About Them Shoes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2005 | |||
Genre | Blues | |||
Label | Tone-Cool | |||
Producer | Rob Fraboni, Ben Elliott | |||
Hubert Sumlin chronology | ||||
|
About Them Shoes is an album by the American musician Hubert Sumlin, released in 2005. [1] [2] It was delayed for four years due to litigation. [3] According to Sumlin, the album title was inspired by something Levon Helm said in the studio; on other occasions, he attributed the saying to his father. [4] [5]
The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart. [6] Sumlin supported it with a North American tour. [7] About Them Shoes was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Album". [8] It won a Blues Music Award for best "Traditional Blues Album". [9]
About Them Shoes was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ben Elliott. [10] Seven of the album's songs are associated with Muddy Waters, four with Howlin' Wolf; Sumlin was taught a few of the Waters songs by Otis Spann. [11] [12] Sumlin played lead guitar on all of the tracks. [13] David Johansen sang on the cover of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing". [14] Blondie Chaplin sang on "Look What You've Done". [15] Helm played drums on eight tracks. [15] Keith Richards, who helped plan the album and chose to lean on the Waters songbook, sang on "Still a Fool". [16] Eric Clapton sang and played guitar on " I'm Ready". [17] Sumlin sang on the closing track, the acoustic "This Is the End, Little Girl"; Richards played bass. [18] Michael "Mudcat" Ward played bass on most of the tracks. [19] Paul Oscher played harmonica. [20] Waters band alumni James Cotton and Bob Margolin also contributed. [12]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Detroit Free Press | [7] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [21] |
The Nelson Mail | B+ [22] |
Orlando Sentinel | [14] |
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [23] |
Philadelphia Daily News | B [24] |
The Post and Courier | A [25] |
USA Today | [26] |
The Lincoln Journal Star praised "Sumlin's spare but emotional guitar work," writing that he goes "for a laid-back groove rather than overheated flash." [27] The Detroit Free Press determined that, "though an obvious labor of love for all involved, it remains Sumlin's show throughout." [7] The Washington Post said that, "playing finger-style electric guitar, [Sumlin] laces these tracks with a peculiar assortment of rubbery note bends, skittish triplets, stinging slides and vibrato-ringing tones." [20] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "the result is surprisingly unflashy and elegantly simple, as everybody plays his role and defers to Sumlin." [28]
The Christian Science Monitor noted that Sumlin "seems to be having the rollicking good time of his long and prolific career on this disc." [29] The Independent concluded that About Them Shoes will "put you in mind of Johnny Winter's last-gasp repointing of Muddy in the late '70s... No bad thing." [30] The Post and Courier stated that, "even in his later years, Sumlin can still make his guitar scream and growl." [25] The Boston Globe opined that "the overall results are more archival than incendiary, but if you like old-school electric blues, this will be a familiar tonic." [17]
AllMusic wrote: "About Them Shoes could have taken the marquee talent and gone for a glitzy platform to bring Hubert Sumlin into the mainstream. Instead, they dive headfirst into what this music is all about, and in doing so have come up with a mini-masterpiece." [15]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | " I'm Ready" | |
2. | "Still a Fool" | |
3. | "She's into Something" | |
4. | "Iodine in My Coffee" | |
5. | "Look What You've Done" | |
6. | "Come Home Baby" | |
7. | " Evil" | |
8. | "Long Distance Call" | |
9. | "The Same Thing" | |
10. | "Don't Go No Farther" | |
11. | "I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" | |
12. | "Walkin' Thru the Park" | |
13. | "This Is the End, Little Girl" |
About Them Shoes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2005 | |||
Genre | Blues | |||
Label | Tone-Cool | |||
Producer | Rob Fraboni, Ben Elliott | |||
Hubert Sumlin chronology | ||||
|
About Them Shoes is an album by the American musician Hubert Sumlin, released in 2005. [1] [2] It was delayed for four years due to litigation. [3] According to Sumlin, the album title was inspired by something Levon Helm said in the studio; on other occasions, he attributed the saying to his father. [4] [5]
The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart. [6] Sumlin supported it with a North American tour. [7] About Them Shoes was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Album". [8] It won a Blues Music Award for best "Traditional Blues Album". [9]
About Them Shoes was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ben Elliott. [10] Seven of the album's songs are associated with Muddy Waters, four with Howlin' Wolf; Sumlin was taught a few of the Waters songs by Otis Spann. [11] [12] Sumlin played lead guitar on all of the tracks. [13] David Johansen sang on the cover of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing". [14] Blondie Chaplin sang on "Look What You've Done". [15] Helm played drums on eight tracks. [15] Keith Richards, who helped plan the album and chose to lean on the Waters songbook, sang on "Still a Fool". [16] Eric Clapton sang and played guitar on " I'm Ready". [17] Sumlin sang on the closing track, the acoustic "This Is the End, Little Girl"; Richards played bass. [18] Michael "Mudcat" Ward played bass on most of the tracks. [19] Paul Oscher played harmonica. [20] Waters band alumni James Cotton and Bob Margolin also contributed. [12]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Detroit Free Press | [7] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [21] |
The Nelson Mail | B+ [22] |
Orlando Sentinel | [14] |
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [23] |
Philadelphia Daily News | B [24] |
The Post and Courier | A [25] |
USA Today | [26] |
The Lincoln Journal Star praised "Sumlin's spare but emotional guitar work," writing that he goes "for a laid-back groove rather than overheated flash." [27] The Detroit Free Press determined that, "though an obvious labor of love for all involved, it remains Sumlin's show throughout." [7] The Washington Post said that, "playing finger-style electric guitar, [Sumlin] laces these tracks with a peculiar assortment of rubbery note bends, skittish triplets, stinging slides and vibrato-ringing tones." [20] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "the result is surprisingly unflashy and elegantly simple, as everybody plays his role and defers to Sumlin." [28]
The Christian Science Monitor noted that Sumlin "seems to be having the rollicking good time of his long and prolific career on this disc." [29] The Independent concluded that About Them Shoes will "put you in mind of Johnny Winter's last-gasp repointing of Muddy in the late '70s... No bad thing." [30] The Post and Courier stated that, "even in his later years, Sumlin can still make his guitar scream and growl." [25] The Boston Globe opined that "the overall results are more archival than incendiary, but if you like old-school electric blues, this will be a familiar tonic." [17]
AllMusic wrote: "About Them Shoes could have taken the marquee talent and gone for a glitzy platform to bring Hubert Sumlin into the mainstream. Instead, they dive headfirst into what this music is all about, and in doing so have come up with a mini-masterpiece." [15]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | " I'm Ready" | |
2. | "Still a Fool" | |
3. | "She's into Something" | |
4. | "Iodine in My Coffee" | |
5. | "Look What You've Done" | |
6. | "Come Home Baby" | |
7. | " Evil" | |
8. | "Long Distance Call" | |
9. | "The Same Thing" | |
10. | "Don't Go No Farther" | |
11. | "I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" | |
12. | "Walkin' Thru the Park" | |
13. | "This Is the End, Little Girl" |