Preston, Don

Band members               Related acts

- Bud Deal -- sax 
- Barry Frost -- bass 
- John Hobbs -- keyboards (
- Dave Johnson -- bass 

- Don Preston -- vocals, guitar, dobro
- Jerry Zarimba -- guitar 


 

 

- Bobby and the Midnights (Bobby Cochrane)

- Bob Smith (Don Preston) 

- Stillrock (Don Preston) 

- Frank Zappa (Don Preston)

 

 

 

 

Genre: rock

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Bluse

Company: A&M

Catalog: SP 4155

Year: 1970

Country/State: Oklahoma

Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+

Comments: promo copy; sticker on front, minor corner wear

Available: 1

GEMM Catalog ID: 4980

Price: $25.00

 

 

 Ever bought an album 'cause the name looked familiar? Well that was the case when I stumbled across a copy of Don Preston's "Bluse".  Preston's name was familiar to me, though I couldn't recall where I'd seen it. Unfortunately, the seller didn't have a clue who Preston was and couldn't tell me much about the LP other than it was bluesy and he didn't like it ...  Well for 50 cents you can always take a chance ... Anyhow, turns out I was thinking of the Don Preston who was a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention - totally different guy !!!

This Don Preston's been an in-demand studio guitarist since the mid-1950s. His guitar has supported an amazing group of musicians, including doo wop acts such as The Coasters and The Penguins, teen idols such as Rick Nelson and Gene Vincent and rockers such as Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. By the early-1960s Preston had abandoned his native Oklahoma for Southern California, where he hooked up with Chuck Blackwell and Delaney Bramlett in The Shindogs, which led to a partnership with Leon Russell and opportunities to record and tour with the likes of Bonnie and Delaney, Joe Cocker's mad Dogs and Englishmen, Freddie King and George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh. 

Having survived Cocker's infamous Joe Cocker's Greatest Show On Earth touring schedule, Preston was rewarded with a solo contract on A&M. 

His second release for the label, 1970's "Bluse" was a true solo effort. Again produced by Shyrock (Don Nix handling a couple of tracks), the set won't exactly set your musical world on fire. At the same time, Preston remained one amazing guitarist (check out his stinging leads on "Morning Rain" and "Something You've Got") and a surprisingly accomplished singer. Anyone hearing "Looking for My Baby" had to wonder how a young white guy could sound like such an aged and authentic bluesman? Musically the album offered up a pleasant mixture of blues originals and covers ("It's Only a Tear" and "Farther Up the Road") and popular soul covers ("Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)"). Elsewhere, what makes it interesting to us is that it sounds like something recorded during the same sessions as Bonnie and Delaney's "Delaney & Bonnie & Friends On Tour with Eric Clapton and Friend". All those guitar parts we thought were Clapton - apparently not ...

"Bluse" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Baby It's You (Don Preston) - 2:00
2.) Standing In My Tears (Don Preston) - 3:22
3.) You Don't Know What You Got (Don Nix) - 2:05
4.) Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do) (Wilson Pickett - Steve Cropper - Eddie Floyd) - 3:18
5.) Morning Rain (Don Preston - Don Nix) - 2:55

 

(side 2)
1.) Looking for My Baby (Don Preston) - 2:46
2.) Something You've Got (Bill Medley) - 4:07
3.) Farther Up the Road (Robie - Veasy) - 2:41
4.) It's Only a Tear (Don Preston) - 3:57