Blind Dog Radio

Blues N' Brown by Charles Brown

Label: Jewel Records.
Release Date: 1972.
Releases: February 1, 1995.
Recording Time: 31 minutes.
Recording Date: 1971.
Recording information: Kent Music Studios, Los Angeles, CA (1971); Modern (1971).

Styles: Piano Blues, Regional Blues, Urban Blues, West Coast Blues, Texas Blues.

Recorded in 1971, "Blues N' Brown" was initially produced by Maxwell Davis, who produced many of Charles Brown's big-selling Aladdin releases in the '50s. Though Davis died before the project was completed, the album still possesses all the warmth and ease associated with the pair's earlier collaborations. Brown, in fine voice as always, wraps his tonsils around 10 tunes, eight of which he either wrote or co-wrote. Pianist Floyd Dixon appears on a couple of songs, sharing vocals with Brown on "For You" (which they wrote together), as well as on "Graveyard Song." Although the album's '70s production values embrace some of the characteristics of funk, primarily in the guitar parts and the bass tone, "Blues N' Brown" is still a laid-back set. More than 25 years into his recording career, Charles Brown still sounds completely fresh on this album.

Credits: Keith E. Abel - design; Charles Brown - composer, piano, primary artist, vocals; Ron Capone - remastering; Matt Csiszar - composer; Maxwell Davis - composer, producer; Floyd Dixon - composer; Bruce Flett - liner notes, project coordinator; S. Lewis - composer; Stan Lewis - composer, executive producer; Jessie Mae Robinson - composer.

Tracks: 1) For You; 2) When Did You Leave Heaven?; 3) I Don't Know; 4) Graveyard Song; 5) Trouble Blues; 6) Jilted Blues; 7) Changeable Woman Blues; 8) Black Night; 9) Falling in Love; 10) Moonlight and Shadows.