Everybody has the blues. But few have channeled them with voice and guitar quite like“Magic Sam” Maghett on his seminal album, Westside Soul.
Born in the Mississippi Delta, Sam ventured North to Chicago in 1950 where he ultimately was credited with creating a distinct “Westside Blues” sound featuring his signature staccato guitar stylings drenched in tremolo and reverb. His inventive guitar playing was outpaced perhaps only by his soulful, utterly feral vocals. As Westside Soul lays bare, his voice couldn’t adequately be contained or captured by the studio microphones of his day, which he often drove to distortion when using his upper register. Released in 1967, Westside Soul displays Sam at his height, just on the cusp of wider reknown and success. Tragically, however, he died from a heart attack less than 2 years later at the age of 27. No song on the album disappoints, but my go-to tracks are “All of Your Love” and “Every Night and Every Day.” Enjoy.
By Robb Patryk
