Swinging From The Rafters

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Total Tracks: 14   Total Length: 56:59

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John Morthland

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John Morthland has been writing about music since the days of electronically rechanneled stereo and duophonic sound. His name has darkened the mastheads of Roll...more »

07.27.11
Keeping the party hoppin' dusk 'til dawn
2009 | Label: Alligator Records

You don’t look to Hunter for profundities. Having earned his stripes playing the anything-goes border town of Juarez, he returned to action in the ’90s a master of the kind of blues that keeps the party hoppin’ dusk ’til dawn. The shuffling beat fills the dance floor while his single-note guitar solos sear and sting, the horns punch it out and philosophical vocals provide the winks. “Walking Catfish” is some kind of signature song, while “In the Country” offers a change of pace.

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Texas Guitar

By John Morthland, eMusic Contributor

Postwar, electric blues guitar in Texas all derives from T-Bone Walker, says conventional wisdom, and when you hear a great stylist like Pee Wee Crayton soloing in that jazzy, single-string tradition, it seems like an immutable law. But there were Texas guitarists who weren't influenced by Walker, and most who were brought enough of their own thing to T-Bone's to keep it interesting. Even today, the tradition not only lives on, but continues to evolve.… more »

They Say All Music Guide

Long John’s second album for the Alligator imprint is even more potent than his first, Texas Border Legend. This time around, Hunter’s sly, drawling vocals and stinging clusters of guitar are well to the fore, keeping the spotlight firmly in place on this Texas guitar legend. The record was cut in Austin and Abilene, Texas, and as such boasts Lone Star talent like Derek O’Brien, who plays rhythm guitar on this disc and solos on “I Don’t Care” and “V-8 Ford.” Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff blows saxophone on eight tunes and harmonica on “Locksmith Man.” For his part, Hunter contributes 10 of the 14 tunes, co-writing with various members of his Walking Catfish Band or his co-producers, Tary Owens and John Foose. Long John’s no-holds-barred approach literally screams Texas blues, letting you know you’re listening to an originator, not an imitator. – Cub Koda

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