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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Great to have the United and States masters available again [updated, in the first place reviewed in 1999]
By C. Talcroft
In a flurry of recent releases a clearer picture of Night Hawk’s artistry is emergent (he himself spelled his name as two words). This disc re-releases the recordings made by Night Hawk in 1951 for the United label and in 1952 for it is subsidiary, States. It adds two takes that were not on the initial LP release of 1977 (Pearl 11). Highlights include “The Moon is Rising” and “Maggie Campbell,” which are interesting to listen in dissimilar versions here. With this disc, two recent Testament discs that include Night Hawk material (“Down Home Slide” and “Down Home Harp,” both of which include performances that are a bit stilted–they were probably bootlegged from the May 1964 blues festival at Mandel Hall at the University of Chicago which had blues artists performing in an auditorium before a polite audience unused to the blues), and, most important, the new “And This Is Maxwell Street” 2CD set from P-Vine in Japan PCD 5527/28 (and let us hope soon on a U.S. label!), we start out to see that Night Hawk was a far more versatile guitarist than a good deal of probably have realized. On the “Bricks In My Pillow” release reviewed here, the pace is normally fast. The disc has a rather dissimilar feel from the lush but mournful playing we recognise from Chess recordings such as Anna Lee. Perhaps most interesting of all, however, is the extraordinary range of styles Night Hawk plays on the P-Vine “And This Is Maxwell Street” discs, but perchance that will have to not be surprising given Night Hawk’s remarks in the consultation with Michael Bloomfield that was made in conjuction with the filming of Mike Shea’s Maxwell Street documentary “And This is Free.” There he mentions that he used to play swing, Spanish numbers, usual numbers…. The P-Vine discs release all of the recordings made for “And This Is Free.” It is great to have the United and States masters available again here on this disc. Recommended. Just wish I knew who the drummer in the cover photo was! [Reviewer's update: I have confirmed that the drummer is Jimmy Lee Collins, the same drummer that appears in "And This is Free." "And This is Maxwell Street" was freed on Rooster Records (US) and Katfish Records (UK) after this review was written.]
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing sound, great songs. Why wasn’t Nighthawk a star?
By Docendo Discimus
Well, I suppose to some he was. A star that is. But for a lot of reason, Robert Lee McCullum (AKA “Nighthawk”) never made it to the in truth huge leagues. Sure, he didn’t have Willie Dixon to supply him with catchy, without any delay unforgettable songs like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf did, but he had the voice and the skill, and his recorded output is in general of very high quality.
Perhaps the main reason is that Nighthawk was a rambler who didn’t care all that much with regards to making records. Even so, United Records in Chicago did manage to record him on two occations (July 1951 and October 1952), and the cuts on this fine album were the results. Nighthawk plays some mean slide guitar and even a few single-string leads, and sounds very much like a man who could have given Muddy Waters a run for his money. Great band, too, including a in truth good piano player.
The sound is amazingly good – full, clear and rich. Highlights include the slow, ominous “Crying Won’t Help You”, the jazzy “The Moon Is Rising” and “You Missed A Good Man”, and the gritty conventional “Bricks In My Pillow”, but there are in truth no weak tracks on this album. Robert Nighthawk’s brand of blues is someplace in amid Elmore James and early amplified Muddy Waters, and this CD, along with the extremely pleasing “Live on Maxwell Street”, would serve as a fine introduction to this underrated but influential and hugely gifted bluesman.
4 1/2 stars. Highly recommended.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
One of the few genuinely perfective records.
By A
Possibly the best example of electrified Delta blues ever to come out of Chicago. Every detail is perfect, from Nighthawk’s liquid extrapolations on themes established by Tampa Red and others, to Jump Jackson’s swinging hi-hat, to Ransom Knowling’s awful slapped upright bass. The songs, too, are each bit as good as the performances. Do yourself a favor and own this record.
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