BIG MAMA THORNTON “The Rising Sun Collection” (Just A Memory Records, Canada)

1 Spoonful
2 Rock Me Baby
3 Ball And Chain
4 Watermelon Man
5 Summertime
6 Medley: Hound Dogé, Walkin` The Dog
7 Sweet Little Angel
8 Sassy Mama
Recorded at Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club on April 12, 1977.

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William Shute
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Oct 25, 1994, 8:36:25 AM
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From: Bill Shute
BIG MAMA THORNTON “The Rising Sun Collection”
Just A Memory Records (Canada, RSCD 0002)
Released l994

One of a few new releases recorded live at Montrteal’s “Rising Sun
Celebrity Jazz Club” (I also saw a John Lee Hooker CD in this series),
this l977 gig–with a backing band led by Phil Guy and also including
John Primer and, on the last few cuts, Big Moose Walker–captures
the fire and spirit of this great performer well and is a wonderful
document for those of us who never had the privilege of seeing her
live.
I’d be lyin’ if I said her voice wasn’t somewhat shot, but then “It ain’t
the meat/ it’s the motion,” and Big Mama is in fine raw form,
sounding very spontaneous and also outrageous!
The band gives her a lot of space to do her thing, and whether
she is belting out “Rock Me BAby,” the raunchy “Watermelon Man,”
or a tender, tragic, broken-voiced version of “Summertime,” she
sings with authority and a delicious slyness.
Big Mama is way up front and in-your-face with the way the
concert’s sound was mixed, and the fact that this IS NOT
a super-clean, well-balanced recording only adds to the immediacy
of the experience and makes me imagine that I am there in the
audience.
By the way, I’ll bet most of y’all would have also wanted to
be there that night, because Big Mama announces that the
evening’s musical acts also included Jay McShann, Eddie
Cleanhead Vinson, and Clifton Chenier (!!!!!!).
There are touching and funny notes about Ms. Thornton’s
spontaneity and let’s-live-for-today attitude towards
life in Rising Sun head-honcho (at whose house BMT stayed
for a few months) Roue-Doudou Boicel’s liner essay, and
blues fans will love the casual photo of Boicel
hanging around his home with John Lee Hooker, Muddy
Waters, and Willie Dixon.
The other entries in this series ought to be also worth
investigating.
Perhaps the MCA collection of Thornton’s 50s sides would
be a better place for a newcomer to Big Mama’s work to start,
but like a good live show this is a CD that has provided me
with some unforgettable moments…and unlike a live show, I
can re-experience it whenever I want.

BILL SHUTE, originally published elsewhere online in 1994

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