The Siegel-Schwall Band - Extended Liner Notes

MORE ABOUT THE TUNES

Here is the list of tunes on the CD with some comments:

1. Afraid of Love 4:42
(Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam
B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy, Jim & Rollo

I wrote this for Sam. He sang and played drums on "Got My Mojo Working" on the first Paul Butterfield record. And he recorded this tune for Muddy Waters also. Mojo has been Sam's anthem. I always loved to hear Sam sing this with the Butterfield Band at Big John's in Chicago in 1966. I couldn't hear it too many times. It was a rare occasion when Siegel-Schwall with Sam and Rollo would pass over this tune and not present it at our performances. Afraid of Love uses what Sam calls a "double shuffle." This beat is what he plays in "Mojo." But the rest of the arrangement has different elements. The guitar rhythm is what I would call a "Big Boss Man" beat. It is not syncopated like the guitar rhythm of "Mojo" but very much accentuates the down beats. For the bass, Rollo just plays. That's pretty much what he does. What came out was a simplified bass pattern simpler than the Mojo bass line and therefore a little different. The harp part has a little bit of the Mojo feel but offers a little twist with some extra syncopation in the licks backing up the vocal.

2. Deja Vous 4:24
(Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Corky
B/G Vocals Marcy Levy & Rollo

The first recorded manifestation of this tune turns up on the first Chamber Blues CD I did for Alligator Records in 1994. When Alligator agreed to put out Chamber Blues they were really sticking out their neck. At the last minute added another instrumental piece to the song list on the CD that would have a strong blues element. I called it "The Unfinished Jump." It was based on a song I was working on called Deja Vous which I also performed for my solo performances. For this Siegel-Schwall version I extended the song to include a bridge for a little more interest and to make it a little less of a straight forward boogies kind of thing. A big aspect of the harp style came from my studies with Joe Filisko who showed me how to get a little more of a classic percussive chording blues rhythm style that the great blues masters like Little Walter were known for. Billy Branch gave me a quick 3 minute lesson also. Thanks Joe, thanks Billy! It would be interesting to hear Deja Vous from this recording and The Unfinished Jump from the Chamber Blues recording side by side.

3. Going Back to Alabama 3:40
(Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam
B/G Vocals: Jim & Rollo

4. The Underqualified Blues 5:29
(Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim

Jim Schwall: "The guitar part was going to be a different song that we decided not to use, so I just stole the feel and wrote some new lyrics inspired by current events. The new lyrics inspired the performance."

5. Krazy 4:40 (Radford, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Rollo

6. Can't Stop 4:38
(Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Corky
B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy & Rollo

Inspired by a Siegel-Schwall tune; "I'd Like to Spend Some Time Alone With You Tonight My Friend," which was inspired by a Howlin' Wolf tune; "Howlin' for my Darlin." If you listen very closely you can hear some echoes from these tunes.

7. On The Road 3:38 (Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim

8. Twisted 3:49
(Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Corky

I have been writing this song since 1968 and only just finished it in time for this recording. You can even hear an unfinished and unreleased out-take of "I Like the Way You Rock" on the Vanguard Box set called The Complete Vanguard Recordings. We just recorded this as an attempt at a demo we never used but years later we thought it would be cute to put it on the box set. In 2005 during the making of the Flash Forward recording, I completely overhauled the song changed the lyrics, the rhythm, the key and the feel. It originally started out with the lyric; "I'm going to jump in the river, float away and drown if you don't love me baby you won't see me around." Twisted starts out on a better footing with; "If I jumped in the river I bet you'd let me float away and drown you say you love me but I never see you around." Much better.

Even more interesting is the story of the feel of this tune. I wanted to specifically credit Howlin Wolf and Willie Dickens because this song uses a "Killing Floor" and "Shake," feel which are classic Howlin' Wolf recordings. As it turns out and I just found this out very recently the one I should be crediting is Sam Lay. It was Sam Lay who suggested the rhythm pattern and suggested using a cow bell. A cow bell was never used this way before in a blues tune. So here we come full circle. The guy I need to thank for creating this cool rhythm feel is our own drummer!

9. Rumors of Long Tall Sally 3:05
(Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam
B/G Voices in order of appearance: Jim, Corky & Rollo

10. Hey Leviticus 2:42
(Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim

11. Sweet Liz 3:34
(Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam
B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy, Rollo & Holly

12. Pauline 6:02
(Radford, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Rollo

13. Stormy Weather Love 3:55
(Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal & Guitar: Sam



In This Section: Siegel-Schwall Home About Siegel-Schwall Member Bios Siegel-Schwall CDs Photo Gallery Extended Liner Notes History and Tall Tales Corky's Home Page	MORE ABOUT THE TUNES Here is the list of tunes on the CD with some comments: 1. Afraid of Love 4:42 (Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy, Jim & Rollo I wrote this for Sam. He sang and played drums on "Got My Mojo Working" on the first Paul Butterfield record. And he recorded this tune for Muddy Waters also. Mojo has been Sam's anthem. I always loved to hear Sam sing this with the Butterfield Band at Big John's in Chicago in 1966. I couldn't hear it too many times. It was a rare occasion when Siegel-Schwall with Sam and Rollo would pass over this tune and not present it at our performances. Afraid of Love uses what Sam calls a "double shuffle." This beat is what he plays in "Mojo." But the rest of the arrangement has different elements. The guitar rhythm is what I would call a "Big Boss Man" beat. It is not syncopated like the guitar rhythm of "Mojo" but very much accentuates the down beats. For the bass, Rollo just plays. That's pretty much what he does. What came out was a simplified bass pattern simpler than the Mojo bass line and therefore a little different. The harp part has a little bit of the Mojo feel but offers a little twist with some extra syncopation in the licks backing up the vocal. 2. Deja Vous 4:24 (Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Corky B/G Vocals Marcy Levy & Rollo The first recorded manifestation of this tune turns up on the first Chamber Blues CD I did for Alligator Records in 1994. When Alligator agreed to put out Chamber Blues they were really sticking out their neck. At the last minute added another instrumental piece to the song list on the CD that would have a strong blues element. I called it "The Unfinished Jump." It was based on a song I was working on called Deja Vous which I also performed for my solo performances. For this Siegel-Schwall version I extended the song to include a bridge for a little more interest and to make it a little less of a straight forward boogies kind of thing. A big aspect of the harp style came from my studies with Joe Filisko who showed me how to get a little more of a classic percussive chording blues rhythm style that the great blues masters like Little Walter were known for. Billy Branch gave me a quick 3 minute lesson also. Thanks Joe, thanks Billy! It would be interesting to hear Deja Vous from this recording and The Unfinished Jump from the Chamber Blues recording side by side. 3. Going Back to Alabama 3:40 (Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam B/G Vocals: Jim & Rollo 4. The Underqualified Blues 5:29 (Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim Jim Schwall: "The guitar part was going to be a different song that we decided not to use, so I just stole the feel and wrote some new lyrics inspired by current events. The new lyrics inspired the performance." 5. Krazy 4:40 (Radford, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Rollo 6. Can't Stop 4:38 (Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Corky B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy & Rollo Inspired by a Siegel-Schwall tune; "I'd Like to Spend Some Time Alone With You Tonight My Friend," which was inspired by a Howlin' Wolf tune; "Howlin' for my Darlin." If you listen very closely you can hear some echoes from these tunes. 7. On The Road 3:38 (Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim 8. Twisted 3:49 (Siegel, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Corky I have been writing this song since 1968 and only just finished it in time for this recording. You can even hear an unfinished and unreleased out-take of "I Like the Way You Rock" on the Vanguard Box set called The Complete Vanguard Recordings. We just recorded this as an attempt at a demo we never used but years later we thought it would be cute to put it on the box set. In 2005 during the making of the Flash Forward recording, I completely overhauled the song changed the lyrics, the rhythm, the key and the feel. It originally started out with the lyric; "I'm going to jump in the river, float away and drown if you don't love me baby you won't see me around." Twisted starts out on a better footing with; "If I jumped in the river I bet you'd let me float away and drown you say you love me but I never see you around." Much better. Even more interesting is the story of the feel of this tune. I wanted to specifically credit Howlin Wolf and Willie Dickens because this song uses a "Killing Floor" and "Shake," feel which are classic Howlin' Wolf recordings. As it turns out and I just found this out very recently the one I should be crediting is Sam Lay. It was Sam Lay who suggested the rhythm pattern and suggested using a cow bell. A cow bell was never used this way before in a blues tune. So here we come full circle. The guy I need to thank for creating this cool rhythm feel is our own drummer! 9. Rumors of Long Tall Sally 3:05 (Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam B/G Voices in order of appearance: Jim, Corky & Rollo 10. Hey Leviticus 2:42 (Schwall, Conundrum Inter-Arts, BMI) Vocal: Jim 11. Sweet Liz 3:34 (Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Lead Vocal: Sam B/G Vocals: Marcy Levy, Rollo & Holly 12. Pauline 6:02 (Radford, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal: Rollo 13. Stormy Weather Love 3:55 (Lay, Dawnserly Music, BMI) Vocal & Guitar: Sam
FLASH FORWARD The latest CD on Alligator Records. Listen: Krazy