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BLUES & GOSPEL

Big Bill Morganfield -> Sam Myers

 
BIG BILL MORGANFIELD Blind Pig 5053 Rising Son ● CD $16.98
Debut album from Muddy waters' son features him accompanied by several members of his dad's old band - Pinetop Perkins, Willie "bIg Eye" Smith and Paul Oscher.
 
BARBARA MORRISON J&T 106 Ooh-Shoobie-Doo! ● CD $16.98
13 tracks, 45 mins, recommended
New album from fine jazz and blues singer Morrison produced by true living legend Johnny Otis for his new J&T label. Johnny was the person who gave Barbara her first break back in 1973. Barbara is a beautifully expressive vocalist and performs a mix of blues, R&B and a bit of jazz accompanied by a fine group musicians including 79 year old Otis himself who duets with Barbara on a couple of songs including a reamke of Johnny's biggest hit Willie & The Hand Jive. Many of the other songs are Otis compositions including the album's title song, You're My Meat/ The Day The Blues Walked In/ Every Beat Of My Heart/ Misery and others. A classy productions. (FS)

 
REV. W. M. MOSLEY Document DOCD 5480 Complete Recorded Works, 1926-31 ● CD $15.98
24 tracks, 74 min., recommended
Less famous than fellow Atlanta recording artist Rev. J. M. Gates, Mosley was nonetheless considered bankable enough for Columbia to take him into the studio again and again over a 6 year period. (Alas, the Great Depression ended many a Reverend's recording career and Mosley was no exception.) These sides find W. M. to be a powerful preacher with considerable ability as a singer, much more so than most of his competition. When he spends his shellac singing, as he does on Drinking Shine, I've Been Redeemed, and elsewhere, he's at his most accessible and impressive. Of special interest is his lone Paramount recording (Watch And Pray) cut in Grafton, Wis., with the Delta Big Four vocal quartette (Mosley's brother will was a member), and his sermon You Preachers Stay Out Of Widow's Houses. Other titles includeHell Is In The People/ The Monkey Is On The Main Line/ The Gambling Man/ Sin No More/ If You Follow Jesus, and more. (JC)
REV. W.M. MOSELY: Ain't It A Shame To Work On Sunday/ Don't Forget The Family Prayer/ Drinking Shine/ Everybody Ought To Pray - Sometime/ Go Home And Tend To Your Own Business/ He Sinned Against Heaven/ Hell Is In The People/ I've Been Redeemed/ If You Follow Jesus/ Jesus Will Make It All Right/ Labor For The Lord/ Oh Death Spare Me Over Till Another Year/ Rev. W. M. Mosley's Prayer/ Sin No More/ Son Remember/ The Comforter Has Come/ The Gambling Man/ The Lord's Prayer/ The Monkey Is On The Main Line/ Watch And Pray/ Wonderful Counsellor/ Yes! Tis Me/ You Preachers Stay Out Of Widow's Houses/ You Shall Wear A Golden Crown

 
BUDDY MOSS Document DOCD 5123 Complete Chronological Recordings Vol. 1 - 1933 ● CD $15.98
23 tracks, 70 mins, recommended
The first of three volumes presenting the complete recordings of this outstanding singer and guitarist from Georgia. Moss had a rich, warm vocal style and was a flowing guitarist in the East Coast Piedmont style. This superb disc presents 21 songs recorded between January and September, 1933 with two takes of Back To My Used To Be and Can't Use You No More. The first tracks features Moss accompanied by guitarist Fred McMullen who I assume is responsible for lovely, lyrical slide work on Bye Bye Mama. The remaining tracks feature Buddy solo, or with Curley Weaver - another superb guitarist who also plays slide on a few cuts. The interweaving of the guitars on the tracks where there are two guitarists is a joy to hear but the musicianship is outstanding throughout. A few tracks are from very worn 78s but, for the most part, the sound is excellent and there are brief, informative notes by Alan Balfour. (FS)
BUDDY MOSS: Bachelor's Blues/ Back To My Used To Be (take 1)/ Back To My Used To Be (take 2)/ Best Gal/ Broke Down Engine/ Bye Bye Mama/ Can't Use You No More (take 1)/ Can't Use You No More (take 2)/ Cold Country Blues/ Daddy Don't Care/ Hard Road Blues/ Hard Times Blues/ Jealous Hearted Man/ Married Man's Blues/ Midnight Rambler/ Prowlin' Gambler Blues/ Prowling Woman/ Red River Blues/ Restless Night Blues/ Somebody Keeps Calling Me/ T.B.'s Killing Me/ Travelin' Blues/ When I'm Dead And Gone

 
BUDDY MOSS Document DOCD 5124 Complete Chronological Recordings Vol. 2 - 1933-34 ● CD $15.98
22 tracks, 63 mins, essential
The first 5 tracks continue the feel of volume 1 featuring Moss with second guitarist Curley Weaver recorded in September, 1933. The rest of the disc features 17 songs recorded in late July and early August, 1934 and features Moss alone with his guitar. These are my favorite Moss recordings - as good as the accompanied sides are there is something really magical about these solo performances. Moss's vocals are more intense and introspective and his guitar playing is truly beautiful and imaginatice full of dazzling, but not flashy, runs. The mood is often somber as in When The Hearse Roll Me From My Door/ Insane Blues or Jinx Man Blues but there are also more upbeat ragtimey pieces like his version of the East Coast standard Tricks Ain't Walking No More and Shake It All Night Long. A few tracks are from pretty worn 78s but, on the whole, the sound is excellent and the music is superb. (FS)
BUDDY MOSS: B & O Blues No. 2/ Broke Down Engine No. 2 (take 1)/ Broke Down Engine No. 2 (take 2)/ Dough Rolling Papa/ Evil Hearted Woman/ Insane Blues/ Jinx Man Blues/ Love Me, Baby, Love Me/ Misery Man Blues/ New Lovin' Blues/ Oh Lordy Mama/ Shake It All Night Long/ Sleepless Night/ Some Lonesome Day (14065-1)/ Some Lonesome Day (14065-2)/ Some Lonesome Day (15552)/ Someday Baby/ Stinging Bull Nettle/ Too Dog Gone Jealous/ Tricks Ain't Walking No More/ Unkind Woman/ When The Hearse Roll Me From My Door

 
BUDDY MOSS Document DOCD 5125 Complete Chronological Recordings Vol. 3 - 1935-41 ● CD $15.98
22 tracks, 66 mins, recommended
The third volume starts with 15 tracks from August, 1935 where Buddy is joined by fellow Piedmont singer/ guitarist Joshua White. most of them feature White providing fine second guitar but there are also three gospel duets immediately followed by the hokum You Got To Give Me Some Of It! Shortly after these sessions, Moss was jailed for five years and did not record again until 1941. He recorded in October, 1941, often with accompaniments including Brownie McGhee/ guitar or piano, Sonny Terry/ harmonica and Oh Red or Robert Young/ washboard though. Another excelelnt collection. (FS)
BUDDY MOSS: Can't Use You No More/ Going To Your Funeral In A Vee Eight Ford/ Gravy Server/ How About You?/ I'm Sittin' Here Tonight/ Joy Rag/ Little Angel Blues/ Mistreated Boy/ My Baby Won't Pay Me No Mind/ Oh Lordy Mama No. 2/ On My Way/ See What You Done Done/ Stop Hanging Around/ Struggle Buggie/ Talking About My Time/ Undertaker Blues/ Worrysome Woman/ You Got To Give Me Some Of It/ You Need A Woman/ Your Hard Head Will Bring You Sorrow Some Day

 
BUDDY MOSS Fat Possum 1052 The George Mitchell Collection ● CD $9.98
10 tracks, 22 mins, recommended
Buddy Moss was one of the giants of pre-war Piedmont blues. He was rediscovered in the early 60s but unlike many of his contemporaries was not particularly interested in performing or recording again and only recorded a couple of times. These recordings from 1963 (possibly a demo for Delmark) find him, rather incongruously, playing electric guitar. He was obviously out of practice but still sounds pretty good on a selections of remakes of some of his pre-war sides plus other traditional sounding material along with a version of Lowell Fulson's Blues Shadows Falling. (FS)

 
NICK MOSS & THE FLIP TOPS Blue Bella 1004 Sadie Mae ● CD $14.98
16 tracks, 75 minutes, recommended
Cutting his teeth with Jimmy Dawkins and many other Chicago legends, guitarist Nick Moss delivers his fourth disc maintaining the same street-wise, two-fisted, mostly original approach that has marked him as a force to be reckoned with. "Sadie Mae" kicks off with Moss and his bandmates in the rough and tough knockdown of the title track straight from Hound Dog Taylor's Sadie - which is no mere coincidence. As with his previous outings, Nick tips his hat to his mentors with timeless grooves that propel his gripping originals - I Never Forget/ One-Eyed Jack/ The Money I Make, and The Bishop are worth the price of the disc alone - and his covers of Jimmy Rogers' Crazy Woman Blues and Earl Hooker's You Got To Lose are just as surely in-the-pocket. While Moss has guitar chops to spare, he maintains an ensemble approach that's refreshing and dishes out plenty of space to his sidemen. Another superb showing. (CR)

 
NICK MOSS & THE FLIP TOPS Blue Bella 1005 Live At Chan's ● CD $14.98
11 tracks, 76 minutes, recommended
Those who think traditional Chicago-style blues has become little more than a museum display obviously haven't heard of Nick Moss & The Flip Tops and it's a sure bet they haven't heard him and his gang lean on a groove. Moss possesses a voice as powerful as his guitar and shines on a few well-chosen covers (Your Red Wagon/ It's Good In Your Neighborhood/ Wine-O Baby Boogie, and a stunning I Love The Woman) but he truly stands out on the well-crafted originals One Eyed Jack playing slide that would have made Muddy Waters proud, The End, a stirring nod to Earl Hooker, and I Never Forget with devastating guitar. Moss is no newcomer (his previous four discs are all on Blue Bella) and his numerous nominations and awards are deserving of an artist with so much to offer. Monster Mike Welch offers some top-notch guitar on two. A superb 'live' outing in front of an appreciative (although not overpowering) audience. (CR)

 
MR. B Blind Pig 1886 Shining The Pearls ● CD $16.98
Mid late 80s recordings featuring Detroit pianist Mark "Mr. B" Braun. Most tracks feature him with a drummer - a few have a small group.
 
MATT MURPHY Roesch 037 The Blues Don't Bother Me ● CD $13.98
11 tracks, 39 minutes, recommended
Matt's been sideman for everyone from Howlin' Wolf to the current Blues Brothers (don't take my word for it, the liner notes are an interview with Matt), & he rarely gets to step out to the forefront. but when he does, the results are wonderful & this one is no exception! Besides leading this fine 7 piece band that includes 2 saxes, Matt wrote 8 of the tunes & co-wrote the other 3. Styles range from hard-core blues to ballads, even a bit of funk! Includes title tune + Bip Bop/ I Can't Hang/ Ungrateful Woman/ Some Sanctified Funk (GM)

 
MATT "GUITAR" MURPHY Roesch 038 Lucky Charm ● CD $13.98
The newest from this legendary guitarist is a mix of country blues, electric blues, funk, jazz and a bit of rock. Accompanying musicians includes Leon Pendarvis and Tom Barney from the Saturday Night Live band. All original songs and tunes with vocals by Matt and Howard Eldridge.

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Alligator 4781 Ace Of Harps ● CD $11.98
Fine 1990 session with small group.
 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Alligator 4801 Signature ● CD $16.98
Charlie, long a favorite in these parts, confirms his veteran status with this 1991 album. Is there a better blues harpist above ground these days? Listen to Make My Getaway/ What's New?/ Catwalk and the rest before you come to any conclusions. In this writer's opinion, his drive, originality and jazz-like lyricism on harp are unbeatable. 10 songs, most by Charlie and featuring his laid-back vocals, with Cheatin' On Me, the last song, written and sung by John Lee Hooker. (MB)
 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Alligator 4818 In My Time ● CD $16.98
16 tracks, 62 mins, recommended
"In My Time," an overview of the music that influenced Charlie, is his third, and, in my opinion, best Alligator release. He's been a closet guitarist for years but this time he does more than dabble. He plays superb deep blues without band or harmonica on Stingaree and Brownsville Blues. Ira Tucker's Bedside Of A Neighbor and Ain't It Time are deepened by the well-placed voices of The Blind Boys Of Alabama. But when the two bands are called into play, on of them his regular group, the feeling and musical definition of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's The Big Boat and Roosevelt Sykes' piano classic Casual Friend are copybook. (TR)

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Alligator 5612 Deluxe Edition ● CD $15.98
14 tracks, 62 minutes, excellent
With a recording and performance itinerary dating back forty years, Charlie Musselwhite's name and reputation are ranked very highly, and while some contemporaries from his era have long been gone, he remains focused and stands as an elder statesman. Compiled from three titles in the Alligator catalog, as well as featuring two previously unissued tracks; Lotsa Poppa and a somewhat ragged-but-right Newport News Blues from Musselwhite's personal collection (with Will Shade), Memphis Charlie gets formidable support from the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Junior Watson, Larry Taylor, and Steven Hodges, among others. Mean Ole Frisco/ Blues Got Me Again/ Mama Long Legs/ If I Should Have Bad Luck/ When It Rains It Pours, plus nine more. Solid and enjoyable. (CR)

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Arhoolie 303 Memphis Charlie ● CD $12.98
Hot harmonica blowing from Charlie on this CD comprising 2 albums from 1971 and 1974- Arhoolie 1056 Takin' My Time & 1074 Goin' Back Down South. Aided by Robbin Ford and Tim Kaihatsu on guitar, Lafayette Leake and Skip Rose on piano, and Pat Ford on drums, among others, this fine CD sports a catchy likeness of Charlie by Lynda Barry.
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE: Blue Steel/ Crazy For My Baby/ Cut You Loose/ Finger Lickin' Good/ Highway Blues/ If Trouble Was Money/ It Ain't Right/ On The Spot Boogie/ Take Me Back/ Takin' My Time/ Taylor's, Arkansas/ This Old Nightlife/ Up & Down The Avenue/ Wild, Wild Woman

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Blind Pig 5016 The Harmonica According To Charlie Musselwhite ● CD $16.98
Reissue of album originally on Kicking Mule demonstrating various acoustic blues harmonica techniques.

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Crosscut 11013 Mellow-Dee ● CD $16.98
12 sides recorded in Germany in 1985. 8 tracks feature him with German bands - some featuring the strong guitar work of Jim Kahr. The 8 songs with the bands find Charlie in good form on a selection of songs from the repertoire of Jimmy Rushing, Walter Horton, Big Joe Williams, Mose Allison and others. The remaining four tracks feature acoustic performs with Charlie accompanying himself with some relaxed acoustic guitar.

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Pointblank 42856 Rough News ● CD $11.98
1996 album with largish group including Junior watson, Kid Ramos, Fenton Robinson and others.
 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Real World 60122 Delta Hardware ● CD $17.98
10 tracks, 40 minutes, very good
With a career spanning five decades, Charlie Musselwhite still seems (at times) to be searching for where he fits comfortably; although his blues roots are unquestionable he's long careened across the musical landscape like a car bounding along unpaved roads in the backwoods of the Deep South. Little Walter's One Of These Mornings and Just A Feeling show leanings towards rock/blues but he and his band (guitar/bass/drums) can still manage thumping Chicago shuffles; Blues For Yesterday and Sundown are prime examples. Invisible Ones is a fine political blues but the production values in Church Is Out seem somewhat misguided and pale. His voice can still be an acquired taste but once in a while Musselwhite can still nail it down like he did in the 1960s for Vanguard. Not his finest outing in a now-massive catalog of recordings but still well-done and enjoyable. (CR)

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Silverline 288134 Up And Down The Highway - Live 1986 ● CD $17.98
8 tracks, excellent
Ol' Memphis Charlie is in good form on this low-key but somewhat romping affair recorded live in 1986. While his musical career has been one of ups and downs, he puts in strong a performance here backed only by Bob Hall's stellar piano and Dave Peabody's to-the-point blues guitar. Musselwhite's harp, as usual, is potent whether he's rocking up a storm on Hey Miss Bessie, grinding out a slow blues on Candy Kitchen, or funking it up a bit for Big Leg Woman (Short Mini Skirt). Big Walter Horton's Need My Baby gets a fine reading and the trio also simmers through Key To The Highway/ Everybody Needs Somebody/ Up And Down The Avenue, and Skinny Woman. Viewable liner notes are informative and give good insight into Charlie's lengthy time as one of blues' top harmonica showmen and the superb 5.1 surround sound puts you in the club with these guys. (CR)

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Vanguard 153/54 Blues Never Die ● CD $16.98

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Vanguard 6528 Tennessee Woman ● CD $14.98
1969 album with Charlie joined by Rod Piazza, Skip Rose, Fred Roulette and other top West Coast musicians.
CHARLEY MUSSELWHITE: A Nice Day For Something/ Blue Feeling Today/ Christo Redemptor/ Everybody Needs Somebody/ I Don't Play, I'll Be Your Man Some Day/ I'm A Stranger/ Little By Little/ Tennessee Woman

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE Vanguard VMD 79232 Stand Back! ● CD $14.98
12 tracks, 46 min., recommended
Musselwhite is one of the leading candidates for best white blues harmonica player ever, so this reissue of his debut LP from 1967 (he was 22), with original cover and liner notes, is more than welcome. Muselwhite dishes out straight ahead, Chicago-style blues with a band that includes Barry Goldberg on keys and Harvey Mandel on guitar. And unlike most would-be harp slingers, when Charley sings "I was born in Mississippi; I was raised in Tennessee," he's telling the truth, and it's a truth that comes out in his sound. Not a bad way to start a career. (JC)
CHARLEY MUSSELWHITE: 39th And Indiana/ 4 P.M./ Baby Will You Please Help Me/ Cha Cha The Blues/ Chicken Shack/ Christo Redemptor/ Early In The Morning/ Help Me/ My Baby/ No More Lonely Nights/ Sad Day/ Strange Land

 
CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE BLUES BAND Vanguard VMD 79287 Stone Blues ● CD $14.98
10 tracks, 41 min., recommended
Repro of Musselwhite's second, 1968 LP, complete with the original liner notes. His Little Walter-influenced style is surrounded by a solid band of blues purists. Not surprisingly, 4 of the cuts are by Charley's harp hero, including Juke/ Gone And Left Me/ Everything's Gonna Be Allright/ My Baby's Sweeter. He also works up a nice cover of Elmore James' Cry For Me Baby. And Bad News Gloom, which winds along for almost 11 min., doesn't drag even once. Could have been recorded yesterday. (JC)
 
LOUIS MYERS Earwig 4919 Tell My Story Movin' ● CD $14.98
1991 album by this Chicago stalwart who, though weakened by a stroke, does some fine singing and harmonica playing accompanied by a solid band with Barrelhouse Chuck, Steve Freund, John Primer, Bob Stroger and Sam Burton.
 
SAM MYERS Electro-Fi 3383 Coming From The Old School ● CD $15.98
14 tracks, 69 minutes, recommended
For the first time in two decades, harp wizard Sam Myers steps up to deliver a solo recording without Anson Funderburgh at his side, but fear not, guitarist Mel Brown handles the chores with grit and tone to spare. Myers covers some tried-and-true gems from Sonny Boy Williamson (Ninety Nine), Otis Spann (Burning Fire), and Robert Lockwood Jr. (My Daily Wish) and makes them his own with tough harp and gripping vocals. Mel Brown's guitar stands out but steers clear of over-crowding Myers' sparse style and the eleven originals are tight and marked with excellence - I'm Tired Of Your Jive/ Waitin' On You Mama/ Money Is My Downfall/ I Got The Blues and more are more than worthwhile. It's refreshing to hear Myers in solid form without his sidekick of two-plus decades, but this isn't the end of collaborative efforts from Myers and Funderburgh - they'll be back. (CR)

 
SAM MYERS Sam Myers & Jeff Horton The Blues Is My Story ● BOOK $19.95
BOOK Paper, 172 pages, counts as three CDs for shipping
The life of blind Mississippi singer and harmonica player Sam Myers as told in his own words to Jeff Horton. He talks about his early life, his move to Chicago and about the many musicians he worked with including Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood. From the mid 80s on he worked extensively with Texas blues artist Anson Funderburgh and Funderburgh contributes a chapter with his recollections of working with Myers and their songwriting collaborations.
 

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