Willie D. Warren & Mystery Train

Willie D. Warren & Mystery Train - Live - 1997 - No Cover Productions

Before his death in December 2000, Detroit blues icon Willie D. Warren was a stalwart on the local scene following his 1975 move from Arkansas via Chicago to the Motor City. He was woefully under-recorded, but on this live recording with the backing band Mystery Train featuring electric guitarist Jim McCarty (ex-Mitch Ryder, Cactus, the Rockets, and Detroit Blues Band member), Warren shines in the spotlight. His experienced, enjoyable voice and spare guitar signify this music — cool and cooler, refined and authentic. McCarty is joined by three exceptional blues cats: keyboardist/bassist Rick Stel, harmonicist Kenny Welk, and drummer Will Leonard. Stel and Welk are particularly sensitive and substantive additions to the real blues mix of this club date. Of the nine cuts done live at the Firehouse (there is some afterthought overdubbing), every other one is a slow, low-down number. Charles Brown's "Driftin' & Driftin'" and James B. Oden's "I've Had My Fun" pulse with organ, the latter for a long ten minutes with lengthy guitar musings from Warren and McCarty. The Willie Dixon classic "Hoochie Coochie Man" stands up with patient fervor, while the highlight, Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider Baby," is downhearted as can be, with Welk's harp talking back to Willie D.'s vocal, which is quite reminiscent of Paul Butterfield. The more uptempo numbers include Warren doing "Hello Detroit," talking about leaving the South for the North over the melody of Jimmy Smith's "Back at the Chicken Shack." A mojo boogie take of Sir Mack Rice and Albert King's classic "Cadillac Assembly Line" is the neatest twist to an old standard, and a loping version of "Kansas City" features Warren's soulful, almost crooning voice with Stel's piano urging him on. The easy swing of "Baby Likes to Boogie," with a meaty but thinly sliced solo from McCarty and great piano fervor from Stel, and the closer, Little Milton's "The Blues Is Alright," both show how this music is directly jazz-related, and vice versa. As much of a firebrand as McCarty is capable of being, he lays low for this performance, letting Warren do the driving. It was a good move, for Willie D. could more than handle the job. There is a low-level buzz throughout, but it does not detract from this high-level set by one of the Midwest's true blues treasures. Recommended. © Michael G. Nastos © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0bfwxz9gldfe

If you say you know about Detroit blues but you don’t know about Willie D. Warren, then it’s time for you to re-evaluate what you claim to know. Of all the old-time Detroit bluesmen still around today, Warren is the one most deserving of the national recognition that he should have but never did receive. Warren has played in bands with the likes of acknowledged blues greats Otis Rush and Freddie King. It was Warren who taught Guitar Slim how to play guitar more than 50 years ago. Despite the impressive credentials, Warren has never released a CD under his own name until now. Big credit for this release goes to No Cover Productions head Mike Boulan, who recorded this project live at the Firehouse. Equal credit goes to Jimmy McCarty who, along with Boulan, figured a Willie D. Warren CD was long overdue and decided to do something about it. The resulting effort captures the depth and deceptive simplicity that marks Warren’s classic blues style. An essential CD for Detroit blues lovers. By & © Keith A. Owens © 2010 Metro Times http://www.metrotimes.com/music/review.asp?rid=7227

Willie has come out with his only full-length release, recorded at the Firehouse, a blues club in Metro-Detroit. This CD is arguably the deepest blues Detroit has ever offered, and Willie was one of the deepest blues musicians in the City of Detroit's history. The backing band, Mystery Train, is first-rate, featuring rock and blues legend, Jim McCarty. © http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/williedw#

Recorded at the Firehouse blues club in Metro-Detroit, on October 1st, 1996, this is a rare recording of the late Mississippian bluesman, Willie D. Warren in action. JoAnn Korczynska of Big City Blues says,"Willie is a must for every blue's collector." Mark Cole of Blues Review says,"These are the real deal blues, hot juke joint music that everyone will enjoy!" Check out Mystery Train's "Love Lost" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Hello Detroit - Willie D. Warren
Driftin' & Driftin' - Brown, Moore, Williams
Cadillac Assembly Line - Sir Mac Rice
Reconsider Baby - Lowell Fulson
Kansas City - Lieber & Stoller
I've Had My Fun - James B. Oden
Baby Likes to Boogie - Willie D. Warren
Hoochie Coochie Man - Willie Dixon
The Blues Is Alright - Milton Campbell

MUSICIANS

Willie D. Warren - Guitar, Vocals
Jim McCarty - Guitar
Rick Stel - Bass, Piano, Hammond B-3
Will Leonard - Drums
Kenny Welk - Harmonica
Marvin Conrad - Spiritual Guidance

BIO

It has been said that Warren, back in the 1950s, while playing in the Otis Rush band, invented the first electric bass by tuning down the three low strings on his guitar. Then the first Fender basses appeared on the scene and very soon every band was using them. Willie D. Warren was born in Stamps, AR. At 13 years old, his family moved to Lake Village, AR, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Caleb King taught the youngster to play the guitar and soon he was playing on the streets of Lake Village and eventually led his own bands around the Delta. He taught the basics of guitar to his band singer, Eddie Jones, who went on to become Guitar Slim. In the late '40s, Warren and Jones traveled across Louisiana playing the blues. By the 1950s, Warren had followed the great migration of southern African-Americans to Chicago. It was there that he found work with the bands of Freddie King and Otis Rush. He also played gigs with Jimmy Reed and recorded for Chess Records backing Morris Pejoe. In 1959, he went back home to Arkansas and put together a band called the House Rockers. In 1975, Warren moved to Detroit to work and record with Bobo Jenkins. Through Jenkins, he started playing with another Detroit bluesman, Baby Boy Warren. Backed by the Progressive Blues Band, they took the Motor City by storm until the passing of Baby Boy Warren in 1977. Willie D. then took over as the main frontman for the band. In 1977, Warren recorded his first record as leader for Bobo Jenkins' Big Star label. He wrote the lyrics to two songs that appeared on Detroit All Purpose Blues. They were "Door Lock Blues" and "Detroit Jump." He also recorded for Blues Factory, Way/Sac and Blue Suit labels, on various compilations. His first full-length CD came out on the Detroit-based No Cover label; a live session with his friend Jimmy McCarty. In the late '90s he recorded a CD for the Bluetrack label, out of England, which was not been released before his death on December 30, 2000. © Fred Reif © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ajfyxqljldje~T1