2007-12-05
Singer Nappy Brown has been around the R & B block several times in his long career. On this release he reprises some of his earlier hits like the rocking "Don’t Be Angry" (where he first launched the rolled l’s that became his trademark) the future Ray Charles hit, "Right Time", the gimmicky "That Man" and the jump blues scorcher "Bye Bye Baby" and also takes a crack at tracks more often associated with his contemporaries such as Big Joe Turner’s "Cherry Red" or the Willie Dixon penned, "Who". With a voice that belies his 78 years, Brown rips and roars his way through this set as if he were still the young lion that turned heads in the mid 1950’s. A good share of the credit goes to the swinging back-up band including Bob Margolin, Junior Watson and Sean Costello on guitar, Big Joe Maher on drums, Mookie Brill on bass, Jim Pugh on b-3 and the Mighty Lester horns. With a keen ear to the juxtaposition of swing and R & B that marked Brown’s seminal work, the band sounds as if it has just crawled out of a time capsule that left it unexposed to the harder edged rock sound that infuses so many modern blues recordings. Fun stuff. SMITTYThe opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.