Album Notes

Born in Jamaica in 1936, Pete Pearson grew up in Texas; he began his blues career in Austin in the ‘50s, often working alongside his younger cousin W.C. Clark. He has lived in Phoenix for over 50 years. Although that city has long boasted a lively local music scene, it’s hardly known worldwide as a blues nexus; perhaps for that reason. Pearson remains something of an ‘unknown treasure,’ at least in the States, despite the length and breadth of his career.
Don’t be put off by this disc’s title. Pearson can holler with the best of them, but his voice is a nuanced instrument, heavily influenced by jazzy blues shouters like Jimmy Rushing as well as postwar sophisticates such as B.b. King and T-Bone Walker. His 70-plus-year-old vocal chords have stiff-



















ened a bit, and his timbre sometimes gets a bit rough around the edges; nevertheless, his impeccably seasoned
phrasing and unerring sense of swing see him through most of the rough spots. He also shows admirable facility in more contemporary settings, such as the breezy but skin-tight medium-tempo funk of Come and Get It. He wrote six of the ten selections here (the others were penned by bassist Terry Davis) and his lyrics showcase his knack for telling a story vividly, with understated yet precise imagery.
This is a potent set from a still-formidable talent, rooted in an earlier era but in command of sufficient stylistic flexibility to be pleasing to listeners of all ages and blues persuasions.
— David Whiteis / Living Blues