Blues Festival Concert Dance- The Second Annual Berkeley Live. 1966
Blues
Mance Lipscomb, Clifton Chenier and (Sam) Lightnin' Hopkins have all passed on, but (thank god) their legend and legacy live on through recordings such as these. This 23-track collection was originally recorded around the time the "San Francisco" music scene began exploding all over the planet. The landmark Monterey Pop Festival was still a year away, Woodstock three years, yet the influence of this Berkeley, California Blues series cannot be underestimated. Blues and "roots" history literally resonate in every track, beginning with Mance solo on stage, guitar-strumming and talk-growling the blues. Staples like "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Sinking Of The Titanic" (how relevant even then), and "Take Your Arms From Around My Neck, Sugar Babe" mesmerize the crowd with pure blues form. Clifton Chenier and Lightnin' Hopkins each follow with equally genuine solo sets of their own. Accompanied by drummer Francis Clay (on loan from Muddy Waters' band), Clifton rocks the audience introducing his bluesy zydeco "boogie" on such numbers as "French Zydeco", "Clifton's After Hours" and a couple of then-current cover numbers, "What'd I Say" and Slim Harpo's "Scratch My Back". Lightnin' Hopkins closes the CD offering up plenty of his trademark dexterous acoustic finger-picking along with "menacing" vocals. He takes the crowd to school on such stand-outs as "Goin' To Louisiana" "Short Haired Woman" and "Lightning's Boogie." Clay's drumming is again a special treat, always perfectly underscoring these bluesmasters at work.
Fortunately, the producers of this CD had the foresight to leave in the between-song dialog of the performers and the ever-present instrument tuning that preserves the original atmosphere of this 34-year-old event. You can almost "see" the faces in the crowd, maybe among them some of the then future superstars now playing today. There's more than a passing influence in later bands like Hot Tuna, Led Zeppelin, and scores of other blues-influenced bands who owe a debt to this basic bare-bones "roots" music. "Live! At the 1966 Berkeley Blues Festival" is nothing short of a delightful collection (thanks to the folks at Arhoolie) and one essential to any serious music collection.
By John Casey.
**
01. Mance Lipscomb - Stop Time 1.58
02. Mance Lipscomb - I Ain't Got Nobody 1.32
03. Mance Lipscomb - Downtown Blues 3.23
04. Mance Lipscomb - Shake, Shake, Mama 2.56
05. Mance Lipscomb - The Sinking Of The Titanic (God Moves On The Water) 3.28
06. Mance Lipscomb - Take Your Arms From Around My Neck, Sugar Babe 3.30
07. Mance Lipscomb - When The Saints Go Marching In 1.41
08. Clifton Chenier - Intro & Lousiana Shuffle 2.36
09. Clifton Chenier - French Zydeco 3.01
10. Clifton Chenier - Clifton's After Hours 3.45
11. Clifton Chenier - Scratch My Back 3.53
12. Clifton Chenier - Everybody Calls Me Crazy 3.17
13. Clifton Chenier - What'd I Say? 3.07
14. Clifton Chenier - Old Country Waltz 2.05
15. Clifton Chenier - Louisiana Rock 2.51
16. Clifton Chenier - Clifton's Boogie Woogie 2.15
17. Lightning Hopkins - If You Don't Want Me 3.49
18. Lightning Hopkins - I Feel So Good 3.13
19. Lightning Hopkins - Last Night 4.08
20. Lightning Hopkins - Goin' To Louisiana (Mojo Hand) 3.48
21. Lightning Hopkins - Black Cadillac 5.50
22. Lightning Hopkins - Short Haired Woman 5.45
23. Lightning Hopkins - Lighnting's Boogie 2.39
**
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