Lil’ Jimmy Reed with Ben Levin – Back To Baton Rouge
NOLA Blue Records – 2023
www.liljimmyreed.com
10 tracks; 36 minutes
The story of how a young Leon Atkins filled in for a drunk Jimmy Reed is well known, the young man acquiring the moniker ‘Lil’ Jimmy Reed’ as a result. Although he was a fine imitator of Reed, it took a long while for Lil’ Jimmy to record, partly because he spent two decades in the army. Since his debut recording in 1996 he has released two further studio and one live album and has traveled extensively playing the blues, notably in Europe, but is perhaps less well known in his native country; this disc may change that as Jimmy pairs up with rising star of the blues piano Ben Levin who produced the album. Recorded in Ben’s home town of Cincinnati, the band is Ben on piano, his father Aron on second guitar, Walter Cash Jr on bass and either Ricky Nye or Shorty Starr on drums; Lil’ Jimmy plays lead guitar, harmonica and handles the vocals. The material includes three songs from the Jimmy Reed catalogue, covers of Joe Liggins and Slim Harpo and five originals from combinations of Lil’ Jimmy and the Levins.
We start with THE Jimmy Reed and “Down In Virginia”, always a good song to cover. Jimmy’s laid-back vocals and high-pitched harp are spot on and Ben’s piano sounds good before Jimmy takes a short but sweet solo. The slow blues “They Call Me Lil’ Jimmy” is autobiographical, going back to that memorable evening in 1958 that shaped his professional life, before a tongue-twisting shuffle from the Levins entitled “Wish You Wouldn’t” which provides a good vehicle for Ben’s piano stylings. Jimmy pays tribute to the place where he is recording with “Cincinnati’s The Place To Be”, featuring some nice exchanges between the two guitarists and then takes us “Back To Baton Rouge”, a slower tune with hints of Fats Domino in the piano work, to which Jimmy responds with a nicely poised guitar solo.
Jimmy Liggins’ “In The Wee Wee Hours” rocks along, notably through Ben’s insistent piano before the last original, “Engine Light”, a mid-paced tale of a car breaking down. Two more from the Jimmy Reed catalogue follow: “I’m The Man Down There” is classic JR, albeit probably written to copy Elmore James’ “One Way Out”, Jimmy again featuring his harp; less familiar is “A String To Your Heart”, a slower tune with plenty of opportunity for Ben to impress on the piano and more of that wheezy harp, so typical of JR. The last track is “Mailbox Blues” from Slim Harpo, another son of Baton Rouge and a good finish to the album as everyone gets a feature on a catchy tune.
This disc combines the talents of a veteran performer with those of a young man at the start of what may well be a stellar career. It should appeal to those who enjoy well played, traditional blues.
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