Big Walter Horton * Johnny Nicholas * Ronnie Earl
Sugar Ray & The Blue Tones
Bocce Boogie Live 1978
TopCat #T7082
It’s 1978 and you and about 150 other people have gathered to celebrate the wedding of some friends. The spot is The Bocce Club in Rhode Island. Yawn, you think as you pull up. I’ll go in, have a couple of drinks, say “Congrats” to the happy couple and get home in time to catch Johnny on the Tonight Show.
Except once you get inside, you’re there until they finally turn out the lights and push you out the door. What changed your mind? It was the groove of a true blues party band featuring Big Walter Horton singing and blowing harp and “Guitar Johnny” Nicholas and Ronnie Earl setting the strings of their guitars on fire with one tasty riff after another. The host band for this gig is rounded out by Ted Harvey (drums) and Mudcat Ward (bass) keeping a steady groove, and piano courtesy of Anthony Giarossi – collectively known as The Blue Tones. And their band leader Sugar Ray Norcia jumps up to sing “Every Day I Have The Blues” and then throws in some Chromatic harp on “That’s Why I’m Crying.”
You probably weren’t there, but it did happen, and was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder with one microphone by Dick Koulbanis. Now TopCat Records has released it as a CD, Bocce Boogie: Live 1978.
The CD bares the warts of a live recording made with what now seems primitive equipment – there are some muddy places and jostling of the microphone can be heard in songs. By the same token, it’s that raw feel that makes for such an interesting recording – like you WERE there, and are reliving the night while listening to this CD. Blues is an organic music – there are hundreds of excellent studio recordings, but it breathes best live. And this recording has that beautiful live feel to it.
The band tears up 15 tracks here, including “My Babe”, “Baby Please Don’t Go” and “Sweet Black Angel”. You can tell they are having a blast – just a bunch of friends gathering to celebrate the happy occasion. Grab your copy of Bocce Boogie and have a blues celebration of your own.
- Blue Lisa -
Southwest Blues CD Review - August 2008
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