Time: 61:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1998
Styles: Jump Blues, Boogie, Blues Rock
Art: Full
01. Saturday Night (4:18)
02. Tonight The House (3:27)
03. 12 Bar Victim (3:34)
04. Soul On Fire (4:44)
05. Not My Own (4:15)
06. Slow Down (3:54)
07. Ring That Buzzer (3:56)
08. John Lee (4:14)
09. Treat Me Right (So Mean) (3:51)
10. What A Shame (4:59)
11. Told The Truth (4:13)
12. Remember The Face (3:52)
13. Bellhop Boogie (3:26)
14. Damned Good Lie (3:57)
15. Down The Road Apiece (4:21)
Greazy, sleazy, paint-peeling, wall-shaking, Jump/Swing/Blues/Rock & vintage R'n'B. Think Johnny Winter meets Roomful Of Blues.Features former 'Count Bishops' singer Dave Tice, as well as slide guitarist John Russell. It absolutely rocks! ~Drum Media, 23 March 1999
If the rule has to be that you can't play the blues until you've lived them then the lineup on this album bears witness that there are white guys can play the blues with as much gusto and invention as any player the Americans care to throw at us. Ostensibly a vehicle for slide guitarist John Russell, who first surfaced in the early 70s with a band called Flake, Sippin' & A Slidin' is as much a showcase for another 70's survivor, singer Dave Tice who fronted Buffalo back then and the Count Bishops in the UK at the end of that decade, as well as respected piano man about town Don Hopkins. In fact, the first two tracks also showcase the songwriting talents of the guy in whose studio the album was recorded, Jeff Cripps obviously well acquainted with what makes a blues swing, on the brass-propelled Saturday Night, or rock, on the similarly brass-laden Tonight The House.
And like all good blues records, there are all the colours of the blues here, from the straightahead boogie blues of Russell's 12 Bar Victim, replete with Tice in gloriously growling voice and tasteful harp from Ron King, to the raw harmonies and honkey-tonk blues of Not My Own. That rawness adds the necessary authenticity that is so often lacking in 90s takes of the blues, whether local or international, living as it is in the shadow of the oh so smooth Stevie Ray Vaughn, so often copied but never captured.
And that rawness recalls the Australian heritage of blues that spurred these guys on in the first place. They may have got into the blues with the Rolling Stones (rebelling against the "squeaky clean" Beatles), here represented by a kick-arse cover of What A Shame, and discovered the originals behind the Stones, here acknowledged with Russell's tribute to John Lee, but these guys ultimately got into the blues as it worked for them, right here in Australia, with an Australian guitar sound and edge that eventually the rest of the world discovered through the likes of AC/DC. Russell has that edge still, nearly 30 years on from his halcyon days with Flake, and now he's got the life experience to thumb his nose at the sceptics. Just check out his subtle dobro playing on Ring That Buzzer or the gin-soaked slide solo in Damned Good Lie and ask yourself why Russell isn't up there with Dave Hole touring the States on an American label. Then again, where have you been these past 20 years John Russell? ~Michael Smith
Their first album features Dave Tice and Don Hopkins.
When Simon Gray started Full Moon Records, his first mission was to get John Russell into the studio as soon as possible. To be able to entice a few of his favourites to work with JR was a bonus. He'd always loved the vocals of Dave Tice in bands like the UK based Count Bishops, Buffalo and more recently Headhunters. Donnie Hopkins on piano and vocals deserves a heritage listing.
If the rule has to be that you can't play the blues until you've lived them then the lineup on this album bears witness that there are white guys can play the blues with as much gusto and invention as any player the Americans care to throw at us. Ostensibly a vehicle for slide guitarist John Russell, who first surfaced in the early 70s with a band called Flake, Sippin' & A Slidin' is as much a showcase for another 70's survivor, singer Dave Tice who fronted Buffalo back then and the Count Bishops in the UK at the end of that decade, as well as respected piano man about town Don Hopkins. In fact, the first two tracks also showcase the songwriting talents of the guy in whose studio the album was recorded, Jeff Cripps obviously well acquainted with what makes a blues swing, on the brass-propelled Saturday Night, or rock, on the similarly brass-laden Tonight The House.
And like all good blues records, there are all the colours of the blues here, from the straightahead boogie blues of Russell's 12 Bar Victim, replete with Tice in gloriously growling voice and tasteful harp from Ron King, to the raw harmonies and honkey-tonk blues of Not My Own. That rawness adds the necessary authenticity that is so often lacking in 90s takes of the blues, whether local or international, living as it is in the shadow of the oh so smooth Stevie Ray Vaughn, so often copied but never captured.
And that rawness recalls the Australian heritage of blues that spurred these guys on in the first place. They may have got into the blues with the Rolling Stones (rebelling against the "squeaky clean" Beatles), here represented by a kick-arse cover of What A Shame, and discovered the originals behind the Stones, here acknowledged with Russell's tribute to John Lee, but these guys ultimately got into the blues as it worked for them, right here in Australia, with an Australian guitar sound and edge that eventually the rest of the world discovered through the likes of AC/DC. Russell has that edge still, nearly 30 years on from his halcyon days with Flake, and now he's got the life experience to thumb his nose at the sceptics. Just check out his subtle dobro playing on Ring That Buzzer or the gin-soaked slide solo in Damned Good Lie and ask yourself why Russell isn't up there with Dave Hole touring the States on an American label. Then again, where have you been these past 20 years John Russell? ~Michael Smith
Their first album features Dave Tice and Don Hopkins.
When Simon Gray started Full Moon Records, his first mission was to get John Russell into the studio as soon as possible. To be able to entice a few of his favourites to work with JR was a bonus. He'd always loved the vocals of Dave Tice in bands like the UK based Count Bishops, Buffalo and more recently Headhunters. Donnie Hopkins on piano and vocals deserves a heritage listing.
Sippin' & A Slidin'