Bill Rhodes
& Alan Hager
RUNNIN' & RAMBLIN'
Burnside - 0030
available from Burnside
also on amazon
This is the old time acoustic blues played unaugmented by all the electricity that is running round now days. Blues stripped down to the bare basics, not plugged-in in any form, just a couple ( on 2 tracks add a third person) of guys sitting around playing for the love of playing this music. They put down some good versions of some old tunes and sure do play on this most aptly named disc. It starts off moving with Walter Jacobs' I JUST KEEP LOVING HER, and it hardly quits after that. There is a weak song or two that seem to kind of drift without direction, but for the rest it is right on track, and movin' down the track. Most of the tunes are covers, but they for the most part blend the 3 songs Alan wrote and the 2 by Bill Rhodes right in with the older and more traditional blues cuts without creating a noticeable seam. There is nothing here that is startling and going to knock you off your pins, it is good solid playing and they do a fine job on the vocals on most of the cuts. They do a very delicate job of injecting a lot of inflection and feeling on the Hudson Whittaker cut, LOVE HER WITH A FEELING, that gives some new and interesting feeling to the song. Their instruments reflect the discriminating touch they give to the vocals. They do a more than persuasive job on the old Bukka White standard, SHAKE 'EM ON DOWN. It is a tune that has been done and done, but their version of it combines the good strong vocal interpretation by joining the 2 voices in harmony, with their solid playing. This is the recording of 2 friends showing their love for the blues.
Songs, times, and writers -
JUST KEEP LOVING HER - 2:34 - Walter Jacobs
WORRY BLUES - 3:05 - Tom Dickson
ELEVATOR WOMAN - 4:24 - John Lee Williamson
I'LL SHOW YOU HOW - 4:22 - Alan Hager
BLUE COLLAR WORKER - 3:32 - W. L. Rhoades
RUNNIN' & RAMBLIN' - 4:05 - Alan Hager
JOHN HENRY - 2:17 - Traditional
LORD, OH LORD BLUES- 3:08 - John Lee Williamson
LOVE HER WITH A FEELING - 3:12 - Hudson Whittaker
THE SWEEPER - 2:41 - W. L. Rhoades
SHAKE EN ON DOWN - 3:12 - Bukka White
BLITZ THUNDER RAG - 2:46 - Alan Hager
DRUNK - 3:05 - Jimmy Liggins
SEE THAT MY GRACE IS KEPT CLEAN - 5:36 - Lemon Jefferson/Furry Lewis
Players -
Bill Rhoades - harp & vocals
Alan Hager - guitar & vocals
Terry Robb - guitar ( tracks 9 & 11)
Produced by - Terry Robb