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MP3 Calvin B. Streets - He Ain't Done With Me Yet
14 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Rockin'' Blues, BLUES: Acoustic Blues
Details:
Calvin B. Streets is old school blues
During the 1960''s and 1970''s, Mr. Streets grew up amongst the angst, broken glass and sharp edges of the Brooklyn streets he was named after. And the first lesson he learned on those very streets was that life is all about sharp edges and broken glass, and you have to find a soft spot every now and again. It was no place for the faint of heart. This is evident by his angry, and at the same time sensitive and emotional, no holds barred style of rockin'' blues, as well as the artistry of the guitar that Mr. Streets embodies. The feelings of those sharp edges and broken glass, concrete and brick streets along with the hope and despair that is the mortar that binds is almost unparalleled in the blues genre.
His city influenced style of blues, mixed with equal parts of his childhood guitar heroes, makes his hybrid style recognizable.
His ability to write original blues and rag time tunes, as well as his flirting with jazz make him a truly unique American composer and interpreter of THE truly unique American Musical Art Form, and the seminal influence of all that came after, The Blues. And to this he is personally dedicated. As did Aaron Copeland''s symphonic masterpiece acknowledging the common man, so does Mr. Streets (being just one of them), in his own uniquely American style.
His composing ability didn''t really get to what you hear today until he met Deuce Dawtas and Junior Reed, Jr. at an after hours blues jam in New York City in 1973. These 2 musicians, with over 70 years of blues jamming'', rocking'', writing'' and touring'' experience between them, have allowed Calvin to write for and perform with musicians that could transform the music that he hears while he was writing to what you hold in your hands and will be listening to momentarily.
The jam at the end of "AIN''T SUPERSTITIOUS" shows this lyrical fluency. His tour de force, "STEP BACK", is an example of his mastery of writing and playing the slow blues. The slow blues separates the men from the boys, and there is no holding back on this one. "RIGHT TO THE CORE" pays homage to the king of the delta blues, Robert Johnson. "QUICK CHANGE", "I''M TORE DOWN" and "FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD" all salute Eric Clapton, Freddy King and Johnny Winter with solos (using his custom vintage Telecaster) that will not disappoint the most ardent blues fan! "CONEY ISLAND RHAPSODY" is a Ragtime tribute to CALVIN''S childhood in Brooklyn going to Coney Island to eat hot dogs and go on rides, the music that would be the backdrop and Mr. W.C. Handy. "RAGTIME FANTASY" is a song of forbidden love that can not be acted upon (you know who you are!), and the fantasy of "just one time just because", in the style of the old crooners from the 1920''s, ala Rudy Valle and his megaphone. Calvin''s solo acoustic guitar work (using his MARTIN OM-28V) on this album is truly impressive and original. The albums bonus track (track#14), "CHET''S THEME" is a tribute to the great jazz trumpet player, composer and singer of the 1950''s, Chet Baker, for whom the stereotypical term "cool jazz cat"( along with Count Basie, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie) was certainly coined. "JUST YOU AND ME" is a love song from the days when love was new and fresh and made your heart skip a beat. Can that still happen? "IT''S ALL ABOUT ME" is a Chicago Blues style tune that delivers over and over, and the title tells you all you need to know.
Calvin wrote 10 of the 14 tunes on this album. The legendary Spencer Davis, whose graciousness could never be repaid, co-wrote "BLUE OX BLUES" with Calvin and the writing session was, according to Calvin, both educational and humbling. He also covered 3 tunes that show his reverence for those who came before, with his own style and interpretive creativity. Calvin agreed to include "THE BALAD OF PAUL BUNYAN" to further show his stylistic, chameleon-like ability to write and play what''s good for the song in this country/back hills jug band style sing along song about the great mythical American folk hero, Paul Bunyan. You can just see them all around the camp fire after a long day of lumberjacking, sitting by the campfire and singing. Calvin will tell you again and again that "It''s all about the music".
Listen to "I WANNA HAVE A CHRISTMAS" and tell me what else there is to say.
The music-box-like melody and rhythmic sensitivity juxtaposed against the haunting and universally relatable lyrics is pure (blues) Calvin.
The rhythm section on this album is made of the best side men Calvin could find in local blues hot spots around Southern California. He asked one or two here and there if they wanted to be on his next album, and before he could finish, they couldn''t say yes fast enough. Just to work in the studio with Calvin, see him work, play and create is the payoff that I heard over and over again. But because he runs his sessions as he would like to be treated, his sessions are usually closed to all but those involved, sought after and exclusive.
Just as an alchemist mixes different elements to create what he hopes is gold, Calvin mixes different musicians until there is an explosion. "I''m Tore Down", "Further On Up The Road" and "It''s All About Me" are live (you can hear Calvin count off) first takes (but the sessions went until the wee hours!), each with a different mix of musicians. "Sometimes the raw energy and excitement of a first take is as good as it''s going to get".
From the days when I first heard Calvin play the clubs and corner parks of Brooklyn and Greenwich Village New York when he was barely 16, to his stint with Washboard Doc, Johnny Flash and Lucky Cab at the old soul age of 17, and his travels all around this great country playing in every gin soaked joint, dive and road house that would let him plug in,("I saw things I shouldn''t have seen, and did things I shouldn''t have done")the journey has lead to this. Calvin says the best blues players he ever heard were the hard working men and women that plugged in and played or sang the blues on a Thursday night when there were more people in the band then in the club, and that includes the bartender. The influence of these nameless, faceless people is both palatable and indelible.
And those very clubs, dives and local hangouts are where you will find The Blues Man, CALVIN B. STREETS, when he is not playing a blues festival, benefit for a charity or entertaining those who purposely put themselves in harms way around the world to protect our freedom.
Calvin only wanted to say one thing: "This album is dedicated to anyone who has ever had their heart ripped out of their chest and stomped on right in front of them, then picked it up and moved on!!"
So in the old school spirit that drives the rhythm of the blues, "Crank it up and listen to it till the grooves wear out and the carpet''s wore thin!"
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