Stephen Miller — Stephen Miller 1970 (USA, Blues Rock)

Stephen Miller — Stephen Miller 1970 (USA, Blues Rock)

Way back in the days when I had a much higher tolerance for putting up with other people's bullshit, I had a close friend who insisted that blues was the world's least worthwhile musical genre. His contention was that, since you could attach the word "blues" to any word or phrase, and stretch it over a familiar 12 bar pattern, there was nothing special to any particular instance in which this was done. If something can be applied to everything, he said, it renders everything that it's applied to worthless. It robs whatever it touches of any uniqueness.

I couldn't imagine, even as I saw it happen with him, how someone could hear the blues and not be moved. He'd listen stoically for a minute or so, then walk away, unfazed. I told him he was wrong, that the fact that anything can be a blues speaks to the universality of the style. Even if you've never experienced someone else's particular brand of blues, you can empathize with them because everyone has had the blues about something.

As I listened for the first time to Stephen Miller singing his blues, I immediately started a dialogue with what he was putting out: "Got Frustration". Been there, brother! "Whatsamattawitcha baby, have your mind gone dead?" Oh, you met her too, huh? She ain't right!

I finally have to conclude, after all these years, that maybe my old friend was just too narcissistic to appreciate the richness of the blues. After all, the blues is about identifying with someone else's trials and tribulations. If you don't care about how he feels, nothing he can say will speak to you.

Miller gives us blues that are soulful enough to take even a tired old warhorse like "Sea Cruise" and breathe life into it. His vocal intonations show a reverence for the tradition, and add to the album's verisimilitude. I'm glad Stephen Miller made this album, and I'm thankful that I'm able to appreciate it!
Solo keyboard project from the groups "Linn County", "The Elvin Bishop Band", "Grinderswitch".ochsfan Feb 20 2012

Tracks:

01. Got Frustration — 0:00

02. Pipeliner — 4:52

03. Have Your Mind Gone Dead? — 10:35

04. Pink Steam — 14:53

05. Sea Cruise — 20:30

06. Man On The Move — 25:11

07. It's A Fact Of Life — 28:29

08. Honeydripper — 31:42


Personnel:

Stephen Miller (Stephen Alan Miller) — vocals, acoustic piano, electric piano, organ, arranger, producer
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Linn County (01, 04, 06, 07):
Fred Walk — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, good
Larry Easter — tenor & baritone sax, flute
Dino Long — bass
Clark Pierson — drums
Elvin Bishop Group (02, 03, 05, 08):
Elvin Bishop — electric guitar, slide guitar
Apple Jack — accordion
Kip Maercklein — bass
John Chambers — drums
Jo Baker — backing vocals (05)