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***Mickey Baker is best known as one half of Mickey & Sylvia, but his track record for incredible guitar work on countless '50s R&B cuts (many for Atlantic) is what makes The Wildest Guitar, his first and only solo album, so desirable among collectors. Despite Baker's well deserved reputation as one of the most influential guitar players of early rock'n'roll, The Wildest Guitar is one of the few chances he really gets to strut his stuff as a solo artist. This entirely instrumental set features keening, sharp, bluesy riffs in much the same distinctive style that gained him fame on "Love Is Strange" and other tunes with Mickey & Sylvia. The choice of material, though, is a bit surprising, favoring some oddball standards: "Third Man Theme," "Autumn Leaves," "Lullaby of the Leaves," and Cole Porter's "Night and Day." Baker (who also arranged the album) invests all of these with a snazzy R&B feel and biting solos. And he does actually write four of the twelve tunes himself, on which he fashions the kind of straightforward R&B that one would be more likely to expect. This is an amazing showcase to hear Baker's unadorned virtuosity. The cover photo alone is proof enough that Mickey Baker was indeed a major musical force to be reckoned with. |
