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04 April 2004
Jimmy Rogers, His Best (Chess)
Jimmy Rogers shares a name with one of the greats of country-blues, the singing brakeman Jimmie Rodgers, but his musical legacy is far less impressive and his approach less memorable. That doesn't mean his music is not enjoyable, only that it's fairly workmanlike and straightforward blues, typical of the music that was being played by the displaced southerners making the rounds of Chicago. Listening to the recent release of His Best offers no surprises. The 22-song collection features his best work -- like the 1950 cuts "That's All Right" and "Ludella" -- and some lesser cuts -- like the Korean War lament "The World Is in a Tangle". The sound is fairly straightforward, urban-inflected blues, a sound that suits Rogers' understated vocal style and clean guitar. There are some slight similarities in style with Muddy Waters, with whom he got his start playing rhythm guitar, but they have more to do with sharing backing band members -- Little Walter, Big Crawford, Willie Dixon and Otis Spann are featured on various tracks. But the Mississippi-born guitarist, who branched out on his own for good in the mid-1950s, was not the explosive and expressive bluesman Waters was. His Best is a solid and enjoyable collection worth a listen. Just don?t expect groundbreaking work.
— Hank Kalet
.: posted by Editor 9:45 AM
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