Blues Preacher

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Blues Preacher
Studio album by
James Blood Ulmer
Released1993
RecordedSeptember–November, 1992
GenreJazz, blues
LabelDIW
ProducerKazunori Sugiyama, James Blood Ulmer
James Blood Ulmer chronology
Black and Blues
(1990) 		Blues Preacher
(1993) 		Harmolodic Guitar with Strings
(1993)
DIW Records Cover

Blues Preacher is an album by the American guitarist James Blood Ulmer, recorded in 1992 and released in Japan on DIW Records and in the US on Columbia/DIW.[1][2] It was released in North America in 1994.[3]

Production[edit]

Ulmer built the album around the drums, which he recorded with guitar and bass; he then rerecorded the guitar and bass parts once he was satisfied with the drum track.[4] Ulmer played a Steinberger on Blues Preacher.[5] "Jazz Is the Teacher (Funk the Preacher)" is a slower version of an older Ulmer song.[6]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Indianapolis Star[8]
Orlando Sentinel[9]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]

Trouser Press wrote that "the record places the emphasis on Blood's vocals amid unwavering rock and funk rhythms and more faux-metal guitars."[11] The Austin American-Statesman opined that "Ullmer's version of the [blues], full of crunching guitar chords and throat-ripping vocals, is well off the beaten path as idiosyncratic song structures and sermonizing lyrics take the music to new locations."[12]

The Indianapolis Star praised Ronald Drayton's "dazzling—and sometimes psychedelic—guitar variations and juxtapositions."[8] The Orlando Sentinel wrote that "Nobody but You" "is a gorgeous, Jimi Hendrix-style love ballad punctured by poison-tipped guitar licks—with Ulmer playing flute in a funky interlude."[9] Stereo Review noted that "in the noble tradition of early rock-and-roll, the words to some of the songs are so slurred and muffled as to be open to conjecture."[13]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Ulmer sticks to a harsh blues-rock groove, with many of the one-chord vamps sounding like they are leftovers from John Lee Hooker's repertoire. There are no harmolodics (and little jazz) to be heard on the CD, and this rather primitive music is to be recommended only to fans of Ulmer's shouting vocals."[7]

Track listing[edit]

All compositions by James Blood Ulmer
  1. "Cheering" – 6:45
  2. "Alone to Wonder" – 6:17
  3. "Let Me Take You Home" – 5:15
  4. "Who Let the Cat Out of the Bag?" – 4:37
  5. "Jazz Is the Teacher (Funk the Preacher)" – 6:45
  6. "Justice for Us All" – 5:05
  7. "Nobody but You" – 5:40
  8. "Blues Allnight" – 6:30
  9. "Get Up" – 7:35
  10. "Angel" – 7:05
  • Recorded at Sound On Sound, NYC in September through November, 1992

Personnel[edit]

  • James Blood Ulmer – guitar, vocals
  • Mark E. Peterson – bass (tracks 1–9)
  • Ronald Drayton – guitar (tracks 1–9)
  • Aubrey Dayle – drums
  • William "Spaceman" Patterson – synthesizer, drums, keyboards (track 10)
  • Delmar Brown – keyboards (track 10)
  • Irene Datcher – vocals (track 10)

References[edit]

  1. ^ James Blood Ulmer discography Archived 2009-11-05 at the Wayback Machine accessed July 13, 2010
  2. ^ Milkowski, Bill. "James "Blood" Ulmer: Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions". JazzTimes.
  3. ^ Ehrlich, Dmitri (Jan 1994). "Crank up the old and ring in the new — Blues Preacher by James Blood Ulmer". Interview. 24 (1): 36.
  4. ^ Jarrett, Michael (August 30, 2016). "Pressed for All Time: Producing the Great Jazz Albums from Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to Miles Davis and Diana Krall". UNC Press Books – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Milkowski, Bill (Apr 1994). "James Blood Ulmer's harmolodic blues". Guitar Player. 28 (4): 16.
  6. ^ Levesque, Roger (25 Apr 1994). "Rhythm & Blues". Edmonton Journal. p. A12.
  7. ^ a b Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed July 13, 2010
  8. ^ a b Konz, Joe (18 Feb 1994). "James Blood Ulmer 'Blues Preacher'". The Indianapolis Star. p. D5.
  9. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (15 Apr 1994). "James Blood Ulmer, Blues Preacher". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 7.
  10. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (September 9, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "James Blood Ulmer". Trouser Press. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  12. ^ Point, Michael (27 Jan 1994). "And now for something completely different...". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 14.
  13. ^ "Jazz – Blues Preacher by James 'Blood' Ulmer". Stereo Review. 59 (5): 90. May 1994.
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