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" Two of the releases are of new material on the Inside Sounds label; four come from the Memphis Archives rarity division. "
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By Norm Shaw
November is shaping up to be the busiest month yetat Inside Sounds/Memphis Archives as the labels roll out six new releases at the same time. Two of the releases are of new material on the Inside Sounds label; four come from the Memphis Archives rarity division. The blues figure prominently on nearly all, and fans of the Memphis Jug Band are in store for a rare treat. Leading the list is the second release from the Memphis Sheiks, titled Diamond in the Bluff. The Sheiks are Robert Nighthawk II and Delta Joe Sanders. "I`m so psyched about this record. I`m really thrilled with the songs," Inside Sounds owner Eddie Dattel said of Diamond in the Bluff. "Compared to their first release (Slow-Cooked Pig Meat), it`s a little departure. There is more instrumentation. Richard Hite plays bass on most songs. Daren Dortin, the drummer in Wally Ford`s band, plays on it, too." Dattel said there are still songs that fall in the country blues genre, but he hoped the sound of the new record would reach a broader market. "The title cut is more country blues, but there is some Hammond B3 organ on the record, and bass and drums," Dattel said. "But they are slamming songs. The songs on this CD can be shopped to a lot of different markets." Diamond in the Bluff features 10 originals by Delta Joe Sanders and a cover of W.C. Handy`s "Mr. Crump Don`t Like That." It was produced by the Sheiks and Rick Caughron, house engineer for the Inside Sounds Studio. The other original release, Tastin` the Blues, comes from Robert Nighthawk & the Wampus Cats. The Wampus Cats include Memphis Mike Forrest on guitar; Jumpin` James Cunningham on percussion; and David Groovy Parker on bass. "One of the interesting things about this release, and it was totally incoincidental, but the record includes Charley Rich`s "Who Will the Next Fool Be,`" Dattel said. "We had just finished the mix when he died." Memphis Archives, which has received national attention for its historic releases, is offering four new titles, the most exciting of which is the Memphis Jug Band`s State of Tennessee Blues. "This is significant because arguably this was the greatest jug band of that time," Dattel said. "This was hot music at that time. They sold a lot of records." The other Memphis Archives releases are: - Piano Wizards, which features jazz and blues piano greats from the 1920s and `30s. The release includes tracks from Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Bix Beiderbecke and several others. - Swinging Down the Lane by Isham Jones and His Orchestra. Jones, an early jazz conductor and saxophonist, is best-known as the author of "It Had to Be You," which is included on this disc. The recordings are rare material from 1924-`30 that has not been compiled before. - Blues Ladies, which includes classic blues performances by women recorded from 1922-25. The 18 tracks include songs by Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox and many more. A CD release party is planned for Union Jack`s on Nov. 14. Both the Memphis Sheiks and Wampus Cats will perform.
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