Long John Baldry Trio Live

A friend of mine loaned me this cd the other day. I said John Baldry? I thought he was dead. He said no, and don't ask me any more questions, just give this cd a listen. He sounded pretty excited over it, and he's usually not a very excitable boy. So I put it on. I have to admit I didn't know much about Long John Baldry. But as I began to read the liner notes to this album, I came to realize what an interesting cat this guy is. I didn't know Baldry was the father of the British rock invasion. He started the first white electric blues band in 1961 called "Blues Incorporated". He hired a couple hungry teenage musicians off the street to join him. Their names were Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts. After Jagger and Watts went on to start that little band we all know about, Baldry formed another band in 1965 called "Steampacket". He brought on board a couple more talented teenagers by the names of Rod Stewart and Jack Bruce. After those two left the band to go on to bigger things, Baldry began his search to start his third band called Bluesology. One day in 1967 Baldry walked into a little bar and noticed this 19 year old teenage piano player that was bringing down the house. Baldry knew he had to hire him, so he gave the kid a break and brought him on board. The kid's name was Reginald Dwight. He stayed with Baldry another year and moved on to a solo career, and changed his name to Elton John. And the rest is history. Or is it? You may wonder what all of this has to do with this new live album. Well, Baldry has hired yet another kid that I think is gonna be a star someday. He is Matt Taylor, who is the outstanding guitar player here. The band here is a trio of Baldry on vocals and acoustic guitar. Butch Coulter on harmonica. And Matt Taylor on electric and acoustic guitars and vocals. No bass or drums. You may think ugh, how good could this be? Don't be fooled by this stripped down little band. This is a killer trio with a big sound. The charismatic Baldry is the one who runs this show, but it's Matt Taylor who makes this whole thing work. This kid is just an outstanding guitar player. When Baldry let's him loose this kid dazzles with his elecrifying yet always in control guitar solos. He's really something special. And I've heard a lot of good guitar players. Not to be overlooked is Butch Coulter, who has been around Baldry for over 20 years. His harp rendetion of Moondance in Tajikistan, better known as Van Morrison's Moondance, is a dazzling display of jazz harmonica. Great stuff. Some favorites of mine on here are MORNING DEW, which is a great song in itself, and Baldry's gruffy vocals here are perfect for this song. Another classic song here is Tom Wait's BLUE VALENTINE. Baldry let's Matt Taylor sing here. And guess what, the kid can really sing! He's got the whole package. But the real topper here is the old Faces song FLYING, that closes the album. A beautiful song that's got some of the best guitar work by Taylor I've ever heard. Now I can see why my friend was excited about this. It's a very impressive album, and I've now become a new Long John Baldry fan. Highly recommended.