Long John Baldry - It Ain't Easy
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Free Music Notes for It Ain't Easy
Free Music Review: It ain't easy, but he did it!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is one of those great albums that not everybody will have the opportunity to discover. I mean, if you wasn't there when John Baldry played guitar in Wardour Street, with an old hat full of pennies, and doin' that Boogie Woogie music, maybe you will lose the chance to listen to it. I wasn't there of course! and I am not sure how did I get the recommendation for "It Ain't Easy" but it has been one of the best albums I've ever bought.
It begins with what has been known as Baldry's biggest hit...and what a starter!..."Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll". It's pure and absolute rock and roll indeed! but the blues and the best pop music are present too all along this record.
"It Ain't Easy" is a song that I first heard with David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust album, and Baldry (With Maggie Bell on the vocals) does a great version of this song in a Stone The Crows' style.
The first part of the album run produced by Rod Stewart, so if you love his Faces' Era it wont take you long to love this record too. And the other part, produced by Elton John is as good as the first one. It's more oriented to the pop side of the music, but it doesn't sacrify quality. It's curious, but there's a version of a Faces song, "Flying" under Elton John's production, very enjoyable by the way. And that smooth masterpiece, "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield"...WOW! it has it all, piano, guitar, feeling!.
It could be his voice, raised somewhere in the Mississippi and similar to Joe Cocker's...as if they were drinking some whisky or brandy just before they began singing, but the fact is that this guy knew how to do the blues!. I am glad to own a copy of this album...so give a click on "Order Now" and don't forget to put it into your buying cart!
Free Music Review: Long John's best
Hit: 5 Stars
I first saw LJB in a local club in West London in 1964. In those days he was the main man and a moody young guy with a big nose sang when Long John wanted to take a break. His name was Rod Stewart- I wonder what happened to him?. Another of John's sidekicks, Reg Dwight, changed his name to Elton John (the John was in honor of Baldry) and I believe had some success in later years.
This album dates from the early 70s, after LJB had been to the big time singing MOR and come back down to earth with a bump. It was produced by Rod and Elton (one side each in the days when discs had two sides) and contains some of John's best singing. 'The King of Rock & Roll' is an obvious highlight, but 'Black Girl' is great and 'I'm Ready' and 'It Ain't Easy' are my favorites on a CD which is all good. After this, he made some albums in England which weren't big sellers. He had a breakdown and moved to Canada, where he made good albums regularly but without much commercial success.
The CD isn't quite as the album was originally issued (the duet with Rod on a song called 'Mother Ain't Dead' is omitted for some reason), but the bonus tracks make up for it. If you like John Baldry, or good blues and rock singing, then this is an album to savor.
Note: Commenters have pointed out that my memory was at fault and 'Mother Ain't Dead' is on the 'Everything Stops For Tea' album, now also released on CD. I thank them and am glad to say that I now have that CD, too.
Free Music Review: Notes from Wardour Street
Hit: 5 Stars
This album was my first exposure to Long John; my oldest friend Mike had (and still has) a penchant for scouring used record stores and came home with a slightly used, well cared-for copy. He played it for me and I was hooked. That was 33 years ago and "It Ain't Easy" still stands as my favorite blues rock album. The humor he throws into "Conditional Discharge" (and later in the title track of his next project, "Everything Stops for Tea" ) speaks on a personal level, while the power of his vocals, keyboarding and the guitars of Ron Wood and Sam Mitchell gives raw pure emotion to every track.
It is interesting to note that LJB appeared on the venerable BBC series "Top of the Pops" no less than 11 times (10 times between 1967 and 1969, the 11th in 1988) and not one of the performances showcased his "bluesy" side, but of his pop style (his top-of-the-charts hit "Let the Heartaches Begin" and "(Underneath the Sun in) Mexico" figured in 9 out of the 11 appearances). I'm glad the blues won out.
Long John, you're sorely missed. Hats off to those at Warner who made the decision to release your landmark album to CD.
Free Music Review: Finally, a reissue of this fabulous album
Hit: 5 Stars
It's a little sad that the long overdue reissue of this album coincided almost exactly with Long John's death, but as one who grew up on the vinyl copy, I am delighted to have it. This may even be the first time that it has been released on CD in North America. I'm not sure about that, but it certainly hasn't been available for a long time.
In my view, this is one of the best blues-rock albums to come out of the 1970's. The involvement of Elton John and Rod Stewart was a thank you to Long John for his earlier support, and a recognition of his importance in London blues scene in the 1960's. The result is a killer selection of songs perfectly suited to Long John's bluesy rasp, and played with incredible energy. Many of these tunes are familiar, but these are the definitive renditions.
Adding bonus tracks to classic albums is sometimes a dreadful idea if the additional tracks are not up to snuff and diminish the original work. In this case, however, Stony Plain records have added some great tracks, all of which are well worth a listen. I just wished they hadn't waited so long.
Free Music Review: Sadly neglected pioneer of R&B rooted Rock n Roll
Hit: 5 Stars
After years of toil in obscurity, Baldry broke out in the British music scene with pop inflected tunes, but never really hit his stride until he returned to his "roots", the R&B infected rhythms of his skiffle days, now amped up. His anthemic "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll" is his most remembered bit in the lexicon of RnR. But it is by no means his best effort.
The title of the album says it all: "It Ain't Easy". Believe me, it's true. As a musician, it has taken years to garner some measurable success. I grew up in the 1960s along with many of my contemporaries in the music business. Baldry paid his dues time and again, and poured out his heart into some of the best music you never heard.
This and "Everything Stops For Tea" are must own albums if you want to have a more complete collection of classic rock music. Sadly, again, you just will not hear his music on the radio. And we all lose for that omission.