THE WEBSTIRS
Now You've Really Done It
Continued from page 44
curl and melodic turn to bloom and shimmer in crystalline light. You"ll hear passing similarities to fellow travelers, Why?,
in the off-kilter tumbles and jazzy rumble
of "Patch Of Blue," which contrasts starkly
with the tender sweetness simmering in
"Cola In Magnolia" and the wicked rock
crunch of "Hazyland."
– Patrick Conlan
6
THE STAPLE SINGERS
Freedom Hightway
Complete: Recorded Live
At Chicago's New
Nazareth Church
(Legacy)
The sound quality is refurbished bootleg at best. Still, it's hard to believe that a
half century has passed since this performance took place, so palpable do its
emotions remain. (The handclaps come
through pretty well too.) And despite Pops
Staples' introductory admonishment that
what's about to follow is worship and not
entertainment, there's plenty of the latter,
what with Phil Upchurch anchoring the
rhythm section and the Staples. Mavis,
Pervis, and Yvonne breathing Civil Rightsera life into one church-friendly song after
another. Most entertaining of all: the seven
minutes and three seconds in which The
Staples take a breather, the plates get
passed, and the Reverend Hopkins –
embarrassed by the initial paltry take –
shames his Baptist flock into coughing up
a grand Staples-supporting total of $100.
– Arsenio Orteza
6
Continued from page 18
outside the window of the juke joints listening to the music. We didn't have a
record player and anything not singing
about Jesus is the blues. My mama still
thinks its the devil music. She tolerates me
because she loves me but she still prays for
me to use my voice for Jesus."
(Ginger)
If quirky had never been used to
describe a pop band before, it would have
to start with The Webstirs. These Chicagobased power pop veterans have always
been more likely to sing about the mysterious disappearance of some guy named
Maurice Klybatzia than contemplate the
joys and sorrows of relationships. They're
masters of clever wordplay who wrap
their observations within catchy melodies.
Now You've Really Done It is their fifth and
most consistent release. "Saving The
World," an energetic fable augmented by a
horn section, deals with drinking, buying
guns, and tangling with the sons of a warlord. The gritty "Haymarket Riot" provides a history of Chicago's political uprisings, and asks, "Who is left for you to
trust?/When the monument has turned to
dust." On "Farther You Can Fall," The
Webstirs craft an indelible melody behind
the sobering thought that no matter how
bad things may look, they're bound to get
worse. "Ghosts" is a blistering satire on the
music business ("They took some pride in
it before it fell apart") while "Bright
Sunshine" evokes The Rolling Stones in its
hard-edged depiction of trying to succeed
in Hollywood. Amidst all this turmoil, The
Webstirs serve up the joyful romance of
"Mystery Spot." Now that's what you call
being quirky.
– Terrence Flamm
8
Sat. June 6
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Sun. June 7
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ful version of the gospel staple," Just A
Closer Walk With Thee" and wrings the
low down blues and jazzy undertones out
of every note of the original "Toxic."
"I started out singing R&B because I
was young and all I heard with blues was
somebody crying about somebody left
them and I didn't want to be crying,"
recalled Zora. "When you grow up and live
a little, you find a place for the blues. The
Zora Young
And what a voice. Rich and sinewy
with nuanced phrasing, Zora sings a
diverse repertoire of R&B and gospel as
well as blues. She moved to Chicago with
her family at seven-years-old and continued to sing gospel in the Baptist church
but she knew that she wanted to be a professional singer when she grew up. She'd
sneak and listen to legendary Chicago DJ
Al Benson on the radio at night and soak
up Dinah Washington, Sister Rosetta
Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson. You can
hear all of these influences on her latest
CD, The French Connection (Delmark).
Recorded in France with French musicians,
Zora delivers her own sly stamp on blues
classics like "Wang Dang Doodle" and
"Honey Bee." But she also serves up a soul-
Countryside, Milwaukee & Palatine
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only way you don't like blues is you don't
like life stories."
In terms of her own life story, Zora is
pleased with how far she's come, with 30
years in the industry. "It's been hard but
I've learned a lot and I've seen the world
with this music. It feels good to be honored
by your hometown (playing at Chicago
Blues Fest). You pay your dues and
Chicago will recognize their own." With a
new album coming out in a few months
and what promises to be an exciting blues
fest performance, Zora Young represents
the classic, dynamic blues woman, making
her own way on her own terms.
Zora Young plays Chicago Blues Fest on
Friday, June 12, at the Petrillo Music
Shell, 6:00pm.
june
2015
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