Published on Apr 12, 1997
What would make an artist so special that someone would found a
record label to record them?
Back in 1971, transplanted Chicagoan (and, from the few times he
and I talked, a real nice guy) Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator
Records to record a little three-piece blues band, Hound Dog Taylor
& The Houserockers. And for that, fans of the genre should be
lining up to shake his hand. Taylor’s devil-may-care style of
playing and his band’s looseness is what made them popular, even
past Taylor’s death in 1975.
Released on CD for the first time a few years ago, The
Houserockers’s debut album still captures the magic that Iglauer
heard in the band in small blues clubs on the South Side.
At first listen, one senses something is different with this
band. And, sure enough, there is something “missing” – a bass
player! The “bass” lines were played by second guitarist Brewer
Phillips (who also proves himself to be a competent lead player on
two tracks).Drummer Ted Harvey eschews the traditional hi-hat to
pound out his rhythms on ride cymbal. And in the middle of it all,
there is Taylor playing a mean slide guitar (and even pounding out
a few simple leads) and having a good time singing.
Cuts like “It’s Alright” and “Give Me Back My Wig” are not your
typical blues numbers (whatever typical is with this genre) – these
are genuinely fun to listen to, as are some of the numerous
instrumentals on
Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers. “Walking The
Ceiling” is an exercise in musicianship, though one wishes Taylor
had gotten a little more creative with his leads. (Trivia time:
what famous blues guitarist was once Taylor’s roadie? Answer:
George Thorogood, who pays tribute to Taylor on his
Live album.)
Both guitarists take their turns sharing the lead work on this
album – Phillips shines on “Phillip’s Theme” and “44 Blues”, while
Taylor shows wanna-bes the right way to play a mean slide guitar on
“Taylor’s Rock”. The band even manages to cover a blues classic
with “It Hurts Me Too.”
What is amazing about this band was the way they were able to
capture their unique sound through rather simple instruments. While
some “musicians” can barely operate their thousand-dollar Les Paul,
Taylor played a no-name guitar and was able to wring the notes out
of it.
The scary thing to realize is that had Iglauer not invested in
this recording, we probably would have lost The Houserockers’s
music to the ages. What is even scarier is that every day, this
exact same thing is happening to dozens of blues artists who don’t
deserve such a fate.