Jimmy Burns, Live at B.L.U.E.S - CD & DVD Review

Jimmy Burns
Live at B.L.U.E.S.
Delmark CD, DE 789
Delmark DVD 1789

Jimmy Burns’ latest release album is a live performance recorded at B.L.U.E.S. in August 2006 during the north side club’s annual barbecue. Delmark has released the recording in two formats, CD and DVD. Although both formats will you give the satisfying sounds of Burns’ Delta-influenced Chicago blues, the DVD gives you so much more.

During the last decade or so, especially since the 1996 release of his debut album, Leaving Here Walking, Burns has become of one of the hardest-working bluesmen in Chicago, playing nearly every night of the week at clubs in the city and suburbs. The music on the CD and DVD are of equal quality, but the DVD also captures the experience of watching Burns’ performance at B.L.U.E.S., one of Chicago’s oldest and most intimate clubs.

Burns’ music is rooted in the traditional blues of the 1950s, when he he first came to Chicago from Dublin, Miss., where he was born in 1943. But Burns did not take a straight musical path to the blues. He also sang doo-wop, played pop, rock, R&B and gospel, and hints of these elements can be heard in the tracks on these albums (12 on the CD; 14 on the DVD). His guitar style, likewise, arises from classic Chicago blues, focusing on unhurried melodic riffs and licks that advance the story of the song.

Burns is backed by a solid band consisting of Tony Palmer on guitar, Greg McDaniel on bass and James Carter on drums. Burns and Palmer trade solos on several songs, most notably “Miss Annie Lou,” a toe tapping shuffle from Leaving Here Walking. The title track of that album, “Leaving Here Walking,” is also on the set list, as are “No Consideration,” a song from his second album, Night Time Again.

Burns brings out his harmonica as he plays Little Walter’s classic, “Can’t Hold out Much Longer,” a song which also spotlights his excellent vocal abilities. The next track, “Better Know What You’re Doing,” is a tribute to style of John Lee Hooker, with whom Burns was closely acquainted through his older brother, Eddie Burns, who played with the Boogie Man for many years.

Other highlights are “Country Boy in the City,” an uptempo blues that showcases Burns’ talent on slide guitar, “Stop the Train,” another slide guitar gem, and “Wild About You, Baby,” an Elmore James song. Also included are the B.B. King songs, “Whole Lot of Lovin’” and “Three O’Clock Blues,” which features impassioned vocals by guest Jesse Fortune, with whom Burns once recorded.

The DVD also offers two bonus tracks, “Don’t Be Late” and “Mean Mistreating Mama,” a slow-burning blues and yet another reason why the DVD is the better choice of format. But it’s Burns’ running narrative when the DVD is played chapter-by-chapter that seals the deal. It’s both a biography and a blues history at the same time. He tells of moving of his boyhood in Mississippi, his family and his move to Chicago. He talks about learning to play guitar, his dabbling in other musical genres, the singles he recorded in the 1960s and the other jobs he held while raising his family. He mentions long-gone clubs and legendary bluesmen like John Lee Hooker.

At the same time, the video shows the crowds and surroundings of B.L.U.E.S., from the tiny stage, to the bartenders mixing drinks, to the photos of blues performers on the wall. Fans are shown dancing, carrying plates piled high with sausages and burgers and generally enjoying themselves. It’s not quite like being there in person, but it’s the closest you can get on your TV screen.