Johnny "Guitar" Watson

	Johnny "Guitar" Watson

Johnny "Guitar" Watson

Bio coming soon....

Album Discography

"Gangster Of Love" (King 1958)

"Johnny Guitar Watson" (King 1963)

"The Blues Soul Of Johnny Guitar Watson" (Chess 1964)

"Larry Williams Show with Johnny Guitar Watson" (Decca 1965)

"Bad" (Okeh 1967)

Johnny Watson Trio "In The Fats Bag" (Okeh 1967)

Larry Williams & Johnny Guitar Watson "Two For The Price Of One" (Okeh 1967)

"Listen" (Fantasy 1973)

"I Don't Want To Be Alone, Stranger" (Fantasy 1975)

"The Gangster is Back" (Red Lightnin' 1975)

"Ain't That A Bitch" (DJM 1976)

**** In 1976 JGW dropped "Ain't That A Bitch" and Johnny G was back on the charts. The cryptonite-resistant funker "Superman Lover" cracked the R & B Top 20 while the bluesy calypso-swingin' "I Need It" managed a #40 placing. Equally good was the title cut. On this 2005 Shout! Factory remastered version the hilarious "Funkula" and jazz fusion "Follow Me" are added for good measure.

"Captured Live" (DJM 1976)

"A Real Mother For Ya" (DJM 1977)

*** 1/2 Watson continued in slick urban blues/funk vein on the smash follow up "A Real Mother For Ya". The title track rivals "Gangster Of Love" as Johnny's signature song. It's a low-down, phat synth jam with a monster hook that catapulted the LP to #20 on the Pop Charts (#3 R & B). Meanwhile the single was a Top 5 R & B hit. The driving "Lover Jones" hit #34 but "Tarzan" was the other unforgettable number. "I got a woman so fine/She makes we wanna swing from a grapevine" sings Johnny with his tongue deep in his cheek. The manic blues shuffle "Kathaline" and uptown jazz "De John's Delight" are the bonuses for the Shout! Factory remastered version in 2005.

"Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty" (DJM 1977)

*** Ever prodigious and patriotic to the funk, JGW dropped his second LP in 1977 with "Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty". Though it wasn't on par with the previous two, it did contain "It's About The Dollar Bill" and the title track (the intro sounds like Mancini on acid).

"Giant" (DJM 1978)

** 1978's "Giant" is generally considered the nadir of his 70s funk period. Why? It's just not as good as the others. Other than the bluesy "Gangster Of Love" and "You Can Stay But The Noise Got To Go" (later covered well by Walter "Wolfman" Washington), there's nothing special. Disco was at it's peak and Watson wasn't ashamed to through his hat into the ring, hence we have "Miss Frisco (Queen Of The Disco)" and "Guitar Disco". To his credit on "Frisco" JGW did Disco his way for other than the four-on-the-floor beat it's his typical spacey funk with liquid piano, synth bass and guitar. But "Guitar Disco" is best described as bad Jazz Fusion Disco. Not surprisingly, neither caught on with the dance crowd

"What The Hell is This?" (DJM 1979)

*** 1/2 In 1979 following the middling LP "Giant" the funky guitar genius dropped another collection of Sci-Fi R & B mixed with jazz fusion. Only the title track dented the charts (#83 R & B) but the disc contains the equally good "Cop & Blow", "Strung Out" & "I Don't Want To Be President". the latter contains the lyrics "Now suppose I had a girlfriend and called her/And she lives across the lake/See congress would know the whole conversation and have it on tape/Then they'd put me on the television and expose my life/I don't mind the people knowing but what about my wife?". (Too bad Bill Clinton didn't have the same trepidations about being the prez.).

"Love Jones" (DJM 1979)

**** Even better is "Love Jones" with the wah-wah guitar, spacey keyboards, horns, handclaps, etc all in full effect. Hits included the title cut (#28 R & B) and "Telephone Bill" (#45 R & B), where Johnny was rappin' before it was even cool.

"Johnny Guitar Watson And The Family Clone" (DJM 1981)

** 1/2 Methinks Watson was smokin' too much herb when he cut "JGW & The Family Clone". This time the wacky experimentation gets mixed with an impenetrable concept and unmelodic songs. "Come On Dance With Me" sports those vocodor vocals Herbie Hancock made famous and it's fun albeit too damn long. "Voodoo That You Do" is also a winner but much of the album is an acquired taste for sure. "Family Clone" is great but not fun to listen to twice and "Rio Dreamin'" seems out of place on this record. Watson fares better on "Forget The Joneses", plays some inspired guitar on "Ain't Movin'" and nails the bonus cut "Please Send Me Someone To Love"

"Greatest Hits" (Fantasy 1981)

"The Very Best Of" (MCA1981)

"That's What Time It Is" (MCA 1982)

"Strike On Computers" (Valley Vue 1984)

"Hit The Highway" (Ace 1985)

"Three Hours Past Midnight" (Flair 1986)

"Bow Wow" (Bellmark 1994)

*** The much maligned comeback album "Bow Wow" is underrated. Perhaps because there's traces of that plastic 80s production in the mix folks missed the fact these were a good batch of songs. The spanking bottom of the title track still resonates as does the excellent electro-funk "My Funk". And tell me you don't think "Johnny G Is back" isn't cool? There's even a Top 50 R & B single in "Hook Me Up". The 2005 Shout! Factory reissue is augmented with the slow Blues "Statue Of Liberty" (from the 1985 record "Strike On Computers") and the funky "Ain't Making No Sense". Don't sleep on this one in the series of Shout! Factory remasters.

"Lone Ranger" (Fantasy 1995)

"Hot Just Like TNT" (Ace 1996)

"The Very Best Of" (Rhino 1999)

"The Essential" (RPM Fuel 2000)

"The Funk Anthology" (Shout! Factory 2005)

***** Finally somebody got it right- to release the best, spaced-out funky-ass rhythm & blues jams from this wildcat often called a "genius" by his peers. The red carpet was rolled out for this lush 2 CD 31 song set (6 previously unreleased!) digitally remastered with a 28 page booklet and a plethora of photos spanning the years 1976-1994. The music matters most but the packaging must be praised. The foldout digi-pack even contains pics of both the front and back of each of the albums covered here. Before becoming a pimpin' funkster Watson was a manic, Texas blues stringer known for his rapid-fire guitar fingers and the classic "Gangster Of Love" (way before Steve Miller copped the phrase). He reinvented himself in the 70s and this set focuses on this fruitful period. All the big hits and key album tracks are here: "Superman Lover" (R & B #19), "Aint That A Bitch", the unstoppable "A Real Mother For Ya" (#5 R & B #41 Pop), "Tarzan", "Funk Beyond The Call Of Duty", "It's About The Dollar Bill", the updated "Gangster Of Love" (#32 R & B), "Booty Ooty", "Lone Ranger", "Love Jones" (#28 R & B), his comeback hit "Bow Wow" & more. Most interesting perhaps are the "new" cuts. When asked by biographer David Ritz about stuff in the vault Watson was quoted as saying: "There's gold in them there hills!". He may be right. "Baby's In Love With The Radio" is a loose funk jam with Watson's laidback vocal delivery- recorded in 1976. On "ET" Johnny says his baby is just like that alien freak! I doubt he means in looks cuz she's a "supernatural" chick. "Feel The Spirit Of My Guitar" is Johnny's mutation of the Peter Frampton track. My favorite is "Don't Be What UC", which has a groove similar to George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" (and especially Snoop Dogg's "What's My Name?"). Here Johnnys tells y'all to stop trying to emulate folks and be yourself. There's also a track unreleased from the "Love Jones" sessions ("Before I Let You Go") and one recorded but unissued from 1994 ("Ain't Nodbody's Business"). But it's just icing on an already triple chocolate cake. The cover sticker says "You don't know *@#& until you've heard this funk!". Damn straight.

"Live! 1990" (Masterplan 2006)

**** Now this is a pleasant surprise. A previously unreleased live disc from the genius of spacey Bluesfunk. Recorded in 1990 in front of an extremely receptive audience while on the comeback trail, Watson is at his best on 8 superb performances. This is how a "live" CD should be done- an appreciative crowd, an exciting performer, fleshed out "special" versions of the hits, lots of extended jamming and fairly good sound quality. "Live 1990" has all this going for it and more. Opening with a uber-funky "Superman Lover" JGW takes charge cocksure and in strong voice. The band hits a tireless groove midway replete with horn blasts and Watson's creative guitar lickery before bringing it home on an inspired vamp. He reaches down in the bottom next for a slow, cool Blues "Doing Wrong Woman" featuring more understated guitar soloing and even a turn on his (in) famous vocodor. Being that the show was promotong his then current LP "Bow Wow", much of the set consists of songs from that album including the hits "Hook Me Up & "Bow Wow". Both easily trump their studio counterparts with spicier guitar, better singing and a looser feel. But this record goes into hyper drive beginning with "I Wanna Ta Ta Ya!" followed by an inspired, slower-paced reading of his classic "Gangster Of Love". Leading with a guitar riff reminiscent of "Rock Me Baby" Johnny G leads the band through seven minutes of Blues heaven. The set closes perhaps the best version of "A Real Mother For Ya!" on record- all eight minutes of it. Johnny G asks if he can "get down with the get down" and that he does like a "mutha". This may look like a bargain bin release and is indeed packaged like one (a recycled photo- no liner notes) but it belongs alongside your other JGW records.

"The Best Of The Funk Years" (Shout! Factory 2006)