Reporters never knew what they were going to get during a Lester Butler interview, as this Aug. 8, 1997, piece by Randy Cordova for the Arizona Republic shows.
Chief among the surprises are some hotel hi-jinks between Les Butler and another guest, the unfortunately named Wes Butler.
A new album with the “Lester Butler” name on the cover is a rare thing, but “Live at Tamines 1997” misses the mark for both hardcore fans and newcomers.
From the song selections, to the notes, to the packaging, so little care seems to have been put into this release. While a new disc could both satisfy and fuel Butler fandom, the release by RockBeat Records likely won’t find the audience to justify any more reissues.
IT’S OLD: The Tamines festival gig has been floating around bootleg circles for years. Most Lester Butler fans — this online and on early tape-swapping lists — have had this recording in their collections for years.
For them, there is nothing new here. Even a bonus track, “Automatic,” from the 1998 Moulin Blues Festival in Ospel, has been widely circulated and seems to be here just to fill out disc two.
IT’S DAUNTING: A double-album like this naturally costs more. That’s a barrier for new fans, who aren’t going to spend more for an artist they aren’t familiar with, and won’t commit to two discs of unheard live material from nearly 20 years ago.
The run times for this live show, helpfully listed on the CD’s back cover, would scare off even the most sturdy blues fan: 9:57, 8:47, 8:30, 6:17, 12:59, 10:39 …
IT’S LAZY: Though there are production and mastering credits, the disc is clearly bootleg-rific. The drums — especially the kick — are too high in the mix. The entire sound is trebly, with very little bass. The crowd participation, which usually helps justify a live release, is inaudible. Clearly, the recording was from a soundboard mix and was not meant to be heard in recorded format.
The laziness extends to the packaging.
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Lester Butler is back — sort of — on the above-board release of the long-bootlegged Tamines show from Aug. 29, 1997, at the 7th South Blues Festival in Belgium.
The two-disc set “Lester Butler featuring 13 Live at Tamines 1997” comes from RockBeat Records, the same folks who reissued “13 featuring Lester Butler” more than four years ago, with bonus tracks from the Tamines festival, clearly taken from the bootleg that had been circulating for a decade by then.
Here’s the back-cover info from the new release:
Lester Butler was a brilliant harmonica player. He rejuvenated the LA blues scene with his group The Red Devils. After they disbanded, Lester formed a group on Hightone Records featuring a back up band he called 13. The live intensity of this show demonstrates how adept he was singing and playing the blues. He died not long after this show from 1997. The blues was hot and Lester was on fire.
Though Amazon shows a release date of Oct. 2, our copy is already on backorder.
So though we don’t have the physical package in hand just yet, there are a few things we know already:
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“So Low Down” (Lester Butler), from “13 featuring Lester Butler”
Here come baby, she’s so down
She been ballin’ in my town
So low down, my baby’s so low down
Sleep all day, out all night
Lowdown woman feel all right
So low down, my baby’s so low down
She’s sleepin’ in the ground …
My baby so low down
(harp solo)
Down on Union (unintelligible)
Babe I know just what to do
You’re so low down
My baby’s so low down
She’s sleepin’ in the ground …
My baby’s so low down!
My baby’s so low down
She’s sleepin’ in the ground
She’s just like wine and brown
And I can’t put her down
My baby’s so low down
(harp solo out)
Transcribed by nofightin.com. More lyrics here.
Lester Butler and 13 were supposed to play their first gig at the Dixie Belle Restaurant in Downey on June 27, 1998.
Butler never made it, but a tribute show was held for him that night. (An article that day noted Smokey Hormel, Steven Hodges and John Bazz all playing).
Here are the details by Theo Douglas from the June 26, 1998, Long Beach Press-Telegram:
HARMONICA PLAYER MEMORIALIZED IN CONCERT
The late Lester Butler may be gone, but a group of his friends and peers in the Los Angeles music world intend to make sure the harmonica player’s intense music lives on for at least one more night.
That would be Saturday night, which is when Butler and his band, 13, were scheduled to perform at the Dixie Belle Restaurant in Downey.Memorial flier, courtesy Enrico Crivellaro
Faced with the harmonica player’s untimely death May 9 from a heroin overdose, Butler’s friends decided to fill in for him Saturday at the Dixie Belle with a set list of his own original songs.
“I felt there was some kind of irony that he didn’t play there. He didn’t make it, but his friends can make it for him,” said Dixie Belle promoter Ed Boswell who booked Butler’s Saturday night show several months ago.
“Maybe he could be there in spirit,” he said.
One thing is certain: Butler, who was 38 when he died, won’t be sitting in on a harp. Recognizing that no one can fill the silence he leaves, the evening won’t be an all-harmonica spectacular.
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We have written about Snake Snake before, believing a band with that brilliant a name could only be a myth.
But here they are — Kid Ramos, Willie J. Campbell, Stephen Hodges and Lester Butler — on a June 13, 1997, at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach, Calif.
Funny that this was right after the release of “13 featuring Lester Butler” and several 13 dates.
For those coming to this site for the first time, welcome to nofightin.com.
We have been here since 2009, cataloging the short but stellar career of The Red Devils and Lester Butler.
Wander around and find rare music, videos and reviews, and meet other fans — and some of the musicians who made the records we love so much.
To get you started, here are some of the most popular and essential posts and pages on nofightin.com.
Lyrics: Everything on “King King,” most of “13,” live stuff and more.
2 Meter Sessies: In lieu of a second Red Devils record, this live radio set from 1993 can fill the void.
“Lester’s Legendary Last Gig”: Full coverage of the DVD release of 13’s classic 1998 Moulin Blues performance.
“Lousiana Blues”: The story behind one of the most rare songs in the Devils’ discography, released on a promo tape before “King King” came out in ’92.
“Blues in the Morning”: Hear The Red Devils rock KCRW in 1992, including their rare take on “Shake ‘Em On Down.”
VPRO: Famous & rare Lester Butler TV appearance, blowing a little acoustic harp, talking Little Walter and jamming with G. Love.
Inside King King: Pictures from what is believed to be The Red Devils’ last King King gig.
MTV Europe: The band shuffles through a pair of tunes on the music video channel.
Finally, a pair of ruminations on the band we love: Memories of hearing the record for the first time in 1992, and a more recent take on just what makes “King King” so special.
Thanks to Paul Rees for the mention in Classic Rock Magazine.
