Cream Of The Crate Review #215: Elmore James – The Sky Is Falling

 

  These reviews are provided to help maintain a connection with various genres of popular music extending from the 1940’s through to present time.

 

 

 

“Across all 29 of the tracks on The Sky Is Crying James puts his heart and soul into his playing and his singing – the energy is palpable“ – `{`Jazz Journal April 2009`}` .. .. .. ““it was like the earth shuddered and stopped on its axis“.“ – `{`Brian Jones`}` .. .. .. “(his) slide-guitar playing inspired a generation of players from the blues field as well as the world of Rock“ – `{`Album liner notes`}` .. .. ..

This is album review number 215 in the series of retro-reviews of both vinyl LP’s and Cd’s, in my collection.

The series is called “Cream of The Crate” and each review represents an album from my collection that I believe is of significant musical value, either because of it’s rarity, because it represents the best of a style or styles of music or because there is something unique about the group or the music.

Links to the previous 200+ reviews can be found at the bottom of this review.

When it comes to blues and slide, or bottleneck guitar it is hard not to consider Elmore James as the best!

James only released one album during his life – Blues After Hours, in 1960. However, there have been a plethora of compilation albums released since he died and the album.

This album, The Sky Is Crying, was released originally in 1965.

I have the CD, released on the CAMDEN label in 1997, with the catalogue number – 74321 523762.

It has 22 tracks and includes many of his best known tracks.

 

He was born Elmore Brooks on January 27, 1918 in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi, and born illegitimate to field hand Leola Brooks and was raised by his mother and step-father Joe Willie “Frost” James, from whence he got his surname.

Customising a one-string (“diddley bow”) instrument, as a boy he performed at local dances.

In 1937 he bought his first proper guitar, a $20 National guitar.

After serving his country in the US Navy (between 1943 and 1945), his formative years were spent in the company of Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II), who was a regular on Radio KFFA’s King Biscuit Time show.

James played on the programme in 1947.

 

In fact he and Sonny Boy travelled together for several years, with James securing his first contract in early 1951 with Lillian McMurry’s Trumpet label. He initially appeared on disc as a session backing musician for Sonny Boy.

After these sessions, Sonny Boy convinced Elmo James (as he was then billed) to record the track `Dust My Broom’ (with Williamson on harmonica); the record went on to hit the R&B Top 10 in ‘52.

 

James duly moved to Chicago where he formed The Broomdusters, signing to the Bihari brothers’ Meteor label for further variations (`I Believe’ and `Dust My Blues’) on his initial hit.

After heavy drinking affected his recording schedules, he was dropped by his record company in 1956 and was blacklisted by the American Foundation of Musicians for using non union backing players.

He went into semi-retirement after a mild heart attack which caused him to reflect on his life, returning to Chicago in 1957 to record with Mel London’s Chief Records, with backing from Wayne Bennett, Eddie Taylor, Fred Belew and Willie Dixon.

 

By the end of the 50s, James was tempted to return to performing live, and it was at these spontaneous gigs that he was subsequently spotted by Fire Records boss, Bobby Robinson, who signed him for the release of `The Sky Is Crying’, which became another R&B success in 1960.

On May 24, 1963, on the verge of a comeback, Elmore suffered a third, and this time fatal, heart attack after a concert at the Copa Cabana in Chicago.

Elmore James’ unique bottleneck style of guitar resurfaced in numerous British R&B bands and in particular, Jeremy Spencer (of said Fleetwood Mac) and particularly with Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, whose early stage name Elmo Lewis in respect of Elmore James.

Just quickly, a bit on his guitar tuning. More often than not, he would tune his guitar to open E [E, B, E, G#, B, E] or open D [D, A, D, F#, A, D] tuning.

His greatest recognition came when B.B. King admitted to adopting areas of Elmore James’ style of guitar work.

So let’s move onto this CD album.

Track Listing:

1.   The Sky Is Crying
2.   Dust My Broom
3.   Fine Little Mama
4.   Can’t Stop Loving You
5.   Done Somebody Wrong
6.   Rollin’ And Tumblin’
7.   I Need You Baby
8.   Something Inside Me
9.   I’m Worried
10.   Early One Morning
11.   She Done Moved
12.   Strange Angels
13.   Anna Lee
14.   Stranger Blues
15.   Look On Yonder Wall
16.   Standing At The Crossroads
17.   Baby Please Set A Date
18.   Shake Your Moneymaker
19.   My Bleeding Heart
20.   One Way Out
21.   Make My Dreams Come True
22.   Mean Mistreatin’ Mama

 

I’ll start at track one for several reasons, as I have written in many previous album reviews,  take track 1 as the “calling card” of the album; the track which introduces us to the artists and the music.

Secondly, The Sky Is Falling it is also the name of the album and finally, it was only one of five tracks he released as a single that charted, – 1960 on the US R&B chart.

Of course a track that charts or doesn’t, isn’t necessarily an indicator of how good the track is, many great tracks never make it to singles to start with, but this is a beauty.

It is an enduring track that has been covered by many, many greats including Albert King and Eric Clapton.

The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street
The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street
I’m waiting in tears looking for my baby, and I wonder where can she be?

I saw my baby one morning, and she was walking on down the street
I saw my baby one morning, yes she was walking on down the street
Made me feel so good until my poor heart would skip a beat

I got a bad feeling, my baby, my baby don’t love me no more
I got a bad feeling, my baby don’t love me no more
Now the sky’s been crying, the tears rolling down my door

Recorded in 1959 it is one of two Elmore James recordings to have been honored with a Blues Hall of Fame induction.

The Sky Is Falling

It is impossible to move past Track 2 – Dust My Broom. This track was his first single and released in 1951.

It was the track that put his name in ‘lights’ when it came to slide guitar, also known as bottleneck”.  The track was written and played originally by the great Robert Johnson, but was electrified by James.

 

The startling introduction to this track, in which his slide bar permits a loud, repetitive screech on the high strings while he chugs on the bass strings, changed the history of popular music.

But like many great blues songs, actually tracking down its origins is full of tracks and trails.

In early December 1933 Roosevelt Sykes accompanied Carl Rafferty, a man about who we know absolutely nothing, mention dust my broom on ‘Mr Carl’s Blues’. What we do know is this session was significant in the history of the Blues. ‘Mr Carl’s Blues’ contains the immortal lines, “I do believe, I do believe I’ll dust my broom. And after I dust my broom, anyone may have my room”.

As you will see from the lyrics below – this is a key line. Back then, unlike today, performers swapped songs, heard others sing and lifted what ranged from bits of a song to the complete thing with no thought to copyright – a concept few recognized as important. The blues have an oral tradition which meant that all this happened as a natural process.

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VIDEOS:

Sadly, I was unable to locate any live performances by Elmore James.

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Previous Cream of The Crate Albums:

 

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To view/listen album reviews 151 – 200 just click the image below –