By pure chance I discovered this album in a charity shop.
What is unique for me is that the recording was a live event
recorded out on the street in 1964. Maxwell Street in Chicago was the venue for
blues buskers, all the famous names put some time in there. But Robert
Nighthawk (1909 – 1967) was perhaps the most enigmatic.
Nighthawk was a
contemporary of Robert Johnson and allegedly taught Muddy Waters how to play
guitar, but failed to make a name for himself; maybe because of his itinerant
lifestyle, maybe because what he did record was under different names.
The recording was put together by Mike Bloomfield and
features an interview with the taciturn Nighthawk reluctantly answering
questions posed by Bloomfield.
Robert Nighthawk on Maxwell Street during the recording.
Carey Bell brilliantly plays the harmonica on some tracks.
The whole album is a pure inspiration; not only is the
naturalness of the performance but the raw spontaneity and the feeling of the
street comes through. There’s a clear interaction with the audience, with
shouts yelps and encouragement. I love playing this at high volume – makes me
feel like I am actually there!
A short Youtube film records some of the event. Namely,
‘Cheatin’ and Lying Blues’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K4qJfa9qLc
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