Earl Hooker & Junior Wells

"Messin' With The Kid" On Which Wells Comes On Like A Young Muddy Proved To Be A Great Success In The Clubs And Even Provoked A Response From Muddy Which He Typically Called "Messin' With The Man". The Rest Of The Session Produced Another Version Of "So Tired" And A Further Attempt To Emulate The Hit Formula Of "Little By Little". It Was Called "You Sure Look Good To Me" And Must Have Made Some Impression For It Turns Up Word-For-Word Three Years Later Masquerading As "Oo-Wee Baby" On The Chess "Folk Festival Of The Blues" Album. ” “ Mel London Had First Used Earl Hooker Early In 1960 On Lillian Offitt's "Will My Man Be Home Tonight". A Second Offitt Session Took Place In May At The End Of Which Hooker And Junior Wells Cut An Instrumental "Calling All Blues". Although At The Time It Was Released As By Elmore James This Slow Atmospheric Blues With Wells Evoking "Blue Midnight" At One Point Showed How Thoroughly Hooker Had Been Influenced By Robert Nighthawk And Set The Pattern For Two Other Numbers Also Featured Here. "Blue Guitar" And "These Cotton-Pickin' Blues' Are Each Based Upon Well-Known Tunes "Rock Me Baby" And Nighthawk's "Sweet Black Angel" Or Should That Be Tampa Red's? And Show How Dextrously He Could Combine Slide And Finger-Picking Techniques. Other Songs Also Masquerade Under New Titles "Rockin' With The Kid" Is Earl's Version Of Junior Wells' Hit "Messin' With The Kid" "Universal Rock" Is "Got My Mojo Working" In All But Name And "Blues In D Natural" Relies Strongly On "Every Day I Have The Blues".
1961 Brought Financial Difficulties For Mel London Though He Was Able To Release Some Ten Records Before Chief Was Forced To Close Down. Half Of These Were By Junior Wells And Came Principally From Two Last Sessions Which Mixed Straight Blues With London's More Speculative Compositions. Of These Latter "I Need Me A Car" Is The Least Successful An Essentially 'white' Song Prefaced By An Embarrassing Piece Of Hokum. "The Things I'd Do For You" Is An Improvement A Fast Shuffle That Shows London Was The Equal Of Willie Dixon When It Came To Stringing Cliches Together. "Love Me" Written In Collaboration With Wells Is A Follow-Up To "Messin' With The Kid" With Junior Once Again Sounding Like 'The Man'.
Wells' Own Contributions Are Both Fine Slow Blues "I'm A Stranger" Features Sensitive Interplay Between 'Big Moose' Walker Lafayette Leake And Earl Hooker The Remake Of "I Could Cry" Is In Similar Vein But Slightly Marred By A Balance Which Favours Some Heavy-Handed Organ From Walker. His Fats Domino-Inspired Piano Is Equally Prominent On "It Hurts Me Too" Which London Had The Brass Neck To Claim For Himself! - NEIL SLAVEN Personnel Junior Wells ........Harmonica Vocals Cover Design
Earl Hooker .........Guitar Performer Julien Beasley ..........Sax Alto Fred Below .........Drums Reggie Boyd .........Guitar Jackie Brenston .........Sax Baritone Willie Dixon ..........Bass Vocals Gary Gibson ...........Sax Tenor Lacy Gibson .........Guitar Donald Hankins ...........Sax Baritone Earnest Johnson ........Bass Syl Johnson ...........Guitar Casey Jones ...........Drums Lafayette Leake ...........Piano Mel London .............Vocals Eugene Lounge ................Drums Dave Myers ..............Guitar Jack Myers ...........Bass A.C. Reed .................Sax Tenor Otis Spann ............Piano Harold Tidwell ...............Drums Johnny Big Moose Walker ...............Organ Piano read less