We’re keeping things focused on Chicago after our last post with a look at the latest collaboration from harmonica ace Bob Corritore, who, although he’s called Phoenix, Arizona, (where he owns and frequently plays at the legendary Rhythm Room blues club) his home since the early 1980s, originally hailed from and got his start in the Windy City before relocating to the warmer climate of the desert, and this time out teams with longtime Chicago bluesman Willie Buck (who moved to the big city from his birthplace of Mississippi before his 20th birthday). From his arrival in Chicago, Buck was strongly influenced by Muddy Waters, something you’ll notice immediately here on the stellar Oh Yeah! (VizzTone Records), not simply because of the two Waters songs that kick off the album, and/or backing by former Waters guitarist Bob Margolin on a majority of the tracks (including two of the three Waters covers), but because that’s so much a part of Buck’s overall style and sound, something we appreciate more with each new recording we hear from Buck, particularly with Muddy having been gone so long now.
An enthusiastic take on Waters’ “Oh Yeah” opens the album, featuring especially fiery vocals from Buck on the chorus. Some of that fire also carries over to the gritty “She’s Alright” that follows, the first number to feature Margolin on guitar, with other highlights such as the shuffling original “Went Home This Morning” and third Waters song “Baby Please Don’t Go” — with the gruff-vocaled Buck sounding a lot like a more uptempo version of David “Honeyboy” Edwards — also showing some great energy from the 88-year-old Buck, while the gritty, creeping closer “Let Me Find Out Your Name” is another track well worth checking out, featuring some fantastic guitar from Billy Flynn and Jimi “Primetime” Smith.
In addition to Margolin, Flynn and Smith sharing duties on guitar, Buck and Corritore are backed throughout most of the project (with the exception of “Went Home This Morning”, which finds Mojo Mark and Jon Atkinson on guitar, Troy Sandow on bass, and Brian Fahey on drums) by Bob Stroger on bass and Wes Starr on drums, with Anthony Geraci and Ben Levin taking turns on piano. With that lineup, you can rest assured there’s not a bad track in the bunch, so if you’re asking yourself if this is an album you need to add to your collection, the answer is a resounding “Oh Yeah!” (and “thank you” to Corritore for continuing to make these tracks from his from vault available for the rest of us to be able to hear!)