talk to me baby

Elmore James
Originally uploaded by third uncle.

elmore james
from the compilation
guitars in orbit
LISTEN/talktomebaby

seeing m.ward last monday at southpaw has further convinced me that he is today's bruce springsteen. i really think so and i know i'm not the only one. well, there are differences.he plays much shorter sets than the boss and may not be as at hand with his showmanship, although he does earn points for knowing to get real close to the front row during solos, and for trying to charm a girl from the crowd onto the stage during his soft rock, "to all the girls i've loved before", serenade "fuel for fire". my favorite part of the show came when he and the band took up to covering elmore james, adding a sweet guy/gal call and response part while shouting "talk to me baby", the declarative title. you can probably find this song on a dozen of james' compilations, all most likely bearing the title "elmore james:king of the slide guitar" or "the slide guitar king" or "the guitar slide king", something like that. any recording is bound to be good because james never recorded a dud. every performance i've ever heard has been astounding. he always sounds like he's giving it everything he's got, totally raw and rollicking. i read somewhere that he had a background in electronics fixing radios and would use those skills to modify guitar amps to go much louder and just sound really fierce, especially so for the time. a professed influence on luminaries like chuck berry, hound dog taylor, brian jones, jimi hendrix and so many others,elmore james is the delta blues and a forefather of rock n' roll.