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About Them Shoes

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About Them Shoes
Studio album by
Hubert Sumlin
Released2005
GenreBlues
LabelTone-Cool
ProducerRob Fraboni, Ben Elliott
Hubert Sumlin chronology
Do the Don't
(2003) 		About Them Shoes
(2005) 		Midnight Memphis Sun
(2010)

About Them Shoes is an album by the American musician Hubert Sumlin, released in 2005.[1][2] It was delayed for four years due to litigation.[3] According to Sumlin, the album title was inspired by something Levon Helm said in the studio; on other occasions, he attributed the saying to his father.[4][5]

The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart.[6] Sumlin supported it with a North American tour.[7] About Them Shoes was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Album".[8] It won a Blues Music Award for best "Traditional Blues Album".[9]

Production

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About Them Shoes was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ben Elliott.[10] Seven of the album's songs are associated with Muddy Waters, four with Howlin' Wolf; Sumlin was taught a few of the Waters songs by Otis Spann.[11][12] Sumlin played lead guitar on all of the tracks.[13] David Johansen sang on the cover of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing".[14] Blondie Chaplin sang on "Look What You've Done".[15] Helm played drums on eight tracks.[15] Keith Richards, who helped plan the album and chose to lean on the Waters songbook, sang on "Still a Fool".[16] Eric Clapton sang and played guitar on "I'm Ready".[17] Sumlin sang on the closing track, the acoustic "This Is the End, Little Girl"; Richards played bass.[18] Michael "Mudcat" Ward played bass on most of the tracks.[19] Paul Oscher played harmonica.[20] Waters band alumni James Cotton and Bob Margolin also contributed.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Detroit Free Press[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[21]
The Nelson MailB+[22]
Orlando Sentinel[14]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[23]
Philadelphia Daily NewsB[24]
The Post and CourierA[25]
USA Today[26]

The Lincoln Journal Star praised "Sumlin's spare but emotional guitar work," writing that he goes "for a laid-back groove rather than overheated flash."[27] The Detroit Free Press determined that, "though an obvious labor of love for all involved, it remains Sumlin's show throughout."[7] The Washington Post said that, "playing finger-style electric guitar, [Sumlin] laces these tracks with a peculiar assortment of rubbery note bends, skittish triplets, stinging slides and vibrato-ringing tones."[20] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "the result is surprisingly unflashy and elegantly simple, as everybody plays his role and defers to Sumlin."[28]

The Christian Science Monitor noted that Sumlin "seems to be having the rollicking good time of his long and prolific career on this disc."[29] The Independent concluded that About Them Shoes will "put you in mind of Johnny Winter's last-gasp repointing of Muddy in the late '70s... No bad thing."[30] The Post and Courier stated that, "even in his later years, Sumlin can still make his guitar scream and growl."[25] The Boston Globe opined that "the overall results are more archival than incendiary, but if you like old-school electric blues, this will be a familiar tonic."[17]

AllMusic wrote: "About Them Shoes could have taken the marquee talent and gone for a glitzy platform to bring Hubert Sumlin into the mainstream. Instead, they dive headfirst into what this music is all about, and in doing so have come up with a mini-masterpiece."[15]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Ready" (featuring Eric Clapton, vocals, guitar)Willie Dixon4:22
2."Still a Fool" (featuring Keith Richards, vocals, guitar)Muddy Waters5:22
3."She's into Something"Carl Wright3:10
4."Iodine in My Coffee"Waters5:05
5."Look What You've Done"Waters3:38
6."Come Home Baby"Waters4:34
7."Evil"Dixon4:48
8."Long Distance Call" (featuring Clapton, vocals, guitar)Waters5:30
9."The Same Thing" (featuring David Johansen, vocals)Dixon3:49
10."Don't Go No Farther"Dixon3:05
11."I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" (featuring Richards, backing vocals, guitar)Dixon3:56
12."Walkin' Thru the Park" (featuring Johansen, vocals)Waters3:27
13."This Is the End, Little Girl"Hubert Sumlin3:38
Total length:54:24

Personnel

[edit]
  • Hubert Sumlin – lead guitar (all tracks), vocals (13)
  • Mudcat Ward – bass (1, 3–12)
  • Paul Nowinksi – bass (13)
  • Levon Helm – drums (1, 3–8, 10, 12)
  • Bob Margolin – guitar (1, 3–8, 10, 12)
  • Paul Oscher – harmonica (1, 4–12), vocals (6), slide guitar (7)
  • George Receli – percussion (1, 3–6, 10), drums (2, 9, 11), vocals (3, 11)
  • David Maxwell – piano (1, 3–6, 8–12)
  • Eric Clapton – guitar (1, 8), vocals (1, 8)
  • Blondie Chaplin – bass (1), vocals (5), backing vocals (11), percussion (7–9, 11)
  • Keith Richards – guitar (2, 11, 13), vocals (2), backing vocals (11)
  • James Cotton – harmonica (3)
  • Nathaniel Peterson – vocals (4, 7, 10)
  • David Johansen – vocals (9, 12)

References

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  1. ^ Danton, Eric R. (January 22, 2005). "A Music Explosion". Hartford Courant. p. D1.
  2. ^ Robinson, Lisa (February 2005). "Am I Blue". Vanity Fair. No. 534. p. 70.
  3. ^ Krewen, Nick (November 4, 2004). "L'l Big Horn will be howlin with blues". Guelph Mercury. p. F4.
  4. ^ Romano, Will (2005). Incurable Blues: The Troubles & Triumph of Blues Legend Hubert Sumlin. Backbeat Books. p. 190.
  5. ^ Quill, Greg (July 21, 2005). "The unsinkable Hubert Sumlin". Toronto Star. p. G3.
  6. ^ "Top Blues Albums". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 13. March 26, 2005. p. 48.
  7. ^ a b c Lawson, Terry (January 23, 2005). "Blues". Detroit Free Press. p. L4.
  8. ^ "Hubert Sumlin". Grammy Awards. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Lollar, Michael (May 12, 2006). "Sounds so good". The Commercial Appeal. p. B7.
  10. ^ Walsh, Christopher (February 12, 2005). "About Them Shoes". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 7. pp. 40, 41.
  11. ^ Thomas, Rob (February 2, 2005). "Hubert Sumlin, 'About Them Shoes'". The Capital Times. p. 1B.
  12. ^ a b Drozdowski, Ted (March 2005). "Moving center stage". Jazziz. Vol. 22, no. 3. pp. 34, 35.
  13. ^ Piercy, Mike (April 24, 2005). "Blues". Daily Press. Newport News. p. G7.
  14. ^ a b Abbott, Jim (January 21, 2005). "Blues Dudes". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 13.
  15. ^ a b c d "About Them Shoes Review by Joe Viglione". AllMusic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  16. ^ Williams, Ken (July 1, 2005). "About Them Shoes". Entertainment Guide. The Age. p. 7.
  17. ^ a b Morse, Steve (March 4, 2005). "Hubert Sumlin, 'About Them Shoes'". The Boston Globe. p. D12.
  18. ^ Melvin, Charlie (March 28, 2005). "Blues". Features. Birmingham Post. p. 13.
  19. ^ Craft, Dan (July 14, 2005). "We Got the Blues". The Pantagraph. p. D1.
  20. ^ a b Joyce, Mike (January 30, 2005). "About Them Shoes Hubert Sumlin". The Washington Post. p. N4.
  21. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  22. ^ Hunt, Stewart (January 26, 2006). "From veteran punks to old blues magic". Features. The Nelson Mail. p. 19.
  23. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. p. 615.
  24. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (January 25, 2005). "Blues Power". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 32.
  25. ^ a b Grant, Devin (February 10, 2005). "Hubert Sumlin 'About Them Shoes'". The Post and Courier. p. F6.
  26. ^ Mansfield, Brian (February 15, 2005). "Blues". USA Today. p. D5.
  27. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (January 21, 2005). "Guitarist gets help paying tribute to Muddy Waters". Lincoln Journal Star. p. X10.
  28. ^ Knopper, Steve (March 22, 2005). "Hubert Sumlin About Them Shoes". Chicago Tribune. p. 5.3.
  29. ^ Kehe, John (February 4, 2005). "Blues". Arts. The Christian Science Monitor. p. 13.
  30. ^ Coleman, Nick (February 6, 2005). "Blues". Features. The Independent. p. 24.
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