Siegel-Schwall Band - The Siegel-Schwall Band/Shake! (2in1)

Year: 1966/1968/2001
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:24
Size: 176,7 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Down In The Bottom (2:28)
2. I Have Had All I Can Take (3:16)
3. Boot Hill (2:57)
4. When I Get The Time (3:00)
5. I've Got To Go Now (2:49)
6. Mama/Papa (1:41)
7. I'll Be The Man (2:42)
8. Little Babe (2:49)
9. Going To New York (3:24)
10. Mary (2:07)
11. So Glad You're Mine (3:46)
12. Hoochie Coochie Man (6:50)
13. Break Song (2:23)
14. Shake For Me (4:50)
15. My Starter Won't Start (4:49)
16. Jim Jam (2:25)
17. Louise, Louise Blues (2:48)
18. Wouldn't Quit You (3:10)
19. You Can't Run That Fast (3:04)
20. Think (2:39)
21. 334-3599 (2:34)
22. Rain Falling Down (2:40)
23. Get Away Man (3:12)
24. Yes I Love You (2:50)

Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop were not the only white dudes who formed a blues band in Chicago in the early '60s. Corky Siegel and Jim Schwall formed the Siegel-Schwall Band in the mid-'60s in Chicago and worked as a duo playing blues clubs like Pepper's Lounge, where they were the house band. All of the great blues players would sit in, all the time. Siegel played harp and electric Wurlizter piano, with an abbreviated drum set stashed under the piano; Jim Schwall played guitar and mandolin. Both sang.

Siegel was born in Chicago on October 24, 1943; Schwall was born on November 11, 1942, also in Chicago. Siegel met Schwall in 1964, when they were both music students at Roosevelt University; Schwall studying guitar, Siegel studying classical saxophone and playing in the University Jazz Big Band. Siegel first became interested in the blues that same year. Schwall's background ran more to country and bluegrass. The Siegel-Schwall Band approach to music (and blues) was lighter than groups like Butterfield or Musselwhite, representing somewhat more of a fusion of blues and more country-oriented material. They seldom played at high volume, stressing group cooperation and sharing the solo spotlight. When the Butterfield band left their in gig at Big Johns on Chicago's North Side, it was the Siegel-Schwall Band that took their place. Signed by Vanguard scout Sam Charters in 1965, they released their first album in 1966, the first of five they would do with that label. Bass player Jack Dawson, formerly of the Prime Movers Blues Band joined the band in 1967.

In 1969 the band toured playing the Fillmore West, blues/folk festivals, and many club dates, as one of several white blues bands that introduced the blues genre to millions of Americans during that era. They were, however, the first blues band to play with a full orchestra, performing "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra" in 1968 with the San Francisco Orchestra. The band later signed with RCA (Wooden Nickel) and produced five albums in the next several years. They broke up in 1974. /Bio by Michael Erlewine, AllMusic

The Siegel-Schwall Band (Tracks 1-13, 1966), Allmusic review: The Siegel-Schwall Band's eponymous debut album is played a little too timidly to stand up to repeated listenings in today's noisy world, but their takes on Jimmy Reed's "Going to New York" and others are fascinating nonetheless. A different way of approaching any color-lues, period. /Cub Koda

Shake (Tracks 14-24, 1968), Allmusic review: Shake! was probably the group's second best album and certainly the one that came the closest to representing their live act. The major highlight is their take on Howlin' Wolf's "Shake for Me." Lots of fun and fireworks on this one, the sound of a band at the top of their game. /Cub Koda

The Siegel-Schwall Band/Shake! mc
The Siegel-Schwall Band/Shake! zippy

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