JAMES `SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON THE 3RD` HARMAN TOOK BLUES HARP TO THE NEXT LEVEL

https://youtu.be/NuOAJzcN7sw?si=STPCL1xEAvBbwcLe

Lately I would have to admit I have got a bit bogged down writing about obscure middle of the road rock music instead of the kind that really takes my fancy - American blues. 

Now that I have added my name to the title of this blog, and hopefully get a bigger Google generated audience (wont hold my breath yet on comments - laugh), I feel like I want to get back to the real purpose of why I started this blog in the first place this time 12 months ago. 

And that is to write more about obscure unknown music rather than obscure forgotten music, which I have been inclined to do in recent times, as well as writing about all kinds of other shit. (laugh)

One style of the blues which I haven`t paid too much attention to on Lost Treasures is blues harmonica, I am a massive fan of two white blues harp players, Charlie Musslewhite and a guy by the name of Norton Buffalo, both very popular in the US but hardly known outside of. 

Take a listen to Norton blowing an electric harp and if you like blues harp you would have to be blown away. The guy is really amazing.

I am not a muso so I honestly don't know who plays an A harp and who plays an E harp ect, but what I do know is that these guys are the Eddie Van Halen of harmonica, they have the tone. 

In the league of black harp players, the 20th century was littered with so many great performances, too many to name, especially if you consider that the genre of Chicago blues is in fact half built on the sound afforded by this most humblest of instruments. 

Two who come to mind in my book are Sonny Boy Williamson the 1st and the blind genius Sonny Terry. There happens to be two different black harp players who went by the name of Sonny Boy Williamson, and much conjecture surrounds who was the better one. 

From what i have heard, No. 1 was more traditional and less adventurous, but a
lot more original. 

Sonny Boy No. 2 played in a lot less structured style and I dare say produced the more heavyweight sound, but was a copycat, and not just because he stole the name of his Chicago post war namesake. 

He also ripped off many other harp players who were big in Chicago back in the 40`s and early part of the 50`s. 

Obviously Sonny No. 2 had to wait until Sonny No. 1 was dead before he could trade under that name. One disciple of the style that Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 was responsible for refining to perfection over the course of many years, disregarding his plageurism of other artists, is a very underated white man by the name of James Harman, who has cut a string of adventurous and at times unique sounding blues albums since around the start of
the 80`s. 

I wont go through all of them tonight, but one which really takes my fancy is the concept blues album of his from 1998 called TAKIN' CHANCES. 

There is really no other album which sounds like it, it could be described as jazz influenced avant garde harmonica fired blues.

At least on some of the songs anyway. It is
basically a supergroup album, so I ask you
to spare me listing all the players who did
back Harman up to record the album, but
one who deserves a mention is the guitarist who plays on some of the tracks, David
`Kid` Ramos. 

He really was or is meant to be a hard rocker, he went on to be a member of a soft metal group, but he put in a blinder of a performance here in a blues disguise. 

My favourite tracks are in the middle of the album, FROLICTIME, with it`s New Orleans street party atmosphere, and especially worthy of note is the absolute epic jazz piano playing of Thomas A. Mahon on this track.

CRAPSHOOT is monumentally dense with the best loopy bass riff imaginable, propelled by the controlled mastery of Harman`s harp,

OLD MAN EYES is a slowed down vocal only corker with just guitarist Robert Eason backing up Harman, who played a total of three different harps in the intro before ripping into one brilliant and very soulful vocal, telling a story of how the world is through the eyes of someone who is old and wise and should know better. 

My absolute favourite on here - LUCKY DOG. It really pumps like LED ZEPPELIN, like FROLICTIME this song brings the eccentricities of James Harmen to life, it is a twin guitar masterpiece featuring Buddy Reed and Robbie Eason. 

If you can find a song that is as lowdown and funky as this in the world of blues I would like you to let me know, it makes heavy metal sound like crap really.