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BLUES
& GOSPEL
| YANK RACHELL |
Delmark 649 |
Chicago Style |
● CD $11.98 |
A nice album of old style electric Chicago blues featuring singer/mandolin player Rachell accompanied by Pete Crawford/ guitar, Floyd Jones/ bass and Odie Payne/ drums. Most songs are old favorites like
Roll me Over Baby/ Check Up On My Baby/ Early In the Morning, etc along with a couple of originals including the semi-topical
Depression Blues. Nice, if not earthshaking, music.
YANK RACHELL: Check Up On My Baby/ Depression Blues/ Diving Duck/ Early In
The Morning/ Going To St. Louis/ I Don't Believe You Love Me No More/ Let
Me Tangle In Your Vines/ Roll Me Over Baby/ Sugar Mama.
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| YANK
RACHELL & HIS TENNESSEE JUG BUSTERS |
Delmark 606 |
Mandolin Blues |
● CD $15.98 |
Reissue of 1963 album featuring Yank with Sleepy John Estes,
Big Joe Williams, Mike Bloomfield and Hammie Nixon. Includes 6 previously
unissued cuts.
YANK RACHELL: Bye Bye Baby./ Do The Boogie Mama, Take 2/
Do The Boogie Mama, Take 3/ Doorbell Blues/ Get Your Morning Exercise/
Girl Of My Dreams/ I'm Gonna Get Up In The Morning/ Lonesome Blues/ Move
Your Hand/ Rocky Mountain Blues/ Shout Baby Shout/ Starvation In My
Kitchen/ Stop Knocking On My Door/ Texas Tony/ Up And Down The Line/ When
My Baby Comes Back Home
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| THE RADIO FOUR |
Heritage HTCD 42 |
1952-1954 |
● CD $16.98 |
25 tracks, 70 mins, essential. Though not as well known as
some of their contemporaries the Radio Four were certainly among the
finest gospel groups to record in the 50s and these early sides are among
their very finest accomplishments. They were originally a family group
featuring five Babb brothers - Morgan, George, Ray, James & Claude.
Most of the leads are taken by Morgan whose singing is exquistly sweet,
soulful and utterly convincing - his performance on the two part Sending
Up This Prayer with its brief passages of sermonizing is nothing short
of ecstatic. Morgan also provides the distinctive guitar intro to most of
their songs and his playing together the slapped string bass playing of
Ernie Newton provides an irresistible propulsive rhythm on the up tempo
numbers that makes me think of rockabilly gospel! A couple of the leads
are taken by the more earnest sounding brother George and throughout the
rest of the group provide stunning four and five part harmony. This set
also includes the group accompanying the fine female gospel singers Mdm
Edna Gallmon Cook and Sister Lucille Barbee as well as two cuts from '52
by Morgan with two of his other brothers Paul & Sepheus. The twelve
page booklet includes extensive notes by Opal Louis Nations who compiled
this set. I've been waiting a long time for someone to reissue this
classic material and it's certainly my favorite gospel reissue of 1999.
(FS)
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| MA RAINEY |
Black Swan HCD 12002 |
The Paramounts Chronologically, Vol 2:
1924-25 |
● CD $13.98 |
How about this for frustration - volume 1 in this series,
issued several years ago is only available on LP now here we have volume 2
on compact disc only, maybe volume 3 will be on DAT! However this is a
great collection by one of the finest of the early blues singers featuring
16 songs recorded between August 1924 and July 1925 plus 4 alternate takes
for a total of 20 performances. Most of the tracks feature accompanied by
her "Georgia Band" featuring either Howard Scott, Louis
Armstrong, Tommy Ladnier or Robert Taylor/ cornet, Don Redman, Buster
Bailey or Jimmy O'Bryant/ clarinet, Fletcher Henderson or Thomas Dorsey/
piano and others. There are some stunning performances on this collection
including the first recording of See See Rider plus Booze And
Blues/ Jelly Bean Blues/ Cell Bound Blues/ Explaining The Blues/ Goodbye
Daddy Blues/ Rough And Tumble Blues, etc. Except for a few tracks the
sound is generally very good, considering the age and condition of these
recordings, and there are informative notes by Chib Deffaa and full
discographical information. (FS)
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| MA RAINEY |
Black Swan BCD 12005 |
The Paramounts Chronologically, Vol 5 |
● CD $13.98 |
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| MA RAINEY |
Document DOCD 5156 |
Complete 1928 Sessions In Chronological
Order |
● CD $15.98 |
23 tracks, 69 min., recommended. Rightfully known as The
Mother Of The Blues, Rainey's recording career began in '23 for Paramount.
These sides from '28 (still for Paramount) are the last she recorded;
after that she apparently went into theater promotion. Nine tracks are
with Her Tub Jug Washboard Band, which featured Georgia Tom Dorsey on
piano. The latter also appears with Ma on several other cuts with Tampa
Red's guitar assistance. The last 2 songs find Rainey in a duet with Papa
Charlie Jackson. This collection includes original and unissued versions
of Sleep Talking Blues/ Black Eye Blues. And while Ma was still in
top form, the going is sometimes slow here and the sound quality is
sometimes less than ideal. Includes the biographically interesting Prove
It On Me Blues, ostensibly about Ma's bisexuality. (JC)
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| MA RAINEY |
Document DOCD 5581 |
Complete Recordings,Vol. 1 - December 1923
to Aug 1924 |
● CD $15.98 |
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| MA RAINEY |
Document DOCD 5582 |
Complete Recordings,Vol. 2 - October 1924 to
Augus 1925 |
● CD $15.98 |
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| MA RAINEY |
Document DOCD 5583 |
Complete Recordings,Vol. 3 - December 1925
to June 1926 |
● CD $15.98 |
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| MA RAINEY |
Document DOCD 5584 |
Complete Recordings,Vol. 4 -November 1926 to
Decem 1927 |
● CD $15.98 |
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| MA RAINEY |
Milestone 47021 |
Ma Rainey |
● CD $16.98 |
This CD reissue of the Milestone 2-LP set (minus a few
tracks due to space considerations) collects 24 of Ma Rainey's finest
sides recorded for Paramount between 1924-'28. Born Gertrude Malissa
Pridgett in 1886, Rainey was often billed as "The Mother Of The
Blues", an eminently defensible claim. Her influence (direct and
indirect) on Bessie Smith was great; depending on who tells the story, she
and Smith worked together briefly in the early 1930's. The selections here
include the classic See See Rider/ Ma Rainey's Black Bottom/ Prove It
To Me/ Sleep Talking Blues/ New Boweavil Blues/ Jealous Hearted Blues/
Trust No Man. Ma is backed by various small jazz combos whose members
have names like Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Coleman Hawkins,
Blind Blake, Jimmy Blythe, "Georgia Tom" Dorsey, and Tampa Red,
to name several. Excellent sound quality, given the 78 rpm sources (the
Paramount label is renowned by collectors for preserving the best early
blues artists on the worst pressings ever!). Powerful music from a
powerful woman - essential for those interested in the development of the
blues. Duplicates collections on Yazoo, Black Swan, VJM and others. (JC)
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| MA RAINEY |
Yazoo 1071 |
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom |
● CD $15.98 |
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| KID RAMOS |
Evidence 26104 |
Kid Ramos |
● CD $15.98 |
Recommended. Fine "solo" CD by the current hot
guitarist from The Fabulous Thunderbirds on his 3rd CD, his 1st since
joining the T-birds in '95. Current 'Birds Kim Wilson (vocals) & Gene
Taylor (also ex-Blaster) on piano the high point is probably the 1st
reunion of the mid-80s James Harmon Band, with Harmon (vocal, hca), Ramos,
Taylor, Willie J. Campbell (bass) & Stephen Hodge (d), especially on
Harmon's lament of the cell phone, Walk-Around Telephone Blues.
Other high points include Howlin' Wolf's 300 Pounds Of Joy with Los
Lobos' Cesar Rosas on vocals, Ray Agee's Leave Me Alone with vocals
by Willie Chambers of The Chambers Bros., Jimmy Liggins' No More
Alcohol, even Dick Clark's old theme song Bandstand Boogie!!
(GM)
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| AL RAPONE |
Blind Pig 73790 |
Zydeco To Go |
● CD $15.98 |
New recordings by popular Bay Area zydeco performer. Al is a
great performer (and a very nice guy too) who can really tear up a
dancefloor. After seeing him live I'd have to say these sides are a little
uneven, sometimes lapsing into overtly commercial and novelty cuts that
are bound to sound dated in a few years. But I wholeheartedly applaud the
straight ahead traditional tunes, which feature Al's mighty accordion
alongside the talents of David Nelson (of the New Riders), Mark Naftalin,
Tom Rigney, Leonard Gill and more. The singing of Roy Chantier is
particularly good, and Rapone is no slouch in the vocal department either.
A live recording would show the world what he can really do, so let's keep
our fingers crossed. 12 cuts. (MB)
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| JOHNNY RAWLS |
JSP 271 |
Here We Go |
● CD $15.98 |
First solo album by Mississippi soul blues performer.
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| RED NELSON |
Old Tramp 06 |
Red Nelson |
● CD $19.98 |
Red Nelson (real name Nelson Wilborn) was an excellent
singer with a distinctive sly vocal style and wrote some imaginative
songs. The tracks here are from 7 sessions held between 1935 and 1947 and
feature him with a variety of accompanying musicians including Charles
Avery, Horace Malcomb, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind John Davis, Tampa Red and
others. In small doses this is most enjoyable but when heard in depth the
melodic similarities and rather ponderous accompaniments get a little
tiring.
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| A.C. REED |
Alligator 4757 |
I'm In The Wrong Business |
● CD $13.98 |
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| A.C. REED |
Delmark 726 |
Junk Food |
● CD $15.98 |
14 tracks, 49 mins, recommended Fine new album from veteran
Chicago sax man and singer. Just about all original songs, often featuring
A.C.'s witty humor. He is accompanied by top Chicago musicians like
Maurice John Vaughn, Johnny B. Gayden, Casey Jones and others including a
very effective horn section on some cuts. As a bonus two of the tracks are
from A.C.'s private stash featuring him recorded live in 1981 in Tulsa, OK
with Albert Collins on guitar. (FS)
A.C. REED: 2 Women In A Pick Up/ Big Woman/ Broke Music/ Fed Up/ Florine/
Give It Up (smoking)/ I Got Mad/ Junk Food/ Last Time Around./ Lonely Man/
Party With Y'all/ President Plays/ Roadhouse Blues/ You're Going To Miss
Me
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| A.C. REED/ BIG WHEELER |
Wolf 120.860 |
Chicago Blues Session Vol. 14 |
● CD $15.98 |
Nice set of Chicago blues recorded there in 1989 featuring 5
songs by singer/ tenor sax player Reed and 4 by singer and harmonica
player Big Wheeler. Both artists are accompanied by a solid band including
Luther Adams and John Primer/ guitars, Willie Kent/ bass and Timothy
Taylor/ drums. Reed's songs are particularly nice with good singing and
sax playing and some particularly nice guitar work. Wheeler is a less
interesting performer though his tracks have a good sound thanks to the
solid ensemble playing. A worthwhile selection. (FS)
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| JIMMY REED |
Collectables 5436 |
Jimmy Reed Is Back |
● CD $13.98 |
12 tracks recorded in 1966 and 1971.
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| JIMMY REED |
Drive Archive 41072 |
Cry before I Go |
● CD $12.98 |
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| JIMMY REED |
Rhino 71660 |
Classic Recordings |
● CD $44.98 |
3 discs, 55 tracks, 144 min., highly recommended What can
one say about the wonderful music of Jimmy Reed that hasn't been said
before? He slurs terribly. He drank too much. He was painfully shy. His
wife whispered the lyrics to him when he was too drunk to remember them or
too shy to perform them. He wasn't much of a guitarist as bluesmen go. And
he wasn't even much of a singer either, at least not from a purist point
of view. So what? The man's music is the quintessence of relaxed,
rhythmic, infectious blues. He is the master of mellow. And this three
disc set offers a mighty major slice of his Vee-Jay output. Disc one
features Come Love, Big Boss Man, Found Love, Go
On To School, Bright Lights Big City, You Don't Have to Go,
and Take Out Some Insurance. Disc two includes Roll & Rumba,
Come On Baby, Aw Shucks Hush Your Mouth, Ain't That Lovin'
You Baby, Baby What You Want Me to Do, Little Rain, Left
Handed Women, and Rockin' With Reed. And disc three offers When
You Left Me, Do The Thing, Where Can You Be, Good
Lover, I Gonna Get My Baby, I Ain't Got You, Wear
Something Green, Caress Me Baby, and I'm the Man Down There.
Sound quality is solid, and the three separately jewel-boxed discs are
accompanied by a 14 page booklet by Pete Welding, all tucked nicely into a
cardboard slip case. (DH)
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