***1/2, Magic Slim & the Teardrops

BLACK TORNADO

(Blind Pig)

Singer/guitarist Magic Slim simply doesn't fuss with what is not essential. The blues veteran pours heart, soul, and sweat into every high-voltage tune, with nothing behind him but thumping drums, thrumming bass, and 30 years of South Side Chicago blues dues. His vocals are rugged, righteous, and unvarnished, even when he's not dropping an occasional Howlin' Wolf imitation; and his guitar playing consistently hits intense, rough-hewn peaks. Black Tornado captures the 60-year old Slim (a/k/a Morris Holt) and his Teardrops at their gritty best, whether on hard-driving Chicago stomps or (slightly) more suave cuts like a cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's classic "You've Got Bad Intentions." If you're looking to sip some note-perfect, smooth contempo blues, turn right around and head the other way. Magic Slim is the hard stuff they've been serving in roadhouses and juke joints ever since the electric blues began.

-- Bill Kisliuk