RECORD REVIEW

Fresh blues blood

For obvious reasons, Super Chikan is the perfect name for a guy performing on Rooster Blues Records. What makes this an even better match is that the guy is good. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that Big Jack Johnson, a W.C. Handy Award nominee, a local favorite and one of the best blues guitarists on the scene today, is his uncle. It’s in the blood.

But where Big Jack tends to lean more toward the traditional blues format, Super Chikan introduces more R&B influences, as well as a considerable amount of lyrical humor. He also likes to toy with different bass lines and rhythmic approaches in his songs, which makes the whole Super Chikan package considerably more interesting and worth a listen. Like most of the folks featured by the Rooster label, Chikan’s sound is raw and thick with the grit of blues life.

On the Rooster Blues Records compilation release, which features 19 different selections from 19 different artists, it’s great to hear from a variety of names that you probably wouldn’t have ever heard of if not for a label such as this. Rooster has dedicated itself to seeking out new talent – often previously unrecorded or barely recorded – in order to preserve the fading tradition of so-called "roots" blues. These days, roots blues is being shoved aside by the smoother-sounding, often overproduced, more rock than blues sound that’s more common and far better promoted. Can you say Jonny Lang? Kenny Wayne Shepherd? I knew that you could.

To stay true to its mission Rooster usually only records an artist once, then goes on to seek more new blood. Not surprisingly, this is a label that is short on cash but long on commitment to the artform. Strange how those two qualities often go hand-in-hand.

Keith Owens writes about music for Metro Times.