Johnny Maddox - Red Hot Ragtime Volume 1
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CD Details
Artist: Johnny MaddoxPerformer: Johnny Maddox
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2000-06-30
Music Label: Crazy Otto Music
Soundtracks:
- The Crazy Otto Medley
- San Antonio Rose
- Music! Music! Music!
- The Entertainer
- Beer Barrel Polka
- The Old Piano Roll Blues
- Under The Double Eagle
- Yes Sir! That's My Baby
- Down Yonder
- Red Wing
- Frankie & Johnnie
- 12th Street Rag
- Glow Worm
- Sweet Georgia Brown
- When You & I Were Young Maggie Rag
Music reviews of Red Hot Ragtime Volume 1
Music Review: A ragtime pioneer
Rating: 4 Stars
In the 1950s, Johnny Maddox almost single-handedly (you know what I mean) spearheaded that decade's honky-tonk ragtime revival. His many recordings on the Dot label sold very well and are still highly regarded today. I have quite a few of them and count myself among his many admirers.
This CD was recorded in the late 1980s and features Maddox at the keys of a 1908 upright piano. This isn't Rifkin-style "classical" ragtime. As the title of the CD indicates, this is "Red Hot" saloon-style ragtime. The piano is slightly out-of-tune and the hammers hit the strings with that percussive "tinny" sound. I typically don't care as much for this honky-tonk style, but for what it is, this CD (and its companion Volume 2) is quite good. Maddox's arrangements of these standard tunes are nothing spectacular, but they capture the saloon atmosphere nicely--they are enough to keep me interested in each piece from beginning to end. While Maddox's playing is quite accurate note-wise, he seems to have trouble keeping a steady rhythm in spots. Some of the pieces feel unsteady. Still, I'm glad that the CD presents Maddox on his own: there's no drum acompaniment or bass player added as on many other honky tonk piano albums.
The sound quality is very nice--many recordings of this kind of music have been made by budget or independent labels that often leave a lot to be desired sound-wise. Not so here! The piano is well-miked and has a great "presence." Unfortunately, the CD contains no real liner notes in its 4-panel insert, just a brief paragraph about Maddox, a track listing, and short credits blurb.
The disc is also a little on the short side, just 39:30. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's good to pull this CD out and play a few tracks at a time, but I find that my ears typically tire of this rinky-tink, honky-tonk ragtime after five or six tracks. The arrangements and tempos are so similar that soon I'm longing for a slow ballad, maybe a waltz, or something else to add a little variety to the playlist.
As I write this, Johnny Maddox is still alive and well, and performing ragtime regularly--some fifty-five years after his pioneering ragtime recordings if the early 1950s. Here's to many more, Johnny!
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Description of Red Hot Ragtime Volume 1
Johnny Maddox is one of America's leading ragtime pianists. He began his recording career in 1950 in Nashville when his longtime friend Randy Woods began the world famous Dot records. Johnny was the first artist ever recorded on Dot Records. This first record had "Crazy Bone Rag" on one side and "St. Louis Tickle" on the other. In 5 weeks it sold over 22,000 copies. Dot went on to later handle the Mills Brothers, Bill Vaughn, Pat Boone, Liberace and Eddie Peabody, just to name a few. Dot was later sold to MCA where Johnny continued to record until the seventies. Johnny has sold over 11,000,000 records (50 albums and 87 singles) on the Dot and MCA labels. He has 9 gold records and his own star on Hollywood Boulevard.Blues CDs
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