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JOHN
LONG "LOST & FOUND"
Source: Blues
Bytes
Date: 06/2006
Writer: Kyle Deibler
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It’s
inconceivable to me that a Bluesman such as John
Long has gone unnoticed and unrecorded for almost
35 years. We’ve all read stories of similar
situations, Son House living in relative obscurity
in Rochester, New York as an example. So we are
all fortunate indeed that a rare demo of John’s
landed in the hands of Al Blake, front man for
the Hollywood Blue Flames, and even more fortunate
that Al shared the demo with Randy Chortkoff of
Delta Groove Productions who made immediate arrangements
to record John. The resulting record, Lost &
Found, serves as a poignant reminder of the very
best of the country bluesmen who have come before
us and John Long reminds us that the past is indeed,
not lost.
“Hokum Town” opens
the record and finds John packing up his stuff
to go. The woman he’s been sharing time
with has lied to him, shown him the dark side
of segregation and he just can’t abide
by that….”I’m packing up momma,
leavin on the bus outside!” “Pressure
Cooker” finds chicken cooking on the stove
in a pressure cooker and if it’s not watched
properly, allowed to cool, the pot itself will
blow. John’s woman is lazy….she’s
watching soaps on TV as opposed to what’s
cookin and if she’s not careful….”there’ll
be chicken all over the ceiling!”
Fred Kaplan lends his keyboard
talents to the fray on “Hell Cat.”
John is warning everyone in the neighborhood
to keep their cats and dogs under watch….”there’s
a hell cat coming down the mountains….low
down and mean!” “Don’t blame
the hell cat if you’re dog’s missing…..she
decided to have a mid night snack!” Kaplan’s
piano provides the perfect foil to the guitar
& harmonica instrumentation of Long on this
song about a devil woman. “Blues and Boogie
Woogie” finds everyone out partying….”having
a real good time!” “Don’t
care what color you have on black, brown, blue
or white…you got to get out there and
have a real good time!” Long’s guitar
picking is clean and practiced, reflecting that
talents of a master who has honed is craft in
relative obscurity over the last 40 years.
“Foot Stompin’ Daddy”
finds John in a celebratory mood. He’s
feeling the lowdown blues and “got the
beat in my blood all I want to do is stomp to
the blues and boogie woogie….all night
long!” “Stranglevine” finds
Long in a ragtime mood with Kaplan pounding
the keys to accompany Long’s harp. “I
woke up early in the morning and the sun just
wouldn’t shine..it was the lowdown blues
they call it….mean old stranglevine!”
With the stranglevine threatening his garden…”I’m
going…going to be happy….not going
to worry bout that stranglevine no more!”
The instrumental, “Johnny’s
Jump” gives Long a chance to stretch his
wings a little bit and serenade us with his
harp and guitar playing. It provides a nice
segue into the next cut on the record, “Mean
Ole Rootin’ Ground Sloth.” “He
got long shovel claws and odds are his teeth
are sharp…don’t come out in the
daylight…..come when the night is dark!”
So be on your watch….”cause he’s
howling and he’s prowlin…mean ole
rootin’ ground sloth!”
“Greyhound Driver”
finds John ready to leave town again. “Greyhound
driver, tell me where you’re old dog bound!”
He’s leaving Kansas City and the bus is
his transportation of choice. “Whether
you go to Chicago, New Orleans or Tennessee…any
place they play the blues….that’s
all right with me!” Things slow way down
on “Healin’ Touch.” John has
a woman who is blessed with the “healin’
touch”. “She touched my face and
my hand….daddy, I understand...you healed
the air, water and land….made me feel
like a brand new man!”
Long closes his record with
two versions of “Leavin St. Louis,”
a solo version and a piano version with Fred
Kaplan. As usual, a woman’s to blame for
John leaving town. “When I leave St. Louis…leave
my initials on the wall….can’t treat
me no better woman….I won’t be back
around your place at all!”
Considering the fact that Lost
& Found is the first full length recording
John Long has ever done, I find myself wondering
what other gems still lay within the depths
of his experiences. He’s had 40 years
to perfect his craft and he is indeed, “an
old soul.” Acoustic country blues like
this just doesn’t happen anymore….for
the most part there’s not many artists
left who are as well versed in that period of
time like John, and fewer still have the artistic
ability to convey the best of a bye gone era
like he does. We’re lucky that Al Blake
discovered him, Randy Chortkoff believed in
his talent and Delta Groove recorded him. In
a day & age when we’re losing so many
of our elder blues statesmen…it’s
a refreshing breathe of air to discover a “new”
old bluesman like John Long.
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