Honeydripper: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 02.11.2008
The blues had a baby and they called it rock ‘n’ roll…
My Story
When I first got an email about a movie soundtrack that mined the fertile ground of the days just before rock ‘n’ roll, I jumped at the chance to hear it. Any compilation that attempts to tell the story of the late-40’s and dawn of the 50’s, the way that so many genres of definitively American music combined to create rock ‘n’ roll, and the people who were around to see the music’s birth – well, that’s a bold undertaking, isn’t it? No matter, Honeydripper attempts to do just that and with only 15 tracks. How will it fare?
Its Story Honeydripper is a musical drama about a fictional club, The Honeydripper Lounge, in 1950 Alabama. The club owner, Tyron “Pine Top” Purvis (Danny Glover, Be Kind Rewind, Dreamgirls) finds himself losing business as his patrons become less and less interested in acoustic blues music. This all turns around when Purvis brings in musician Sonny Blake (Gary Clark, Jr.), an untested electric guitar player who recently came to town and wound up in jail, during the high traffic cotton harvest. The film was directed by John Sayles (Sunshine State). The movie also features blues singer Keb’ Mo’, actor/comedian/singer Kel Mitchell (“Keenan & Kel”), and blues/R&B legend Mabel John. R&B legend was cast to play a role, but passed away before filming started. Her final recording appears on the soundtrack.
As the film is a musical based in a blues club, music is a central theme of the film, specifically the gospel, R&B, country and blues of the late 40’s and 1950. As the film centers around the introduction of the electric guitar, the burgeoning genre of rock ‘n’ roll is also touched upon, though the era of the film predates the birth of the music.
Honeydripper premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and began a limited release in the US on December 28, 2007. An April limited release is scheduled for the UK. It has received mostly positive reviews.
The Album
On February 5th, 2008, Rhino Records released Honeydripper: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album features music from the movie, most of which was recorded for the film.
The Bands & The Songs
Honeydripper covers songs which were partly written in the 1940’s, though a lot of them have been re-recorded by musicians who appear in the film. There are also a few original recordings in the mix (both new and vintage), as Honeydripper attempts to cover all the popular genres of 1950 Alabama.
The Aces Of Spade – “Honeydripper Lounge”
Honeydripper kicks off with a jumping, sax-driven blues number, “Honeydripper Lounge”, named for the central location in the movie. The Aces Of Spade is an assemblage of musicians put together for the film, led by alto saxist Billy Novick. At little more than a minute long, “Honeydripper Lounge” is really just an intro track, but with the beer-soaked piano and sax work, it does a good job of bringing you into a late-40’s juke joint on a Saturday night.
Mason Daring, Frank Gallagher, Tim Jackson & Mike Turk – “Tall Cotton”
“Tall Cotton”, led by Mike Turk’s blowing harmonica, is a prototypical train song. It begins with a slow, mournful harp, but then kicks into chugging like a choo-choo. It’s a good way to take you out of the night club and into the blue collar life of the sleepy Alabama locale of Honeydripper.
Mable John – “No Matter How She Done It”
Mable John is a classic blues and soul singer, who spent time on both Motown and Stax Records in the 1960’s. She also performed as one of Ray Charles’ Raelettes. “No Matter How She Done It”, a hokum blues number, was originally recorded by Hudson Whittaker, aka Tampa Red, in the mid-30’s. The version presented by John on this record is a strong reading, backed sparsely by piano and blues harp master Jerry Portnoy. “No Matter How She Done It” is an example of this soundtrack’s purpose, as it takes this song and records it nearly the same as it would’ve been played in 1932, bringing the contemporary listener into the era without compromise, but only on the strength of these excellent songs.
New Beginnings Ministry – “Standing By The Highway”
New Beginnings Ministry is a choir from the church of the same name, based in Greenville, Alabama. “Standing By The Highway” is a traditional gospel tune. This is full, rich gospel choir music, absolutely what you’d expect in the best way, and it represents the soul of the film and of the south during its period.
Hank Williams – “Move It On Over”
This is the original recording by country music legend Hank Williams, which reached #4 on the Country charts in 1947. I like the way that this soundtrack includes such a decidedly “white” singer as Hank Williams, when the film really revolves around “black” music, as would be the case of any southern black community in the late 40’s. This is deceptive, however, as “Move It On Over” (itself a precursor to rock ‘n’ roll – many have noted its similarities to “Rock Around The Clock”) owes more to the blues than most of Hank’s other hits. Great to hear this song in such a context.
Lil Green – “Why Don’t You Do Right”
Lil Green was a Chicago-based blues artist from the 1930’s and 40’s. “Why Don’t You Do Right?” was one of her biggest hits. The song was originally written by Kansas Joe McCoy, who was known to influence Led Zeppelin’s version of “When The Levee Breaks”. This original recording, with its minor 12-bar blues form, is a sensuous and nearly brooding example of blues in the 40’s, proving that it wasn’t all big band and crazy dancing. Tragically, Lil died of pneumonia in her mid-30’s.
Keb’ Mo’ – “Stack O Lee”
Keb’ Mo’ brings us back into contemporary recordings, though by era only, as this reading of “Stack O Lee”, a traditional classic about a fatal fight between a man named Stag Lee and his friend Billy that has been covered by hundreds of artists, is recorded on location with Mr. Mo’ playing guitar, vocals and harmonica live. This is a rather short version of the song, but its blues style fits the theme of the record, and the violence of the song does well to note the tense undercurrent running through the south in the mid-1900’s.
New Beginnings Ministry – “You Got To Choose”
The NBM choir returns with the handclapper “You Got To Choose”, which was written for this film. The pacing seems a little odd to place another gospel number at this point, but you can’t deny that “You Got To Choose”, with its catchy refrain of “You got to choose between the world and the Lord”, captures the spirit and feeling of 1950’s gospel.
Danny Glover – “Goin’ Down Slow”
“Goin’ Down Slow” was the biggest hit by St. Louis Jimmy Oden, a bluesman from the 1930’s and 40’s. “Goin’ Down Slow” was revived by the legendary Holwin’ Wolf in the early 60’s and has since become a blues standard. The song is sung here by actor Danny Glover, who plays the films troubled club owner. This song, more than any other track here, captures the stereotypical BLUES side of the blues, and it does so with excellent effect. Glover delivers the vocals here pretty well, like a man who has absorbed this music for years. Who knew Murtaugh could sing?
Memphis Slim – “Bertha May”
“Bertha May” is not your typical go-to song for Memphis Slim, as it wasn’t one of his biggest hits. Still, this piano blues cut captures a heartbreaking sadness that is palpable. The only bad aspect is that, at over six minutes, it really slows the album down.
Gary Clark, Jr. – “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
“Good Rockin’ Tonight” is the first of a trilogy of songs on this album by Gary Clark, Jr., who plays the electric guitar savior Sonny Blake in the film. “Good Rockin’ Tonight” was written by bluesman Roy Brown in 1947, but it took off the next year when it was rocked up by shouter Wynonie Harris. The song went on to become iconic: it was the second single released by Elvis Presley on Sun Records, thus forever tying it with rock ‘n’ roll. Gary Clark, Jr.’s guitar riffing here is particularly hot.
Gary Clark, Jr. – “China Doll”
The second song by Clark here, “China Doll” is an original from the Honeydripper soundtrack. The electric guitar licks mixed with the saxophone (played by the one and only Eddie Shaw) give away more about the future of rock ‘n’ roll than the reserved “Good Rockin’”. Great track and a great tribute to the era.
Gary Clark, Jr. – “Blue Light Boogie”
Clark slows things down with “Blue Light Boogie”, a classic blues song probably best known as by Taj Mahal. I was almost sad to see us move the tempo down after the two rock numbers, but “Blue Light Boogie” itself is a solid, if unspectacular track.
Barrence Whitfield – “Music Keeps Rollin’ On”
“Music Keeps Rollin’ On” is another Honeydripper original, and it once again features the “future” that is rock ‘n’ roll to come. Wedding band leader Barrence Whitfield screams and moans like a crazy Chuck Berry/Little Richard hybrid. It may be a little over the top, but the spirit of the song is a good fit.
Ruth Brown – “Things About Coming My Way”
This is possibly the collector’s bait of the album (in a good way), as it’s the final recording by R&B legend Ruth Brown, who passed away in late 2006. Her take on “Things About Coming My Way”, the CD’s second Tampa Red cover, sounds a bit worn due to her age, but is proof that Brown could still belt one out with all of the skill and emotion that she was known for, even in her last days. Great horn work on this track, too.
The 411: Honeydripper is one of the best blues compilations to come along in a good while, simply because it augments the blues with the other genres (gospel, country) that were going on around it. As those genres informed each other and the electric guitar was invented, rock ‘n’ roll was born. This doesn’t mean that rock killed these genres, but simple was the proud child of them. Indeed, Honeydripper, with its contemporary recordings of blues classics as well as several vintage records, proves that the music and its legacy is indeed still vital.
