Bentley's Bandstand: Paul Oscher, Bet On The Blues

BY BILL BENTLEY

Paul Oscher, Bet On The Blues, Blues Fidelity Records

The holidays go with the blues. There is something about the way loneliness swirls around these supposed good times that makes this music come alive, bringing out the sad sting just a little bit stronger. And what the blues does for hurt, washing it away with the shared joy of life, is nothing short of miraculous. These songs say that no matter how bad things might be heading, be ready to get over those hurdles because help is on the way.

Paul Oscher is a one-man EMS squad, supplying such deep feeling to the blues that he feels like a miracle worker. The man resides in a musical place that cannot be found by looking; rather it must be located by living. In the late ’60s and still a teenager, he became the first white harmonica player in Muddy Waters’ unequaled band. That’s like getting picked to ride Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby first time out on a horse: it doesn’t get much better. Oscher earned his place there, too, because there were no free passes in that band. He blew harp like his life depended on it, because it probably did. With Otis Spann still on piano, it was one of the last golden eras of groups for Waters, made up of players that had come up the hard way on Chicago’s South Side. Oscher never quite caught the tradewinds after that spot, but he kept singing and playing because that was what he did. There was no backup plan.

Forty years later, and the musician has only gotten better, learning those early lessons every night on the bandstand from Muddy Waters and then taking them to the end of the line today. Bet On The Blues is an intriguing collection of live recordings and rough mixes. These are songs without any make-up applied, played down and dirty because it’s the only way to play them.

Whether it’s Pete Johnson and Joe Turner’s “Wee Wee Baby” or Little Walter’s “Juke,” there is no mistaking these sounds for anything other than low down. Which, really is exactly the way it should be, because dressing up the blues too much is like dipping a doughnut in caviar. Pointless. And just to show that Paul Oscher is no stranger to faith, he turns sweet and clear on Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Jesus, Won’t You Come By Here.” If that doesn’t set your Christmas twanger on ten, then it’s probably time to tune in MTV for some “reality” reruns, because Santa Claus won’t be tearing your playhouse down this year. Ho-ho-ho a go go.