# CD review: Magic Slim & John Primer – Slow Blues – 2024: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2024/05/30/cd-review-magic-slim-john-primer-slow-blues-2024-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2024-05-30T00:02:49+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**The sparks are going to fly when two members of the Blues Hall of Fame join together
in sharing their love of the music. **

This collection from Wolf Records is taken from the numerous releases that Magic
Slim (Morris Holt) and John Primer did for the label, totaling at least 12 albums
by each under their own name. The 13 years that Primer spent as a member of Slim’s
backing band, the Teardrops, may very well have been the high point of Slim’s legacy.

As the title states, listeners are treated to 16 tracks of late-night, raw unadulterated
blues with plenty of feeling, magnified by the slower pace that both guitarists 
excelled at, particularly in light of the many nights and early mornings they spent
together plying their craft in bars and clubs around the world. The format is simple.
The playlist alternates as Slim and Primer have equal opportunity to share the spotlight.

The first disc digs in right away with Slim’s rough-hewn vocal and taut guitar licks
making “You Put It On Me” a classic example of the Magic Slim style, with his brother
Nick Holt on bass and Earl Howell on drums. Primer follows that with a forlorn tale
on “1839 Blues,” his life a mess of woman troubles. Stanley Banks on piano does 
his best to soften his friend’s worried mind. Primer switches to slide guitar for
a moving rendition of Muddy Waters’ “Country Boy,” his sorrowful vocal answered 
by some fine harmonica blowing from Billy Branch. Not to be outdone, Slim is at 
his best on the chilling “So Easy To Love You,” his measured vocal supported by 
the outstanding interplay between the two guitar masters.

Another highlight of the first disc occurs on “Bad Avenue,” a staple of Slim’s live
shows. The band takes it’s time, setting an unhurried pace that Slim utilizes perfectly,
showing the softer side of his playing. “I Wonder Who (Who’s Gonna Be Your Sweet
Man)” is from a live show in Vienna in 1994, with Primer backed by Nick Holt and
Howell, sounding right at home on another one from the Muddy Waters songbook.

Slim turns in another classic on “Just To Be With You,” an unreleased performance
from 1998 with Jake Dawson helping out on guitar. The longest track on the disc,
it amply illustrates Slim’s mastery of the slow blues format as a vocalist and guitarist.

Primer was honored last year with his induction into the Blues Hall Of Fame, recognition
Magic Slim received posthumously in 2017. Continuing to be a torch-bearer for the
traditional electric Chicago blues style he learned from Slim and as a member of
Muddy Waters’ band, Primer’s considerable skills were fully formed in 1993 when 
he lead a group through a mid-tempo take on “She’s Too Much,” with Detroit Junior
on piano and Steve Bell on harp. “When I Met My Baby” finds Slim slowing the pace
way down, wringing razor-sharp notes from his guitar to ease the pain from life 
with a no-good woman.

Not to be outdone, Primer digs into the Otis Rush classic, “Double Trouble,” sharing
his anguish through his guitar with a stunning opening soliloquy that rides Nick
Holt’s deep bass lines. His original song, “I’m A Bluesman,” is another performance
seeing the light of day for the first time, recorded live in 1995 in Austria. Primer
once again shows off his prowess on slide guitar. The final track under his leadership
features the rarely heard Bill Lupkin on harp on a well-played cover of “Take The
Bitter With The Sweet”.

The track listing in the CD booklet states that Slim’s searing version of his original,“
Don’t Dog Me,” was recorded in Vienna in 2020 which, if correct, make the cut a 
miracle of the highest order since Magic Slim passed away in 2013. But there is 
no mistaking his familiar “I ain’t lyin’” interjection nor another dose of a guitar
tone that cuts to the core. He finishes off the second disc with Roy Brown’s “Hard
Luck Blues,” which certainly serves as a fitting summation of all that has transpired,
with Slim eloquently verbalizing the plight of a man down to his last dime, no friends
to count on, no place to rest his weary head.

While the thought of wading through over 100 minutes of slow blues might seem to
be a stretch for some blues lovers, one listen will remind you that Magic Slim was
a master of the music, time after time making you feel the ravages of love gone 
bad. John Primer’s tracks help remind us about how good he has been throughout his
career.

Together, they gift us with a package that honors the real music, unadorned and 
elemental. It is simple, not always pretty, but guaranteed to burrow deep in your
soul.

![Slow Blues - Album by Magic Slim & John Primer - Apple Music](https://i0.wp.com/
is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music116/v4/ba/af/81/baaf816b-88d7-89c6-5a19-3a1039fd63d3/
799582010728_cover.jpg/1200x1200bf-60.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

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