Henry Qualls

June 20 - June 27, 1 9 9 6
[Off the Record]

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***1/2 Henry Qualls

BLUES FROM ELMO, TEXAS

(Dallas Blues Society)

Here's a damn cool CD. Loose as hell but thoroughly houserocking blues courtesy of one Henry Qualls, who's been playing tunes around his hometown of Elmo since the '50s. A dirty guitarist who stumbles through a stab at the melody of "Jingle Bells" with charm on his instrumental "The Elmo Stomp" and then drops down solid and heavy for a dance-floor bump-and-grinder called "Can't Stand To See You Go," Qualls has the versatility of Mance Lipscomb -- his tunes stretching beyond blues into gospel, medicine-show music, and standards. What's beautiful about this recording is the utter ease of his laconic but warm-toned vocals and six-stringing. It's like a juke joint Saturday night, where the groove is king and if there are some mistakes, nobody cares because it's not about perfection. It's about a good time. And this CD's a very good time.

-- Ted Drozdowski

(Henry Qualls will play a series of dates in the area: June 27 at the Sea Note (925-4300) in Hull; June 28 at the Tam (277-0982) in Brookline; June 29 a live radio performance on WMBR (88.1 FM) at noon; and June 29 at Zoots (508-667-8810) in Billerica.)