I Ain't Lyin'/Daniel/Sammy's Shuffle/Shorty/That's My Girl/Someday/Devil's Trail/When I Leave/Bad Luck Blues/Somebody's Fool/Hey Little Girl/California Blues/"I-Man" Stomp/Play Me For A Fool.
As trailed in B&R 105 in Doug Price and Paul Secor's ground-breaking interview with Sam Davis, Delmark were first off the blocks to sign a singer and harp player who had been almost just a name in discographies and on the back of a few classic vinyl reissue sets. Now, thankfully, Sam Davis is playing regularly and getting some success after too many years in obscurity.
Born in Winona, Mississippi in 1928, Davis cut his first records for Henry Stone's Rockin' label in Miami, in 1953, supported Earl Hooker for the same label, toured with Jimmy Liggins, hung around the South, headed for Chicago, then Poughkeepsie where he cut for Trix Records and finally dropped out of sight. He re-emerged back in 1988 when disc jockey Doug Price on WVKR asked if anyone knew of Sammy's whereabouts after playing some of his Rockin' sides from Don Kent's Mamlish album, "Home Again Blues".
Sam Davis cut these sides in June 1993 and November 1994, with a band called Midnight Slim, who at the time included ex-Little Charlie and the Nightcat's bassman, Brad Lee Sexton, who sadly passed on last year. Sexton was also responsible for a number of the arrangements here. Davis is in excellent form and plays some fine harp on the fourteen sides here, which includes some fine originals.
The title track set is a fine opener, a the hard driving track "Devils Trail" set the standard for the rest of the album. On the mellower tracks, Davis is sometimes reminiscent of his mentor Little Walter and on sides such as "Shuffle" he really swings. He is also extremely comfortable with jazzier numbers such as the haunting "Shorty".
Downhome sides including "That's My Girl", "Hey Little Girl" take us back to an earlier era and Sam also proves he can bring the blues right upto date on the smooth and soulful "When I Leave" and the funky "Bad Luck Blues". The "I-Man" referred to is Don Imus who has a syndicated radio talk-show in the US, called "Imus In The Morning", covering 70 cities and reaching, reputedly over 20 million listeners - Sam Davis and Midnight Slim had a spot on his show for awhile.
Midnight Slim provide excellent support, especially leader, Fred Scribner on guitar who excells on "California Blues", the whole thing is an excellent debut set by an artist with some fine original material and who should be checked out by festival bookers in Europe and the USA. How about Utrecht 1996?
Tony Burke