Brownie McGhee - Rainy Day (1976)

Rainy Day (1976) is an album by Brownie McGhee, one of the leading figures in the Piedmont blues tradition. Known for his virtuosic guitar playing, heartfelt vocals, and his long collaboration with harmonica player Sonny Terry, McGhee was an important figure in shaping the sound and direction of traditional blues. Rainy Day captures McGhee in a more intimate, reflective setting, and is a fine example of his deep emotional connection to the blues.

Tracklist

01. The Blues Had a Baby
02. I'm Going To Keep On Loving
03. Walk On
04. Rainy Day
05. Christina
06. Don't Dog Your Woman
07. Mean And Evil
08. Wine Sporty Orty
09. Blues Is Truth
10. Bunkhouse
11. Key To The Highway
12. Blues On Parade
Brownie McGhee - Rainy Day (1976)

personnel :

Bass – Alex Blake
Drums – Brian Brake
Guitar – Bobby Foster, Brownie McGhee, Louisiana Red
Harmonica – Louisiana Red, Sugar Blue
Piano – Sammy Price
Vocals – Brownie McGhee, Jim Robinson

Brownie McGhee was 60 when Rainy Day (reissued on CD by Concord's Blues Alliance label in 1996 as Blues Is Truth) was recorded in White Plains, N.Y. in 1976, and the veteran bluesman was still a powerful, authoritative singer. Although not quite in a class with McGhee's magnificent work with Sonny Terry in the 1950s and '60s, Truth is a consistently appealing date that unites him with such solid players as guitarist Louisana Red (who's also an excellent singer, though he doesn't sing here), harmonica player Sugar Blue and pianist Sammy Price. McGhee is in fine form on everything from the lonely desperation of "Rainy Day" to the upbeat, party-time atmosphere of "Walk On" and sibling Sticks McGhee's familiar "Wine Sporty Orty." The band is quite cohesive, and McGhee never sounds less than inspired.~Alex Henderson