Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Gate Walks To Board

 Another new one from Cliff; once again if you are already a Gate collector then you likely have these tracks, but this set benefits from being a more modern remastering.

The Best of Austin City Limits: Big Blues Extravaganza!

Pretty self-explanatory, great line up of artists performing live on the set of Austin City Limits.  Ripped from my CD with EAC to FLAC.  Scans includes a fold out poster... enjoy!!!


1. Albert Collins - Travelin' South  4:39
2. Lightnin' Hopkins - Rock Me Baby  3:48
3. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Love Struck Baby  3:02
4. Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-A-Whirl Band - Six Strings Down  4:16
5. Miss Lavelle White - I've Never Found a Man to Love  3:35
6. Keb' Mo' - Tell Everybody I Know  3:31
7. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Born in Louisiana  4:20
8. Dr. John - Since I Fell for You  4:36
9. Buddy Guy - Mary Had a Little Lamb   5:30
10. Taj Mahal - Queen Bee  5:48
11. The Neville Brothers - Yellow Moon  6:14
12. Rory Block - Big Road Blues  2:15
13. W. C. Clark - Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away  5:31
14. B. B. King - Night Life  6:17
15. Delbert McClinton - Leap of Faith  4:02

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Allright Again!

I just HAD to put this up because I was watching an interview with Gate in which he discussed the 3 months that he spent on tour with Eric Clapton. He got me at first giggling and finally belly laughing out loud. Apparently at some point in the tour Gate was moved to ask Senor Guitar God "What the f__k do you need 20 guitars on stage with you fo' ? One for every guy you tryin' to copy?"

Whew!!! Has anyone ever more succinctly described all there is to know about Clapton? My belief is that all the genuinely important and original things Clapton has EVER played could easily be contained in 2 discs. That said, 2 discs is quite a bit more than most can claim.

Okay, Clapton slam done....umm by the way, this is an absolutely killer Gate album - enjoy my friends.

Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - One More Mile

Here's a solid album from Gatemouth, reminiscent of his Black and Blue days.  For fans of the man, it's essential listening - fans of the blues will probably want to have a listen but it's overall not his best work.  For anyone looking to get into this blues legend, begin with KC's Peacock sessions.

Ripped from mint vinyl at 24/44.1 wav, and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC... enjoy!!!

Rounder Records 2034
1982

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Pressure Cooker

This album is about as good as it gets.  Gate did a few original sides for Alligator, but this album is actually a reissue of sorts.

As many of you may or may not know, Brown spent alot of time in Europe during the 60's and 70's.  Like so many of his compatriates, he recorded for the great french label Black and Blue.  Infact, his output was quite high recording 5 albums, including the classic Louis Jordan tribute (available at the Crypt).  Alligator decided to select the best of all these albums and package it into one LP.  Good idea?  Hell yeah!!

Gatemouth is in top form here and his bandmates are no less.  Superb rhythm and shredding solos.  Intuitive note selection and chord choices.  All hallmarks of Brown's style.  Vocally he is soulful with great wit and charm.  The tracklist was well chosen.  We get the groovy feel of an organ trio, right on up to the brassy weight of an octet.  The band swing and groove hard through all of it.  Gatemouth is comfortable with a blues as much as he is with swingin.  He combines many different styles and feels which makes for incredible fun with non stop, interesting delivery.

If you're missing this one, don't hesitate to grab it.  Should also make a nice upgrade as this album is mint, and the fidelity superb.  Ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC...  Enjoy!!!

Alligator AL4745
1985

Recorded Mar/July/Aug 1973

Barclay Studio, Paris, France and

Condorcet Studio, Toulouse, France
Produced by and licenced from Disque Black and Blue

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Vocals, Guitar
Milt Buckner, Stan Hunter - Organ
Micheal Silva, Paul Gunther, Chris Columbo - Drums

Jay McShann - Piano

Roland Lobligeois - Bass

Xavier Chambon - Trumpet

Michael Attenoux, Hal Singer, Arnett Cobb - Tenor Sax

Al Grey, Claude Gousset - Trombone

A1 She Winked Her Eye

A2 Slow Down

A3 Just Lippin

A4 My Time Is Expensive

A5 Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens

B1 Pressure Cooker

B2 Ain't That Just Like A Woman

B3 Deep, Deep water

B4 Cold Strings

Clarence Gatemouth Brown - The Original Peacock Recordings

1940s and 1950s

Born in Vinton, Louisiana, Brown was raised in Orange, Texas. His professional musical career began in 1945, playing drums in San Antonio, Texas. He was tagged with the "Gatemouth" handle by a high school instructor who accused Brown of having a "voice like a gate". Brown used it to his advantage throughout his career. His career was boosted while attending a 1947 concert by T-Bone Walker in Don Robey's Bronze Peacock Houston nightclub. When Walker became ill, Brown took up his guitar and quickly wrote and played "Gatemouth Boogie," to the delight of the audience right on the spot.

In 1949 Robey founded Peacock Records in order to showcase Brown's virtuoso guitar work. Brown's "Mary Is Fine"/"My Time Is Expensive" was a hit for Peacock in 1949. A string of Peacock releases in the 1950s were less successful commercially, but were nonetheless pioneering musically. Particularly notable was the 1951 instrumental "Okie Dokie Stomp", in which Brown solos continuously over a punchy horn section (other instrumentals from this period include "Boogie Uproar" and "Gate Walks to Board"). As for his gutsy violin playing, Robey allowed him to record "Just Before Dawn" as his final Peacock release in 1959.

1960s and 1970s

In the 1960s Brown moved to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in a syndicated R&B television show, and while he was there recorded several country singles. He struck up a friendship with Roy Clark and made several appearances on the television show Hee Haw. In 1966, Brown was the musical director for the house band on the short-lived television program, The !!!! Beat.
However, in the early 1970s several countries in Europe had developed an appreciation for American roots music, especially the blues, and Brown was a popular and well-respected artist there. He toured Europe twelve times, beginning in 1971 and continuing throughout the 1970s. He also became an official ambassador for American music, and participated in several tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department, including an extensive tour of Eastern Africa. Brown appeared at the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival, where he jammed with American blues rock band Canned Heat. In 1974, he recorded as a sideman with the New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair on his album, Rock 'N' Roll Gumbo (originally a Blue Star Records release). He moved to New Orleans in the late 1970s.
Later years

In the 1980s, a series of releases on Rounder Records and Alligator Records revitalized his U.S. career, and he toured extensively and internationally, usually playing between 250 and 300 shows a year. He won a Grammy in 1982 for the album Alright Again! and was nominated for five more. He was also awarded eight W. C. Handy Awards and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Heroes Award.
Clarence Brown was featured as one of the stellar musicians on the Southern Stars poster created by Dianna Chenevert to help promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. On October 12, 1983, USA Today reporter Miles White highlighted Brown as being included on the poster, which provided him with more nationwide attention. In 1997 he was honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and in 1999 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

In his last few years, he maintained a full touring schedule, including Australia, New Zealand, and countries with political conflicts in Central America, Africa, and the former Soviet Union. His final record "Timeless" was released in 2004.

In September 2004, Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. Already suffering from emphysema and heart disease, he and his doctors decided to forgo treatment. This greatly affected his musical career.  Later his home in Slidell, Louisiana was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he was evacuated to his childhood home town of Orange, Texas, where he died on September 10, 2005 at the apartment of a niece, at the age of 81. Brown is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange, Texas. However, flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008, damaged his grave.