About Them Shoes

by Joe ViglioneHubert Sumlin's About Them Shoes is a refreshingly pure blues recording which comes at a time when others are distorting the genre with various "contemporary" elements. The songs are from the repertoire of Muddy Waters -- seven tunes written by Waters (McKinley Morganfield), four by Willie Dixon, one from Carl C. Wright, and a beauty by Sumlin to close things out. Dixon's "I'm Ready" starts things off with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and vocals, the drums of Levon Helm, and Paul Oscher's oozing harmonica filling in nicely with David Maxwell's piano. It's bouncy and shows a side of Clapton not often present on his own albums. Sumlin's lead is tasty, giving way to Oscher's equally gritty wail. Waters' own "Still a Fool" has Keith Richards on lead vocals and sharing the guitar chores with Sumlin. It's got that Rolling Stones-ish ragged edge that producer Rob Fraboni knows so well; Fraboni's guiding hand never gets in the way of the musical process that flows across the CD. James Cotton's harp comes in to spice up "She's Into Something," which features percussionist George Recile on lead vocals and Helm back on the skins. Helm plays drums on eight of the 13 tracks, Recile on four, with the final number, Hubert Sumlin's only original, "Little Girl, This Is the End," closing the set without percussion. "Little Girl" features a charming interplay between Keith Richards and Sumlin's guitars, while Paul Nowinski adds a full-bottom bass to round things out. It's Sumlin's only... Read More...