John Long
Lost & Found
Delta Groove Productions |
It’s inconceivable to me that a Bluesman
such as John Long has gone unnoticed and unrecorded for almost 35
years. We’ve all read stories of similar situations --- Son House living
in relative obscurity in Rochester, New York as an example. So we are
all fortunate indeed that a rare demo of John’s landed in the hands of
Al Blake, front man for the Hollywood Blue Flames, and even more
fortunate that Al shared the demo with Randy Chortkoff of Delta Groove
Productions who made immediate arrangements to record John. The
resulting record, Lost & Found, serves as a poignant reminder of
the very best of the country bluesmen who have come before us and John
Long reminds us that the past is indeed not lost.
“Hokum Town” opens the record and finds
John packing up his stuff to go. The woman he’s been sharing time with
has lied to him, shown him the dark side of segregation and he just
can’t abide by that….”I’m packing up momma, leavin on the bus outside!”
“Pressure Cooker” finds chicken cooking on the stove in a pressure
cooker and if it’s not watched properly, allowed to cool, the pot itself
will blow. John’s woman is lazy….she’s watching soaps on TV as opposed
to what’s cookin' and if she’s not careful….”there’ll be chicken all
over the ceiling!”
Fred Kaplan lends his keyboard talents to
the fray on “Hell Cat.” John is warning everyone in the neighborhood to
keep their cats and dogs under watch….”there’s a hell cat coming down
the mountains….low down and mean!” “Don’t blame the hell cat if you’re
dog’s missing…..she decided to have a midnight snack!” Kaplan’s piano
provides the perfect foil to the guitar and harmonica instrumentation of
Long on this song about a devil woman. “Blues and Boogie Woogie” finds
everyone out partying….”having a real good time!” “Don’t care what color
you have on --- black, brown, blue or white --- you got to get out there
and have a real good time!” Long’s guitar picking is clean and
practiced, reflecting that talents of a master who has honed is craft in
relative obscurity over the last 40 years.
“Foot Stompin’ Daddy” finds John in a
celebratory mood. He’s feeling the lowdown blues and “got the beat in my
blood all I want to do is stomp to the blues and boogie woogie….all
night long!” “Stranglevine” finds Long in a ragtime mood with Kaplan
pounding the keys to accompany Long’s harp. “I woke up early in the
morning and the sun just wouldn’t shine....it was the lowdown blues they
call it….mean old stranglevine!” With the stranglevine threatening his
garden…”I’m going…going to be happy….not going to worry bout that
stranglevine no more!”
The instrumental, “Johnny’s Jump” gives
Long a chance to stretch his wings a little bit and serenade us with his
harp and guitar playing. It provides a nice segue into the next cut on
the record, “Mean Ole Rootin’ Ground Sloth.” “He got long shovel claws
and odds are his teeth are sharp…don’t come out in the daylight…..come
when the night is dark!” So be on your watch….”cause he’s howling and
he’s prowlin…mean ole rootin’ ground sloth!”
“Greyhound Driver” finds John ready to
leave town again. “Greyhound driver, tell me where you’re old dog
bound!” He’s leaving Kansas City and the bus is his transportation of
choice. “Whether you go to Chicago, New Orleans or Tennessee…any place
they play the blues….that’s all right with me!” Things slow way down on
“Healin’ Touch.” John has a woman who is blessed with the “healin’
touch”. “She touched my face and my hand….daddy, I understand...you
healed the air, water and land….made me feel like a brand new man!”
Long closes his record with two versions
of “Leavin St. Louis,” a solo version and a piano version with Fred
Kaplan. As usual, a woman’s to blame for John leaving town. “When I
leave St. Louis…leave my initials on the wall….can’t treat me no better
woman….I won’t be back around your place at all!”
Considering the fact that Lost & Found
is the first full length recording John Long has ever done, I find
myself wondering what other gems still lay within the depths of his
experiences. He’s had 40 years to perfect his craft and he is indeed,
“an old soul.” Acoustic country blues like this just doesn’t happen
anymore….for the most part there’s not many artists left who are as well
versed in that period of time like John, and fewer still have the
artistic ability to convey the best of a bye gone era like he does.
We’re lucky that Al Blake discovered him, Randy Chortkoff believed in
his talent and Delta Groove recorded him. In a day and age when we’re
losing so many of our elder blues statesmen, it’s a refreshing breathe
of air to discover a “new” old bluesman like John Long.
--- Kyle Deibler