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The Fabulous Thunderbirds continued the "blues revival" of the Sixties well
into the 1980s of the new wave and of punk-rock. While based in Texas, they
updated the concept
of the roadhouse band for an international and sophisticated audience
that had long forgotten the "southern rock" fad of the 1970s.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds were formed in 1975 by singer Kim Wilson
(born in Detroit, raised in California), the first virtuoso of the harmonica
since Paul Butterfield (but ispired by
Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson), and by guitarist
Jimmie Vaughan (who had been playing the Dallas bar circuit since 1963),
a disciple of T-Bone Walker,
They were discovered by Muddy Waters in person and debuted with
Fabulous Thunderbirds (Takoma, 1979), an album still in the tradition
of their idols with a few Wilson originals.
What's The Word (Chrysalis, 1980) was an improvement in the writing
department that yielded funny and driving numbers such as
Los Fabolous Thunderbirds and
Running Shoes.
Butt Rockin' (Chrysalis, 1981) added Fran Christina's drumming (a former
Roomful Of Blues) and delivered an even better set, with
I Believe I'm In Love and One Too Many.
Their sound revved up on T-Bird Rhythm (Chrysalis, 1982), influenced
by the pub-rock of Nick Lowe,
They recorded the quintessence of swamp-rock in Can't Tear It Up Enuff,
and entertained with the colorful vignettes of
How Do You Spell Love,
You're Humbuggin' Me and
My Babe.
Tuff Enuff (Epic, 1986) returned them to a more American sound, halfway
between Bo Diddley and ZZ Top, with Tuff Enuff
(but the most famous song from that album was a cover, Sam & Dave's
Wrap It Up).
Hot Number (Epic, 1987) is mostly an attempt to capitalize on their
success.
Stand Back and Hot Number repeat the previous album's style.
An injection of soul (Wasted Tears) and rockabilly
(Don't Bother) aim at a more commercial sound.
Powerful Stuff (Epic, 1989) follows suit, shifting the emphasis
from blues-rock (Rock This Place is the exception, not the rule)
to soul and funk (Now Loosen Up Baby, Knock Yourself Out).
Jimmie left the T-birds and joined brother Stevie Ray to record Family Style (Epic, 1990)
just months before Stevie Ray was killed in a helicopter accident.
The T-birds replaced Vaughan with
Roomful Of Blues' Duke Robillard and released one last album,
Walk That Walk (Epic, 1991), and then Wilson launched a solo career with
two minor albums,
Tiger Man (Antone's, 1993) and
That's Life (Antone's, 1994).
The T-Birds reformed (with Kid Ramos taking Vaughan's place) and released
Roll Of The Dice (Private, 1995).
To hear again the great T-birds sound one has to listen to
Jimmie Vaughan's solo Strange Pleasure (Epic, 1994).
Hot Stuff (Epic) is an anthology of 1986-1991 only.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Lorenzo Bragagnolo)
I Fabulous Thunderbirds continuarono il "blues revival" degli Anni Sessanta fino agli anni '80 della new wave e del punk-rock. Sebbene fondati in Texas, essi aggiornarono il concetto della band da roadhouse per un pubblico internazionale e sofisticato che aveva dimenticato da lungo tempo la moda del "southern rock" del Settanta.
I Fabulous Thunderbirds furono formati nel 1975 dal cantante Kim Wilson (nato a Detroit, cresciuto in California), il primo virtuoso dell'armonica dai tempi di Paul Butterfield(ma ispirato da Little Walter e Sonny Boy Williamson), e dal chitarrista Jimmie Vaughan (che suonava nei bar di Dallas dal 1963), discepolo di T-Bone Walker. Furono scoperti da Muddy Waters in persona e debuttarono con Fabulous
Thunderbirds (Takoma, 1979), album ancora nella
tradizione dei
loro idoli con pochi originali di Wilson. What's The
Word(Chrysalis, 1981) aggiunse la batteria di Fran Christina
(gia` nei
Roomful Of Blues)e svilupparono una tendenza migliore, con I
Believe I'm
in love e One Too Many.
Questo sound ando` su di giri con
T-Bird
Rhythm (Chrysalis, 1982) influenzato dal pub-rock di Nick Lowe.
Essi
registrarono la quintessenza dello swamp-rock in Can't Tear It Up
Enuff
il quadretto
colorato di How Do You Spell Love, You're Humbuggin'Me e My
Babe.
Tuff Enuff(Epic, 1986)
li fece
tornare a un sound piu` americano, a meta` tra Bo Diddley e ZZ Top,
con Tuff
Enuff(ma la piu` famosa canzone di quest'album era una cover,
Wrap It
Up di Sam&Dave).
Hot Number(Epic, 1987)
e` per lo
piu` un tentativo di capitalizzare sul loro successo. Stand
Back e
hot Number ripetono lo stile dell'album precedente.
Un'iniezione di
soul(Wasted Tears) e rockabilly(Don't Bother) mira ad
un sound
piu` commerciale.
Powerful Stuff (Epic, 1989) segue
l'esempio, spostando l'enfasi dal blues-rock (Rock This Place
e`
l'eccezione, non la regola) al soul e al funk (Now Loosen Up Baby,
Knock
Yourself Out).
Jimmie lascio` i T-birds e si uni`
col fratello
Stevie Ray per registrare Family Style (Epic, 1990)
pochi mesi
prima che Stevie Ray fosse ucciso in un incidente in
elicottero.
I T-birds rimpiazzarono Vaughan con
Duke Robillard
dei Roomful of Blues e realizzarono un ultimo album, Walk That
Walk (Epic, 1991), quindi Wilson si lancio` in una carriera da
solista
con due album minori, Tiger Man(Antone's, 1993) e
That's Life(Antone's, 1994). I T-birds si riunirono
(con Kid
Ramos al posto di Vaughan) e realizzarono Roll Of The
Dice(Private, 1995).
Per ascoltare il grande sound dei
T-birds bisogna
ascoltare il solo di Jimmie Vaughan Strange Pleasure
(Epic, 1994).
Hot Stuff(Epic)
e` un'antologia solo del periodo 1986-1991.
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