Search - Slim Harpo :: Hip Shakin: Excello Collection

Slim Harpo Is the King Bee

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 04/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a definitive two-disc collection of bluesman Slim Harpo's Excello recordings. Harpo, a gifted harmonica player and more than competent vocalist and guitar player began his recording career with his signature song, "I'm a King Bee." [The Rolling Stones covered this song on their 1964 debut and later covered Harpo's "Shake Your Hips" on Exile on Main Street (where it was retitled "Hip Shake.")] In addition to influencing the Stones, Harpo's songs were covered by British Invasion bands like the Kinks and the Yardbirds. More recently the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Lou Ann Barton have covered his songs, like "Got Love If You Want It" and "Te Ni Nee Ni Nu" respectively.There are no session dates on this recording, but "I'm a King Bee" was recorded probably sometime in the early to mid-Fifties and the latest recordings were in the late-Sixties. Harpo, along with B.B. King, was the only blues artist to hit the Top 40 on the pop charts. He did it in 1961 with the slow blues "Still Rainin' in My Heart" (No, 34) and again in 1966 with the shuffling "Baby Scratch My Back" (No. 16). [Harpo died in 1970 of a heart attack just three weeks after his 46th birthday.]This set includes all the highlights from the Excello vaults and as an added bonus you get a 16-minute "Live Medley," comprised of "Moody Blues," "I Got Love If You Want It" and "You Know I Love You" taken from an appearance at a 1961 performance at a Mobile, Alabama National Guard Armory. The sound quality of this live cut is shaky, but it gives you the chance to hear Harpo and his King Bees in a live venue.There is a cheaper single disc "best of" available, but at 44 tracks this gets the nod over the 16-track Hip-O disc (which includes no material not found on Hip Shakin'). There are no electric guitar pyrotechnics, but if you enjoy harmonica-driven laid-back blues, Slim Harpo is your man. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED"

Swamp Pop

Ben Brenner | Sacramento, CA | 03/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Now way down behind the sun there's a libation made of roughly three parts coca-cola and one part shine. We call that swamp pop, and I don't recommend drinkin' it and smokin' at the same time -- lightnin' may strike and you're liable to get caught holdin' the bag. And on those still, dank bayou nights, when the air hangs hangs on you like a cape and you find yourself slowly nodding off into your swamp pop, I recommend you put this jewel of a collection in the box and prepare to indulge in another form of swamp pop - that preached and practiced by its ultimate innovator, Slim Harpo. Now the other reviewers have covered some of the history -- the well-known and signature tunes (Scratch my back, Rainin' In My Heart, Hip Shake), the association with the Rolling Stones (who covered King Bee) and so forth. I write to emphasize only that this is some of the greatest blues ever to grace a record. If you like down home, no-frills, groove oriented blues, swamp boogie blues than Slim is your man. And don't waste your time with the single disk collections -- you'll miss, in my opinion, two of the greatest tracks Slim ever waxed -- Don't Start Cryin' and Miss You Like The Devil."

Great overview of one of the best - why's it out of print?!

happydogpotatohead | New Orleans, LA USA | 07/10/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is really no reason this double-CD set should be out of print. Slim Harpo was one of the most popular bluesmen, period, denting the top 40 on both sides of the Atlantic. Granted, there is a very good "Best Of," but to get the full range of Slim's talent, you need to hear this 2-CD collection. Slim Harpo was highly influential. The Who copied his "Got Love If You Want It" and renamed it "I'm The Face," a song you can find on The Who's "Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy." The Moody Blues named themselves after one of his instrumentals. A quick listen to "Tip On In, Part 2" will shock any Creedence Clearwater Revival fan who thinks Fogerty (great as he is) invented that swampy sound. Not only was Slim influential, he was one vital guy. He changed with the times, as this set shows. He was equally adept at blues, ballads, and rock and roll, and in the later part of his career was exploring the beginning roots of funk. (James Brown had Slim open for him on tour - that should tell you something!) To this day, you can hear bands in New Orleans doing "Te Ni Nee Ni Nu" and filling up the dancefloor when they do. He wrote most of the material on this collection, much of which is still in the repertoire of blues bands everywhere. Slim was always developing his sound and never got stuck in a musical rut, like many of his contemporaries did. If he had not died before his time, no telling what he would have done.As it is, even though he left us too soon, he left us with a lot of great music, and this is one of the best collections of his music. It's simply criminal that this is out of print. If you get a chance to get this, do. And maybe someone will get sense enough to put this back out one of these days."