Barrellhouse Chuck
Viola Records
By James Walker
The Hub Weekly
Champaign, IL
CHARLES GOERING, KNOWN BEHIND THE BLUES PIANO AS BARRELHOUSE CHUCK, IS A LIVING LEGACY. A Chicago blues pianist who studied under Sunnyland Slim, Pinetop Perkins, Lafayette Leake and Little Brother Montgomery, he draws on this lineage to create a blues and boogie-woogie piano style that places him among the contemporary elite.
The CD is simply top-notch blues, as well as a testament to many of the long passed artists with whom Goering played. To release his sixth album of Chicago Blues, Goering mined his vast archive of previous sessions, dating back to 1980. Collaborators include legendary Muddy Waters alumni Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, S.P. Leary, and Calvin Jones. Other notables included are: Wisconsin guitar virtuoso Billy Flynn, Otis “Smokey” Smothers, multi-Handy-Award winning bassist Willie Kent, and Handy nominee Johnny B. Moore.
“I Keep on Drinking” kicks off the album with B. Chuck going solo with some irresistibly understated vocals and piano. Goering’s “Farfisa B3 Boogie for Steve Winwood” is a swinging instrumental displaying a taste of the most classic Chuck. A Farfisa is an organ from Italy, which, says Chuck, “has a real nasty, greasy, dirty tone. It is not jazzy.” The Ventures’ “Walk, Don’t Run” is a credible cover with real pizzazz. Barrelhouse’s jolly Farfisa organ and Billy Flynn’s playful guitar send one “back to the beach,” riding some daydreaming brain waves!
www.thehubweekly.com
Return to more Pressv
