that many of the
British Invasion rockers who emerged in the '60s were well aware of
Murphy's high-volume guitar. Collectors will be thrilled to learn that
The Come Back contains 11 previously unreleased tracks, but even those who aren't hardcore collectors will find that this CD paints an exciting picture of
Slim's two years at
United. ~ Alex Henderson
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