Leírás
Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk,
Limited edition bakelit lemez LP kiadvány, 2023-as album.
Aremarkable collection of soul, r&b and blues originals and classics from the former vocalist of the legendary funk/soul group The Meters. All the leaves might be brown and the sky gray, but fortunately Willie West is still a man. This relentless underdog of the New Orleans soul history known for his work with The Meters and Allen Toussaint has been laying low in the northern parts of the US for a while now. Lately he has emerged with new raw sound, which fuses very distinctly personal lyricism with heavy minor key grooves provided by the guys at Timmion Records.
While arriving to Finland for the first time in 2014 to perform on account of his latest album Lost Soul, Willie couldn’t help laying down a few lyrics at Timmion studios in Helsinki’s Kaapelitehdas. The session produced a fresh new track I’m Still A Man, which continues on the same slow, dark and melodic path, which he paved with The High Society Brothers in 2009 with The Devil Gives Me Everything.
From the first desolate guitar licks on Willie starts to lure the listener into his damp and heavy-aired space, like only the few masters brewed in the southern climate can. There’s not many of Willie’s breed still around and who knows how long his dark wail will bless us with gems like this.
Millard Leon (a/k/a Willie) West: was born in Raceland, LA, near the city where his music career got off the ground–New Orleans. West, while never widely known outside soul aficionado circles, did produce a string of classic 45s on numerous labels in the ’60s & early ’70s, including Rustone, Deesu, Chess, Josie, Warner Bros. and Frisco. He recorded with seminal NOLA figures like Allen Toussaint and was backed by The Meters on the soundtrack to the film Black Samson. West, a flamboyant vocalist, was also an unofficial touring member of the Meters in the late 1970’s until they broke up in 1980 and was also a part of the loose congregation of the Uptown Rulers. A regular performer at the tourist-packed bars on Bourbon Street for 20 years, West did not get a full album length recording out until 1999 when his debut CD From West With Love, was released with help from Bobby Love. Carl Marshall produced the follow up When Love Ain’t There in 2000. His most recent CD, When You Tie The Knot, came out in 2002. He also has an unauthorized collection available entitled Soul Masters that includes older tracks recorded with the Meters.
YouTube video:
„I Got The Blues” (official): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mL0SUc_xZc
„After the Storm” (audio promo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTlriC7y7mo
Hivatalos csatorna: https://www.youtube.com/@williebluesmanwest/videos
Felvételek:
LP :
1. I Got The Blues
2. Somebody Have Mercy
3. Said To Myself
4. You Send Me
5. Summertime
6. Got To Cut You Loose
7. Got To Get You Off My Mind
8. People Get Ready
9. Dust My Broom
10. Talk To Me, Talk To Me
11. That’s Where It’s As
12. Blues In The Night .
(Barcode: 0798576143992)
