Jimmy Dawkins: B Phur Real
| No. | Song | Written by | |
| 1. | Two Timin' Lover | 5:20 | S. Dobynes* & Rick Miller* |
| 2. | Lonesome Blues | 6:03 | Jimmy Dawkins & S. Dobynes* |
| 3. | If It Ain't Love | 6:14 | Diane Brown |
| 4. | B Phur Real | 8:44 | Jimmy Dawkins & Wayne Goines |
| 5. | Walk With Me | 4:58 | Rick Miller* |
| 6. | Begging Business | 3:44 | Travis Haddix |
| 7. | You Got It, Baby | 7:20 | Rick Miller* & S. Dobynes* |
| 8. | Can't Hide My Love | 5:09 | Rick Miller* & S. Dobynes* |
*=credited to JD relatives |
Wayne Goins (g)
Lebron Scott (b)
John Reid (tr 3+6)
Nick Longo (sax 3+6)
John Longo (sax 3+6)
Henry Parilla (p, org)
Steve McRay (key 2+5)
Bryan Cole (dr)
"Nearly 60, blues veteran Dawkins plays and sings with a fire more appropriate to a man half his age. His guitar leads bore holes into your skull...he's got the bright mix of experience and drive to bring his music home with authority....Guitar junkies, come get your fix..."
THE HARD REPORT
'B Phur Real' is the follow up to last years highly successful 'Blues and Pain'. Another solid effort that can deliver the blues to an audience waiting for the 'real' thing.
LAVERT NIBSTER
'B Phur Real' captures Dawkins' at his best, is a back to basics blues experience and perhaps Dawkins' finest.
JAZZ & BLUES REPORT
What occurs on 'B Phur Real' is a solidly-played set of blues; an unadorned session with common-but-strong grooves. One of the better recent releases.
By Shannon D. Love:
"In 1991 Dawkins recorded Kant Sheck Dees Bluze that resulted in two WC Handy awards. Now, even more recently, Dawkins has recorded two CD's on the Wild Dog Blues label. The 1994 release, Blues and Pain, that received three WC Handy awards for Blues Instrumentalist-Guitar, and for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, "Blues and Pain", and Blues song of the Year, for "Fool In Heah." I think his first CD, (Blues and Pain) for Wild Dog blues label pales to his most recent release, B Phur Real. Dawkins style is there most definitely, but the band does not maintain the same emotion and power. Blues and Pain features Dawkins on vocals and guitar as well as Bryan Cole - drums, Lebron Scott - bass, Wayne Goins - 2nd guitar, and a brass section and keyboard player. On B Phur Real the band remains the same, but Dawkins replaced the brass section and keyboard player.
Dawkins nails it on second attempt with Wild Dog! His new release, B Phur Real, is destined to become a blues classic. I loved it. I would recommend it to any blues fan, or any music fan for that matter! B Phur Real features eight songs that take you for a pulsating, expansive ride, opening with Two Timin' Lover, that does not waste time procuring your attention. My favorite, the title track, B Phur Real, is almost 9 minutes long of the hardest, most intense deliberate slow blues you ever heard. Although you could argue all the songs have the same feel or the same sound, it's an album you put on and let roll -- let consume you. I found the music haunting, driving and building. Macho music, is another term you might use.
Every time I played this CD for a gathering, and I am talking about a diverse crowd, they all were taken back. I slipped the CD (B Phur Real) on a six CD random selection, that featured an authentic cross selection of blues & jazz music. The reaction was amazing to watch. When Dawkins' CD played, the whole room seemed to come alive. Comments and reactions such as, "Who is this? This is great" were felt by all. It drives you up, is the best way I can describe it. Ken Harris, co-owner of the Blues Bouquet in Boise, says, "Dawkins is really intense. It's the real blues. It's passionate blues, not the ' let's party down' kind; it's a real intense experience." Blues DJ and journalist Norman Davis from Portland had this to say, "Dawkins plays his guitar as if it were on fire. Relentless and intense, he commands the stage, a dark, almost ominous presence, firing off staccato bursts and piercing sustains. He is one of the most unique and innovative blues guitarists in the world today." Dawkins describes his music best, "It's blues that I play. But I don't like the terms of being a Blues musician or being a Jazz musician. I believe in playing what I feel. And if it touches somebody then that's good, that's my aim. My style and my playing is me. I mean, we all got somebody influencing us some way or another. But the way is not copy-catting. I'm just Jimmy Dawkins." Well there you have it. My advice, pick a copy up tonight and find out why most refer to Jimmy Dawkins as one of the real founders of the West Chicago Blues Sound!"