Back to the future with Marc Benno's "Crawlin"

Once upon a time, back in the day -- roughly the early 1970s -- a handful of guitarists and musicians were tearing up the territory around Austin, Texas, including a young Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marc Benno and Doyle Bramhall.

They came together with Billy Etheridge and Tommy McClure to form a hot little blues-rock band called Marc Benno and the Nigthcrawlers, and toured and made quite a name for themselves in local music circles. They even came up with a bunch of songs for an album titled "Crawlin," which they recorded -- just before their record deal fell apart, and put this record on the shelf in 1973.

But now, thanks to the efforts of a little label called Blue Skunk Music, you can go back and hear Stevie and Marc play lead guitar, with Marc on vocals, and work their way through a set of bluesy rock that sounds like it could have been recorded last month. They also added four songs that were recorded shortly after "Crawlin" was shelved, and now you get a look at the roots of some of the best Texas blues rock of the day.

I especially like the uptempo tracks, starting off with the opener, "Last Train," and it's bluesy riffs and wails, and the young Benno doing his best Southern bluesman vocals. He wrote or cowrote most of the tracks, with Bramhall and McClure contributing a nice scorching "Love is Turning Green," and Vaughan creating the title track. Stevie also plays lead on a couple of songs that were added later -- "Whole Thang" and "Long Ride Home."

It's a fun CD, that gives a nice look into the early days of some of the roots of Texas blues rock.

Here are a few audio clips:

"Last Train"

"Love is Turning Green"

"Long Ride Home"

Coming up tomorrow is the fine New Orleans-flavored musician, Eric Lindell. He'll be doing a studio show at WYEP at 1 p.m., then a set at Moondog's tomorrow night at 8. Catch him if you can.

The night of Friday the 13th, you can also catch guitarist Ana Popovic and harp player Jason Ricci at Moondog's. They burned up the stage the last time they were there, and should produce an exciting show.

I mention these dates now, because, as you read this, I'm spending a few days across the state in Philadelphia. I won't make it to the Lindell show, and I'm not sure about Ana and Jason. So reviews or photos are definitely welcome.

For your enjoyment, here is a slideshow of photos from the Bye Week Blues show at Moondog's a week ago, sponsored by the Blues Society of Western Pa.