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Customer Reviews of On Tap

This is excellent live Jr. Wells in the 70's
This is an excellent Jr. Wells cd. It is blues with a touch (and sometimes a slap !!!) of funk. The personnel on this cd, Jr. Wells and virtouso guitarist Sammy Lawhorn (formerly of Muddy Water's band)used to rule the roost at the Legendary Theresa's club at 4801 S. Indiana on Chicago's South Side in the 70's and early 80's. The cover p[ic is Jr. behind the bar at Theresa's. This cd is a pretty good example of what you could hear for a $1 on any given night Jr. wasn't on the road in those days. That is not a misprint. the cover was $1. Blues with a touch of funk was Jr's trademark and he goes a little extra funky sometimes, but when he got down to straight blues, he was the man (he learned it right from his musical father (Muddy). If you went to Theresa's to see Jr., it was wise not to get too riled up on liquor though because everybody (especially the band) in the place was packing heat-lol. James Cotton and Jr. used to trade sets on Wed. If we invented time travel, this era would be on my top 5 list (along with seeing Muddy in the 50's and the blues and rock of the late 60's). Put this cd in and go back in time to when the blues legends roamed the clubs of Chicago.

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let's have another round !
"On Tap" is the finale grande in Junior's trilogy of Delmark releases spanning nearly a decade {1965-1974}. Of the three discs which Wells cut for Delmark, it's difficult to choose a personal favorite, but I might lean slightly towards this one, mainly because of the presence of guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. Lawhorn, an alumnus of Muddy Waters mid 60's early 70's band's was one of the windy city's most underrated blues guitarist's and he showcases his talent's tastefully here. Junior's content covering familiar ground on about half the tracks which I must admit made me hesitant about purchasing this disc, but to no availe, he gives them the Juniorized treatment, breathing new life into Big Bill Broonzy's or Jazz Gillum's {debateable} "Key To The Highway", Tampa Red's "You Gotta Love Her With A Feeling", Big Maceo's "Worried Life Blues", titled here as "Someday Baby" and St. Louis Jimmy's "Goin' Down slow". Each of Junior's Delmark releases seem to have thier own distinct flavor, on "Hoodoo Man Blues", it's earthy funkiness, with "Southside Blues Jam", it's the live and spontaneous feel which sets the tone, and on "On Tap", it's Wells, the always confident and ever consumate bluesman smoothly stepping forward to deliver the goods. with a sympathetic backing band including veterans Phillip Guy {guitar}, A.C. Reed {tenor sax}, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker {keyboards} and a solid rythmn section anchoring, there ain't a chance in hell that this train could derail! So savor the sounds of Junior Wells "On Tap".

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Junior Wells, Live And In His Prime
When asked to name a favorite amongst his own recordings, Junior Wells would always cite "On Tap," and with good reason. Recorded live at a Chicago club in the mid-70s, "On Tap" presents Wells at his very best. Despite the fact that most of the tracks are Chicago blues standards, Wells and his outstanding backup band(featuring most prominently guitarists Phil Guy and Sammy Lawhorn)present them with great sensitivity and brio. As a live blues record, it is perhaps bested only by Robert Nighthawk's "Live On Maxwell Street."