Chicken Leg Music CIM 92989
“Confident” and
“assured” are the two adjectives which readily describe the music on Twenty
Years, this newest CD by Detroit-born bluesman Catfish Hodge.
Back in 1969, Hodge and his band Cattish took the
hardened Fillmore East audience by storm with its blend of Motor City energy and
funk. He was on the cutting edge of all those classic bands like Mitch Ryder and
the Detroit Wheels, Amboy Dukes, The Stooges and the MC5. His own good-time
energy connected with a young blues-starved audience so many years ago and
started him on his journey; the road has made his music stronger. His mastery
and confidence are abundant; the listener is in friendly and loving hands.
Since the late sixties,
Hodge has recorded over 25 albums of original material and has extensively
toured with a variety of musicians, from members of Little Feat (Paul Barrere,
with whom he formed the Bluesbusters in the early eighties), to most recently
Vassar Clements. He has played with Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker and everyone
in between. Besides opening as a solo for 25,000 screaming rock & roll fans,
he has been a fixture on the small club circuit for years. In all that time he
has developed his own standards and familiar tunes, but each time they are
performed, they are transformed.
We’ve got a lot of transformation going on right here. Some of the standards archived here have been culled from Hodges voluminous library of studio recordings, gig tapes from live performances, and radio interviews, all brought to life and improved by digital software, which has allowed him to re-master and fine tune those versions that almost got away. Some of these songs have been part of Catfish’s repertoire for more than twenty years, and though his fans will rejoice in their re-appearance, this CD will easily please anyone who is just discovering Catfish’s artistry.
The timeslide zooms from 1977 to 1998, covering various styles and diverse band configurations. You’ve got the definite rockers and sockers from the fullblown, almost early-Paul Butterfield Blues Band-sounding “Ain’t Got It No More” done at Georgetown University in 1977. It features Jimmy Powers on harp, Duane Campbell on bass, and Carl H. Luke Quillan on guitar; a full horn section comprised of Jamie Kinnon on sax, Randy Ottinger on trumpet, and George McWhirter on trombone; and background vocals by Dixie D. Ballin and Diana Crawford. “Elmo’s Blues:’ cut two, is a 1992 studio version of a Catfish classic, recorded at Big Mo Studios and featuring Pete Ragusa of Nighthawks fame on drums, Johnny Castle on bass, Dan Hovey on guitar, Mitch Collins on keyboards and Fish on vocals and guitar. Though an old favorite, and recorded on several albums, the Fishman thinks this is the definitive dance with its fast and furious beat-me-daddy-eight-to-the-bar feel.
“Boogie Man’s Gonna Git Ya cut three, a 1977 live recording of a gig at Washington D.C!s Lisner Audhorium, is a must for all serious Fishheads. A signature tune of the Fishman and out of print for more than twenty years, it features the same personnel as cut one, with substitute Mark Cuff on drums, and adds Lee Robertson on trombone and Marion Deegan on background vocals. It’s a gem and brings to the fore those endearing good-time qualities which have made his fans smile for lo these many years. “Six O’Clock News,” cut seven, (live from the Big Mo sessions of 1992) and “To the Left:’ cut eight, (1994) revisit the music from Catfish’s Eyewitness Blues period when he was a fixture on the D.C. scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
The solo acoustic side of Fish’s life is represented by “Twenty Years,” “My Father:’ and “New Dust Bowl Blues!’ The first was recorded in a small studio in the hills of Virginia, and has the feel of a cleaner version of something you’d find in an old Library of Congress field recording by Alan Lomax. “My Father and “New Dust Bowl Blues” were recorded live at an acoustic gig at 49 West Coffee in Annapolis, MD. It is here that one really feels the power of Hodges delivery, sincerity and passion; and even if you’re an experienced blues person, he shows you just how powerful a solo guitar and an expressive voice can be in transforming the soul. If you’ve never seen and heard Catfish Hodge in the present tense—a one-to-one experience which shouldn’t be missed—listening to these cuts puts you right in the small club audience.
For Catfish Hodge it seems the
road has gone on forever; he’s been up, he’s been down, he’s recorded for
all kinds of labels, made all kinds of deals, but like a Timex watch (takes a
lickin’ and still keeps on tickin’) he’s kept the faith throughout it all.
The cuts on Twenty Years are just a taste of this man’s musical sensitivity
and songwriting ability. He is just as joyful whether he’s backed by a power
horn section and kicking drummer as he is by himself on a small stage armed only
with a battered acoustic guitar. If you want to know what the blues are about,
and you want to experience a sea change in your soul, if you want to be
transformed by a musical experience, you can’t do better than feasting your
ears on Twenty Years by Bob “Catfish”Hodge—David Walley