Robben Ford Discussion

[luvjc]

I have been listening to Keep on Running every day for a week now, trying to like it more and I really don't very much. Guitar work is wonderful as always but the songs are tame, lame and a real shame (Badge???? that was awful!) . If I was going to introduce Robben to someone I sure wouldn't hand them that CD.
So, a question for this group, which album would be the one to hook someone on Robben. My favorite is Tiger Walk but I don't think it accurates reflects Robben because it's all instrumental. So, for me it would be Handful of Blues. How about the rest of you??

[Bluelobster]

Hey , it depends on the guy.
Personally i'll pick the 2 yellowjackets with Robben, an old with J.Witherspoon or C.Musselwhite or why not the C.Ford band,
or Robben W/J.Witherspoon Live in Nottoden 1990. ( I love this one).
and to introduce Talk to your daughter. it's kinda chronologic.
. Bye Blob

[kirk95]

I don't think there are too many Robben CDs you can go wrong with. From the Inside Story to Yellow Jackets to Blue Line to Tiger Walk to Super Natural to Blue Moon to Jing Chi to Keep on Running....to hopefully a new Robben CD this year and a new Jing Chi studio CD.


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[Aeolian]

Cool thread. I was thinking about this recently. A lot of musicians I know will say Talk To Your Daughter, but I've had this in the car changer along with the first Blue Line, Handful of Blues and Keep on Running lately. (what can I say, I love Robben's playing)

It kind of depends on what the unwashed person is into. Since I hang around blues joints more often, a blues album is what I would suggest instead of Tiger Walk or the first Yellowjackets (for a jazzer), or Supernatural if they were more pop oriented.

On balance, I think that the first Blue Line album shows the best spectrum of Robben's playing, singing and blues based songwriting. And the sound quality it as good as it gets (which is an issue with Talk To Your Daughter by comparison). Handfull of Blues is more rock like so, after all this verbage... My vote goes to the first Blue Line!
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[fingerlakes]

I would select "Talk to Your Daughter" to hook 'em, and "Supernatural " to reel 'em in.

[bkrueger]

Blue Line. That's the only hook you need.
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[route66blues]

Blue Moon, if I had just one choice this would be it the most well rounded start to finish album, you don't need to skip a single track. Slow blues to funk a masterpiece.

Route66blues

[PierreL]

I would say Supernatural if guitar is not their main interest, otherwise the first Blueline or Mystic Mile, or the Authorized Bootleg if they like acoustic playing.

[gitarz*r*us]

I have always wondered why a lot of Ford fans are so crazy about "Talk to Your Daughter." I am glad to see that someone has recognized above that the sound quality is pretty mediocre: it was recorded simply as rough demo tracks and the producer insisted in putting it out with few changes. Still, "Getaway," and "Can't Let Her Go" are some of my favorite all-time Robben tracks. I read somewhere that he was going for the same funkiness as Aretha Franklin on "Getaway," and to me he succeeded. When I heard that he was going for a classic "R&B" groove on "Keep on Runnin" I got totally excited thinking he might have some more things like "Getaway" up his sleeve. Unfortunately, "Keep on Runnin" misses the mark by a long shot in my opinion. I agree with the above comment about "Badge????" It's just a pale cover in comparison with the original. And "For The Love of Money": same thing. We don't need weak covers from Robben. At least "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" from "Handful of Blues" was a re-working (to an extent) of the Nina Simone version rather than simply a cover of the Animals version. But I guess people liked "Born Under A Bad Sign" from "Talk to Your Daughter" so much that Robben's producer probably convinced him to do another Cream cover (I know someone is going to say "Born Under A Bad Sign" was an Albert King tune written by Steve Cropper, but that's not what Robben's cover version evokes). Plus, the horns sound synthesized and homogenized on "Keep On Running."

Bottom Line: Although my favorite Ford is a toss-up between "Inside Story" and "Supernatural" with "Tiger Walk" a close second, I would have to go with either "Mystic Mile" or "Handful of Blues" as being most representative of Ford's work. If forced to choose only one, I'd probably go with "Mystic Mile," if only because it shows his versatility in addition to the straight ahead blues-based stuff, and includes some of his "out of left field" stuff, as on the title track (which is haunting in the same way as Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on my Trail"), and "Trying to Do the Right Thing" (which is just a simple, pretty tune on which he doesn't try to impress anybody).

[Aeolian]

[quote="gitarz*r*us"]I have always wondered why a lot of Ford fans are so crazy about "Talk to Your Daughter." [quote]

I think "Talk to Your Daughter" signified the emergence of the "new" Robben. Breaking away from the Inside Story/Yellowjackets fusion stuff and playing blues but still putting his stamp on it. Maybe more of a landmark than a pinacle. Also, it seems to be the first use of the Dumble (even though thinly recorded) and the emergence of That Tone. Previously, his tone was more midrangy and fuzzboxy (although on Hilary's Soaring he gets more of that old Inside Story tone, don't know what he used).

Speaking of Cream covers, didn't Mystic Mile have a version of Politician on it? For me, Mystic Mile has less "exurberance" if you will than the other two Blue Line albums. It's in the collection but gets lost in the shuffle when I go to pull out Robben recordings.
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