October 27, 2008

Music Mondays: Blues and Electronic Beats

I’ve heard mixed opinions on whether or not it’s legit for a Blues or Swing DJ to play remixes that have a trip-hop or electronica back-drop. The fundamental rhythm is different despite the nod to tradition.

The continuous flow and instrumentation of an electronic song creates a thicker audio atmosphere, contrasting with the old blues recordings that didn’t have the benefits of advanced studio mic and baffling techniques, signal processors and electronic instruments.

 

 Zucchero and John Lee Hooker: Ali d'Oro [4:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

 

 John Lee Hooker: It Serves You Right To Suffer: Play Now | Play in Popup

Whenever I play this song by Zucchero and John Lee Hooker, without fail, someone comes up and asks me who it is. I imagine that dancers are recognizing Hooker’s singular vocal hooks, but the sound is unmistakably pop based. Compare to a classic John Lee Hooker track.

Zucchero is an Italian blues artist, who much like the spaghetti westerns of old has taken on a traditional American art-form and re-tooled it for his own purposes. I was interested to see someone label him as “The Original Italian Whigger” and if you think about it, this is a man who worships at the altar of the old blues masters. In 2004, he released a compilation album called Zu & Co, which features duets with a number of well-known blues artists such as Eric Clapton, BB King and John Lee Hooker. But he also cast a wider net, working with artists like Sting, Miles Davis, Tom Jones, Paul Young, Luciano Pavarotti & Andrea Bocelli. It’s a great marketing tool, to create a track with an artist who has a huge fan base in hopes you’ll draw some of their fans to your own work.

In this case, it didn’t work that well for me. There’s a particular sound that I love and while it’s alive in his collaboration with Hooker, his other tracks have that late-90’s over-produced sound that basically makes me feel like I’m in the studio with Celine Dion.

To his credit, Zucchero’s voice has a rich gravelly timbre, reminiscent of Paolo Conte and Serge Gainsbourg.. those European greats who survive on nothing but cigarettes, espresso and pure romanticism.

But the marketing machine that backs him and his music production makes the collaboration a rare gem in a display case of faux-jewels. Those other tracks sparkle and shine, but they don’t come from the earth the way Hooker did.

According to most sources, this collaboration with Zucchero was Hooker’s last. Fitting in a way, that it opens with him singing, “I lay down with an Angel.” Cheers to a visionary artist who saw fit to bring Hooker’s inimitable voice into the 21st century before he laid to rest.

If you agree, or disagree or you take issue with my use of the term “whigger” in this post, feel free to comment.