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Hidden Charms (Willie Dixon album)

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Hidden Charms
Studio album by
Willie Dixon
Released1988
StudioOcean Way, Hollywood
GenreBlues
LabelBug/Capitol Records
ProducerT Bone Burnett
Willie Dixon chronology
Willie Dixon: Live (Backstage Access)
(1985) 		Hidden Charms
(1988) 		Ginger Ale Afternoon
(1989)

Hidden Charms is a blues album by Willie Dixon, released in 1988 on Bug/Capitol Records.[1][2] It won a 1989 Grammy Award.[3]

Production

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The album was produced by T Bone Burnett.[4] The band was made up of Cash McCall and Burnett on guitars, Sugar Blue on harmonica, Red Callender on bass, Lafayette Leake on piano, and Earl Palmer on drums.[5] "Study War No More" was cowritten by Dixon's grandson.[6]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Orlando Sentinel[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

The Globe and Mail wrote that "the band is excellent - rootsy and tough but not overpowering - and, while Dixon's hardly a mesmerizing singer, his gruff grandfatherly voice has a plaintive soulfullness that suits his more recent songs."[9] The Kingston Whig-Standard wrote that "Leake's unique playing is alone worth the price of the album."[10]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "a solid if unspectacular outing."[4] Paste deemed it "a collection of overlooked Dixon gems."[11]

Track listing

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All tracks composed and arranged by Willie Dixon; except where indicated

  1. "Blues You Can't Lose" 5:44
  2. "I Don't Trust Myself" 4:23
  3. "Jungle Swing" (Willie Dixon, Leonard Caston) 5:27
  4. "Don't Mess With The Messer" 7:10
  5. "Study War No More" (Willie Dixon, Alex Dixon) 4:33
  6. "I Love The Life I Live (I Live The Life I Love)" 3:11
  7. "I Cry For You" 4:40
  8. "Good Advice" (Willie Dixon, J.B. Lenoir) 5:13
  9. "I Do The Job" 6:22

Personnel

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Technical
  • Rik Pekkonen - recording, mixing
  • Larry Hirsch - additional engineer
  • Nancy Meyer - project coordinator
  • Marc Norberg - front cover portrait

References

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  1. ^ "Willie Dixon and the Blues--One of the Last From the Past". Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1988.
  2. ^ a b "Hidden Charms - Willie Dixon - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  3. ^ Steve Shorter (2015). Roots to Rock: Part 2 - Blues. Booktango. ISBN 978-1468954456. Dixon was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and won a Grammy Award in 1989 for his album, Hidden Charms
  4. ^ a b c The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 202–203.
  5. ^ a b Fields, Curt (11 Dec 1988). "WILLIE DIXON". Orlando Sentinel: 6.
  6. ^ "Dixon hasn't stopped singing the blues". Calgary Herald: C5. 22 Dec 1988.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 37.
  8. ^ Moon, Tom (20 Nov 1988). "Willie Dixon Hidden Charms". The Philadelphia Inquirer: H12.
  9. ^ Dafoe, Chris (15 Dec 1988). "INSIDE THE SLEEVE POP Hidden Charms Willie Dixon". The Globe and Mail: C13.
  10. ^ Burliuk, Greg (24 Dec 1988). "Short Cuts". The Kingston Whig-Standard: 1.
  11. ^ "Forgotten Giants: Willie Dixon - The Poet Laureate of Chess Records". pastemagazine.com. September 25, 2018.
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