Published on Feb 26, 1998
The blues is not always a pretty form of music. It deals with
dirty dealings, betrayal, pain, and broken hearts – and it’s one of
the most enjoyable forms of music out there.
Paul Oscher knows about the blues, having been a member of Muddy
Waters’ band. He’s recently had his own share of hard luck, and has
pooled all of his pain into
The Deep Blues Of Paul Oscher, a gritty portrait of the
blues created away from the polish of the studio. It’s occasionally
tough to listen to, but is a worthwhile trip to take.
In one sense, listening to this album is a sad affair, as it
features some of the final performances of drummer S.P. Leary, who
recently passed away. It’s interesting to note that on all nine
tracks Leary appears on, he used brushes on the drums instead of
sticks. This adds a slightly more gentle touch to the percussion,
but also gives it a more raw sound.
A good portion of these tracks were recorded in a one-day
session to DAT as they were played; no 24-track recording, no fancy
mixing… just the blues, pure and sweaty. As a result, you can
hear some mistakes as the tunes were played – a missed beat here, a
slip on the skins there. While this adds a bit of humanity to the
music, some people might be a bit shocked by the lack of polish to
the music.
Oscher successfully mixes splashes of gospel (“Satan’s Woman”)
and just good-ol’ good times music (“Summer Jam”) into the mix, as
well as a touch of humor (“Traffic Problem”), and for the most
part, the performances here are very good. He proves himself to be
a capable piano and guitar player, though I would have liked to
hear more work on the harmonica; it seems to come to the forefront
only on “Money Makin’ Woman”.
A central theme throughout this album is relationship troubles
(which Oscher apparently had experienced just before entering the
studio). “Maxine” finds our hero pining for a love he has just lost
to another, while “Robin Lee” deals with an entirely different type
of loss. In a similar vein, “Forget About Your Used To Be” finds
Oscher trying to convince his new love to stop thinking about her
ex.
If there is anything which is frustrating about
The Deep Blues Of Paul Oscher, it is a difficult album to
listen to in one sitting. Whether this is the unpolished sound or
the often depressing themes I don’t know, but it took me a couple
of attempts to get through this one. But once you’ve listened to
the album a couple of times, it really begins to grow on you, and
its true beauty begins to shine forth. Problem is, many people
might not be willing to listen to an album five times to gain an
appreciation for it – too bad.
One thing that can’t be denied about this album is that, for a
good portion of the time, the music is very low-key and subdued.
Often you find yourself waiting for Oscher to really burst forth
and lead this band into a raucous jam session. If only this had
indeed happened; it would have been a lot of fun to listen to.
The Deep Blues Of Paul Oscher is a portrait of one of the
blues’s living legends who has been pushed aside for no good
reason. While this album is a good step forward in his expressing
his independence, he still needs a coat of paint or two to really
come into his own – and given the chance, he’ll successfully do
that.