The Prime Movers — The Prime Movers Blues Band 1965-1970 (USA, Blues)

Though by no means an original contribution to the blues rock genre, this archival release documenting The Prime Movers--an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based blues rock group active from 1965 to 1971--is thoroughly enjoyable and is even excellent at times. The reason we are all here is due to the historic nature of the recordings which not only feature a young "Blue" Gene Tyranny (Robert Sheff) on organ but also a young Iggy Pop (James Osterberg) on drums. (He takes vocal duties on the collection's closer, an energetic cover of the Yardbirds' take on the Bo Diddley composition "I'm a Man.") While we won't mistake this for the work of the masters of the Chicago form of the blues (like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf), this is an imminently listenable set of recordings, aided by the team at Modern Harmonic (an imprint of Sundazed Music), who've done a great job making these raw tapes sound as good as possible. This set is definitely better than I was expecting, and, for that reason, it's totally worth a spin or two!yerblues Feb 26 2025


Tracks:

01. Endless Blues — 0:00

02. Everyday I Have The Blues — 8:58

03. Walkin’ By Myself — 15:02

04. Yonder’s Wall — 22:57

05. You Better Watch Yourself — 33:13

06. Rock Me Baby — 39:53

07. Orange Driver — 45:32

08. Walking Through The Park — 50:25

09. All These Blues — 55:16

10. I’m A Man — 1:01:12


Personnel:
Michael Erlewine — vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Dan Erlewine — lead guitar, vocals
Jack Dawson — bass
Robert Sheff — keyboards, vocals
Iggy Pop — drums
Jesse Crawford — drums