DESCRIPTION:
Lightnin Wells - Avenue Breakdown, recorded in 1981.
This upload is from an experimental recording session with myself and Lightnin recorded just prior to his coming on board with us as a staff producer to work with Big Boy Henry, Algia Mae Hinton, and other artists under development for commercial releases by our tiny Recording Company.
The session was staged for the sole purpose of capturing "sounds" of various arrays of late 1950s & early 60s tube recording equipment in order to learn how vintage blues recordings were colored by certain pro valve based gear favored by the blues labels in the late 50s and early 60s.
This track features five different arrangements of vintage recording equipment (some borrowed from Dan Dixon, Clark Tutt, and Mercenary Audio, NYC)) which we varied throughout Lightnin's performance, and additionally during the playback (which yielded this particular variation).
I played this for Lightnin recently and he didn't recall that particular session but noted that "Breakdown" had been part of his play lists circa 1970.
Audio Arts Co-founder Lewis Gidley introduced me to Lightnin during his first recording sessions.
The edgy. pumping bottom heavy, slightly distorted vocals which change to a thin raspy reverbed ambience were intentional variances undertaken to explore the characteristic "sound" common to releases from a few of our favorite record labels of the period (including Cobra, King/Federal. VeeJay, Excello, and Specialty).
Sonny