Zoot Money - On Disc

OLD!

NEW!

Till now there have been no online sound samples of Zoot Money's recordings (that we know of).
That's all changed with the delivery of the Big Roll Jukebox,
containing 16 streaming audio samples of Zoot on CD,
picked from studio and live recordings throughout his 40-year career.
Some you might already know, others you might not. Either way, we hope you enjoy them.
Once you're up to speed, you can check out his prowess as a producer by listening to
Call Me By My Name (Ruby Turner, 1998) and
Road Movie (Woodstock Taylor & the Aliens, 2002)

BLUES MATTERS REVIEW OF "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME"

ZOOT MONEYS BIG ROLL BAND
It Should've Been Me
Repertoire. 22 tracks. 80 mins.
Repertoire have put together this superb retrospective of the legendary British RnB pioneer Zoot Money (and and his superb Big Roll Band) which effectively is the 1965 Columbia album "It Should've Been Me" plus10 bonus tracks of subsequent singles and an EP all in glorious mono to boot. The package includes the original sleeve notes by Alexis Korner and a booklet on the band written by Chris Welch. I'm ashamed to admit I have never actually heard Zoot and the band (which included Andy Somers aka Summers on guitar) and from the opening bars of James Browns "I'll Go Crazy" I'm astounded that I never took the time to check em' out. Zoot himself is one awesome singer and organist (Hammond organ, still the finest sound around). The whole band though sound as American as the music they were choosing to cover. Andy Somers plays some serious jazz phrases particularly in the bands treatment of "Bight Lights Big City" showing his extraordinary talent ten years before The Police. A lot of the repertoire was based on their love of obscure American RnB by the likes of James Brown (I'll Go Crazy), Rufus Thomas (Jump Back), Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson (Back Door Blues) as well as Ernie K. Doe and Ray Charles (all very familiar names these days) with the album a reflection of the numbers they'd been playing live in the clubs like The Flamingo & Klooks Kleek. The album today then still has a wonderful earthy feel and comes roaring out of the speakers sounding as astonishing to me, today as it would have almost forty years ago. The ten bonus tracks also highlight the original albums quality with a more commercial set of singles aimed at the general public. Having said that we do get a copy of the pre Columbia days with "Uncle Willie" which was released on Decca in 1964 and is a full blown piece of Rib about a new dance craze, the "Uncle Willie". Still I'm glad I finally got to hear Zoot Money and seriously impressed I am too. This is an excellent release from Repertoire, a real treat for Zoot's fans old and (like me) new.
Al Tait