Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials: Slideways Review

Many times in today’s music world, artists continually toy with different sounds and formulas to make their music more appealing to consumers and the listening audience in general. For Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, they discovered that magic formula years ago. It preceded their existence and will still be around, appealing to blues music masses long after their band is no more. That style can be called many things, but it incorporates a heavy dose of twelve-bar blues progressions, soulful slide guitar, a good helping of boogie-woogie, and powerful, plain-talking vocals. That style is “classic blues.”

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials birthed their sound in Chicago, where Lil’ Ed (Ed Williams) and his half-brother, James “Pookie” Young, were led in that musical direction by their uncle, blues guitarist J.B. Hutto. Since that time, and over the past fifty years, the band has remained true to the blues. They have been nominated for and received many blues awards, including induction into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. They have also performed all over the world, delivering that magic sound in plentiful doses.

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials’ brand-new album, Slideways, is sure to whet the appetite of Chicago blues lovers and fans of pure blues music everywhere. The band’s tightness reflects years of playing together and understanding the direction they have wanted to travel in. They open the recording with “Bad All By Myself,” with Lil’ Ed singing, “She’s gone and left; said I could do bad all by myself.” It’s a lighthearted tune that simply tells the truth. None of us need much help in “doing bad”; sometimes it just seems to come naturally. By the way, you can find the official release of this song on YouTube, and it is well worth the watch and listen.

“Homeless Blues” is the fourth track on this great album. You can easily visualize what Lil’ Ed is singing about, as the song focuses on homelessness. This problem is not unique to big cities; it affects nearly every community. He sings that the homeless “couldn’t find no place to go.” There are so many of our brothers and sisters who truly have “no place to go,” and this song is a shameful but powerful reminder of that reality. The band hits us right in the face with this slow and soulful tune.

“More Time” deals with something we all want and need more of. “I need more time, I need more time every day. Seems like every time I get busy, time seems to slip away.” Ain’t that the truth? I think we can all relate to that. The final track on Slideways is “You Can’t Strike Gold From a Silver Mine.” Lil’ Ed sings, “Her mother tried to warn her time after time. You can’t strike gold from a silver mine.” This is another lighthearted song that just might make you laugh as you listen. All I can say is that you had better listen to what your momma tells you. Life will be so much easier.

Slideways is packed with great blues and superior musicianship, including plenty of smoking slide guitar from Lil’ Ed throughout. If you’re a lover of traditionally styled blues music, you will surely enjoy Slideways. As I often suggest, I recommend traveling back in time a bit to enjoy some of the band’s earlier releases to get a true feel for what they are all about. Better yet, try to catch them live if they appear near you. They have February through March dates coming up in the U.S. and Canada, and I bet you won’t be disappointed.

The Review: 8.5/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Bad All By Myself
– Homeless Blues
– More Time
– You Can’t Strike Gold From A Silver Mine

The Big Hit

– Homeless Blues