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Something triggered in Sweet Baby James, 29, when he heard Eric Clapton's song Cocaine at age 15. "He was playing a sound I had never heard before and it had me transfixed. I later discovered it was called the Blues," he says.
James' debut album, Rhythm 'n' Blues, is a cornucopia of assorted blues styles played with an electric energy. There's delicate fingerpicking, growling slide guitar and sparse country blues. Their raw sound evokes wild nights at the juke joints of the early 1950s.
The album features renditions of Muddy Waters' Can't Be Satisfied, John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillun, Blind Willie Johnson's Nobody's Fault But Mine and lesser known numbers, though just as noteworthy. James' original songs reveal his songwriting prowess.
Rhythm 'n' Blues is charged with an explosive atmosphere inspired by Robert Nighthawk’s Live On Maxwell Street album. "There was nothing slick about Nighthawk’s album. It had a real raw vibe to it. It was initially challenging to recreate that feeling but we feel we have acheived this," he says.
James cites Elmore James, Muddy Waters, R.L. Burnside and Richard Johnston as his favourite musicians and Sue Foley's Time To Travel as his favourite song.
The Adelaide-based Blues guitarist has shared the stage with blues-rocker Jeff Healy and Canadian blues queen Sue Foley. In 2003 James was broadcast on Canadian national television playing his original Bullet Through My Heart as part of the 13-part documentary series Talkin' Blues alongside B.B. King, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Pinetop Perkins and other Blues legends.
Rob Eyers, originally from London and now living in Adelaide, completes the duo on percussion.
"Audiences respond to us because it's clear we're doing what we naturally do best: playing the blues with obsession," says James. |
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1. |
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Can't Be Satisfied |
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2. |
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Pallet on Your Floor |
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3. |
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Come On In |
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4. |
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You Gotta Move |
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5. |
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Angel Wings |
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6. |
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Coming Home |
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7. |
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Free The Dancing Bear |
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8. |
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Tiger Man |
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Boogie Chillun |
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10. |
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Still A Fool |
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11. |
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Only Time |
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12. |
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Nobody's Fault But Mine |
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13. |
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What About You |
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* Samples are in mp3 format and are 45 seconds in duration.
Information is available in the help section if you encounter difficulties. |
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