Bad Whisky Blues

Releasing on all platforms Friday 17th January 2025.



         

NEW: Bad Whisky Blues now available on vinyl, made to order through elasticStage.com - full colour artwork with basic track info - audio quality highly commended - fast turnaround - click here and give it a try.

Please note: The CD version was withdrawn due to printing error. Sorry if you bought a copy - we're new at this! At least you have a collector's item - will try to do better.

Mick writes:

Here's a compilation of some favourite whisky flavoured blues from the last couple of years, plus a brand new version of Jimmy Rogers' 'You're The One'.

Bad Bad Whisky is a good start. Nice and raw, and a cautionary tale about trying to avoid the hard stuff..'started on Coca Cola - ended up on the juice'..

And a version of 'Help Me'. One of the songs most played by British blues bands I should think. And it's easy to jam.. just tell the rhythm section 'Green Onions'. (If they don't know it). I've often opened a set with a very quiet laid back version of this, where I felt that my normal full frontal assault would have scared the natives. However, here I've set it to a jaunty shuffle which rocks along happily. I think there are some good bits in it.

Killing Floor.. I had to think twice before embarking on this classic, but actually I think it worked out OK. There are so many connections.. mainly that we named our band Killing Floor after the song.. and then worked with Howlin' Wolf who didn't even remember our name right! And then I did a gig with Hubert Sumlin and tuned his guitar for him. He was standing around with a bunch of other musicians and pointing at me saying "Yeah - he knows! He knows!" All good.

Watch Your Step was very popular back in the early 60s beat group time.. I think I still have a version somewhere by Tony Jackson.. ex Searchers. The original, of course, by Bobby Parker, is a great cut. So I thought it was worth doing my own take on the song and I like it a lot.. features my little Epiphone Les Paul Junior which I bought for all of 99 UK Pounds - now that's a sensible price for a guitar.

We got to do a couple of shows with Jimmy Rogers, and I told him I had recorded a couple of his songs. He said 'I hope I'm getting paid' which was an extremely sensible response. (He was getting paid, but I doubt if it came to much). I have often played 'You're the one' on stage - I always liked to sit down for it and lock into the shuffle. There's a video somewhere of me jamming it to a bunch of Indian students in Mumbai, with Chris Sharley on bongos (I think) and Eddie Masters playing rhythm guitar. Good stuff. I had recorded it on the Steel and Fire album back in the 80s, but that was a kind of laid back swampy approach.

This sounds like it was recorded on a cassette player in the back of a car stuck in a snowdrift somewhere.. the lipstick pickups on the 63 Danelectro biting into the solos. It's a mess but I love it. This is how I like the song.. hard and urgent. You're the One.

Think It Over was a BB King song, unusual in that it was based around a riff. I put it out as a single a couple of months back. I actually took the track down and remixed it a bit for this release - sounds a bit better to my ears. Then again I've no idea how people listen to my music.. in cars.. on phones.. it's a strange world these days. And then again I'm half deaf anyway so God knows what it really sounds like!

I was a bit cheeky attempting Smokestack Lightnin'. But I gave it some welly and it came out OK.. even summoning up my best wolf howl. My wife said she didn't know I had it in me. Huh, and you think you know a person.

Anyway it rocks along and I like it. Wonder what ol' Wolf would have thought? We asked Freddie King once what Muddy Waters would say about our version of of one of his songs if he heard it. He leaned back and lowered his voice.. 'what them motherf...ers doin' to my song!' - followed by a gale of laughter. All good. Enjoy the music.