eMusic Review 0
Arnold, a Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson acolyte who began his own career in Bo Diddley's band as a teenager, was the first Chicago blues star actually born in Chicago rather than the South. His on-again-off-again career has kept his vast talents from being fully discovered. He doesn't seem to have lost a step on this, the second of his two '90s comeback albums for Alligator. Billy Boy alternates between blowing wailing, vibrato-laden extended solos and crisp, punchy outbursts on harp, while his insinuating vocals remain sly and suggestive, full of nuance and fully convincing. The material includes remakes from his '50s glory days on Vee Jay such as "I Wish You Would" (which the Yardbirds popularized), the one-two punch of the emphatic "Mama's Bitter Seed" and the stomping "Man of Considerable Taste" and an epic revival of "Loving Mother for You," hilarious raunch (known under several different names) that he's also recorded before. With Bob Margolin and James Wheeler paired off on guitars, this is a contemporary blues album with distinct and tenacious roots.
