Eldorado Cadillac
Studio album by
Billy Boy Arnold
Released1995
GenreChicago blues
LabelAlligator
ProducerBilly Boy Arnold, Bruce Iglauer, Scott Dirks
Billy Boy Arnold chronology
Goin' to Chicago
(1995)		 Eldorado Cadillac
(1995)		 Catfish
(1999)

Eldorado Cadillac is an album by the American musician Billy Boy Arnold, released in 1995.[1][2] It was the second album of his 1990s comeback.[3] Arnold considered his two Alligator Records albums to be the best of his career.[4] The album won a National Association of Independent Record Distributors award for best blues album.[5]

Production

Eldorado Cadillac was produced by Arnold, Bruce Iglauer, and Scott Dirks.[6][7] Arnold wrote seven new songs for the album.[8] Carl Sonny Leyland contributed on piano; Bob Margolin played slide guitar.[9][10] "Don't Stay Out All Night" is a rerecording of Arnold's first single, from 1955.[11] "Sunny Road" is a cover of the Roosevelt Sykes song.[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Tribune[13]
DownBeat[14]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide[6]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[12]
Vancouver Sun[15]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues[16]

The Vancouver Sun wrote that "the star of this show is Arnold's straight-ahead harp playing in a style inspired by Sonny Boy Williamson... The sound he wrenches from the instrument—raunchy distortion with a touch of reverb—just about defines Chicago blues."[15] The Washington Post said that Arnold and his band "forego the stomp rhythms of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon for a bluesy, greasy swing that's pure pleasure."[11] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Arnold's vocal range throughout Eldorado Cadillac is undeniably deeper and fuller than it was in 1956, but his outlook is happily the same."[13]

The Times Colonist determined that "Arnold uses adept vocal phrasing to add a dramatic edge to his narrow range, and his blues harp is a haunting, riveting, delicious treat."[17] The Los Angeles Times deemed Eldorado Cadillac "a solid, sweaty blues collection."[18] The Santa Cruz Sentinel praised Arnold's "distorted harmonica and cool singing."[19]

AllMusic called the album "a fun set of passionate Chicago blues."[3]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."I Ain't Got You" 
2."Sunday Morning Blues" 
3."Don't Stay Out All Night" 
4."Lowdown Thing or Two" 
5."Been Gone Too Long" 
6."Mama's Bitter Seed" 
7."Man of Considerable Taste" 
8."How Long Can This Go On?" 
9."Too Many Old Flames" 
10."Slick Chick" 
11."It Should Have Been Me" 
12."Sunny Road" 
13."Loving Mother for You" 

References

  1. ↑ "Billy Boy Arnold Biography by Bill Dahl". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Komara, Edward (2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 33.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eldorado Cadillac Review by Scott Yanow". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  4. ↑ O'Hare, Bucky (October 19, 2023). "Featured Interview – Billy Boy Arnold". Blues Blast Magazine. No. 17–41.
  5. ↑ Morris, Chris (Jun 8, 1996). "NAIRD announces Indie award winners". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 23. p. 8.
  6. 1 2 MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 12.
  7. ↑ Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press. p. 318.
  8. ↑ Dahl, Bill (15 Mar 1996). "Stale Home Chicago". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
  9. ↑ Allen, Greg (10 Dec 1995). "Billy Boy Arnold serves up hot mix of electric blues". The Press of Atlantic City. p. C6.
  10. ↑ Cote, Michael (15 Dec 1995). "Reviews". Naples Daily News. p. 10.
  11. 1 2 Himes, Geoffrey (28 Feb 1996). "Blues". The Washington Post. p. R17.
  12. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 16.
  13. 1 2 Dahl, Bill (28 Mar 1996). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 7F.
  14. ↑ Santelli, Robert (Mar 1996). "Shape of the Blues". DownBeat. Vol. 63, no. 3. p. 55.
  15. 1 2 Moya, Miguel (18 Jan 1996). "Take a high-voltage trip back to a Mississippi barrel house". Vancouver Sun. p. D7.
  16. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues. Virgin.
  17. ↑ Rowlands, Bob (21 Sep 1996). "Music critic gets the blues from that". Entertainment. Times Colonist. p. 1.
  18. ↑ Roos, John (14 Oct 1998). "Blues Routes". Los Angeles Times. p. F2.
  19. ↑ Cooper, Scott (1 Dec 1995). "The Winter Blues". Spotlight. Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 9.
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