Wikipedia

About Them Shoes

About Them Shoes is an album by the American musician Hubert Sumlin, released in 2005.[1][2] It was delayed for four years due to litigation.[3] According to Sumlin, the album title was inspired by something Levon Helm said in the studio; on other occasions, he attributed the saying to his father.[4][5]

About Them Shoes
Studio album by
Hubert Sumlin
Released2005
GenreBlues
LabelTone-Cool
ProducerRob Fraboni, Ben Elliott
Hubert Sumlin chronology
Do the Don't
(2003) 		About Them Shoes
(2005) 		Midnight Memphis Sun
(2010)

The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart.[6] Sumlin supported it with a North American tour.[7] About Them Shoes was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Blues Album".[8] It won a Blues Music Award for best "Traditional Blues Album".[9]

Production

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About Them Shoes was produced by Rob Fraboni and Ben Elliott.[10] Seven of the album's songs are associated with Muddy Waters, four with Howlin' Wolf; Sumlin was taught a few of the Waters songs by Otis Spann.[11][12] Sumlin played lead guitar on all of the tracks.[13] David Johansen sang on the cover of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing".[14] Blondie Chaplin sang on "Look What You've Done".[15] Helm played drums on eight tracks.[15] Keith Richards, who helped plan the album and chose to lean on the Waters songbook, sang on "Still a Fool".[16] Eric Clapton sang and played guitar on "I'm Ready".[17] Sumlin sang on the closing track, the acoustic "This Is the End, Little Girl"; Richards played bass.[18] Michael "Mudcat" Ward played bass on most of the tracks.[19] Paul Oscher played harmonica.[20] Waters band alumni James Cotton and Bob Margolin also contributed.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]
Detroit Free Press    [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [21]
The Nelson MailB+[22]
Orlando Sentinel     [14]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings    [23]
Philadelphia Daily NewsB[24]
The Post and CourierA[25]
USA Today    [26]

The Lincoln Journal Star praised "Sumlin's spare but emotional guitar work," writing that he goes "for a laid-back groove rather than overheated flash."[27] The Detroit Free Press determined that, "though an obvious labor of love for all involved, it remains Sumlin's show throughout."[7] The Washington Post said that, "playing finger-style electric guitar, [Sumlin] laces these tracks with a peculiar assortment of rubbery note bends, skittish triplets, stinging slides and vibrato-ringing tones."[20] The Chicago Tribune wrote that "the result is surprisingly unflashy and elegantly simple, as everybody plays his role and defers to Sumlin."[28]

The Christian Science Monitor noted that Sumlin "seems to be having the rollicking good time of his long and prolific career on this disc."[29] The Independent concluded that About Them Shoes will "put you in mind of Johnny Winter's last-gasp repointing of Muddy in the late '70s... No bad thing."[30] The Post and Courier stated that, "even in his later years, Sumlin can still make his guitar scream and growl."[25] The Boston Globe opined that "the overall results are more archival than incendiary, but if you like old-school electric blues, this will be a familiar tonic."[17]

AllMusic wrote: "About Them Shoes could have taken the marquee talent and gone for a glitzy platform to bring Hubert Sumlin into the mainstream. Instead, they dive headfirst into what this music is all about, and in doing so have come up with a mini-masterpiece."[15]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."I'm Ready" 
2."Still a Fool" 
3."She's into Something" 
4."Iodine in My Coffee" 
5."Look What You've Done" 
6."Come Home Baby" 
7."Evil" 
8."Long Distance Call" 
9."The Same Thing" 
10."Don't Go No Farther" 
11."I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" 
12."Walkin' Thru the Park" 
13."This Is the End, Little Girl" 

References

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  1. ^ Danton, Eric R. (22 Jan 2005). "A Music Explosion". Hartford Courant. p. D1.
  2. ^ Robinson, Lisa (Feb 2005). "Am I Blue". Vanity Fair. No. 534. p. 70.
  3. ^ Krewen, Nick (4 Nov 2004). "L'l Big Horn will be howlin with blues". Guelph Mercury. p. F4.
  4. ^ Romano, Will (2005). Incurable Blues: The Troubles & Triumph of Blues Legend Hubert Sumlin. Backbeat Books. p. 190.
  5. ^ Quill, Greg (21 July 2005). "The unsinkable Hubert Sumlin". Toronto Star. p. G3.
  6. ^ "Top Blues Albums". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 13. Mar 26, 2005. p. 48.
  7. ^ a b c Lawson, Terry (23 Jan 2005). "Blues". Detroit Free Press. p. L4.
  8. ^ "Hubert Sumlin". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  9. ^ Lollar, Michael (12 May 2006). "Sounds so good". The Commercial Appeal. p. B7.
  10. ^ Walsh, Christopher (Feb 12, 2005). "About Them Shoes". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 7. pp. 40, 41.
  11. ^ Thomas, Rob (2 Feb 2005). "Hubert Sumlin, 'About Them Shoes'". The Capital Times. p. 1B.
  12. ^ a b Drozdowski, Ted (Mar 2005). "Moving center stage". Jazziz. Vol. 22, no. 3. pp. 34, 35.
  13. ^ Piercy, Mike (24 Apr 2005). "Blues". Daily Press. Newport News. p. G7.
  14. ^ a b Abbott, Jim (21 Jan 2005). "Blues Dudes". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 13.
  15. ^ a b c d "About Them Shoes Review by Joe Viglione". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  16. ^ Williams, Ken (1 July 2005). "About Them Shoes". Entertainment Guide. The Age. p. 7.
  17. ^ a b Morse, Steve (4 Mar 2005). "Hubert Sumlin, 'About Them Shoes'". The Boston Globe. p. D12.
  18. ^ Melvin, Charlie (28 Mar 2005). "Blues". Features. Birmingham Post. p. 13.
  19. ^ Craft, Dan (14 July 2005). "We Got the Blues". The Pantagraph. p. D1.
  20. ^ a b Joyce, Mike (30 Jan 2005). "About Them Shoes Hubert Sumlin". The Washington Post. p. N4.
  21. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  22. ^ Hunt, Stewart (26 Jan 2006). "From veteran punks to old blues magic". Features. The Nelson Mail. p. 19.
  23. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. p. 615.
  24. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (25 Jan 2005). "Blues Power". Features. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 32.
  25. ^ a b Grant, Devin (10 Feb 2005). "Hubert Sumlin 'About Them Shoes'". The Post and Courier. p. F6.
  26. ^ Mansfield, Brian (15 Feb 2005). "Blues". USA Today. p. D5.
  27. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (21 Jan 2005). "Guitarist gets help paying tribute to Muddy Waters". Lincoln Journal Star. p. X10.
  28. ^ Knopper, Steve (22 Mar 2005). "Hubert Sumlin About Them Shoes". Chicago Tribune. p. 5.3.
  29. ^ Kehe, John (4 Feb 2005). "Blues". Arts. The Christian Science Monitor. p. 13.
  30. ^ Coleman, Nick (6 Feb 2005). "Blues". Features. The Independent. p. 24.
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