1988 studio album by Willie Dixon
Hidden Charms is a blues album by Willie Dixon , released in 1988 on Bug/Capitol Records .[ 1] [ 2] It won a 1989 Grammy Award .[ 3]
Production
The album was produced by T Bone Burnett .[ 4] The band was made up of Cash McCall and Burnett on guitars, Sugar Blue on harmonica, Red Callender on bass, Lafayette Leake on piano, and Earl Palmer on drums.[ 5] "Study War No More" was cowritten by Dixon's grandson.[ 6]
Critical reception
The Globe and Mail wrote that "the band is excellent - rootsy and tough but not overpowering - and, while Dixon's hardly a mesmerizing singer, his gruff grandfatherly voice has a plaintive soulfullness that suits his more recent songs."[ 9] The Kingston Whig-Standard wrote that "Leake's unique playing is alone worth the price of the album."[ 10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "a solid if unspectacular outing."[ 4] Paste deemed it "a collection of overlooked Dixon gems."[ 11]
Track listing
All tracks composed and arranged by Willie Dixon; except where indicated
"Blues You Can't Lose" 5:44
"I Don't Trust Myself" 4:23
"Jungle Swing" (Willie Dixon, Leonard Caston ) 5:27
"Don't Mess With The Messer" 7:10
"Study War No More" (Willie Dixon, Alex Dixon) 4:33
"I Love The Life I Live (I Live The Life I Love)" 3:11
"I Cry For You" 4:40
"Good Advice" (Willie Dixon, J.B. Lenoir ) 5:13
"I Do The Job" 6:22
Personnel
Technical
Rik Pekkonen - recording, mixing
Larry Hirsch - additional engineer
Nancy Meyer - project coordinator
Marc Norberg - front cover portrait
References
^ "Willie Dixon and the Blues--One of the Last From the Past" . Los Angeles Times . December 3, 1988.
^ a b "Hidden Charms - Willie Dixon - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic" . AllMusic . Retrieved 28 November 2018 .
^ Steve Shorter (2015). Roots to Rock: Part 2 - Blues . Booktango. ISBN 978-1468954456 . Dixon was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and won a Grammy Award in 1989 for his album, Hidden Charms
^ a b c The Rolling Stone Album Guide . Random House. 1992. pp. 202– 203.
^ a b Fields, Curt (11 Dec 1988). "WILLIE DIXON". Orlando Sentinel : 6.
^ "Dixon hasn't stopped singing the blues". Calgary Herald : C5. 22 Dec 1988.
^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music . Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 37.
^ Moon, Tom (20 Nov 1988). "Willie Dixon Hidden Charms". The Philadelphia Inquirer : H12.
^ Dafoe, Chris (15 Dec 1988). "INSIDE THE SLEEVE POP Hidden Charms Willie Dixon". The Globe and Mail : C13.
^ Burliuk, Greg (24 Dec 1988). "Short Cuts". The Kingston Whig-Standard : 1.
^ "Forgotten Giants: Willie Dixon - The Poet Laureate of Chess Records" . pastemagazine.com . September 25, 2018.
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