The Ol' Blues Singer

by Al CampbellThroughout several decades of playing music, Lowell Fulson was never shy about embracing the changes, good or bad, that took place in pop music and apply them to his style of blues. By the time he recorded The Ol' Blues Singer in the mid-'70s he had already recorded several excellent soul-blues sides, similar to what Albert King was doing at the time for the Stax label. On this session Fulson rounded up some of the tightest soul musicians available at that time (including Steve Cropper on guitar and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums) and delivered a winning combination of gritty guitars, boogaloo beats, and the occasional punchy horn chart. While not as memorable as his late-'60s recordings on Kent Records, Fulson still sounded like he was having a ball. Recommended.