Shirley Johnson – Killer Diller (2002)

2010-10-15T19:33:44Z

Shirley Johnson – Killer Diller (2002)


1.	Not for the Love of You
2.	Killer Diller          play
3.	Your Turn to Cry	
4.	Somebody Have Mercy	
5.	As the Years Go Passing By	
6.	No Deposit, No Return	
7.	Hard-Lovin' Mama	
8.	Blues Is All I've Got, The
9.	Little Wing	           play
10.	For You My Love
11.	Love Abuse	
12.	It Hurts Me Too
13.	Missed the Best Chance
14.	Saved

Personnel: 
Shirley Johnson (vocals); 
Roberta Thomas (vocals); 
John Primer, Johnny B. Moore, Maurice John Vaughn, Rockin' Johnny, Robert Ward (guitar); Hank Ford (tenor saxophone); 
Willie Henderson (baritone saxophone); 
Kenny Anderson (trumpet); 
Roosevelt Purifoy, Allen Batts (piano, organ); 
Baldhead Pete, Tim Austin (drums); 
Kelly Littleton (bass drum).

Just as a bluegrass festival might attract a country singer who's too country for country radio, Chicago's blues scene is a good place to hear classic soul singing in the '60s/'70s sense. For decades, soul has been an important part of the menu in many of the Windy City's blues clubs -- Chicago is full of talented blues singers who are also talented soul singers, and few of the city's blues clubs are going to reject someone simply because he/she doesn't stick to the 12-bar format 100 percent of the time. Soul, in fact, is an important part of what Shirley Johnson does on her first Delmark release, Killer Diller, which was recorded in 1996, 2000, and 2001. The gritty, big-voiced Chicago resident (originally from Norfolk, VA) offers plenty of Chicago-style electric blues on this CD, including "The Blues Is All I've Got" and Willie Dixon's "Killer Diller." But for Johnson, being blues-oriented doesn't mean being a blues purist, and she brings a healthy appreciation of classic, pre-urban contemporary R&B to "No Deposit, No Return" and Sam Cooke's "Somebody Have Mercy." Another highlight of the album is Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," which Johnson gives a somewhat Tina Turner-ish makeover. Johnson can also handle gospel, although she sticks to secular lyrics on Killer Diller (except for Leiber & Stoller's "Saved," which was a hit for LaVern Baker). No one will accuse Johnson of being an innovator; while Koko Taylor and Etta James were the leaders, Johnson is among the followers. But if Johnson is derivative, she's also expressive, highly enjoyable, and good at what she does. Anyone who has spent a lot of time listening to Taylor, James, and similar vocalists should have no problem getting into Killer Diller. ~ Alex Henderson

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Shirley Johnson - Blues Attack (2009)

2010-08-07T09:33:10Z

Shirley Johnson - Blues Attack (2009)


01. You're Reckless
02. Blues Attack
03. My Baby Played Me for a Fool
04. 634-5789
05. Just Like That
06. You Shouldn't Have Been There
07. I'm Going to Find Me a Lover
08. Felt So Good
09. Unchain My Heart
10. Selfish Kind of Gal
11. Take Your Foot Off My Back
12. Lost and Alone
13. Let It Rain
14. You Just Using Me

Personnel: 
Shirley Johnson (vocals); 
Luke Pytel (guitar); 
Hank Ford, Lawrence Fields (tenor saxophone); 
Willie Henderson (baritone saxophone); 
Kenny Anderson (trumpet); 
Cordell Teague (drums); 
Roberta Thomas (tambourine, background vocals).

Shirley Johnson can't be accused of lacking musical experience. The weekly artist in residence in Chicago's Blue Chicago club for the last seventeen years, she brings all of that to bear here in a program which exudes the kind of authority only experience can instill.

She covers bases too. The title track is notable for its funk content as much as anything that falls within the blues, but it doesn't seem to matter as she has the kind of voice that's capable of handling a range of material. She never strives for effect, even in the heat, and her work is all the more telling because of it. Luke Pytel's guitar solo is, by comparison, overwrought; but then, this is the singer's show.

Pytel's downright stately on the slow tempo of "You Shouldn't Have Been There," which is just as he should be. Johnson reads the unapologetic lyric well, making more of it than a lesser interpreter of song might. The band burns on a low flame too, making for an overall performance that's nuanced and deep.

"Felt So Good" offers more of the same dynamically, but Johnson manages to tease something out of a lyric which covers the abiding theme of the mistreating man, albeit from a relatively fresh angle. In his tenor sax solo Lawrence Fields straddles the divide between uptown and down-home, in so doing enhancing an overall performance rich in detail.

"Selfish Kind Of Gal" is bright and sassy for all the right reasons. It's evident here that Johnson doesn't do declamatory even when she's reading a lyric that would do it justice. Instead she's a singer not a screamer, and in dealing with such profoundly secular joys as she does here, it's clear, too, that she doesn't need salvation, if only for a moment.

"Take Your Foot Off My Back" ups the funk quota again, but there's never any doubt that Johnson can handle it. She alters her phrasing accordingly and she's more than comfortable with the switch. Again the lyrical theme is nothing new and in essence she doesn't bring anything new to it. What she does do, however, is more than enough, with her very lack of histrionics throwing light not only on the lyric but also the quality of her voice, about which there's no doubt.

"Lost And Alone" is the sort of thing that Otis Redding might have handled. With Johnson it's in good hands, as she again proves what an effective reader she is, taking the lyric like a woman who relishes every word. ---Nic Jones, allaboutjazz.com

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