Heads Up! (Lil' Ed Williams album)

Last updated

Heads Up!
Heads Up! (Lil' Ed Williams album).jpg
Studio album by
Lil' Ed Williams
Released2002
Genre Blues
Label Alligator
Producer Ed Williams, Bruce Iglauer
Lil' Ed Williams chronology
Get Wild
(1999)		Heads Up!
(2002)		Rattleshake
(2006)

Heads Up! is an album by the American musician Lil' Ed Williams, released in 2002. [1] [2] It was his fifth album for Alligator Records. [3] He is credited with his band, the Blues Imperials. [4] Williams supported the album with North American, European, and Asian tours. [5] [6] Heads Up! debuted at No. 14 on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart. [7]

Contents

Production

Heads Up! was produced by Lil' Ed and Bruce Iglauer. [8] Lil' Ed and the band recorded 32 songs in three days; he wrote 11 of the songs that were chosen for the album. [9] [10] His wife, Pam, wrote "My Mind Is Gone". [11] His stepbrother, Pookie Young, played bass on Heads Up! [12] "Black Night" is a cover of the Jessie Mae Robinson song. [13] "Ed Heads' Boogie" is an instrumental paean to the band's fans. [14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Gazette Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [15]
Ottawa Citizen Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [17]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]

The Ottawa Citizen called Lil' Ed the "spiritual descendent of houserocking giant Hound Dog Taylor." [16] The Philadelphia Inquirer praised "the achingly brooding 'I Still Love You'." [18] The Toronto Star noted that Lil' Ed's "voice is more tough and gruff than tender, with fat hints of Taj Mahal." [12] The Gazette said that Lil' Ed fronts "one of the tightest rhythm sections in the blues." [15] The Chicago Tribune opined that, "blues being blues, Williams, a decent guitarist, over-solos on 'Black Night' and 'I Still Love You'." [19] The Associated Press determined that Lil' Ed "doesn't so much play slide guitar as wrench the life out of it." [20]

AllMusic advised: "Listen to 'The Creeper' to get an idea of the savage fury that he can channel through his slide guitar work. This disc manifests that feel for the blues that can't be taught, but must be both lived and seen from the inside." [10] The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings wrote that the album "fizzes with presence and immediacy." [17]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Woman in the Castle" 
2."Never Miss Your Water" 
3."Natural Man" 
4."The Creeper" 
5."My Mind Is Gone" 
6."Four Leaf Clover" 
7."Lil' Ed's Home Cookin'" 
8."Black Night" 
9."Empty House Tour" 
10."Computer Girl" 
11."Ed Heads' Boogie" 
12."I Still Love You" 
13."I Love My Baby" 

References

  1. ↑ Hunter, Colin (August 8, 2002). "Blistering Blues". Guelph Mercury. p. D10.
  2. ↑ Hanson, Karen (2007). Today's Chicago Blues. Lake Claremont Press. p. 176.
  3. ↑ "Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials Biography by Jim O'Neal". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ↑ Weinberg, Bob (January 30, 2005). "Blues". AE&TV. South Florida Sun Sentinel. p. 3.
  5. ↑ Sienzant, Tony (July 27, 2002). "Wild, wonderous noise of Lil' Ed caps blues fest night". The Morning Call. p. A53.
  6. ↑ Zimmer, Willy (August 22, 2002). "Musicians on the move". Casper Star-Tribune. p. C1.
  7. ↑ "Billboard Top Blues Albums". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 32. August 10, 2002. p. 56.
  8. ↑ Shellberg, Tim (August 30, 2002). "Lil' Ed Williams boasts bloodline to blues scene". The Times of Northwest Indiana. p. D7.
  9. ↑ Puckett, Jeffrey Lee (July 26, 2002). "Lil' Ed rocks the house!". Weekend Extra. Courier Journal. p. 6.
  10. 1 2 3 "Heads Up Review by Bob Gottlieb". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  11. ↑ Lundstrom, Jim (January 30, 2003). "With a new outlook, Lil' Ed ready to take blues into the future". The Post-Crescent. p. A9.
  12. 1 2 "Gritty, gifted and raucous blues from Chicago". Toronto Star. August 8, 2002. p. G3.
  13. ↑ Guarino, Mark (August 23, 2002). "Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, 'Heads Up!'". Time Out!. Daily Herald. Arlington Heights. p. 6.
  14. ↑ Dupont, David (September 25, 2002). "Lil' Ed still plays on the wild side". Arts & Entertainment. Sentinel-Tribune. Bowling Green. p. 8.
  15. 1 2 Regenstreif, Mike (August 15, 2002). "Blues". The Gazette. p. D8.
  16. 1 2 Provencher, Norman (August 3, 2002). "Blues". Ottawa Citizen. p. I4.
  17. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 706.
  18. 1 2 Cristiano, Nick (August 4, 2002). "Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H10.
  19. ↑ Knopper, Steve (September 17, 2002). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 4.3.
  20. ↑ Reindl, James (August 2, 2002). "Popular Music". The Cincinnati Enquirer. The Associated Press. p. 34.
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