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Post by Ian McWee on Jan 18, 2006 21:54:26 GMT
Another twist to Sam Mitchell's body of work here...i have a cassette somewhere of a live session from the Paul Jones Radio 2 show back around the late eighties/early nineties, with Sam carrying out guitar duties in the Dana Gillespie blues band - the probabilities of any recorded material being available though must be pretty scarce  Slide On! Ian. www.diamondbottlenecks.com  |
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 18, 2006 22:01:27 GMT
Hi Joe,
Thanks for that information. As I said earlier.....the plot thickens!
I would not comment on who wrote what, but I have always believed that along with Rod himself, Ronnie Lane brought the folky/acoustic element to Rod's music. I am sure that Ray played the mandolin and created the mandolin part, but sadly in the world of publishing that does not make him the writer. I too have been in situations like this. £15 doesn't sound great in 2006, but in the early 70s that was probably an okay session fee for a musician.
It's still a wonderful album!
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 18, 2006 22:22:20 GMT
Hi Ian,
Sam played with Dana Gillespie for a few years. He also appeared on a Ralph McTell album, a Who album and various other projects which included being part of a pop blues rock band, the Sandmen, in Sweden. The odd one is the Every Picture Tells a Story and Gasoline Alley connection. The truth about who played what and whether our man was ever there is not at all clear.
My favourite recordings of Sam are the ones he made with Stefan Grossman for his Kicking Mule record label. Oh and Leaf Without a Tree on the wonderful Firepoint album. There is no doubt of his influences on so many European musicians. As you said....everyone in this country & most of Europe into slide guitar in the 1970s had listened to his playing and learnt from his records. His dad was also a wonderful musician; I have a cassette album that Sammy senior recorded towards the end of his life, 'Back Again' which is absolutely wonderful. He recorded it on a 4 track cassette recorder and plays all instruments and sings. Highly recommended!
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by jono1uk on Apr 16, 2021 23:50:04 GMT
resurrecting this thread as it was referenced in my "what are you listening to" post.
I have "Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story album and there is no mention of Sam on the sleeve.
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 17, 2021 8:06:25 GMT
resurrecting this thread as it was referenced in my "what are you listening to" post. I have "Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story album and there is no mention of Sam on the sleeve. Jono, I too have that album. I bought it the day it was released. That means very little, as session musicians rarely got credits back then. I have not re-read my way through this thread, but knowing what I know about the Faces' slide player, he's a lovely guy and has an amazing energy that he injects into the music he is involved with, but there is stuff on that album that he could not have played. I don't really hear Sam's playing on there either, so it is an unanswered mystery. Shine On Michael |
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Post by Ian McWee on Apr 17, 2021 14:08:34 GMT
This has brought up some memories here ~ there was a thread on one of the FB slide guitar groups several years ago asking this exact same question of why Sam isn't mentioned - and did he play any slide on the album.
A regular poster at that time knew Sam well, and confirmed Sam did play on that album ~ but not slide, he played the mandolin on 'Mandolin Wind' 🤔
Slide On!
The Flaschenmeister.
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Post by dunvettin on Apr 17, 2021 14:41:52 GMT
Hi Ian, Sam played with Dana Gillespie for a few years. He also appeared on a Ralph McTell album, a Who album and various other projects which included being part of a pop blues rock band, the Sandmen, in Sweden. The odd one is the Every Picture Tells a Story and Gasoline Alley connection. The truth about who played what and whether our man was ever there is not at all clear. My favourite recordings of Sam are the ones he made with Stefan Grossman for his Kicking Mule record label. Oh and Leaf Without a Tree on the wonderful Firepoint album. There is no doubt of his influences on so many European musicians. As you said....everyone in this country & most of Europe into slide guitar in the 1970s had listened to his playing and learnt from his records. His dad was also a wonderful musician; I have a cassette album that Sammy senior recorded towards the end of his life, 'Back Again' which is absolutely wonderful. He recorded it on a 4 track cassette recorder and plays all instruments and sings. Highly recommended! Shine On Michael. Ah, the Firepoint Album - I wondered what most of the musicians looked like. I bought the album in Crouch End in the early 1970s from a shop next to John Beeby's guitar shop and now I know what Sam Mitchell looks like after nearly 50 years. Previously I only discovered what Duffy Power ( two tracks on the album) looked like when I stumbled across his album Powerhouse but that's another story. Happy days. Tim Tim |
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Post by slide496 on Apr 17, 2021 14:57:50 GMT
UPDATELooking for videos of Sam Mitchell I ran into The Blues Slide Guitar Maestro Remembered by Chris Jagger with information, bio, interviews, photos and more: LINK.............................................................................. Here are several clips of Sam Mitchell's Booze Brothers from a performance in Copenhagen 1985 from Kim Gutman's channel, also mentioned in the above commemoration:
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 17, 2021 18:03:06 GMT
Sadly, none of Sam's finest work exists on video, or certainly I have never seen any of it. These films of Sam with the Booze Brothers show glimpses of his beautiful musicianship, but only glimpses.
Here's a favourite of mine. It comes from a later time when Sam was living in Sweden and touring with the Sandmen. It was also a time when Sam was consuming too much of everything, but his playing in this one minute clip of film is wonderful. Sam is not playing slide, he is just noodling in standard tuning, but it shows his beautiful hands and his musicality.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 17, 2021 18:26:03 GMT
Having seen this thread this morning I was listening to Sam while out walking in the woods today.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by ken1953clark on Apr 17, 2021 21:02:10 GMT
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Post by obrienp on Apr 22, 2021 10:51:32 GMT
This story probably adds no value at all but I was given a recording of Sam Mitchell playing at a folk club that used to meet at the Rose and Crown pub in Snettisham, Norfolk, where I lived until a couple of years ago. The particular folk club is long gone and the Rose and Crown has been a gastro pub (with awards and London prices) all the time I have known it.
The guy who gave me the recording used to run the folk club and apparently used to get guest acts like Sam, Ralph McTell and others, to sleepy Snettisham! He used to make recordings on a stereo cassette, apparently with the knowledge of the artists. Surprisingly the quality of the Sam Mitchell session isn’t bad. It must have been made late 70s/ early 80s, going on the content that is largely the same as his album Bottleneck Slide Guitar, with some audience interaction and add libs, including a parody of Stefan Grossman. I can’t imagine a better venue to appreciate an artist like Sam: no PA, just the man and his guitar, and listening to the recording it sounds like he was a great entertainer. I guess it goes without saying that his playing was superb. Wish I had been there.
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 22, 2021 13:27:34 GMT
This story probably adds no value at all but I was given a recording of Sam Mitchell playing at a folk club that used to meet at the Rose and Crown pub in Snettisham, Norfolk, where I lived until a couple of years ago. The particular folk club is long gone and the Rose and Crown has been a gastro pub (with awards and London prices) all the time I have known it. The guy who gave me the recording used to run the folk club and apparently used to get guest acts like Sam, Ralph McTell and others, to sleepy Snettisham! He used to make recordings on a stereo cassette, apparently with the knowledge of the artists. Surprisingly the quality of the Sam Mitchell session isn’t bad. It must have been made late 70s/ early 80s, going on the content that is largely the same as his album Bottleneck Slide Guitar, with some audience interaction and add libs, including a parody of Stefan Grossman. I can’t imagine a better venue to appreciate an artist like Sam: no PA, just the man and his guitar, and listening to the recording it sounds like he was a great entertainer. I guess it goes without saying that his playing was superb. Wish I had been there. Hi Pat, Sam was indeed a wonderful musician and performer. That mid to late '70s period was probably the moment when his playing was at its best. I used to see Sam quite regularly around that time. It was then that got to know Sam and would occasionally bump into him in the unlikeliest of places. It was a little later that I got to know so many of the other British players on that scene. I think they were intrigued by me because I was quite a lot younger than them and totally obsessed with playing slide, blues and roots music on National & Dobro guitars. There were very few of us doing it back then, so it was not difficult to get to know everyone. I was honoured that they respected my playing, were happy to include me in their world and share their knowledge and skills with this young hairy lunatic sporting a shiny guitar. I would love to hear that recording. Shine On Michael |
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Apr 22, 2021 15:39:45 GMT
[quote timestamp="1619088692" source="/post/101173/thread" author=" obrienp ". I would love to hear that recording. Shine On Michael So would I.  PD |
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Post by obrienp on Apr 22, 2021 21:37:49 GMT
Hi Michael and PD,
I will have to find it first! I have moved house since receiving it and not come across it since then but it was digitised, so it is probably sitting on a hard disc somewhere. All is not lost if II can’t find it, because I did share a copy on CD with Homesick Mac. Watch this space!
Best, Pat
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