The Real Deal is an album by the American musician John Primer, released in 1995.[1][2] Primer supported the album with a North American tour.[3] He subsequently named his backing band the Real Deal.[4]The Real Deal was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for best "Traditional Blues Album".[5]
Production
The album was produced by Mike Vernon, who had signed Primer to his label.[6] Vernon thought that Primer came closest of the contemporary blues musicians to the sound of 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues.[7]Billy Branch contributed on harmonica; David Maxwell played piano.[8][9] "Good Understanding" is a cover of the Willie Dixon song.[6] "Come Back Baby" is a cover of Ray Charles's version of the tune.[10] Primer played slide guitar on "I Called My Baby".[11]
The Indianapolis Star praised the "simple four-piece band that shuffles, boogies, rocks and wails its way through a strong slate of songs."[10]Stereo Review wrote that Primer's "assertive voice and buoyant guitar are propelled in just the right groove" by his backing band.[17] The Chicago Tribune noted the "tough, no-nonsense swagger of his classic Chicago blues sound," writing that "Primer never wastes a note, never seems particularly eager to show off."[13]
The Springfield News-Leader determined that the album "smoothly blends contemporary and traditional blues."[16] The Richmond Times-Dispatch concluded that "the extensive guitar technique and emotive vocals are shadowed and embellished by Primer's band."[18] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that Primer's "gritty vocals and stinging guitar carry the genuine trademark of this swaggering Chicago music."[15]
AllMusic called the album "long on intensity and devoid of pretension."[12]
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