| What You See Is What You Get | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Label | Alligator [1] | |||
| Producer | Bruce Iglauer, Ed Williams | |||
| Lil' Ed Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
What You See Is What You Get is an album by the American musician Lil' Ed Williams, released in 1992. [2] [3] He is credited with his band, the Blues Imperials. [4] Williams supported the album with a North American tour. [5] Following the tour, Williams temporarily broke up the band to concentrate on solo work. [6]
The album was coproduced by Bruce Iglauer. [7] Williams wrote 12 of the album's 14 tracks; he employed a pinky slide on many of the songs. [8] [9] What You See Is What You Get includes a cover of his uncle J. B. Hutto's "Please Help". [10] [8] "Upset Man" was written by the band's bass player, James "Pookie" Young. [11] Eddie McKinley joined the band on saxophone. [12]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [14] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [12] |
The Chicago Tribune called much of Williams's music "one-dimensional contemporary blues," but acknowledged that McKinley "mercifully brightens the shuffle-heavy grooves." [14] The St. Petersburg Times opined that "the band can really dig into a stomping groove, accented by Ed's slide guitar, greasy as a just-lubricated truck axle." [16]
The Washington Post concluded that the Imperials "sound like every other baby-boomer, blues 'n' boogie bar band in the land." [10] The Los Angeles Times opined that "the Imperials are something of a detriment to Williams' purity, lacking the personality and sense of tradition that Williams so easily possesses." [17] The Houston Chronicle determined that Williams "has a seriousness of purpose that, combined with his intuitive understanding and exuberant attack, make this one of the most listenable 'classic' blues albums of recent years." [18]
AllMusic deemed the album "hard-driving good-time electric blues." [13]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Life Is Like Gambling" | |
| 2. | "Find My Baby" | |
| 3. | "Older Woman" | |
| 4. | "Please Help" | |
| 5. | "Toothache" | |
| 6. | "Living for Today" | |
| 7. | "Travellin' Life" | |
| 8. | "Out of the House" | |
| 9. | "Upset Man" | |
| 10. | "Long, Long Way from Home" | |
| 11. | "What You See Is What You Get" | |
| 12. | "Bluesmobile" | |
| 13. | "What Am I Gonna Do?" | |
| 14. | "Packin' Up" |
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle. The term bottleneck was historically used to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may also be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar.
McKinley Morganfield, known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues". His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude".
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Joseph Benjamin Hutto was an American blues musician. He was influenced by Elmore James and became known for his slide guitar playing and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame two years after his death.
Hot Number is a studio album by the American blues rock band the Fabulous Thunderbirds, released in 1987. It peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200. The band supported the album by touring with Crosby, Stills & Nash.
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