Monday, April 18, 2005

free mp3 of the week: "BLIND WILLIE RULES!"

I am going to start a new thing, where i give away an mp3 every week. Last week's was a huge success, thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response for "Tampa Bay Sound."

In the weeks to come, I hope to have mp3s of stuff i recorded in the 90's. it's already mixed. it was gonna be my 3rd album, but we just never put it together. I found the tapes the other day, and Phil is putting them on CDs. from the CDs i will make mp3s. Some of the stuff is pretty good. Hard hitting bluesy rock and roll, i guess you could call it. Longtime JGLB fans might recognize "Lookin Real Pretty (Down in Ybor City)," "That's Life in the Big City," "House of Humperdink" and other songs... and of course, Tampa Bay Sound!

There's also my first album, "Good Cheap Rock and Roll" which was released on cassette only. I may be able to get some of those tracks on mp3 soon too. This is stuff from the 80's, and maybe even one track from the 70's... I'm hoping to recover "Lonesome Guitar Road," "Get It While It's Hot," "Mississippi River" "Comb My Hair," "King of Hollywood" and other tunes from "GCR&R..."

We may also occasionally have MP3s that are by artists other than ourselves. This is to some degree the case this week, as our mp3 of the week is by a mix of musicians, not the regular JGLB.

This week, the mp3 of the week is "Blind Willie Rules," written by Johnny G Lyon, Rob Stoney, William James and Thomas Allen Moffatt. It's from the album: "Allen Moffatt Presents DO THE BLIND WILLIE." The song is a tribute to Blind Willie James and Allen Moffatt. it was recorded at Progressive Studio in Tampa, probably in 1997. The song features the late great Rock Bottom on harmonica and former JGLB saxophonist Thor Stevens. Freight Train Parker plays bass, and I play guitar and sing. There's good whacko background vocals by these same guys.

The best part of the song may be Blind Willie's commentary: "Damn right I rule!" and other choice remarks.

Allen Moffatt plays drums, and Ken Veenstra is the engineer, and they worked together mixing this song. On almost every other recording I've done in many years, Ray Blade plays drums and Phil is the engineer. "Blind Willie Rules" does not have the relentlessly hard-hitting manic intensity of my recordings with Ray and Phil, the same thing you hear when you hear JGLB live. But this is a fun song with a whacko energy all its own. I think it will make you smile.

E-mail me for a free mp3 of "Blind Willie Rules."

To purchase the excellent CD "Allen Moffatt Presents DO THE BLIND WILLIE," e-mail Allen Moffatt, or write Allen Moffatt at: 16301 Dew Drop Lane, Tampa Fl 33625. This CD features 19 outstanding songs!

e-mail me for info on how to get a copy of JGLB's CD, "Give The Kid A Chance!"