If there was a genre called "Bad A** Blues Music," then Magic Sam's "West Side Soul" would fit perfectly.
From the pop savvy opening of "That's All I Need" to the buckle down boogie of "I Feel So Good," back to the cakewalking "I Need You So Bad," Magic Sam delivers his blues magic with a side of soul.
His cathartic screams are pitch perfect and cavernous. His guitar sounds tight and has the aching feel of blues. Sam and his band create a cinematic quality that can be felt in his music with the help of Sam's tremulous guitar sound.
In "I Found a New Love," the album comes to an exhilarating climax.In "My Love Will Never Die," Sam sings in the haunting tone of a man with a painful memory. The memory is the everlasting quality of love that lives within him that he can't forget - and he's not sure he wants to.
This album, released in 1967, is cited by many blues devotees as one of the greatest electric blues albums of all time. The album's sound comes from the blues clubs on the West Side of Chicago, Sam's stomping ground. Sam was originally from Mississippi but made his way up north to Chicago to embrace the blues.
On the morning of December 1, 1969, not long after wowing crowds at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival and being prime for a Stax Records signing (a big step forward in his recording career), Sam complained of heartburn, collapsed and was dead. He left the world at age 32, permanently impacting the sound of music before he did.
Stefan Julian
West Side Soul
If there was a genre called "Bad A** Blues Music," then Magic Sam's "West Side Soul" would fit perfectly.
From the pop savvy opening of "That's All I Need" to the buckle down boogie of "I Feel So Good," back to the cakewalking "I Need You So Bad," Magic Sam delivers his blues magic with a side of soul.
His cathartic screams are pitch perfect and cavernous. His guitar sounds tight and has the aching feel of blues. Sam and his band create a cinematic quality that can be felt in his music with the help of Sam's tremulous guitar sound.
In "I Found a New Love," the album comes to an exhilarating climax.In "My Love Will Never Die," Sam sings in the haunting tone of a man with a painful memory. The memory is the everlasting quality of love that lives within him that he can't forget - and he's not sure he wants to.
This album, released in 1967, is cited by many blues devotees as one of the greatest electric blues albums of all time. The album's sound comes from the blues clubs on the West Side of Chicago, Sam's stomping ground. Sam was originally from Mississippi but made his way up north to Chicago to embrace the blues.
On the morning of December 1, 1969, not long after wowing crowds at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival and being prime for a Stax Records signing (a big step forward in his recording career), Sam complained of heartburn, collapsed and was dead. He left the world at age 32, permanently impacting the sound of music before he did.
