Lonnie Mack
Band members Related acts
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- Lonnie Mack (aka Lonnie McIntosh) -- vocals, guitar, bass
backing musicians: 1969 - David Byrd -- bass, keyboards, vocals - Sebastian Dangerfield -- vocals - Tim Drummond -- bass - Mac Elsensohn -- drums percussion - Billy Salyer -- drums, percussion
backing musicians: 1969 - Jack Brickles -- harp - Tim Drummond -- bass - Ron Grayson -- drums - Tim Hedding -- keyboards - Jerry Love -- drums - Denzil Rice -- keyboards - Rusty York -- harp
backing musicians: 1971 - Kenneth Butry -- drums - Lloyd Greene -- steel guitar - Buddy Spiker -- fiddle
backing musicians: 1973 - David Briggs -- keyboards - Norbert Putnam -- bass
backing musicians: 1985 - Tim Drummond -- bass - Gene Lawson -- drums - Bill McIntosh -- guitar - Dennis O'Neal -- drums - Stan Szelest -- keyboards - Stevie Ray Vaughan -- lead guitar
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- The Alabama State Troupers (Lonnie Mack)
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: ... Glad I'm In the Band Company: Elektra Catalog: EKS-74040 Year: 1969 Country/State: Harrison, Indiana Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened), cut lower right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 3577 Price:$20.00
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Lonnie Mack's debut LP for Elektra has always been somewhat of a mystery to my ears. The eleven tracks on "... Glad I'm In the Band" were certainly engaging, but I've always been puzzled by Mack's decision to include remakes of several of his best known songs. As good a singer and guitar player as Mack was, the album suffered from a certain lack of focus. The eleven tracks found Mack taking stabs at blues ('Stay Away from My Baby'), country ('Old House'), rock ('Too Much trouble'), and blue-eyed soul ('Sweat and Tears'). The performances were consistently enjoyable, but you were left with a feeling of uncertainty with respect to what Ma k was trying to accomplish. True, variety is the spice of life, but a bit of stability isn't a bad thing either. On the other hand, how many white singers could turn in a performance that could rival the likes of Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett, or Otis Redding ('She Don't Come Here Anymore'?
By the way, II'm thinking the cover photo (which has always reminded me of Wolverine, or some sort of Marvel comic book character), probably didn't help sales.
"... Glad I'm In the Band" track listing:
1.) Why (Lonnie Mack) - 4:20 rating: **** stars I've always been surprised at how much I like the Maxwell Davis arranged horn-powered remake of this bluesy ballad. Must have something to do with the Memphis feel they add to the tune. Of course Mack's blue-eyed soul vocals and blistering guitar solos might have had something to do with it. It really doesn't sound all that different than the 1963 version - biggest difference being the female backing singers on the original are muted on the remake. Elektra tapped the song as a promo 45 in the States. Interestingly it was also released as a single in France, Lebanon, and the UK.
- 1969's 'Why' b/w 'She Don't Come Here No More' (Elektra catalog number EK 45638) 2.) Save Your Money (Lonnie Mack) - 2:48 rating: **** stars Originally released as a 1967 single on Fraternity, 'Save Your Money' was the perfect song for people who had categorized Mack as a blues singer. With a breezy, highly melodic structure, this was out-and-out soul at its best. Elektra tapped it as a promo 45 in the US. Should have been a massive hit for the man.
- 1969's 'Save Your Money' b/w 'In the Band' (Elektra catalog number 45-45662) 3.) Old House (Lonnie Mack) - 3:08 rating: ** stars Pretty country-blues ballad, but it was ultimately a little too country for my tastes. 4.) Too Much Trouble (Lonnie Mack) - 2:05 rating: **** stars I remember reading a review that basically argued Mack was the bridge between Ventures-styled surf rock and Jimi Hendrix-era rock and roll. Based on the autobiographical 'Too Much Trouble' I can certainly buy into that story. Awesome displayed of his blazing guitar chops and a tight career wrap up too boot. "I'm moving to California ..." That seemed to capture his mood of frustration. 5.) In the Band (Lonnie Mack) - 1:44 rating: ** stars The title track had a nice Gospel flavor to it, but wasn't exactly my taste ... The harmony vocals were quite impressive.
(side
2) While it wasn't going to make you forget Little Willie John's original, Mack turned in a more than adequate reading of 'Let Them Talk'. The man certainly had a classic blues voice. 2.) Memphis (instrumental) (Chuck Berry) - 2:28 rating: *** stars Another remake (Mack's original cover came out in 1963), I've always been on the fence with regard to the updated, instrumental version of Chuck Berry's 'Memphis'. It was certainly a nice showcase for Mack's playing and to that end the absence of vocals allowed you to focus on those chops. The sound and video are out of synch, but YouTube has a clip of a late career Mack performing the song for a television appearance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwNfUHUXAg 3.) Sweat and Tears (David Byrd) - 4:14 rating: **** stars Back to impressive blue-eyed soul moves. 4.) Roberta (Al Smith - John Vincent) - 2:20 rating: **** stars If you've heard Huey "Piano" Smith's original, then there's a good chance Mack's sizzling, rock-tinged remake will come as a major surprise. It certainly did for me. One of the album's highlights. 5.) Stay Away from My Baby (Ray Pennington) - 3:45 rating: **** stars Best description of 'Stay Away from My Baby' - blues for folks who don't like conventional blues. 6.) She Don't Come Here Anymore (Lonnie Mack - Wayne Bullock) - 4:24 rating: **** stars Another remake, 'She Don't Come Here Anymore' was a killer soul track that would not have sounded out of place on a Solomon Burke, or Otis Redding album. That's high praise. Due to the cleaner, uncluttered arrangement (including dropping the mousy, female backing singers) the remake was actually better than the original.
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Genre: rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Whatever's Right Company: Elektra Catalog: EKS-74050 Year: 1969 Country/State: Harrison, Indiana Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor sticker tear top right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 4783 Price:$15.00 Cost: $1.00
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By 1968 guitarist Lonnie Mack had been playing professionally for a decade. Ironically, it took a lengthy article in Rolling Stone magazine to finally capture the attention of major record labels.
Signed by Jac Holzman's Elektra Records, Mack finally seemed poised for the big time. Produced by Russ Miller, 1969's "Whatever's Right" was a surprise to my ears. Not exactly a rock album, the resulting mix of blues, gospel and country genres was clearly souped up to appeal to a rock audience. While the spotlight was clearly on Mack's Gibson Flying V (and his speed of light whammy bar), to my ears the biggest surprise here was Mack's singing. As exemplified by tracks like 'My Babe, 'What Kind of World Is This?' and his cover of Bobby Womack's 'I Found a Love' the guy actually had a great voice. Interestingly, the two best songs here are also the only two Mack originals. 'Mr. Healthy Blues' was a killer instrumental that showcases how fast this guy could play, while Elektra marketing executives should have been fired for not having pulled 'Gotta Be An Answer' as a single. All told a nice introduction to the man's catalog.
"Whatever's Right" track listing:
1.) Untouched By Human Love (D. Roman - N. Simon) - 3:40 2.) I Found a Love (Bobby Womack - R. Young) - 3:34 3.) Share Your Love with Me (A. Braggs - D. Malone) - 4:12 4.) Teardrops On Your Letter (S. Scott - S. Thompson) - 4:12 5.) Baby, What You Want Me To Do (Jimmy Reed) - 2:52
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2) 2.) What Kind of World Is This? (Troy Seals) - 4:05 3.) My Babe (Willie Dixon) - 2:36 4.) Things Have Gone To Pieces (Leon Payne) - 2:56 5.) Gotta Be An Answer (Lonnie Mack) - 2:43
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Genre: rock Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: The Hills of Indiana Company: Elektra Catalog: EKS-74102 Year: 1971 Country/State: Harrison, Indiana Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: die cut cover; original insert; cut lower right corner Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5454 Price: $15.00
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Lonnie Mack's final album for Elektra (see additional comments below) was a modest change of direction. Co-produced by Mack and Russ Miller, 1971's "The Hills of Indiana" was quite diverse, but clearly reflected the influence of the explosion in singer/songwriters and The Band's style of early Americana. Anyone looking for another set of Mack's R&B moves was probably somewhat disappointed by the set. Moreover his typical guitar pyrotechnics were all but absent. The album certainly started out promisingly. One of the few tunes recorded in Muscle Shoals, 'Asphalt Outlaw Hero' was a taunt rocker that sported a great melody and a lyric that may have been a little too country for my tastes. That drawback was compensated for by one of the few memorable guitar solos. His cover of Carole King's ' A Fine Way To Go' and 'The Man In Me' also had nice guitar solos, though three out of twelve wasn't a very high batting average. Elsewhere 'Florida', 'Lay It Down', the title track, and 'Rings' were all pretty, but forgettable singer/songwriter tunes. Complete with pedal steel guitar and fiddles, 'Uncle Pen', 'Bicycle Annie' and '' were pure old fashioned country outings. Don Nix actually handled the lead vocals on the the pretty closing Gospel ballad 'Three Angels'. As you can tell, this isn't my favorite Mack LP, but then that's just my personnel opinion and some of you may find the collection endearing.
Elektra also tapped the album for a pair of singles:
- 1971's 'Lay It Down' b/w 'She Even woke Me Up To Say Goodbye' (Elektra catalog number 45715) - 1971's 'Rings' b/w 'Florida' (Elektra catalog number 45761)
"The Hills
of Indiana" track listing: 1.) Asphalt Outlaw Hero (Lonnie Mack - Don Nix) - 3:02 2.) Florida (Lonnie Mack - Don Nix) - 3:08 3.) Lay It Down (Gene Thomas) - 3:50 4.) The Hills of Indiana (Lonnie Mack) - 3:40 5.) Uncle Pen (Bill Monroe) - 1:48 6.) Bicycle Annie (Drew Thomason) - 5:10
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2) 2.) Rings (Eddie Reeves - Alex Harvey) - 3:10 3.) The Man In Me (Bob Dylan) - 3:09 4.) She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye (Mickey Newbury - Douglas Gilmore) - 3:20 5.) All Good Things Will Come To Pass (Lonnie Mack - Don Nix) - 3:27 6.) Three Angels (Lonnie Mack - Don Nix) - 4:39
Based in part of Mack's interest in promoting Southern music, Elektra President Jac Holzman and Russ Miller agreed to finance an album and promotional tour by a collection of Mack friends and associates under the moniker of The Alabama State Troupers. Just as the entourage's American tour was about to kick off Mack disappeared. Holzman's book Follow the Music includes a hysterical segment describing their efforts to track Mack down; his refusal to participate in the tour (biblical visions left him afraid to participate); and their workaround efforts to get the tour launched and underway.
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Genre: blues-rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Strike Like Lightning Company: Alligator Catalog: AL 4739 Year: 1985 Country/State: Harrison, Indiana Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: 5324 Price: $15.00
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Owning a couple of Lonnie Mack LPs, I grabbed this one the moment I saw it at a yard sale. It wasn't until a couple of months later that I realized 1985's "Stike Like Lightening" was a pseudo-collaboration between Mack and longtime friend Stevie Ray Vaughan.
If you're to believe various references, Mack was an earlier inspiration for the late Vaughan (probably true since Vaughan's recording catalog included several Mack songs and he frequently played 'Wham!' in concert). The two had known each other since the late 1970s and repeatedly talked about some sort of collaboration, but that didn't take place until 1985.
back cover "Strike Like Lightening" photo
The two friends finally got a chance to work together when Mack signed with the Chicago based Alligator label. Given hyped collaborations are normally major disappointments,1985's"Strike Like Lightening" was one of those rare successes. Co-producing the LP, Mack seemed truly invigorated with his collaborator, turning in some of his best performances in decades. Probably not a major surprise, but Vaughan's influences were found throughout the set. While the performance credits weren't clear on the subject, it appears that Mack elected to focus his efforts on the vocals and rhythm guitar duties, allowing Vaughan to handle most of the leads. Nothing to complain about since Mack's rugged voice seemed to have gotten better with age. Even something like the keyboard dominated blues number 'Falling Back In Love with You' was rescued by Mack's gritty vocals. There were a couple of true Mack-Vaughan collaborations so the highlights for true guitar fanatics probably included 'Satisfy Susie' and the instrumentals 'Double Whammy' and 'Oreo Cookie Blues' (check out the latter for some killer Vaughan slide guitar). Other highlights included the blazing title track and the pair's lone vocal collaboration 'If You Have To Know'. Nice. Very nice.
"Strike Lighteningt" track listing:
1.) Hound Dog Man (Tim Drummond) - 4:02 2.) Satisfy Susie (Lonnie Mack - Tim Drummond) - 4:26 3.) Stop (Lonnie Mack) - 5:19 4.) Long Way from Memphis (Lonnie Mack - Tim Drummond - Jennings) - 3:20 5.) Double Whammy (instrumental) (Lonnie Mack) - 3:35
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2) 2.) Falling Back In Love with You (Lonnie Mack) - 4:55 3.) If You Have To Know (Lonnie Mack - Tim Drummond - Jennings) - 4:31 4.) You Ain't Got Me (Lonnie Mack) - 2:37 5.) Oreo Cookie Blues (instrumental) (Lonnie Mack - Wilkerson) - 4:48
YouTube has a lot of Mack material. Here are links to a couple of Mack/Vaughan live performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHr7xGvDBmY ('Oreo Cookie Blues')
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjdbXwD-xnk ('Double Whammy')
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