Magic Touch (Magic Sam and Shakey Jake album)
Magic Touch is a live album by Chicago blues guitarist and vocalist Magic Sam, with harmonica player Shakey Jake. The set list only included one Magic Sam original, "All Your Love", his signature tune first recorded for Cobra Records in 1957. Four feature Shakey Jake on vocal and/or harmonica, including his composition "Sawed Off Shotgun". Several of the songs are contemporary 1965–1966 R&B blues-style songs popularized by Junior Parker, Little Joe Blue, Jimmy Robins, and Jimmy McCracklin performed in Magic Sam's distinctive style.
| Magic Touch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | December 1966 | |||
| Venue | Silvio's, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 50:58 | |||
| Label | Black Magic | |||
| Magic Sam chronology | ||||
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The low-fidelity recording was made by George Adins, a Belgian blues and amateur field recording enthusiast.[1] The Dutch Black Magic label released the original album in 1983 and indicated that the performance was recorded in 1968 at Silvio's, a club in Chicago.[1] The 1993 Black Top Records CD reissue notes that it was recorded in December 1966.[2]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
In a review for AllMusic, blues historian Bill Dahl commented:
Another rare glimpse at Magic Sam hard at work, this time at another fabled West side haunt ... Sam launches into another terrific set of numbers that for the most part he never recorded in the studio – songs by Freddy King, Albert Collins, James Robins, Junior Parker, and Jimmy McCracklin that briliiantly suited his soaring pipes and singular guitar style.[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Juke" | Walter Jacobs a.k.a. Little Walter | Harmonica instrumental | 3:05 |
| 2. | "Hate to See You Go" | Aaron Walker a.k.a. T-Bone Walker[lower-alpha 1] | Magic Sam | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Just Like a Fish" | Pearl Woods[lower-alpha 2] | Magic Sam | 2:50 |
| 4. | "Dirty Work Goin' On" | Ferdinand Washington[lower-alpha 3] | Magic Sam | 4:32 |
| 5. | "Rock Me" | McKinley Morgenfield a.k.a. Muddy Waters | Shakey Jake | 4:38 |
| 6. | "I've Been Down So Long" | J. B. Lenoir | Magic Sam | 2:35 |
| 7. | "I Just Can't Please You" | Unknown[lower-alpha 4] | Magic Sam | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Just Got to Know" | Jimmy McCracklin | Magic Sam | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Tore Down" | Sonny Thompson | Magic Sam | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Scratch My Back" | James Moore a.k.a. Slim Harpo | Shakey Jake | 4:10 |
| 4. | "Sawed Off Shotgun" | Jake Harris a.k.a. Shakey Jake | Shakey Jake | 2:40 |
| 5. | "Back Stroke" | Albert Collins | Guitar instrumental | 2:28 |
| 6. | "All Your Love" | Sam Maghett a.k.a. Magic Sam | Magic Sam | 4:25 |
| 7. | "19 Years Old" | Morgenfield | Shakey Jake | 5:25 |
Personnel
- Magic Sam − guitar, vocals
- Shakey Jake – harmonica, vocals on side 1 tracks 1, 5 and side 2 tracks 3, 4, 7
- Mack Thompson – bass
- Odie Payne – drums
Notes
- "Hate to See You Go" shares many lyrics with "Reconsider Baby" by Lowell Fulson.
- Junior Parker recorded "Just Like a Fish" in 1966.
- "Dirty Work Going On" was recorded in 1966 by Little Joe Blue.
- Jimmy Robins recorded "I Just Can't Please You" in 1966, who is also listed as the songwriter.
References
- Sacre, Robert (1983). Magic Touch (Album notes). Magic Sam. Netherlands: Black Magic. BM 9003.
- Magic Touch (Album notes). Magic Sam. New Orleans, Louisiana: Black Top Records. 1993. CD ST-1085.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Dahl, Bill (1996). "Magic Sam: Magic Touch". In Erlewine, Michael; Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Koda, Cub (eds.). All Music Guide to the Blues. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 176. ISBN 0-87930-424-3.