BigLlou Johnson: “Bigman” (2021) CD Review

BigLlou Johnson (whose name is also sometimes written as Big Llou Johnson) was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2017, just six years after the release of his first album, They Call Me Big Llou, and four years after receiving the Blues Music Best New Artist award. He has an excellent and distinctive voice, and so it is no surprise to learn that in addition to singing the blues, BigLlou Johnson does voiceover work on television shows and commercials. In 2021, he released Bigman, an album of fun blues numbers that feature, in addition to his great voice, some wonderful stuff on guitar, as well as a horn section. The musicians backing him on this release include Will Crosby on guitar, Jonathan Ellison on guitar, Terrence “Sweet T” Grayson on guitar and bass, Ellis Hall on guitar and keyboards, Gino Matteo on guitar, Curt Morrison on guitar and harmonica, Isaiah Sharkey on guitar, Joe Louis Walker on guitar, Tim Gant on keyboards, Chris Stephenson on keyboards, Josh Lava on keyboards, James Pastman on keyboards, Michael Raiford on keyboards and drums, Victor Wainwright on keyboards, Felton Crews on bass, Paul Martin on bass, Ricky Nelson on bass and drums, Jim Widlowski on drums, Kalyan Pathak on percussion, Mark Early on saxophone, Doug Woolverton on trumpet, Bill Overton on clarinet, Anne Harris on strings, Russ Green on harmonica, and Anthony Dopsie on accordion. Dwight Dukes, Amanda Joyce, Keith Stewart, Monique Whittington and Monico Whittington provide backing vocals.

“Let it roll,” Big Llou says at the very beginning of the album’s opening track, “Lightnin’ Strike,” and the guitar responds. The musicians waste no time before delivering the goods. “Hand me the dice, I’m ready to roll/Move over, baby, I’m here to shake your soul.” Big Llou has a good, deep voice, one you can believe. The backing vocals add another cool layer. This is blues that kind of swings, featuring the horn section and really nice stuff on guitar throughout the track. The horns are particularly delicious toward the end. That’s followed by “Bigman,” the album’s title track, which has something of a party feel. There is a nice humor to his delivery of a line like “Don’t just sample, grab a big old bite.” And I can’t help but smile when he laughs a minute or so into it, and then again a little later. There is also a great joy to the horns here. This track also gives us a nice helping of soul.

“Chill On Cold” begins with some delicious stuff on harmonica, leading Big Llou to comment, “Oh yeah.” And really, that says it all. Oh yeah, that harmonica is great; oh yeah, that groove is just right; and oh yeah, everything is going to be just as he wants it. Bluesy and dripping with cool. “Take a rich man’s money/Like throwing a dollar in the well/Make an angel leave heaven/For the gates of hell.” The harmonica plays a strong role throughout the track, and approximately halfway through, there is a great lead. And again, there is the sense of a party in that jam. “She’s a dangerous woman/ ‘Cause she can’t feel/Ain’t nothing about her love/You’ll find is real.” Big Llou delivers a cool, sexy, confident performance on “Let’s Misbehave.” This track has it all: excellent stuff on keys, a cool rhythm, a delicious part on clarinet, and even a string section. Who is going to say no to this guy when he says “Come on, baby”? At the very end he says, “Shucky Ducky.” Why? Not sure, but it leads to a song titled “Shucky Ducky.”  I had no idea what that meant, and had to look it up, but there isn’t really a universal meaning, apart, I suppose, from the comedian who went by that name. But other than that, everyone seems to have a different idea of what it means. But no matter. This is a playful number, and it includes some good stuff on accordion. “If this is heaven, I’m playing dead.”

“Sunshine On Yo Face” is totally cool right from the beginning, featuring some great work on guitar, plus fantastic stuff from Anne Harris on violin. And what a phenomenal vocal performance. Everything is working perfectly here. “Problems come and go like the seasons change/It’s easy when you know one simple thing/Get some sunshine on your face/And watch them blues just dissipate.” This is one of my personal favorites. At the very end, Big Llou says, “Oh, it feels so good.” He might be talking about the sunshine, but he could just as easily be remarking on the music itself. Then “Stuff To Do” features some fun, lively work on keys right from the start. This track has a good energy. “Don’t you bother me (I got stuff to do)/Don’t you call on me (I got stuff to do).” It might seem like he wants to be left alone, yet the song has the vibe of a party. It’s a song for those of us who are always busy. But it’s also for anyone who wants a little fun. And at the end, in a spoken word bit, we learn he is only busy until a woman needs his attention, at which point he has all the time in the world. Seems right.

“I Got The Fever” announces itself as a cool blues number in that opening section, and then soon settles into a great blues rhythm, the kind that will take you into the night, and perhaps through it. Here Big Llou tells us he’s “got a bad case of the blues.” And I love the way those backing vocalists sing, “I got a fever.” Oh yes, that’s just the kind of illness we can all enjoy. And halfway through he says, “Somebody play me the blues,” and the keys respond. This track is a total delight. Big Llou changes gears at the beginning of “Never Get Over Me,” with strings at the start of this one. But when he comes in on vocals, it goes into the blues territory, featuring some nice touches on keys. This track soon changes again, that good groove coming in. “‘Cause once you get under me, you’ll never get over me,” he sings, that line reminding me of a line that Ross said in an episode of Friends. No worries of a lack of confidence here, as he sings, “I’m a force of nature, baby.” Big Llou then wraps up the album with another seriously cool track, “Beezthatwaysometimes,” which includes some nice backing vocal work. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Drink a bucket full of water/Stay drier than a bone/Could be walking down the street/Find a thousand dollar bill/Wind blow it out of my hand/And I never see it again.” In the second half, he offers this advice: “Just remember when life shuts you down/Just hold on and be strong.” He repeats “And be strong,” and the guitar backs him up. Toward the end, this track has a cool section dominated by vocals and the rhythm.

CD Track List

1. Lightnin’ Strike
2. Bigman
3. Chill On Cold
4. Let’s Misbehave
5. Shucky Ducky
6. Sunshine On Yo Face
7. Stuff To Do
8. I Got The Fever
9. Never Get Over Me
10. Beezthatwaysometimes

Bigman was released on September 30, 2021.