John Primer

John Primer - All Original - 2008 - Blues House

To tell you who John Primer is, would be useless, because I am sure you already know all about him but, if there are people who still are not familiar with him, let me give you a very short details about this contemporary Chicago blues star. Singer and guitar player John Primer was born in 1946. He became popular among wide blues audiences because he replaced Alabama Jr. in Magic Slim’s band, The Teardrops. At that time Primer had already got a wide experience, because he had been playing with Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Sammy Lawhorn among others. In fact Sammy was one of his main influences in his sound, technique and style conception. John Primer has done a good number of recordings during the last years, as sideman for other musicians or under his own name as well. He has also participated in different projects, the most recent one a world-wide tour and an additional recording with The Chicago Blues “A Living History” together with Billy Branch, Billy Boy Arnold, Kenny Smith and Lurrie Bell among others amazing musicians, we could see in Spain last summer. This new piece of work includes twelve terrific pure Chicago songs, I dare say, will completely impress you because you will be moved, shocked, speechless and will not certainly get out of these blues alive. Deep feeling, lively emotions, heartbreaking passion along John Primer’s guitar and vocals, Harmonica Hinds harp, David Ross piano and organ, Michael Morrison bass and Vernon Rodgers drums. They joined forces to produce a high quality record you cannot leave out, on pain of doing a big mistake. GREAT © Dusty & Val Scott Copyright © 2002-2010 DustyBlues © All Rights Reserved http://www.dustyblues.com/cdreviews2010/april2010.html

John Primer has mellowed, but his harmonic and rhythmic technique is still up to par. His stark slide technique is great, and his characteristic single-string leads are complemented by a simple but impressive boogie shuffle style by his backing band. "All Original" is not as "gritty" as some of his earlier recordings like "Stuff You Got to Watch", but is still a good album in the postwar Chicago Delta style blues tradition. Listen to his "The Real Deal" album

TRACKS

1) ADD A LITTLE TOUCH
2) GOING BACK TO MISSISSIPPI
3) I CALLED MY BABY
4) EVERYDAY BRINGS BY A CHANGE
5) BLUE EYED WOMAN
6) OTHER MAN
7) THE WOMAN THAT I'M LOVIN
8) BAD CHILD
9) KEEP ON LOVIN THE BLUES
10) AT HOME ALONE
11) SAY YES, DON'T SAY NO
12) LOVE IN MY HEART FOR YOU

All songs composed by John Primer

MUSICIANS

JOHN PRIMER - LEAD GUITAR/VOCALS
MICHAEL MORRISON - BASS
DAVID ROSS - PIANO/ORGAN
VERNON RODGERS - DRUMS
MELVIN "HARMONICA" HINDS - HARMONICA

BIO

By any yardstick, Chicago guitarist John Primer has paid his dues. Prior to making The Real Deal for Mike Vernon's Atlantic-distributed Code Blue label, Primer spent 13 years as the ever-reliable rhythm guitarist with Magic Slim & the Teardrops. Before that, he filled the same role behind Chicago immortals Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. All that grounding has paid off handsomely for Primer. His sound is rooted in the classic Windy City blues sound of decades past: rough-edged and uncompromising and satisfying in the extreme. He's one of the last real traditionalists in town. By the time he came to Chicago in 1963, Primer was thoroughly familiar with the lowdown sounds of Waters, Wolf, Jimmy Reed, B.B. and Albert King, and Elmore James. He fronted a West Side outfit for a while called the Maintainers, dishing out a mix of soul and blues before joining the house band at the Southside blues mecca Theresa's Lounge for what ended up being a nine-year run. Elegant guitarist Sammy Lawhorn proved quite influential on Primer's maturing guitar approach during this period. Always on the lookout for aspiring talent, Willie Dixon spirited him away for a 1979 gig in Mexico City. After a year or so as one of Dixon's All-Stars, Primer was recruited to join the last band of Muddy Waters, playing with the Chicago blues king until his 1983 death. Right after that, Primer joined forces with Magic Slim; their styles interlocked so seamlessly that their partnership seemed like an eternal bond. But Primer deserved his own share of the spotlight. In 1993, Michael Frank's Chicago-based Earwig logo issued Primer's debut domestic disc, Stuff You Got to Watch. It was a glorious return to the classic '50s Chicago sound, powered by Primer's uncommonly concise guitar work and gruff, no-nonsense vocals. With the 1995 emergence of The Real Deal -- produced by Vernon and featuring all-star backing by harpist Billy Branch, pianist David Maxwell, and bassist Johnny B. Gayden, Primer's star appeared ready to ascend. He soon transferred back to the Wolf label for sets such as 1997's Cold Blooded Blues Man, 1998's Blues Behind Closed Doors, and 2000's It's a Blues Life. © Bill Dahl © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-primer-p33475/biography