LYNWOOD SLIM "LAST CALL" Source: Blues Bytes Date: 07/2006 Writer: Kyle Deibler

Kid Ramos opens up the show with his jump guitar solo on ‘Well Allright, O.K. You Win.’ Slim blows a mean Hohner 64 Chromatic while intoning that all he needs from his girl is “to just love me like I love you.” ‘All Night Long’ continues this theme of unrequited love while featuring Rich Delgrosso on the mandolin. “Let me love you, love you…..I want to love you baby one time before I go.” Kirk Fletcher kicks in with a supporting guitar solo and we’re never clear if Slim gets the girl or not.

Things slow down a bit on ‘Wee Baby Blues’. Supporting horns by Ron Dziubla give this a classic jazz feel and I feel like I’m transported back in time to one of the great jazz clubs of our era. “Go away baby, yes, you sure look good to me….tell me pretty baby, who can your brand new lover be?” Slim doesn’t get the girl but he was definitely in love with her. He then proceeds to let us know he’s changing his ways on ‘I’m Tired’. He’s tired of living all alone, partying by himself, staying up late. The solution? “I’ll find myself a lover and never more be blue.”

We find Slim down and out on ‘Nothin But the Blues’. “Ain't got no coffee that’s perking….ain't got no’s women to lose…ain't got a dream that’s working….I ain't got nothing but the blues.” All because his baby’s left town. ‘You’re a Pain’ finds Slim in love again and willing to make compromises with his new love. “You’re a pain pretty baby…that’s part of your charm…I love you pretty baby…if you’re right or if you’re wrong.” Carl Sonny Leland lends his keyboard talents to ‘You’re a Pain’ and Tyler Pedersen kicks in with some upright bass that gives this song a very authentic jazzy feel.

‘Say It’ finds Slim backed by Armando Cortez on guitar, Nick Moss on bass and Kate Moss on rhythm guitar. Cortez’s blistering guitar work gives this song the strongest blues representation on the record. Slim wants his girl to be true to herself and not be afraid to vocalize her feelings. “I know to tell the truth sometimes it hurts…it would even make you feel like dirt…but if there’s anything…anything you want to tell me why don’t you ‘Say It’… even if it hurts me.” ‘Me, Myself & I’ finds Slim still in love with his girl. “Me, myself & I are all in love with you….we all think you’re wonderful…we do!”

Slim is leaving the country in ‘Across the Sea’, an original composed in part by Kid Ramos. “I’m going to move across the sea….they got some work over there for me….everything will be ok as long as my baby comes with me….if she doesn’t want to come…I’ll never lack for misery.” Slim’s soulful harmonica lets you know how much pain he will feel if his woman decides not to go. “I treat you like a queen…you just couldn’t care less…I’m not your clown….I don’t wanna be your clown…got to find somebody else!” Slim lets his girl know in ‘Not Your Clown’ that he’s had enough. He tried every which way to please her and it just wouldn’t work out. It’s time for him to move on and she can find a new clown.

Ron Dziubla is back with supporting horns and piano on ‘I’m Sorry.’ Slim has evidently been mean to his woman and is trying his best to apologize for his bad behavior. “Forgive me…please forgive me…baby please forgive me….for I know not what I was saying.” While it’s never clear if she forgives Slim, his angst at being wrong is very real. Closing out the record is the Richard Duran original, ‘You Never Cried for Me’. Slim’s woman has had enough of his act and moved on. He’s disappointed that she evidently never loved him as much as he loved her. Slim’s flute solo underscores the pain he’s feeling and his disappointment at the fact that his lover…”never cried for me.” Done as a slow shuffle, this is a wonderful song to close out a very contemporary record.

I found Slim’s venture back to his jazz and blues roots a very refreshing record. His ability to croon a jazz song with the best of them is very apparent and he’s backed by a wonderful group of musicians including Kid Ramos, Ron Dziubla, Richard Innes, John Bazz and others. Last Call does hold true to its premise that “jazz and blues are different fleas on the same dog.” We’re fortunate that Slim managed to scratch the ears of a very delightful dog.