Whistling Rufus
Big House Blues
April Showers
One Sweet Letter From You
Hushabye
We Shall Walk Through The Valley
Thriller Rag
Texas Moaner
Wabash Blues
Bugle Call Rag
Petite Fleur
Sweet Georgia Brown
A Smooth One
Bourbon Street Parade
New Blues
Willie The Weeper
Mean Mistreater
Yama Yama Man
Ol’ Man Mose
Mood Indigo
Bearcat Crawl
Lowland Blues
Panama; Bourbon Street/ When The Saints
Railroad Bill
Ballad Of Jesse James
Old Riley
Lost John
Stewball
Stackalee
Doin’ My Time
Where Could I Go
Can’t You Line ‘Em
Gypsy Davy
Chris Barber’s Jazz Band; Lonnie Donegan’s
Skiffle Group; The Chris Barber Skiffle Group
rec. 1956
Say Whistling Rufus
and Petite Fleur and it’s not just
the Barber discographers who’ll snap back
"1956." This was a busy and propitious
time in the band’s illustrious history and
it’s been mapped with typical thoroughness
and attention to detail in the latest of Lake’s
landmark "year" editions – in this
case a double CD set, of which the second
disc lasts forty-one minutes, but which is
priced as a single.
The repertoire and the methodology
were both set by now and the repertoire ranged
with occasionally eclectic glee. The rhythm
section is spruce and springy, the front line
finely calibrated to show off Halcox’s fiery
lead, Barber’s cosmopolitan control and Sunshine’s
ebulliently piercing clarinet. That said it’s
the mellow lyricism of Petite Fleur
that lends especial distinction to his playing
– a famous hit that was to spawn a long line
of imitators. His own other solo feature Hushabye
is almost as good. The leader didn’t play
on the big hit, of course, but makes amends
on April showers where his bluff fluency
matches that of his clarinet partner. The
repertoire, as ever, takes in Ellingtonia,
Classic Blues, standards, a Spiritual, Rags,
a cakewalk and the like. Texas Moaner
is a long track, at eight minutes, but it
allows the band to stretch out, not least
Pat Halcox whose blues drenched solo is a
high point.
The Royal Festival Hall concert
performances are here as well on disc two.
They’re in obviously rougher sound, being
live, but have the advantage of an increased
level of adrenalin. Ottilie Patterson is as
fine as ever and we can, as before in this
Lake series, hear her piano playing as well.
She lent ears to boogie and blues masters
and in Bearcat Crawl she seems to have
lent particular ears to Clarence "Cripple"
Lofton. The whole band though is on uplifting
and vigorous form and sounds like they were
enjoying every minute of it.
There are also, inevitably,
the two Skiffle bands – Barber’s and Lonnie
Donegan’s. Some of the Barber tracks feature
American bluegrass singer and guitarist Johnny
Duncan, who essays the mandolin on Where
could I go? There’s a degree of unevenness
in these skiffle tracks but they’re invariably
committed and fervent examples of the genre.
Original LP artwork has been
cunningly and cleverly presented in Lake’s
packaging. Restoration work is expert. No
complaints at all from me here – a class restoration.
Jonathan Woolf
CD Reviews
LAKE LACD246 [79:37 + 41:41]
