Re: Eddie Clearwater and Eddie Burks concert

[James Berriman <james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Eddie Burks shambled on and sang a song about a woman who was mean because she
>wouldn't cook his meals or wash his clothes. He sang very well and often
>without using the microphone, which the audience loved. 
>
>And can he play the harmonica? Well, can he play the harmonica? I am not so
>sure. I am not a great harmonica player, but a lot of the time he plays about
>as badly as me. At one point he gave the band the wrong key when playing the
>chromatic and they were feeling about for the right one. He played short and
>amateurish solos, with odd notes that I tried to persuade myself were way-out
>bluesy noises, but they were similar to the noises I often make by mistake. 
>There were Eddie Burks compact discs for sale and I almost bought one out of
>curiosity, to see if he plays better on disc. Tell me I'm wrong, somebody.

IMHO, you're right. I've seen similar comments on blues-l.

I saw Eddie Burks at the Great British R&B festival at Colne last year, with a 
harp playing friend (We went to see the Mighty Flyers, who raised the roof with 
a stunning show). Eddie's harp playing was simply embarrassing. He managed to 
get the instrument upside down on one occasion, though I suppose he can be 
forgiven for that <g>.

He had definite stage presence, and prowled the stage in an impressive enough 
fashion, but there was little shape to the songs (I'd like to think that this 
was because he was touring without his own band). The backup was provided by Big 
Joe Louis, who did a brief warmup and has a good harp player in his band (sorry, 
I forget the name!). The contrast in harp playing skills was clear.

Eddie would do well to get some tight arrangements together and let someone else 
take the harp solos. I hope that the studio stuff stands up better. I haven't 
heard the album, but I have seen some positive reviews.
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James Berriman                     School of Design and Ceramics
james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx        Staffordshire University