The passage of time also increases the musical value of this music, as the eventual popularity of commercial projects such as the Blues Brothers only served to dilute the power of urban blues. This doesn't mean that the music doesn't breathe, as there are plenty of little touches such as drum fills and turnarounds that show the presence of musicians thinking on their feet. The musicians have obviously worked together a great deal and either had these arrangements down cold from live gigs or had plenty of time to get things tight. It is just a great band, allowed to play the music exactly the way it wanted to.

There is nothing fancy about the production, and no gimmicks. This period of the Delmark discography set a high standard for blues recordings, the sound quality and tight interplay among the musicians every bit the equal of the classic jazz recordings on labels such as Blue Note and Prestige. Yet with all this talent, the label should also get some credit. What listeners have here, on the other hand, is frankly delicious, the results of the surplus of talent Magic Sam possessed, a triple threat as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. The harmonica player Junior Wells was another one who decided to get a bit of James Brown into his act, not always with great results. It was also a matter of commerce, as audiences - particularly black audiences - didn't want to hear any blues that sounded too much like something their parents might have listened to. This fusion was on the minds of many blues artists during the late '60s, and not just because it was aesthetically conceivable. It is unfortunate that Magic Sam's recording career came to such an abrupt end, as he was one of the best artists working in the musical area between the urban blues tradition and newly developing soul music forms.

He is blowing over the top of an R&B riff that, although not out of the syntax of Chicago blues, would also have been quite fitting on a Wilson Pickett record. In the meantime, the record goes on and the first soloist out of the gate is Eddie Shaw, playing tenor sax. It isn't clear exactly what he is playing from the picture, although that certainly didn't stop dozens of pimply hippie guitar players from trying to figure it out. This album's color cover photo is an action shot, showing Magic Sam in the process of choking and bending his strings, a good hike up the fretboard.

Black magic songs