Album: Leaving Here Walking
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1996
Styles: Blues
Time: 65:29
Size: 150,7 MB
Art: Full
(7:45) 1. Leaving Here Walking
(3:36) 2. Twelve Year Old Boy
(4:37) 3. Miss Annie Lou
(3:08) 4. Whiskey Headed Woman
(7:11) 5. One Room Country Shack
(3:51) 6. Shake Your Boogie
(5:15) 7. Better Know What You're Doing
(4:24) 8. Rollin' and Tumblin'
(2:48) 9. Gypsy Woman
(4:25) 10. How Many Times
(5:45) 11. Mean Mistreating Mama
(4:04) 12. Notoriety Woman
(5:13) 13. Talk to Me
(3:21) 14. Catfish Blues
Jimmy Burns has his roots in the Mississippi Delta (he was raised on a cotton plantation where he learned to play a one string instrument) and in Chicago from the age of 12. As a teenager he joined The Medallionaires, a vocal group who recorded a couple of doo-wop tracks. In the 1960's Jimmy Burns recorded a string of R&B/soul singles for USA, Tip Top Records and Minit. His music was no stranger to radio airplay and jukeboxes, but he never received a quarter of a nickel! Through the 1970s Jimmy continued to get out in Chicago and sit in whenever he could at clubs. It was during this time he was inspired to delve back into his blues background. Jimmy perfected an appeallingly melodic, vocal-inflected comtemporary blues guitar style to complement the down home picking he'd learned in his youth. He wrote songs that rapped more deeply into his blues roots. Family obligations kept him from a professional music career, but he never stopped playing and performing. In the mid 1980s he joined forces with guitarist Glen Davis and worked the North side blues club circuit for a while. In the mid 1990s Jimmy Burns hooked up with Rockin' Johnny, an exiting young guitar player. Delmark's Bob Koester offered them a record deal after hearing a live set in the Smokedaddy Barbecue.
At age 56 Burns finally recorded his debut cd. He embodies that increasingly rare combination of blues roots deep enough to tap into 'the real thing', while still possessing the youth and vitality to present his music with plenty of life and real excitement. He honed his vocal skills singing with vocal groups in the '50s, and over the years has perfected an appeallingly melodic, vocal-inflected guitar style to complement the down-home picking he'd learned in his youth. In the studio Jimmy and his regular band played off one another with a musical empathy that comes only from countless nights of proving themselves on the bandstand. With Leaving Here Walking, Jimmy pays tribute to his earliest musicla inspirations, revisits the era of classic R&B, and presents well-crafted originals covering all the facets of his long and varied life in music. After it's release in 1999, it was chosen as Blues Album of the Year by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors and what a fine effort it is. Firmly rooted in traditional blues, Burns treats us to 14 mostly original tunes that feature some nice guitar work and infectious vocals.
Leaving Here Walking
Leaving Here Walking artwork
Album: Night Time Again
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1999
Styles: Blues
Time: 63:12
Size: 145,5 MB
Art: Full
(5:06) 1. No Consideration
(4:29) 2. You Say You Need Lovin'
(4:12) 3. Spend Some Time with Me
(2:47) 4. Baby Don't Do It
(6:16) 5. Shake for Me
(4:20) 6. Wait a Minute
(4:20) 7. Hard Road
(3:09) 8. Too Much Living
(4:55) 9. Don't Be Late
(5:30) 10. Hard Woman to Please
(4:51) 11. Monkey Time
(5:34) 12. Here It Is Night Time Again
(4:43) 13. Why You Wanna Start a Fight?
(2:54) 14. 1959 Revisited: A Tribute
Burns second cd is as good as his award winning debut, with Burns presenting the complete package of commercially appealing, blues-faithful tunes, mostly self-written. His guitar playing is economical but not sparse, tinged with excitable phrases but never over the top, the perfect cool, burning balance. Burns also has a fine band, with veteran keyboardist Allen Batts, bassist Sho Komiya, and drummer Kenny Smith (from Rockin' Johnny's band) and second guitarist Michael Dotson, whose taste and supportive nature is the perfect foil for the leader. Of these 14 cuts, three are some pretty convincing soul-blues à la Robert Cray, the best being "Spend Some Time with Me," including an outstanding piano solo by Batts. The easy rocker kicking off the CD, "No Consideration," has Burns at his emotional edge, frustrated by his woman, a great modern blues song. "Shake for Me" and "You Say You Need Lovin'" are crackling, and fiery horns accentuate "Baby Don't Do It" and "Too Much Loving." A quieter heat is prevalent during the shuffle "Hard Road" and the 12-bar guitar instrumental workout "Don't Be Late." Burns changes up the program for the Major Lance hit "Monkey Time," and "1959 Revisited," a doo wop tribute with multi-part vocal harmonies and minimal guitar. This is a bluesman who has a style all his own, free of clichés and influences, with a controlled feeling for the blues that bubbles over when called upon. He could be the premier blues exponent of today, one who the public better be paying close attention to.
Night Time Again
Night Time Again artwork