Alex
July 11, 2025
Generally speaking, I am not usually too big on super high speed harpists. Most of those I have heard have very little command of any technique other than speed and even their super fast runs tend to sound too choppy to catch my ear. Sugar Blue is different. Though speed is his main claim to fame, Sugar demonstrates an ability to use octives and some vibrato. Granted, he won't make you forget Sonny Boy, Walter or Wells, but he's got them. His speed is nothing short of astounding. Unlike everyone else who uses super fast runs for effect, Sugar is perfectly fluid and you never hear choppy transitions. On top of this, he is much faster then any of the competition.Ahem. Now that I'm done catering to harp fanatics I will move on to the real review. This is Sugar's best album thanks to the fact that it is the only one I've heard where he doesn't perform wierd material that makes you raise your eyebrows. The music has a good funky edge to it which, though hardly conventional, is fun to listen to. I find it nice when I want to hear something that just makes me feel good.Admittedly, the song line up is a bit on the familiar side. "Help Me" is a near omnipresence in a harp player's first CD, and I have heard more versions of "That's All Right" than I care to count. However, these complaints are easily ignored in the face Blue's awsome instrumental prowse and the different spins he puts to the tracks. Personal favorites are the remake of "Miss You" (which I like even better than the Stones' version), a horn enhanced version of Dixon's "Back Door Man," on which Blue plays some of his best harmonica on the CD, and the outstanding original, "Out "Till Dawn," a song which embodies the very essence of cynicism, both in terms of lyrics and also in the guitar riff.Overall I would reccomend this album, especially is you want to hear speed harp done right. Be a little wary of the follow up, "In Your Eyes," though. While it is even more revolutionary than this one, it is much further removed from tradition, and thus may not appeal to purists.
Wendy T.
June 21, 2025
I've seen him at Kingston Mines in Chicago and some place near DC - the most skilled diatonic harp player I've ever heard. The CD is worth having if you're a harp fan, but it feels like a showcase for his solos and not much else. Even those solos were tour de forces but not as inventive as he can be. It would be great if he could team up with a good blues singer/songwriter.
John M.
May 11, 2025
Absolutely spellbinding clarity at speed on harp, 'n' vocals, with superbly balanced relations with other instruments.
Pablo
January 21, 2025
Sugar Blue is the guy the Stones hired to play the harmonica riffs on their hit "Miss You" some decades ago. But he is so much more than that! He is a blues harp master and wails with the high notes on the harp more than any other harpist I've ever heard. He has a plaintive, blues drenched voice that oozes the blues on every cut. And he does his own more "up tempo" version of "Miss You" on this CD.
Dan Manturi
December 3, 2024
My interest in blues is recent as a result of taking up blues harmonica. I heard a Sugar Blue rendition of a Sonny Boy Williamson song - Help Me - and was blown away by his speed and accuracy while putting his own trademark on the song. HIs playing is hard to believe and the songs on this album are all winners for the most part. His singing is not always my cup of tea, but his playing is incredible. I'd buy it again.