Topsy Turvy (Guitar Shorty album)
Encyclopedia
Topsy Turvy is the second studio album
released by blues
guitarist
Guitar Shorty
(David Kearney). The album was released in 1993 on CD
by the label Black Top. The tracks "I'm So Glad I Met You", "Mean Husband Blues", "The Bottom Line" and "Hard Life" would later appear on Shorty's compilation album
, The Best of Guitar Shorty
, in 2006.
Recorded in the U.S.
, unlike his previous album, My Way or the Highway
, the album shows that "it [is] clear that Guitar Shorty was back to stay stateside." Allmusic praises the album, calling it "more impressive than My Way or the Highway ... thanks to superior production values and a better handle on his past."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
released by blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Guitar Shorty
Guitar Shorty
Guitar Shorty is an American blues guitarist. He is well known for his explosive guitar style and wild stage antics. Billboard magazine said, “his galvanizing guitar work defines modern, top-of-the-line blues-rock. His vocals remain as forceful as ever...
(David Kearney). The album was released in 1993 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by the label Black Top. The tracks "I'm So Glad I Met You", "Mean Husband Blues", "The Bottom Line" and "Hard Life" would later appear on Shorty's compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, The Best of Guitar Shorty
The Best of Guitar Shorty
The Best of Guitar Shorty is the first true compilation album released by blues guitarist Guitar Shorty ; 1996's Billie Jean Blues was more of a live album. The album was released on June 20, 2006 on CD by the label Shout! Factory...
, in 2006.
Recorded in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, unlike his previous album, My Way or the Highway
My Way or the Highway (album)
My Way or the Highway is the first major studio album released by blues guitarist Guitar Shorty , even though he had been in the business since 1950s...
, the album shows that "it [is] clear that Guitar Shorty was back to stay stateside." Allmusic praises the album, calling it "more impressive than My Way or the Highway ... thanks to superior production values and a better handle on his past."
Track listing
- "I'm So Glad I Met You" (Fran, Kearney) — 4:16
- "I Just Can't Run Away from the Blues" (Fran, Kearney, Scott) — 4:25
- "Mean Husband Blues" (Kearney, Pembroke) — 3:53
- "The Bottom Line" (Jackson, Mitchell, Randle) — 3:52
- "I Never Thought" (Kearney) — 2:36
- "Hard Life" (Kearney) — 5:17
- "Jody" (Barker, Davis, Wilson) — 4:43
- "It All Went Down the Drain" (KingEarl KingThis article is about the musical artist. For the Earl King convicted of murdering a ship's officer, see Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner...
) — 4:49 - "How Long Can It Last?" (Kearney) — 3:13
- "Old Time Sake" (Kearney) — 4:16
- "You Confuse Me" (Kearney) — 2:46
- "More Than You'll Ever Know" (KooperAl KooperAl Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
) — 6:02
Personnel
- David Torkanowsky — organ (hammondHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
) - Ernest Youngblood, Jr. — saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Clarence Hollimon, Derek O'Brien — guitar
- Guitar Shorty — guitar, vocals
- Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff — saxophone (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
, tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Sarah Brown, Lee Allen Zeno — bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
- Herman V. Ernest III, George Rains — percussion, drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Floyd Domino — pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Carol FranCarol FranCarol Fran is an African American soul blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Fran is best known for her string of single releases in the 1950s and 1960s, and her later musical association with her husband, Clarence Hollimon...
— vocals - Kamikaze Horns — horn
- Michael Mordecai — tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Keith Winking — trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...