Re: [Harp-L] Is Junior Wells over-rated?

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 4, 2013, at 11:04 AM, The Iceman wrote:

> sometimes the blues man's impact is more than just what he plays...it is his lifestyle and life long commitment as well as his body of influential song writing.



Bingo.... 

Sometimes, it takes someone entirely outside of blues to give a perspective that is not biased. Inasmuch as I am Italian/Polish, basically big city, and lived 8 of my first 18 years over seas, I may (or may not) look at things differently than most. 

Blues can loosely be divided into 4 general areas of origin. #1. Delta blues. Take a compass, open it to 250 miles, place the point in New Orleans and draw a half circle around the bottom of the U.S. Color this green. #2. Heartland blues. Do the same with the point in Memphis. Color this yellow. #3. Chicago blues. Open the compass to 500 miles this time and make the 3/4 circle in the top of the U.S. (be sure to stay out of Canada..giggle). Color this orange. #4. West Coastie blues. Open the compass to 750 miles this time, place the point in San Fran. and make your half circle. Color this red. 

I had seen Jr. a few times and he always batted 1000. No, he wasn't the flashiest. He didn't send out a lot of quarks, quasars, nieu mesons and other ultra high speed particles of Chernobyl neuclear material. But he WAS authentic. He was definitely Heartland blues. His timing was impeccable and he did something few others could (or would) do. He left spaces. Instead of bombarding you with overloads of notes and causing your brain to fry, he gave your ears a break. Sometimes his playing was sparse, but Jr. wasn't just a harp player. He was an entire package. Yes, his voice was fine. He did sound a bit like James Brown. And his main aura was that he could DELIVER a tune. And do it in convincing fashion. On stage he looked like he belonged. Looked comfortable. 

Too many harp players nowadays overdo it. They're either too busy or trying too hard to impress. What they don't get is that playing from the heart will trump technique. Jr. was a bit sloppy on his hits and runs, but THIS is exactly what they style IS. It's a more primitive form. Based on the original Delta style. You DON't want to play too cleanly. You play in a style that is actually ACHIEVABLE to other aspiring harp players. Some of the worst stuff I ever heard Jr. do was when he was touring Europe. The band was English. And although they were stunning musicians, they lacked that certain something. They were too clean..too precise..too NON 'hash'. The reaching INTO the chords was missing. The 'soggy bottom' sound wasn't there.   

So was Jr. over rated? Hmm, I would think that to be over (or under) rated, one would have to be rated in the first place. I never liked ratings. The entertainment industry is fraught with people whom are constantly telling you what you should like, what you should buy, whom you should go see, what tickets you need to get, what this and what that. The west coast dictates the music scene. One out of nine citizens live there and the place is overloaded with amazing musicians. They managed to push bee-bop into re-bop, into hard-bop. And their blues?  

 Me? I always considered Jr a second tier player. Someone you would call if the first couple players on your list were unavailable. But if you wanted someone who could hold everyone's attention, Jr. was your guy. Frankly I would rather listen to him than most. Um, I better rephrase. I would rather SEE him perform. 

smo-joe