Album Reviews

What can these two tow headed little brothers pictured on the cover know about Big Bill Broonzy? Obviously plenty as you'll hear on this inspired collaboration—the Alvin brothers' first together in almost thirty years.

And what do you know about Big Bill Broonzy? If you're a big fan of the blues, plenty no doubt. But even if you're not, with a few bars of the opener "All By Myself" you'll say to yourself "Ry Cooder!" but of course it's BBB who Ry was channeling. And Eric Clapton when he covered "Key to the Highway".

Dave and Phil Alvin founded The Blasters in Southern California back in 1979 and both have been blues brothers since they were blues boys. Phil said in an NPR interview recently that Big Bill Broonzy was such a major influence on his career that he "became Little Bill Broonzy".

What makes Broonzy's music still so attractive, accessible and influential is the mix of rural country, folk and urban blues. He passed away in 1958 but not before experiencing the beginnings of the folk music revival that peaked in the mid-sixties.

His success was hardly instant but in 1939 he was well received at Carnegie Hall after filling in for the recently deceased Robert Johnson in a John Hammond produced review . After WW II he became a star in both the United States and Europe. Broonzy's acoustic guitar playing was inspirational for British folk-blues players like John Reborn and Bert Jansch.

This rousing set by the Alvin Brothers featuring a dozen Broonzy tunes is filled with great singing by Phil who sounds as if he's stepped out of the 1940's but with authentic not at all affected mannerisms and slashing guitar work by Dave who modernized the sound while also reflecting the roots. In other words there are hints of The Blasters here too. They are having a 'blast' and so will you. As a traveling set in the car this can't be beat but it's equally good at home.

Who else plays on the record? Who's drumming? Who knows? Where was this recorded and by whom? How was this recorded? There's no annotation of any kind, which is ridiculous. There's plenty of real estate on the gatefold but there's zero annotation, though the cover and gatefold photographs are well-reproduced.

So how's the sound? It's okay. Not great and not terrible. Clearly a budget production. Thankfully Phil's lead vocals, closely miked, are well-recorded with very little added reverb. The drums are particularly poorly recorded. The cymbals are lifeless, which is typical for a modern 'perfect' digital recording. If this isn't the ProTools "signature" drum sound, I'd like to know what repeatedly produces it. The snare has some life but the entire kit sits isolated in the "phantom" center channel in an airless chamber. At least there are dynamics and processing is limited but the overall sound lacks transparency. Instrumental attack is decent, thank goodness, because sogginess wouldn't suit the jumpy rhythms. It sort of sounds like a 40's recording so perhaps that was the intent. If so, mission accomplished. That's being snide. I think it's more a matter of keeping costs down by minimally producing the record. The mikes were placed, the sound set in audio stone and the record recorded, with track to track uniformity.

The vinyl was anonymously mastered and pressed at I think GZ. It's nicely pressed on quiet vinyl but the process is clear: the files were electronically sent overseas and lacquers anonymously cut. For that reason the vinyl brings nothing special to the sonic table (unlike the recent Dylan releases). The CD included in the jacket produces greater dynamics and deeper bass, neither of which is the actual "cost" of vinyl production but rather the result of producing "product" instead of something better.

So, I have to write that this is more of a "fashion statement" than something you need to have on vinyl, though with the CD costing $15.99 and the vinyl+CD costing $22.99, you're really paying $7.00 for the record so why not make a fashion statement? Or just buy the MP3 version for $9.99 because as you know from reading the internet trolls "not even experts can hear the difference between MP3 and a CD."