Reissued January 13, 2023
Verve (By Request Series)
1xLP
Born in Mississippi at the tail end of the great depression, Mel Brown’s earliest musical influences naturally included the great blues players of the region, and to begin his career he cut his chops in bands with the likes of Johnny Otis and Etta James. It wasn’t until the late 60s when he began producing solo work, when the blues were ceding popular ground to trends in jazz, soul and funk. His debut solo album, Chicken Fat, is an interesting collision of his delta roots and the kind of groovy electric guitar work that would dominate the 70s, a fusion genre that makes so much sense but that one doesn’t hear done well too often. Fortunately Mel Brown pulled it off with great aplomb, providing us here with forty minutes of serious shredding. He also boasts a Canadian connection, choosing to make Ontario his home in the 90s. Embraced there by the local blues community, he would develop a strong golf game, and even secured a couple Juno nominations, before passing away in 2009 at the age of 69, in Kitchener.