John Primer & The Teardrops

You Can Make It If You Try!
Wolf Records

The good folks at Wolf Records have once again delved into their vaults and found a golden nugget. Recorded at various shows in Austria while playing as part of Magic Slim & The Teardrops in the 1990s, John Primer is in full swing on these numbers that were used to warm the audience up prior to bringing Magic Slim to the stage. The sound quality from these live recordings is amazing. And listening to these tracks will have you believing that the opening sets featuring Primer were perhaps just as awesome as what Magic Slim would deliver once he came on stage.

Primer has always been a true master on six strings. Working with Muddy Waters before taking on The Teardrops bandleader role, these recordings are pure Chicago blues at its absolute best. The take on Otis Rush’s “You Can Make It If You Try” will leave you with your jaw dropped by the sheer workout he gives his guitar. Multiple solos keep coming at you throughout the song. And Primer is pumping the audience to a frenzy. Save for one point of feedback (this is a live recording remember) you just cannot find a better example of how the blues are supposed to sound in a perfect world. Nine minutes of pure guitar bliss, and still this is not the only magical moment occurring on this eleven song disc. The songs are truly stretched out to give the added flavor, with the shortest piece here, a take on Albert King’s “Corinna” still logging in at 4:46 minutes. Robert Johnson’s “Love In Vain” is a prime example of how the band is capable of stretching a well-known number to nearly 7:00 minutes, making it sound unique and still maintaining the strength behind the song.

If you take the time to read the liner notes, you’ll discover what the band referred to as the “Straightforward Lump” style. While the rhythm section provides a lump da lump pace, Primer plays all four guitar parts: rhythm, bassline, picking lead and slide, all within the same song. It’s said that he became known as the “Four Man Guitar Show,” or as Sammy Lawhorn said to Junior Wells, “John plays all four parts on that guitar, man, he’s a ‘bad’ guitar player!” Bad obviously meaning out of this world.

All the tracks included on the recording are covers. But as with “Love In Vain” the band has made each of them their own personal property. Songs usually associated with those who penned them have been reborn behind Primer’s guitar approach. It does not matter who may be the song’s author, be it Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, whoever, they’ve been reborn in these approaches. Especially those done in the “Lump” style, like “My Little Sister,” “Standing At The Crossroads,” “Big Fat Woman,” or “Don’t You Hear Me Crying For You.”

Of course, Primer was only a third of The Teardrops. The rhythm section that worked so many years with Magic Slim, with and without Primer, was one of the best. Nick Holt on bass and Earl Howell on drums teaming with Primer they delivered the blues at its finest and this album displays it in all its glory.

This one is for anybody who loves Chicago blues. It just can’t get too much better than this. Enough said.

Total Time: 73:53

Sweet Man / My Little Sister / You Can Make It If You Try / Big Fat Woman / Love In Vain / Don’t You Hear Me Crying For You / If I Could Hold You In My Arms / Standing At The Crossroads / Things I Used To Do / Corinna / Long Distance Call