Serious Business (Johnny Winter album)

Serious Business is an album by guitarist and singer Johnny Winter. It was released in 1985 on vinyl and CD by Alligator Records.[1]

Serious Business
Johnny Winter, wearing a broad-brimmed hat and playing a guitar
Studio album by
Released1985
RecordedStreeterville Studios, Chicago, Illinois
GenreBlues
Length43:52
LabelAlligator (US), Sonet (UK)
Producer
Johnny Winter chronology
Guitar Slinger
(1984)
Serious Business
(1985)
Third Degree
(1986)

Serious Business was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.[2]

Critical reception

edit
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [3]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings    [4]

On AllMusic, William Ruhlmann said, "Signing to the Chicago-based independent blues label Alligator Records, [Winter] staged his own comeback with 1984's Guitar Slinger, and its follow-up, Serious Business, is in the same vein. That vein is straight Chicago-style electric blues in the manner of Muddy Waters.... He was already developing from his old mile-a-minute playing style into more of an expressive bluesman in the late '70s. Here, the transition is complete.... Maybe Johnny Winter isn't trying to be a superstar anymore, but his striving to be a consummate bluesman is wholly successful."[3]

Track listing

edit
  1. "Master Mechanic" (A.D. Prestage, Joe Shamwell, Walter Godbold) – 3:37
  2. "Sound the Bell" (Clarence Garlow, Eddie Shuler) – 3:23
  3. "Murdering Blues" (Doctor Clayton) – 5:02
  4. "It Ain't Your Business" (James Moore) – 3:50
  5. "Good Time Woman" (Johnny Winter) – 6:03
  6. "Unseen Eye" (Sonny Boy Williamson II) – 4:18
  7. "My Time After Awhile" (Bob Geddins) 6:13
  8. "Serious as a Heart Attack" (Johnny Winter) – 3:31
  9. "Give It Back" (Sonny Thompson) – 3:48
  10. "Route 90" (Clarence Garlow, Leon René) – 4:07

Personnel

edit
Musicians
  • Johnny Winter – guitar, vocals
  • Ken Saydak – piano
  • Johnny B. Gayden – bass
  • Casey Jones – drums
  • Jon Paris – harmonica on "Murdering Blues", "Good Time Woman", "Unseen Eye", "Give It Back"
Production
  • Johnny Winter, Bruce Iglauer, Dick Shurman – producers
  • Justin Niebank – engineering, mixing
  • Fred Breitberg – engineering for "Murdering Blues", "Unseen Eye"
  • Chris Garland – design
  • Ebet Roberts, Terrence Bert – photography
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Recorded at Streeterville Studios in Chicago, Illinois and at Red Label Studios in Winnetka, Illinois

References

edit
  1. ^ Serious Business at Discogs. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  2. ^ "Grammy Awards 1986", Awards & Shows. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. Serious Business at AllMusic. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  4. ^ Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 723. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.