#blues
Fenton Robinson "Somebody Loan me a Dime" 1974
(Alligator 4705/USA).
Electric Chicago Blues.
Fenton Robinson - guitar & vocals.
Mighty Joe Young - rhythm guitar.
Bill Heid - keyboards.
Cornelius Boyson - bass.
Tony Gooden - drums.
Horval D. Hodges, Elmer Brown Jr. - trumpet.
Dave Baldwin - tenox sax.
Bill McFarland - trombone.
Recorded at Sound Studios, Chicago, IL.
One of the most subtly satisfying electric blues albums of the '70s.
Fenton Robinson never did quite fit the "Genuine Houserocking Music" image of Alligator Records - his deep, rich baritone sounds more like a magic carpet than a piece of barbed wire, and he speaks in jazz-inflected tongues, full of complex surprises.
The title track hits with amazing power, as do the chugging "The Getaway," a hard-swinging "You Say You're Leaving," and the minor-key "You Don't Know What Love Is." In every case, Robinson had recorded them before, but thanks to Bruce Iglauer's superb production, a terrific band, and Robinson's musicianship, these versions reign supreme.
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