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Slim's first album on Blind Pig Records, Gravel Road, was released in 1990. Its title track was one of the first tunes he learned to play on
his baling wire guitar in Mississippi. The album was well received by the press, garnering a passel of glowing reviews and landing on several year-end Top 10 lists. Billboard magazine said, "The well-traveled Chicago blues singer/guitarist is near the top of his form on this delightful album, which comes close to capturing the late-night ambience of Slim's live set." In 1996, Slim's career came full-circle with the Blind Pig release
Scufflin', the title track being a remake of the song which began his recording career thirty years earlier. Living Blues called it "No frills houserockin' blues unadulterated by ego-tripping guest stars, leaden horn charts or limp studio bands...it should bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded listener." Option magazine named it "One of 1996's best sets of gritty, down-home blues." 1998's
Black Tornado was released to similar accolades in both the blues and mainstream press. An A.P. syndicated review noted that "Magic Slim has never been better than on Black Tornado
and that is a lot to say." Downbeat's review called Slim "a true all star; a guitarist of considerable authority whose lines snap like a crocodile's mighty jaw and a singer with a persuasive
capacity for wrenching every bit of emotion out of his lyrics."
Slim's live performances have become legendary. Standing well over six feet, Slim cuts a commanding figure on stage, prowling the boards in his
large cowboy hat, filling the room with his slash and burn guitar and booming vocals. Slim has an encyclopedic repertoire of hundreds of blues songs in his head, giving the live shows a charming impromptu quality.
Although personnel in the band has changed over the years, Slim's brother Nick is still playing bass, laying down those pounding lines that are integral to the Teardrops sound.
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