Albert Collins was known by various names including "The Master of the
Telecaster," "The Iceman," and "The Razor Blade." He
wrung sounds out of a customized Telecaster that most guitarists can only dream
about. In fact, it’s said that his sound could strip the paint off a car. A
blues man at heart, his repertoire also included funk, rock, and jazz. His
songs are stories, some of them hilarious.
He
played in obscurity until the white blues band, Canned Heat, persuaded him to
the West Coast. It proved to be a good move because in 1968 he recorded his
first album for Imperial Records. The label didn’t last and he slipped out of
sight until 1978 when he signed with the premier blues label, alligator
Records.
If
you watch him play, you may find his chording strange. That’s because he didn’t
use standard tuning on his guitars. For example, when he played in the key of D
minor, his guitar was tuned (low to high) D-A-D-F-A-D and he often used a capo
instead of shifting fingerings. And of course, no sweep picking for Albert. He
was strictly a finger picker.
Tragically,
the world was robbed of his best years as a blues performer by liver cancer
that ended with his premature death on November 24, 1993. He was just 61 years
old.
I ain’t drunk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjVfc8-Y7sQ
If trouble was money: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz6LbWWqX-g
Honey hush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lg9VPEQQ60
Dirty Dishes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60f7s4iy86s
Snowed in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYAJRdeJyEc
A good fool is hard to find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK3cVoy6amI
Black cat bone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1WohReltuo
Travelin south: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxMYChh4ytQ
The moon is full: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnm-XDNJIo
Further on down the road: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4BlGXwSew
French Burgundies are some of the finest and most expensive wines in the
world, which is the reason Beaujolais isn’t appreciated as much as it should
be. After all Beaujolais are burgundies. I’ve had a 2009 version of the wine
I’m featuring tonight and I loved it. The 2010 is even better. Gilles Gelin
Beaujolais Villages is full of juicy red raspberries and cherries with a touch
of pepper on the nose. The red fruit is echoed on the palate with a structure
like a fine Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir, but at $14.00 a bottle, you can enjoy it
without choking on the price. I must admit, I love Beaujolais, so perhaps I’m
prejudiced. But dang, this is good wine.
Cheers!
