#blue jug

[huariqueje]

Still Life with Blue Jug - Henri Matisse , 1899.

French , 1869 - 1954

Oil on canvas , 74 x 60 cm. 28.9 x 23.4 in.

[vinylspinning]

Thunderhead: Thunderhead (1975)

My recent explorations into the darker reaches of Southern rock have yielded nothing but disappointments (Blue Jug, Two Guns, Beaverteeth!), but I knew my luck was bound to change eventually, and that's when Thunderhead came along.

Not to be confused with a German heavy metal band active in the late '80s and early '90s, this Thunderhead hailed from New Orleans, where they formed in 1973 from the ashes of local cover bands, and eventually signed to the Paragon Agency out of Macon Georgia (same as the Allman Brothers).

Singer Mike Daggar, guitarist Ronnie Dobbs, and bassist Otho T. Ware had all paid their dues with the colorfully named Paper Steamboard, drummer Bobby Torello did the same with David and the Giants, and second guitarist Pat Rush rounded out the line-up.

Within two years, Thunderhead had signed to ABC Records, which was looking to broaden a roster dominated by mainstream pop and M.O.R. acts (Paul Anka, Eydie Gormé, Jim Croce, etc.) with, errr ... whatever it is those crusty boys in "Leonard Skinner" were playing.

Enter Thunderhead, who'd already recorded an album independently at nearby Studio in the Country, in Bogalusa, LA, with some help from early supporters Johnny Winter (*), before re-recording most of it at the behest of ABC.

And a great record it is too, led by hardly groundbreaking but superbly-crafted southern rock gems like "More Than I Can Chew," "Breaux Bridge Rag" (*), and "Busted in Georgia" -- don't let those police sirens startle you if you're listening in your car.

Along with other solid cuts like "Got to Get Away," "Armed Robbery" and "Rock Me, Roll Me," they deliver that classic hard rock sound with country accents: snarling, drawled vocals, biting, slashing geetars, a rock-solid rhythm section, and, of course, transverse flute!

Wait, what? [Insert noise of record being scratched here.]

Yes, turns out frontman Daggar was an accomplished flautist, and he brought inevitable, if unexpected, Jethro Tull vibes to distinctive fare like "Lay it On the Line," "Showdown," "Hit and Run Driver," and "Juliette," where Dobbs helpfully subs on lead vocals.

In fact, given the band's solid but far-from-revolutionary songwriting, Daggar's flute embellishments would go down as Thunderhead's most distinctive quality, in the end -- and I say "the end," because ABC quickly dropped the group and they sadly never record again.

Daggar and Torello reformed Thunderhead with new bandmates in 2009 for selective live work, though no new recordings ensued, which is probably just as well, but I strongly recommend giving this 50-year-old platter a listen.

* I believe this might be it!

** Previously recorded by bluesman Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown.

More Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers Band’s Idlewild South, Beaverteeth’s Beaverteeth, Black Oak Arkansas’ High On the Hog, Blackfoot’s Strikes, Blackhorse’s Blackhorse, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Blue Jug’s Blue Jug, Creed’s Creed, Doc Holliday’s Doc Holliday, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Grinderswitch’s Pullin’ Together, Hydra’s Hydra, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Second Helping, Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin’ with Disaster, Navasota’s Rootin’, Nitzinger’s Nitzinger, Point Blank’s Point Blank, Potliquor’s Levee Blues, Two Guns’ Balls Out, Winterhawk’s Electric Warriors, ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud.

[20thcenturyartgallery]

Roses in Blue Jug (Roses au Picket Bleu)

Artist: André Derain (French, 1880-1954)

Date: 1920's

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

[bluenocturneblog]

Issay (September '86) Blue Jug #29, 1986.12

[huariqueje]

Blue Jug with Flowers and Plums - Diana Calvert

British , b. 1941 -

Oil 36 x 26 cm. 46 x 36 cm

[huariqueje]

A Flower Still Life - Peter Engels

Dutch , 1905-1981

Oil on canvas 50.9  x  40.5 cm.

[huariqueje]

Primulas -     Frances Vida Lahey, 1944.

Australian, 1882 - 1968 

Oil on canvas on board, 34.5 x 31.5 cm.

[vinylspinning]

Blue Jug: Blue Jug (1975)

Every record collector knows that a record bearing the Capricorn label, which was famously founded by legendary manager and promoter Phil Walden (*), almost certainly contains one thing: Southern rock. (**)

But not all Southern rock bands are created equal: they come in all kinds of stylistic varieties and tiers of creative talent, so I was still taking a chance when I scooped up this 50-year-old self-titled LP from Nashville, Tennessee's Blue Jug.

Well, turns out the six humble hillbillies pictured on the sleeve -- Ed Raetzloff (vocals/guitar), Clint Delong (vocals/guitar), Bill Little (keys/vocals), Bill Burnett (bass), Paul Walkley (drums), and Buddy Spicher (fiddle) -- accurately reflect the connotations implied by the word "jug" in their name.

Meaning, that Blue Jug's songs rely heavily on the rootsy, folksy, country, ingredients of Southern rock, aligning them, not with the Skynyrds, Hatchets, or Blackfoots of the genre, The Marshall Tucker and Charlie Daniels bands, Stillwater, and Grinderswitch.

But you know who these guys REALLY remind me of? The Band.

Just listen to the leisurely pace, subdued instrumentation, minimal production, and especially the three-part harmonies dominating cuts like "Education," "A Miner's Song," and "Come On to Town Ned" will take you straight back to Woodstock and Big Pink.

Exceptions to this undeniably derivative formula include "Hard Luck Jimmy" and "Sugar Man," which substitute some crunchy power chords, "It's a Fact," which adds an Appalachian swing behind Spicher's fiddle, and "Take a Little Time," which puts its weight behind a singalong chorus, complete with handclaps.

And, maybe it's just me, but I'm really not a fan of Raetzloff's strained higher registers, which waver and quaver to the point of distraction when pushed front and center on "Poor Virginia," "When the Moon Rises," and other tracks here.

Or maybe it wasn't just me, because the album didn't sell and Capricorn dropped the band, which wasn't heard from again until three years later, when a second album emerged through Ariola called Blue Jug Band.

But I'm afraid you'll have to listen to that one yourself, cos I've had my fill from this Blue Jug.

* I actually met Mr. Walden (R.I.P.) in the mid '90s, when he briefly revived Capricorn and visited the Polygram office in Chicago, but I was far too green to know about his incredible achievements with the label and as manager for Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers Band.

** Noteworthy outliers include occult rockers White Witch and heavy psych cult favorites Captain Beyond.

More Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers Band’s Idlewild South, Beaverteeth’s Beaverteeth, Black Oak Arkansas’ High On the Hog, Blackfoot’s Strikes, Blackhorse’s Blackhorse, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Creed’s Creed, Doc Holliday’s Doc Holliday, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Grinderswitch’s Pullin’ Together, Hydra’s Hydra, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Second Helping, Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin’ with Disaster, Navasota’s Rootin’, Nitzinger’s Nitzinger, Point Blank’s Point Blank, Potliquor’s Levee Blues, Thunderhead's Thunderhead, Two Guns’ Balls Out, Winterhawk’s Electric Warriors, ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud.