Track Listing

1. Down Home Blues
2. Who
3. Keep Your Hand Out Of My Pocket
4. Little Car Blues
5. My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble
6. Broke And Hungry
7. Hit Man
8. Black Nights
9. Somebody Changed The Lock
10. Second Hand Man
11. New Kid On The Block

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #113479 in Music
• Released on: 1994-10-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
Suggested alternate title: FOUR HARPS, NO WAITING. In otherwords, this is a sort of blues harp summit meeting, featuring three players--James Cotton, Junior Wells, and Carey Bell--who all at one time had featured in the Muddy Waters band,plus a younger disciple, Billy Branch, who had, as they say, learned from the best.
Highpoints include the Junior Wells solo track "Keep Your Hands Out of My Pocket", which is a terrific showcase for his distinctive harp style (he has adeliberately cleaner tone than the other three) and the opening "Down Home Blues", which is a sort of cutting contest where all four get a vocal verse, and an instrumental solo. Terrific stuff.

Customer Reviews

Nice....
How about that headline, eh?
I'm real proud of it myself.

Anyway...the back cover shows all four harpists, Cotton, Wells, Branch, and Bell, holding their harmonicas in a "one for all, all for one" musketeer position. And my initial reservations about this album have long since proved unfounded..."Harp Attack" is _not_ a gimmick, or a novelty item, or a mere showpiece; most of the time it really works.

Backed by a sparse four-man band (drums, bass, guitar, and excellent piano player Lucky Peterson), three former members of the Muddy Waters-band - and Billy Branch - trade off choruses and solos on this warm and relaxed little album. The liner notes are even kind enough to tell the listener who is singing and playing what on each of the 11 songs.
"Harp Attack" opens with one of the best songs on the album, the easy blues shuffle "Down Home Blues", and that one sets the tone...all four men sing a verse each and play a solo each, very democratic, and very good, too, actually.
Other highlights include a great rendition of Rice Miller's "Keep Your Hands Out Of My Pocket", sung in Junior Wells' gritty bartone, an energetic "Little Car Blues" by Cotton, James Cotton's expressive, soulful performance of "Black Night", and a funky take on "Broke And Hungry", originally from Wells' second LP.

The album mixes classic blues tunes with more contemporary sounds (Billy Branch's R&B-flavoyred compositions in particular), and even though everything isn't equally compelling, "Harp Attack" holds up well. Not a must-have album, perhaps, but a nice listen, especally for fans of Billy Branch.
3 3/4 stars.

Blues Harp at its very best
Harp Attack features 4 harp masters performing 11 songs for over 50 minutes of fabulous harp drenched blues. The disc also features an all star backing band featuring Lucky Peterson ("Double Dealin'") on piano, Michael Coleman ("Do Your Thing!") on guitar, Johnny B. Gayden on Bass and Ray "Killer" Allison on drums. Gayden and Allison are stalwarts of the blues and have backed up the likes of Johnny Winter, Son Seal, Larry McCray, Dave Hole, Buddy Guy and Don Griffin. The CD does an excellent job of maintaining cohesiveness, highlighting and then blending the various styles and vocals of these individuals without elevating the songs to jam status.

The harmonica here is 100% pure talent. This is the album the solidified my relationship with Blues Harp. The playing on this is simply stellar, and the choice of players offer a diverse approach to style, from Cotton's ferocious, high energy playing to Wells' more soulful, precise wails. Every song here offers something, from the blues party style of Down Home Blues to the mornful tones of Black Night. What really makes this album happen, though, is the obvious enjoyment these guys get from playing together (demonstrated well in My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble). If Junior Wells hadn't passed away I would say a follow up from this group was in order. But as long as I have this masterpiece, I'll be happy. If you like Blues Harp, GET THIS!