The Super Guitar Of Lightnin' Red

Every now and then as you're idly flicking through a musty old box of records in a charity shop, boot fair or even your local musical disk emporium. You come across a record that makes you stop and think: 'That's got to be worth a go' Even more so when you notice the price is only 50p.
Most of the time you have no clue what it is about the record you are holding that has made you feel such a way, other than it is indeed, exactly that - a "feeling".  This feeling could be down to a simple case of a nice cover picture, or a name you are sure you recognise or have read about somewhere, something that makes you certain it is going to be good, on the other side of the coin of course, it can be that this record looks so ridiculous, you have just got to find out what its banter is.


For me upon my chance meeting with old Lightnin' Red at a car boot sale all those years ago it was definitely the latter: 
A combination of its title "THE SUPER GUITAR OF LIGHTNIN RED"  The wonderfully absurd cover art and the 50p price tag. was more than enough to make me think - 'Why on earth not?'


When you get these whimsically acquired oddities home however, you will quite often find that 'Professor Gilbert Plays Hits Of The 60s' on his Hammond organ' does not have that one, out of sorts drum heavy Hammond instrumental track that you had hoped it might and that record that really looked like it promised some acid tinged Hungarian Folk actually turned out to be some kind of Hungarian operatic gubbins.


So what makes this never ending dig through piles and piles of must and dust so worth while? Well sometimes, not always but sometimes you hit the jackpot! To quote the foot not at the bottom of the back of the LP's cover sleeve; " Folk down around Texarkana way say, 'Give ole Lightnin Red anything with strings on it an he'll sure as hell play it'. His use of wha-wha and other electronic gear is employed to the fullest measure - but his full artistry comes from the incredible speed of his fingering. Listen to his fingers pushing notes through his amplifiers. Add swinging brass and the colours of lush strings and you have a setting for the best of Lightnin Red"


Well that's got to be worth a go hasn't it? 


Lightnin Red may be another covering the popular hits of the day but he has served them up with a huge sugar coated dose of raw funk!


Tracklist


1) America
2) Put your hand in the hand
3) Frankie & Johnny
4) La Bamba
5) Pappa's got a brand new bag
6) Bahia
7) Jericho
8) Perdido
9) Funky Friday
10) Caravan




Funky Friday





Pappa's Got A Brand New Bag





Caravan