01	2:19						04:42
	02	Heartattack And Vine						04:40
	03	Clap Hands						03:59
	04	'Til The Money Runs Out						04:02
	05	16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six						04:37
	06	Buzz Fledderjohn						04:14
	07	Get Behind The Mule						05:54
	08	Shore Leave						02:58
	09	Fannin Street						04:48
	10	Jocky Full Of Burbon						03:32
	11	Big Black Mariah						04:09
	12	Murder In The Red Barn						05:56
	13	I Know I've Been Changed						02:19

AMG EXPERT REVIEW: After 35 years into a career that spans 35 albums recorded for seven labels, you'd think John Hammond might get a little complacent. Thankfully the opposite is true, as 2001's Wicked Grin is the artist's most daring musical departure and arguably greatest achievement to date. Mining the rich Tom Waits catalog for 12 of its 13 tracks (the closing is a traditional gospel tune) and bringing Waits himself along as producer has resulted in a stunning collection that stands as one of the best in Hammond's bulging catalog. Never a songwriter, the singer/guitarist/harmonica bluesman has maintained a knack for picking top-notch material from the rich blues tradition without resorting to the hoary, over-covered classics of the genre. It's that quality that transforms these tunes into Hammond songs, regardless of their origin. His history of working with exceptional session musicians is also legendary, and this album's band, which features Doug Sahm sideman Augie Meyers on keyboards, harmonica wiz Charlie Musselwhite, longtime Waits associate Larry Taylor on bass, and Waits himself poking around on various songs, is perfect for the spooky, swampy feel he effortlessly conjures here. Choosing from a wide variety of Waits' material, Hammond infuses these unusual tracks with a bluesman's spirit and a crackling energy that practically reinvents the songs, instilling them with an ominous, rhythmic swampy feel. The producer contributes two new tracks ("2:19" and "Fannin' Street," the latter is the album's only acoustic cut) that maintain the creepy but upbeat voodoo spirit that trickles and twists throughout. Hammond sings with a renewed spirit, adding a smoother but no less intense edge than Waits' typical rusty razor blade soaked whisky growl. With his dusky croon and idiosyncratic delivery, Hammond tears into this material with relish, spitting out the often offbeat, stream of consciousness lyrics as if he wrote them himself. Only the slow, ambling blues of "Murder in the Red Barn" would comfortably slot into Hammond's existing oeuvre; the remainder push the bluesman into previously uncharted territory with results that reveal fascinating layers of his own interpretive abilities. An experiment whose success will hopefully yield another volume, this partnership of John Hammond and Tom Waits brings out the best in both artists' substantial talents. - Hal Horowitz

1. 2:19 - 4:42
2. Heartattack and Vine - 4:41
3. Clap Hands - 3:59
4. 'Til the Money Runs Out - 4:03
5. Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six - 4:38
6. Buzz Fledderjohn - 4:14
7. Get Behind the Mule - 5:55
8. Shore Leave - 2:58
9. Fannin Street - 4:48
10. Jockey Full of Bourbon - 3:32
11. Big Black Mariah - 4:09
12. Murder in the Red Barn - 5:56
13. I Know I've Been Changed - 2:18

Tom Waits - Producer

"Producing someone's record is kind of like spotting someone who is on the trapeze," says Tom Waits, old friend of blues legend John Hammond, producer of John's new Pointblank/Virgin CD, Wicked Grin, and author of 12 of its 13 tunes.

"When John asked me, I said yes and then I gulped, having never done it except with my wife on my own records, " he adds. "John's sound is so compelling, complete, symmetrical and soulful with just his voice, guitar and harmonica, it is at first impossible to imagine improving on it."

The gulp turned into a grin once these two friends got into the studio and began playing music. What Waits did was to bring Hammond's unique sound into the realm of his own singular musical vision. The result is a rich and dynamic synthesis of the warm, rootsy style Hammond has honed for nearly 40 years and Waits' eclectic and fascinating portraits of American outsiders.

"It's the most evocative, imagistic, incredible material I've ever recorded," Hammond declares with unbridled enthusiasm.

"I've been a fan of John's since his first record and was proud to be a part of this," says Waits. "He's a great force of nature. John sounds like a big train coming. He chops them all down."

The two members of this mutual admiration society met over 25 years ago, when Tom opened a gig for John in Arizona. They had an instant rapport and became fast friends, continuing to cross paths for the last three decades.

"Since I first heard Tom play, on a show with him in 1974, I have been in awe of his talent," Hammond recalls. "His ability to put across his songs so effectively and dynamically is overwhelming."

Waits penned a classic tune - "No One Can Forgive Me But My Baby" - for Hammond's first Pointblank release, Got Love If You Want It. More recently, John appeared on Waits' 1999 Grammy Award-winning release, Mule Variations. It was during those recording sessions that the idea of Tom producing John first arose. The two tossed around thoughts for the next few months and met again while Tom was touring behind his album and invited John to sit in with his band at a Beacon Theater gig in New York City.

The notion of Hammond performing Waits' material evolved organically in the studio, while the two sifted through volumes of music to determine the content of the record. John's ease with one of Tom's tunes was the first clue that the marriage would be a happy one. Waits liked the way Hammond put his own brand on the songs, bringing a well-steeped blues sensibility that added a certain hue and tone. So much so that it inspired some additional writing. "Kathleen Brennan and I wrote one fresh song for John - 'Fannin Street' - which he does like Hank Williams."

Before long the album grew into a selection of Waits' songs, performed by Hammond, produced by Waits. The concept of an artist producing an album of his own compositions performed by another artist is certainly a rare event, if not unprecedented. Yet the results feel as natural as day and night.

Once the band arrived, the sessions took on a comfortable, steady rhythm, the musicians recording 20 tunes from Waits' broad palette, with colors ranging from poignant, dark, and haunting to joyfully boisterous and outrageous. On tune after tune, Hammond inhabits Wait's wonderfully peculiar landscape with his own art and attitude. The greatest challenge was the choice of which tracks would make the final cut.

"We brought in Larry Taylor (Canned Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, Percy Mayfield, Big Joe Turner) on upright bass, Augie Meyers (Sir Douglas Quintet, Bob Dylan's Time Out Of Mind, Texas Tornadoes, Flaco Jimenez) on keyboards, Stephen Hodges (Fabulous Thunderbirds, James Harmon, Smashing Pumpkins) on drums and percussion, and (fellow blues great) Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, " says Waits, who joined in on guitar and added a guest vocal on the album's final track.

"Sometimes 'producing' is just drinking coffee, waving your arms around and nodding 'yes' or saying nothing at exactly the right time, " Waits adds. For Hammond's part, there was far more to it than that.

"As the project came together, with the arrival of the musicians, a new shape took form," Hammond remarks. "There was magic involved. And with Tom on hand and in the band, the songs just came together. I was inspired. Another side of me emerged."

Now in his fifth decade of performing and recording, John Hammond has covered a great deal of ground and a seemingly endless amount of music, garnering a well-earned reputation as one of America's most authentic and enduring musicians. Hammond has played the gamut--from coffeehouses and nightclubs to concert halls and major international festivals--entertaining blues, folk and rock fans around the world. With his acoustic and National steel guitars, harmonicas and a massive repertoire of tunes, Hammond has followed the path of such singing poets as Woody Guthrie, Lightnin' Hopkins and Sonny Boy Williamson, taking musical stories of life and love from one corner of the globe to another. Early on, Hammond made records with legendary writer/producers Leiber and Stoller, featured a young and as yet undiscovered Jimi Hendrix in his Greenwich Village band, and used The Band as backing musicians, eventually introducing them to Bob Dylan. Over the course of his stellar career, Hammond has worked with such other luminaries as Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, J.J. Cale, John Mayall, Michael Bloomfield, Dr. John, Koko Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite and John Lee Hooker.

"John's particular dialect in music is that of Charley Patton's shoe size and Skip James' watch chain," observes Waits. "He has a blacksmith's rhythm and the kind of soul and precision it takes to cut diamonds or to handle snakes."

With Wicked Grin, Hammond pushes the envelope of both musical boundaries and expectations, joining forces with another American original and conjuring an album of great music, resonant with deep roots and rich imagery. An album that, like John Hammond, has the soul and substance to last a good, long while.

"I feel as good as I have ever felt about this recording session," Hammond says with conviction. "The musicians involved were all inspirational players. We worked as though we had been playing together for years. It was an unforgettable experience for me."

The final cut on the record, an old traditional gospel number entitled "I Know I've Been Changed," a song of testimony and renewal, bears ample witness to the fact.