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Junior Wells
Vanguard Visionaries
(Vanguard)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2007, Volume 14, #7
Written by John Metzger
Thu July 26, 2007, 06:40 AM CDT
In assembling Vanguard Visionaries — a ambitious, 34-title series of
albums, each of which is devoted to a highly influential artist from the past
who too often has been overlooked and forgotten — the Vanguard label set a noble
and lofty goal for itself. Although the underlying concept is sound, its
execution is considerably flawed. First and foremost, too many constraints were
placed upon the project. Limited to 10 tracks that were plucked exclusively from
the company’s own archives, the various collections are unable to come anywhere
close to doing justice to their subjects’ legacies. Adding insult to injury,
each package contains virtually no information whatsoever about its contents,
which means that listeners have been left completely on their own to determine
the importance of the material that lies therein.
Fortunately, as a standalone listening experience, the installment of the
Vanguard Visionaries series that is devoted to Junior Wells is a solid and
enjoyable endeavor. Vanguard, of course, was at the forefront of the folk and
blues revival of the 1960s, and during that time, Wells settled into the studio
with fellow Chicagoan Buddy Guy to craft a pair of albums for the company (It’s
My Life, Baby! and Coming at You). Coming in the wake of his landmark
outing Hoodoo Man Blues, which featured some of the finest music that
ever sprang forth from the Chicago blues scene, Wells’ efforts for the label
commonly were viewed as disappointing endeavors. In shifting from Delmark to
Vanguard, his approach became strikingly more conservative, and neither the
blend of concert and studio fare on It’s My Life, Baby! nor the
horn-slathered arrangements of Coming at You fared nearly as well as they
should have.
Nevertheless, Wells did record some stellar work for Vanguard, and most of
the material featured on Vanguard Visionaries is marked by the kind of
raw, emotional honesty that is impossible to manufacture. On Help Me, for
example, Wells’ churning harp solo bleeds into his mournful vocals to create a
positively moving eulogy to Sonny Boy Williamson, who had died just prior to the
recording session. Led by Wells’ slow-burning and ominously intense delivery,
Vietcong Blues plunges straight into the heart of darkness. During Messin’
with the Kid, Wells effortlessly tosses off a flurry of notes, which dart
through the taut, funky rhythms provided by his backing band. Spurred by Guy’s
playfully spry guitar licks, Wells’ soulful singing transforms the raucous
celebration of Shake It Baby into something truly electrifying. Although
Vanguard Visionaries hardly could be considered an in-depth examination
of Wells’ career, it does serve as an effective appetizer that ought to
encourage newcomers to dig deeper into his canon. 
Other Artists Featured in the Vanguard Visionaries Series
James Cotton
Mississippi John Hurt
Odetta
Big Mama Thornton
Doc Watson
Vanguard Visionaries is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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