(Blues) Corey Harris & Henry Butler - Vu-Du Menz

Corey Harris & Henry Butler - Vu-Du Menz (2000) mp3 CBR 320 kbps | 124 MB | Modern Acoustic Blues, Acoustic Blues, Delta blues For their first full-length collaboration, bluesmen Corey Harris and Henry Butler made a quick trip into the studio during a four-day stretch in January 2000. However, rather than sounding rushed, VU-DU MENZ is a relaxed dream teaming of guitar whiz Harris and piano virtuoso Butler, who take a casual stroll through the vital and timeless music of New Orleans. Butler's impressive stride-style playing evokes the spirits of two Big Easy keyboard giants: James P. Johnson ("Sugar Daddy") and Professor Longhair ("L'esprit De James"). In addition, this Crescent City local also provides some soulful scatting on the jaunty funk of "Voodoo Man." Harris proves to be a well-matched partner as his nimble picking and raspy phrasing are a perfect foil for Butler on the ragtime of "If You Let a Man Kick You Once" and the jaunty "Shake What Your Mama Gave You." Elsewhere, both men excel on the straight-ahead blues of "Song of the Pipelayer" and "Let 'Em Roll." When they join forces for an acapella reading of the traditional hymnal "Why Don't You Live So God Can Use You?" both virtuosos succeed in achieving the zeitgeist of the Deep South. ** This impressive album assures that New Orleans music will live strong and healthy into the next generation. A collaboration between a couple of once upstarts, now stalwarts of the new roots-music generation, this is good-time music. Corey Harris plays slide-steel guitar and about 90 other styles, slipping his strings between the 88 piano keys that Henry Butler dances across. On the collaborative tracks, which make up most of the album, their two instruments leave no room for others. They're tight as yarn, weaving together like a Mardi Gras Indian headdress. Each also makes solo performances. They've been compared to great partnerships like Tampa Red and Georgia Tom, but this suggests too much of a historical sound; Harris and Butler are thoroughly modern. Comparing them to Professor Longhair and Snooks Eaglin is accurate in spirit, but Vü-Dü Menz is so fun, no background is needed to enjoy it; even Martians would shake their hips to this much swing. By Robert Gordon. ** Henry Butler being little known outside of blues circles and New Orleans, where he is slowly but surely approaching legendary status, my friends often ask me to describe this music of which I am always speaking so highly. My standard reply has become, "If Mozart had decided to go into blues and funk, he would play the piano like Henry Butler." His voice might be described in a similar manner, replacing "Mozart" and "play the piano" with "Pavarotti" and "sing" (the voice comparison is more appropriate than one might think--he has a very unique, powerful, and loud classically-trained voice). If the word about him escaped to the mainstream, his pure technical mastery, knowledge, and creativity could very well turn him into a household name almost overnight, which would be saying something for a blues artist in this day and age. Butler's blues style is centered around taking standard, irrestible New Orleans piano riffs made famous by artists like Professor Longhair, James Booker, and Dr. John, and attacking them with a strong, unbelievably rythmic left hand, then putting a jazz-influenced right hand with no limitations on top. As George Winston describes him in the liner notes to "Orleans Inspiration," he is easily a "one-man band" The result is a very new, exciting, downhome, funky, and very often "out-there" style of blues. When I saw that Alligator paired him with Corey Harris, an artist whom one could transplant right into the age of Robert Johnson and never know that he didn't belong, my first reaction was one of pure curiousity. The music and guitar playing of Corey Harris, in a way, can be considered just as "modern" as the artistry of Butler. While Butler is attempting to take the blues places it never imagined it could go, Harris is taking the blues right back to where it started, and in a way which few other artists, if any, have been able. Whatever the exact ingredients are that made up classic delta blues around the 1920s, Harris knows them all backwards and forwards. On the other hand, many artists attempting to accomplish a similar feat either come off as indecisive as to how to put a modern spin on it, or simply "pretenders". And yet, despite each artist being so different from the other, on "Vu-Du Menz," they both hit upon a common ground which allows them to create an intense, funky, and often very introspective take on traditional blues which could not be equaled by a pairing of any other two musicians. It's Delta Blues meets Professor Longhair meets The Meters. The only complaint one could have about this album is that they are not paired up for every song on the CD, opting to do some solo performances. Those songs are outstanding and intriguing as well, but we can get those when those two are not busy creating a classic album together. While every song on this album can be considered "a highlight" as well as an entity unto itself (the variety was carefully and perfectly thought out), there are three songs which deserve three asteriks instead of just two. "Mulberry Row" is a mean-sounding, funky blues tribute to Sally Hemmings (how many other songs could one describe in the same manner?). "If You Let a Man Kick You Once" is a light, dixieland-influenced piece that might leave one wondering exactly how a song with such a classic, catchy melody and lyric made it through almost an entire century of blues without somebody else writing it. "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?", in which Harris takes a solo turn, is a quiet and slow yet powerful take on a traditional tune that might lead the listener to shut off every thought and sound around except for the rough beauty of Harris' voice and understated guitar playing. This album has already been received by many in the industry with rave reviews. As with all classic albums, as times goes on, all will probably realize just how truly special a pairing "Vu-Du Menz" represents. By David J. Rosen. ** Corey Harris- (Vocals, Guitar); Henry Butler- (Vocals, Piano). ** 01. Let 'Em Roll 4:17 02. If I Was Your Man 4:39 03. Sugar Daddy 2:39 04. There's No Substitute For Love 4:13 05. King Cotton 4:02 06. Mulberry Row 3:34 07. Down Home Livin' 3:43 08. Voodoo Man 3:56 09. Song Of The Pipelayer 3:32 10. If You Let A Man Kick You Once 4:14 11. L'Espirit de James 3:13 12. Shake What Your Mama Gave You 3:22 13. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel? 2:32 14. What Man Have Done 4:00 15. Why Don't You Live So God Can Use You? 2:13 yeah...whatever...

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
udp://open.demonii.com:1337
udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

otago (2011-03-25)

Thanks Bro

50chevcoe (2012-11-10)

Came straight 2 u man from YOutube-