Grinning the Blues

John Paul Hammond, also known as John Hammond, Jr., is the son of famed record producer John Henry Hammond, Jr. (who discovered and/or helped Bob Dylan, Billie Holliday, Bruce Springsteen, and countless others). The younger John is also a descendant of William Henry Vanderbilt of the very prominent Vanderbilt family. Needless to say, John Hammond is a part of a highly successful family lineage.

John Hammond, Jr. has been recording blues and blues rock since 1962. He is a guitarist, singer, and harmonica player who has recorded thirty-three albums. He has never been commercially popular, but critically he has been lauded by writers and musicians, including the likes of blues legend John Lee Hooker and Robbie Robertson (famously of the Band). He has played briefly in bands with two legendary rock guitarists, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. The record I am listening to of his is Wicked Grin, which is a unique record for him in and of itself.

#51 – John Hammond, Jr., Wicked Grin (Metascore = 88)

Before even beginning this record, I should note that all of the tunes except for one (“I Know I’ve Been Changed”) have been penned by legendary songwriter Tom Waits. Waits, like Hammond, has not been commercially successful but has enjoyed a long and lustrous career as a songwriter. Hammond and Waits have been friends for years, so I would assume that Hammond recorded this in honor of his friend.

Wicked Grin opens with “2:19” a blues romp with slick guitar backed by piano, fanned drums, and a rolling bass guitar. The grooves continue on with “Heartattack and Vine”. “Clap Hands” is an interesting tune; though there is no discernible clapping going on, the way the drummer is playing and the bassist follows his beat, you feel like clapping is going on. The great thing about Waits’ songs is that his stories are just interesting—hustlers, gangsters, cowpokes, and the like. Hammond does a great job at delivering the lyrics.

“Buzz Fledderjohn” is a cool dobro song; the kid telling the story has quite an imagination of the “goings on” in Buzz Fledderjohn’s yard. “Shore Leave”, with its haunting organ and minimal guitar, is one of my favorites, a Navy midshipman wandering the streets of Hong Kong, looking for something to do. By far my favorite song, though, is “Big Black Mariah”, a blues jaunt if there were no other. According to online sources, “Big Black Mariah” is a slang term from New Orleans meaning a “hearse”; based on the lyrics to the song, I have no doubt.

Second listens are sometimes the most revealing. When I first heard this album, I enjoyed the music but wasn’t quite sure on the lyrics. In my notes I described Hammond as a “Poor Man’s Bob Dylan”, but this wasn’t accurate at all—all of the lyrics except for the last song are Tom Waits’. After discovering this, I researched the lyrics while I listened and came to this conclusion: Hammond is a great blues artist with a great delivery who has done these Waits’ songs a tremendous service. I found this record to be very accessible and enjoyable. So the record getting an 88 makes perfect sense.