On his new album Jackson has what some call a protest song, titled "Blues Over Baghdad." He explains, "What caused it was watching public television every night and seeing these silent moments with these young men, with their ears sticking out from their heads and looking green ― 18, 19 years old. I said, Who's going to speak for them? They're young enough to buy into a lot of things, and there they are."
The issue contains a couple of technical features on blues playing, one on using the bottleneck slide on the guitar, the other on minor playing on the chromatic harmonica.
There are pages and pages of CD and show reviews, and that's where you'll get a sense of the many young blues performers at work, several with prior experience in well-known pop and rock groups.
In the back of the magazine are fascinating full-page obituaries of blues performers, again up to the fine writing standards evident throughout Blues Revue.
I liked one about Robert Lockwood, Jr., a Robert Johnson protégé who died at age 91 in November. A truly cantankerous fellow, he became a featured performer on the legendary regional King Biscuit Time radio show in the early 1940s. Like many blues performers, he was in and out of the business. "I done quit the music business six times," he once said in an interview. "I tried my best to live with the squares, but the motherfuckers run me back to music."
The editors of Blues Revue have also come up with a nice last-page feature. It's called "Cover Stories," and discusses the background of a legendary blues album cover.
Article comments
1 - urban survivor
You know with the passing of Ike Turner, it reminded me of how often black people are overlooked by the national press, and how quickly we're demonized i.e. when a man goes on trail, and is found "not guilty" thats it, he's supposed to be done, well O.J. will never be done or so it seem's
Ike Turner was divorced from a difficult marriage
yet he was demonized by his " uncle Tom" wife and it's not forgotten, why is this ?
2 - Pamela/St Louis
All said in done. Mr.Ike is resting and peace and jamming with the maker and friends that left before him. The readers should get there self together before you leave your last breath on this earthly body. Get right with the maker"Jesus". Ike Turner left a wonderful mark on the next generation of young artist to come.
My Uncle used to perform with the ink spots in the 50s. My family had the opportunity to get to know Tina and Ike.
3 - kim
i am not sure what the deal was between him and tina and seriously, who really cares. there is 3 sides to every story her side, his side, and the truth. i also watched the movie and alot of that shit seemed like bull. ms. tina already had a 2 year old child when she met ike mind you she was 16 then. ike was probally beating her little ass cause she was still fass! obviously there was not alot of discipline in her family cause she had a baby and was in the club at 16. keep it real tina and make a another with some of the truth so ike can not have this bad 'rep' going to the grave with him. no one deserves to be remembered as a horrible person.