DVD Review: Johnny Winter with Dr. John – Live in Sweden 1987

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2016

Images from the Internet

Johnny Winter with Dr. John: Live in Sweden 1987

Produced and directed by Leninart Wetterholm

Gazell Records AB / MVD Visual

59 Minutes, 1987 / 2016

www.gazell.net

www.mvdvisual.com

It will soon be two years since Johnny Winter shed his mortal coil and went to join the other blues rock guitarists that both preceded him, and others that left after. Boogie blues musician Dr. John (nee Mac Rebennack) is still with us at age 75, though he only appears on a bit more than half of this DVD, which is probably why they call this With, although the original program was And. But I jump ahead of myself.

There is a brief pre-show overdub interview with Winter talking about the effect of Blues in his life and what it means to play it, over footage of the band preparing to perform for a Swedish television broadcast. What is especially nice is that you know the sound quality is going to be good as it could be controlled better in a recording studio at that point, rather than an auditorium. There definitely is a graininess to the visual, probably originally recorded on PAL format and transferred to either direct to digital, or to VHS and then digital. That being said, this DVD looks better than most of the leaked videos I’ve seen so far, so I’m going to assume it was taken from the PAL master. Also, being television of then rather than now, the image is square to fit the old-style tubes, rather than widescreen, as is used nowadays.

When I saw Winter play live at Louie’s in Saskatoon in 2011, he sounded great if a bit detached, but looked pretty bad, being mostly blind by then, and pale in both skin and spirit (even beyond his albinism); yet even here in 1987, he looks skeletal at best, like you could knock him over with a deep breath. At the 3:45 mark, it even seems like an audience member appears to be miming that he seems like he’s near demise.

Everything is stripped down on this show, from Winter’s weight to the first part of the show being his band made up as just a trio, with Jon Paris (still looking like his Link Ray/Robert Gordon rockabilly phase) on bass and harmonica, and Tom Compton on drums, with Dr. John jumping in towards the middle.

The show starts off strong, with the Winter trio belting out a bluesy version of the zydeco classic “Sound the Bell.” The band has obviously been playing this number a while because they seem quite at ease with it, yet never letting its proverbial throat go throughout. Johnny sways around the stage like he’s caught in a breeze, just shredding his custom black headless Lazer guitar, which he uses for all the songs albeit one.

Lee Baker Jr.’s “Don’t Take Advantage of Me” is pure blues rock, starting with a growl and a strong rhythm pulse. Northern Blues, but definitely with a southern twist, they add some solid rock into the mix towards the end of the song. Switching to his 1963 Gibson Firebird, he swings into a slide version of J.B. Lenoir’s [d. 1967] Son House-meets-Nawleans-style acoustic-gone-electric slow burn boogie Blues of “Mojo Boogie.”

Of course, this song is a perfect way to set up the introduction of Dr. John’s version of the boogie that made him so popular among the Creole set. A few rattling tinkles on the keys, with Winter back on his Lazer, and they break into a Dr. John original, the cheatin’ number, “You Lie Too Much.” The boogie here – er – lies with the piano, though Winter does get his riffs in. Even with the mixing some of styles, they fit like two gloves with fingers intertwined. John does take the lead on the vocals for these numbers, with Winter and Paris doing back-up. For their second song, they equally share Muddy Waters’ upbeat “Sugar Sweet,” alternating verses and licks.

Together yet, they break into the slow burner “Love, Life and Money” (originally recorded by Little Willie John), again share duties by alternating the song, split down the middle, growl for growl.

There needs to be some kind of rave up after a soul pulling number like that, so to rev it up for the finale they cover “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” I’ve never seen a Johnny Winter set without at least one Rolling Stones cover, and this is one of his strongest choices. I always wondered if Keef was a bit jealous of Winter’s agility on the fretboard. John and Johnny both sing on the chorus and it’s a not always a pretty blending, but they play it so well, with such gutsy enthusiasm, it’s easily forgivable. Winter prowls the stage especially aggressively on this number (when I saw him, he was chair-bound, which I am assuming he found frustrating, leading to said detachment to the moment), and takes command both vocally and on the solos. That does not surprise, however, as this is one of his tried-and-true numbers over the decades. That’s not to say that Dr. John just sits still, as he adds some really nice fill to the sound.

The real smile-inducer and wow-factor was when Winter played the chords on Paris’ bass while plucking his own guitar, and at the same time Paris played the chords on Winter’s guitar and the plucked the notes on his own bass, as Winter stood behind him with their arms intertwined.

CD version

They go out on this number, which is perfect for a wanting-more moment for the very blond(e) and white audience. What the small crowd here doesn’t get – but we do – is one more in the extras section, which is a live clip from 1972 of Winter and his band playing a clip of Robert Wilkins’s “Prodigal Son.” It sounds great, but looks like it was filmed in 16mm. Still, it’s pleasing to see Winter looking healthy, as well as in better voice for its 2:08 length. It seems to be a promo for his 1970 Johnny Winter And album.

This Swedish show is also released as a CD now, though the extra song is not included. Still worth it.

Band:

Johnny Winter: vox/guitar

Tom Compton: drums
Jon Paris: bass

Song List:
Sound the Bell
Don’t Take Advantage of Me 

Mojo Boogie 

You Lie Too Much

Sugar Sweet 

Love, Life and Money 

Jumpin’ Jack Flash 

Bonus:

Prodigal Son 

DVD Review: Johnny Winter Live at Rockpalast

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2011
Images from the Internet



Johnny Winter Live at Rockpalast 1979
Directed by Unknown
MVD Visual, 1979 / 2011
90 minutes, USD $19.95
MVDvisual.com

This April 1979 oft-bootlegged show has finally been released on DVD, thanks to the good people at MVD Visual. Broadcast live on German television, it was filmed at Grugahalle, in Essen, Deutschland.

Previously to the show, and after having been raised in the swampy sounds of Delta blues in Texas, Johnny Winter made his name playing blues rock in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. After a famous bout in rehab to get rid of an addiction, Winter basically used that fulcrum to find his way back to the blues, which expressed the internal frustration that was most likely raging side. He understood the blues and was feeling it strongly, so it seems apropos. As shown here, he tries to get away from rock’n’roll somewhat, but they keep pulling him back in.

For this concert, Winter is part of a power trio. On bass is afro’d Jon Paris, who has worked with the likes of Elvis (on Roots Revolution), Dylan, Robert Gordon, Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh (not to mention his own solo releases). He seems to be having a blast here, as he has a wide open smile almost throughout, and he gets to play both harmonica and, for two songs, lead guitar and vox. On drums – many, many drums, including a double floor bass set – is Bobby Caldwell, who has played in (or with) the likes of Captain Beyond, Armageddon, Rich Derringer, and (as has Paris) Johnny Winter during some of his rock period. He plays okay (not magnificently), sometimes in a slashing motion, but seems out of place for a blues show with his complex kit, spandex sleeveless red shirt, and red silk boxer shorts (aka, a rock drummer clothing cliché).

The song list of blues is pretty strong, including Freddie King’s “Hideaway,” Junior Wells’ “Messin’ With the Kid,” and Willie Brown’s “Mississippi Blues.” He sets (figuratively) fire to his Gibson Firebird as he floats around the stage, or plays sitting on a stool. Truthfully, he’s looking pretty frail, his wispy frame moving around the stage like a corn stalk blowing in a wind. His long, thin fingers snake over the neck with a passion, whatever it is he is playing. Actually, he looks like hell, his teeth gray and his albino skin looking more sallow than usual. And is it me, or is he a bit testy, as well? He seems to have a few words for Jon Paris here and there (both of whom ignore Caldwell until the very end), though Jon’s joy of what he is playing never seems to wan.

But then again, Winter is also self-deprecating in his brief comments between songs, as well as perhaps a bit condescending to his audience who want to rock. More than once, he comments to the audience that he knows they’re expecting rock’n’roll, but he’s going to play the blues, if it’s “okay” with them, while extolling the virtues of the genre.

Meanwhile, there are some songs he plays in the middle that border (or perhaps overlap) on rock, such as “Divine Duck” and the staple, “Suzie Q.” At this point, for some reason, Jon Paris takes over the guitar and vocals for some ole time rock and roll and rockabilly with Muddy Waters’ “I’m Ready,” which he starts with a solid Chuck Berry-sounding guitar riff, followed by Johnny Burnette’s “Rockabilly Boogie.” No wonder he played with Elvis. While he is riffing away decently, Winter is relegated to the bass, which he plays without much flaunting. However, there is one brief shining moment where both Paris and Winter seem to be enjoying playing each other’s instrument (now, now…).

As a partial digression here, the original program was two hours long rather than the 90 minutes here, and included a cover of Berry’s “Johnny Be Goode,” and a Caldwell drum solo with a soon-to-be-retired Patti Smith, of all people, on clarinet! I’ve read some reviews that complain that these two numbers could have (or should have) been substituted for the Paris-led ones. I admit I agree, even though I enjoyed the Paris performance. Heck, why wasn’t it all here?

After these ‘50s rock and roll throwbacks, Winter comes back to the lead with a unyielding and seamless blues medley of “Stones in My Passway” (Robert Johnson), “Leaving Blues” (Leadbelly), and “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” (Muddy Waters), which you can see he is totally enjoying as he sits on the stool and marinates in the sound, some of which is played with a slide on his pinkie.

The audience seems a bit bewildered by the blues stuff, albeit they seem to be getting pleasure from it. Paris comes over and says something to Winter, obviously to encourage / cajole him, and Winter unwillingly concedes (note: author Sean McDevitt stated that it is “best to think of this offering as a reward, not a concession”), saying “If you don’t dig quality, at least you’ll get off on volume. Here we go!”, and then breaks into the last song, the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” which the audience eats up. I started to feel a bit uncomfortable actually, even though he played the shit out of it. The reason? Winter starts rocking – nay, mocking – the whole rock star on-stage image with the grimaces and false bravado he obviously isn’t feeling. In fact, at one point he changes the line from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash / It’s a gas” to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash / It’s a fuckin’ drag.” I do have to comment that he shows why he was considered such a strong rocker as he wails away at the guitar.

Considering when it took place, this concert was most likely taped in European PAL format, and then transferred and adapted to the North American NTSC system. The image is not bad, considering its age and the technology at the time, though when in the right light, there are thin horizontal lines that appear from time to time, but I didn’t find it much distracting. Perhaps I’m old enough to remember just how crappy some video was back then. The sound, however, is pretty crisp and in full stereo, making it enjoyable to give a listen. If the visual are off-putting to the viewer, this is also available in CD. For me, no matter how this is played, hearing Johnny sing and growl is a joy. His lateral “S” lisp works well with the style.

Johnny Winter is a delight to listen to, and for me, also to watch, as he wrings the neck of the guitar, twisting out sounds and bending the notes. The camera wisely focuses on him and often on his playing in long enough shots to actually see what he is doing (as opposed to much modern concert footage where, in MTV mode, the editing doesn’t allow the eye to rest on the fingerwork).

The blues is what Winter needed to be playing that night after a grueling period of his life, and while he had the opportunity to express it, it truly is a celebration of his talent and love of the blues.

Track Listing:
Hideaway
Messin’ With the Kid
Walking By Myself
Mississippi Blues
Divin’ Duck
Suzie Q
I’m Ready
Rockabilly Boogie
Medley
Jumpin’ Jack Flash