Confessions of a Fanboy

“You know what the news is, well this is my news and you are welcome to it.”
–Keith Larson

Now that we know who our 2007 BMA winners are, what do we think about it?

The big stories of the night were Charlie Musselwhite’s dominance and the shutout of Watermelon Slim. I admit mild surprise at the former and astonishment at the latter. I expected Slim to own the night. He was nominated for 6 BMAs, more than any other, and came home empty handed. Musselwhite won 4 of the 5 awards for which he was nominated. The only other artist to win multiple awards this year was Irma Thomas.

One of the very cool things about the BMAs for me — this being my first year as an active voter — is that the more I listened to, the more difficult filling out my ballot became. I wish I could have heard every scrap of nominated music prior to the awards. Alas, too many CDs, too little money. This was a great year for the blues, something that became more evident with each new artist and album that came to my attention. I was not familiar with Slim, Michael Powers, or Irma Thomas before I started preparing for my BMA series. I knew about Junior Wells, but learned more about him through this process. I knew of Charlie Musselwhite but had never heard him sing or play a single note. The depth of my appreciation for and knowledge of the blues has gr0wn as a result of being a part of the process this year.

Here’s a look at some of the winners of the night’s major awards as well as who I voted for in that particular category. As it turns out, my ears agreed with a majority of Blues Foundation voters on a number of occasions. There were, however, some exceptions.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Delta Hardware — Charlie Musselwhite
Josh’s Ballot: Delta Hardware — Charlie Musselwhite

I have to be pleased with the result. The album I voted for won. This was, as you would hope, a really competitive category in my mind. I liked 4 of the 5 nominated records. Irma Thomas made a wonderful album and Nick Moss’ live set is a fabulous listen. As I filled out the ballot, it came down to Delta and Watermelon Slim’s self-titled record. I would have bet money on Slim winning this. Both are deserving of the honor.

Why did I go with Musselwhite? There are a lot of reasons. For one, Delta Hardware is 10 songs and 40 minutes. It’s compact. It’s dense. It hits on cylinders. Slim’s record is just a tiny bit uneven. I love so many songs on it but feel the album would have been stronger if one or two were cut from it. That doesn’t diminish how great some of the songs on WS&TW are, but this award is for Album of the Year. I still listen to both records but am more likely to listen to DH all the way through. Consistency isn’t the only thing that separates the two records, but it is probably the easiest to for me to explain. Four really good records in this category and the one I didn’t care for as much is certainly not bad. It was a tough call, but I’m very happy for Delta Hardware.

HISTORICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Hooker — John Lee Hooker
Josh’s Ballot: All Your Love I Miss Loving, Live at Wise Fools Pub — Otis Rush
This is the category that motivated me to join the Blues Foundation so that I would be eligible to vote. It was a thrill to cast a ballot for the great Otis Rush, perhaps my favorite bluesman of all time. It was a thrill to cast that ballot, but I knew he had no chance in this category. The John Lee Hooker box set is magnificent. Trying to tell the story of Hooker’s legendary recording career is damn near impossible. This box set comes very close to achieving just that. Were it not for my ardent Otis Rush bias, I’d have voted for Hooker.

Great category. The right album won, but I’m just the tiniest bit disappointed.

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR — GUITAR
Winner: Hooker — Hubert Sumlin
Josh’s Ballot: Nick Moss

I am going to throw the word legend around a lot in this article. Hubert Sumlin is a legend. Any blues fan or blues guitar player should study the work of the great Sumlin. His work with Howlin’ Wolf is some of the best and most important guitar work ever recorded. I mention all of this because I take just the slightest bit of issue with Sumlin winning this award.

I don’t believe Sumlin released a record this year. His About Them Shoes was released in 2004. It’s a very good record, pairing Sumlin with some outstanding guests. I would have liked to have seen the award go to – if not Moss – a guitarist who’d been a little more active both on record and stage this year.

My case for Moss is not a case against Sumlin. I spent some time this evening once again listening to Live at Chan’s and was struck by how generous Moss is as a musician. He’s eager to share the spotlight with his band, keeping alive that great Chicago tradition. He shares the spotlight but never lets anyone forget who the audience paid to see.

He’s the kind of player who can fill in and support another instrumentalist or a vocalist while still having the chops and the ideas to be a lead player. There are some guitarists who place more importance on notes and solos than the song or the feel. That’s not Moss. I also love the way he can shift from playing solo to rhythm and back without missing a beat. Listen to “Eggroll Stroll” and hear what I mean.

I’m not upset Sumlin won – he’s a legend still working the circuit — but I’ll stand by my vote for Nick Moss.

TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner: Delta Hardware — Charlie Musselwhite
Josh’s Ballot: Delta Hardware — Charlie Musselwhite

Watermelon Slim	“Hard Times”
Watermelon Slim	“Devil’s Cadillac”
Watermelon Slim	“Foldin’ Money Blues”
Charlie Musselwhite	“Church is Out”
Charlie Musselwhite	“Black Water”
Charlie Musselwhite	“Just a Feeling”

It’s kind of tough to have the album of the year and not have the Traditional Album of the Year. Watermelon Slim, also nominated in this category, plays authentic blues but it doesn’t overly traditional to me. That’s not a criticism of Slim’s blues; regular readers of this site and those who’ve read my reviews of his albums know that I love his work. This is the traditional category, though, and I felt like Delta Hardware better fit that description.

Honorable Mention: Again, Slim’s self-titled record is great. So is the Live in Dallas record from The Last of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen. Two of those greats are no longer with us, making that October night all the more special.

TRADITIONAL BLUES MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Robert Lockwood Jr.
Josh’s Ballot: Charlie Musselwhite

I would have had a bit of a problem with this had Charlie not won four other awards. Lockwood Jr. is a legend (there’s that word again), but I have a hard time believing he would have won this award had he not passed away in November. How can you win Album of the Year and Traditional Album of the Year and not be the Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year? It makes no sense. This vote was all about paying tribute to a fallen star. It is a nice send-off – and God knows a deserved one – but it still doesn’t seem quite right.

TRADITIONAL BLUES FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Winner: Etta James
Josh’s Ballot: Etta James

I got to vote for Otis Rush and Etta James this year. Does it get any cooler than that?

Filed under: Billboard Beatdown, Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Rush, Watermelon Slim