Generally -- and right off the cuff -- I´d say that the earlier material has a bit more of his presence. (I think he started with Wille in the mid 70´s.) There´s a live concert on YT from a place called Passaic, or something like that, from the 70´s where he is very active. That´s not to say that he hasn´t improved over the years but my impression is that he´s always to be found somewhere in the soundscape, but not center stage anymore. But I´d be happy to be proved wrong.
"Red Headed Stranger" is a great album and features a lot of Mickey's understated harmonica. That was a huge breakthrough album for Willie. He released "Stardust" a few years later in '78 which is all standards. Mickey plays all over that as well. Beautiful harmonica, and it was another very successful record for Willie.
I first really noticed Mickey Raphael's playing on "Pretty Paper", Willie Nelson's Christmas album that we listen to annually during the holidays. Mickey Raphael's understated harp lines with soft attack and fade with reverb, were executed beautifully in this context and greatly impressed me. I began to adopt this approach when playing in singer focused ensembles that were not classic blues harp songs with well known harp approaches.
Since Christmas is approaching, this might be a good time to check it out. Many of the songs appear to be available on YouTube, too. Here is the title song:
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Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Nov 16, 2017 7:42 AM
