BLUES
& GOSPEL
Jimmy Rogers ->
Jimmy Rushing
JIMMY ROGERS |
Blind Pig 5018 |
Feelin' Good |
● CD $15.98 |
Reissue of 1984 Murray Brothers recordings with Rod Piazza
& others.
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JIMMY ROGERS/
BIG MOOSE WALKER |
Wolf 120.861 |
Chicago Bound - Chicago Blues Session Vol.
15 |
● CD $15.98 |
A nice set of Chicago blues featuring 6 songs by Rogers and
4 by Walker recorded in 1989 accompanied by John Primer/gtr, Willie Kent/
bass and Timothy Taylor/ drums. In addition, Rogers is joined by his son
on guitar and Billy Branch on harp. He trots out his usual warhorses Chicago
Bound and Sloppy Bound and others along with a couple less
familiar titles - St Louis and Lemon Squeezer. Jimmy is in
good voice and the session has a good sound. Walker is also a fine
performer though his excellent piano playing is rather buried. He does
good versions of Swear To Tell the Truth/ Anna Lee/ One Room Country
Shack and Who's Been Foolin' You which is hilariously mistitled
as Whoopin' Foolin' You. Wolf makes so many errors like this, I
sometimes wonder if they do it purposely! Not an essential set but an
enjoyable one. (FS)
|
ROY ROGERS |
Blind Pig 72687 |
Slidewinder |
● CD $15.98 |
Bottleneck slide stylist goes hogwild on Robert Johnson and
original tunes, 10 in all with John Lee Hooker and others.
|
ROY ROGERS |
Blind Pig 73589 |
Blues On The Range |
● CD $15.98 |
|
ROY ROGERS |
Blind Pig 74892 |
Chops Not Chaps |
● CD $15.98 |
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WALTER ROLAND |
Document DOCD 5144 |
Complete Chronological Recordings, Vol. 1
(1933) |
● CD $15.98 |
23 tracks, 67 mins, essential. Walter Roland was superb
performer from Alabma - a beautifully mournful singer with an expressive
rolling piano style he was also an accomplished guitarist. This and the
subsequent volume features all the recordings issued under his own name
along with duets with and accompaniments to the obscure but fine Sonny
Scott. The material on the first volume is very varied - it opens with two
songs on the popular theme of the "Red Croos Store" - one with
piano accompaniment and one with guitar. He does a vocal duet with Scott
on the whimsical Man, Man, Man and accompanies Scott on four songs
including the powerful Working Man's Moan. He turns in several
driving piano instrumentals Jookit Jookit (variation on Pinetop's
Boogie Woogie), Piano Stomp
Hungry Man's Scuffle - the latter featuring spoken interjections by
Scott and Lucille Bogan as well as tap dancing by Scott! There are a
couple of guitar instrumental duets with Scott which brings to mind some
of Big Bill Broonzy's earlier recordings. They both accompany Scott's
vocals on guitar the tremendous Frisco Blues. Sound is generally
good though a few tracks are from worn 78s. Bob Groom's notes are
informative but dry. (FS)
|
WALTER ROLAND |
Document DOCD 5145 |
Complete Chronological Recordings, Vol. 2
(1934-35) |
● CD $15.98 |
22 tracks, 64 mins, essential. The second volume featuring
22 tracks recorded between July 1934 and March 1935 is not quite as varied
as the first with Roland playing piano on all tracks and most of the
tracks being slow to medium tempo but is still exceptional. On half the
tracks he is joined by Josh White on guitar. There are some wonderful
songs here including the topical Collector Man Blues and C.W.A.
(actually about the "P.W.A." - Public Works Administration), the
powerful Dices Blues, the raunchy Screw Worm and the graphic
I'm Gonna Shave You Dry (recorded at the same session as Lucille
Bogan's legendary Shave 'Em Dry) and more. It also includes the
mysterious (to me anyway) O.B.D. Blues - what is singing about? V.D.,
B&D or a dance called the "O.B.D"? Any suggestions? Another
magnificent release. (FS)
|
ROOMFUL OF BLUES |
Varrick 018 |
Dressed Up To Get Messed Up |
● CD $15.98 |
Features some great guitar by Ronnie Earl, and guest vocals
by The Fabulous Thunderbird's Kim Wilson. What Happened To The Sugar In
My Lemonade, Money Talks and 8 more stompers.
|
DR. ROSS |
Arhoolie 371 |
Boogie Disease |
● CD $12.98 |
Dr. Ross was quite a one-man band but he could definitely be
called a one man wrecking crew, setting up a pile-driving syncopation on
guitar, harmonica and vocals. This CD (an expanded version of Arhoolie
1065) reissues 22 of his dynamic early recordings (1951 through 1954)
including unissued songs and alternate takes. On some tracks the good
Doctor is accompanied by guitarist Wiley Gatlin and/or washboard player
Reubin Martin but the show is Ross's all the way and includes such great
performances as Boogie Disease/ Good Thing/ Country Clown/ Memphis
Boogie/ Down South Blues/ Little Soldier Boy/ Going Back South/ Taylor
Made/ Chicago Breakdown/ Polly Put Your Kettle On/ Industrial Avenue
Boogie, etc. What is most surprising is that practically none of these
titles were issued when they were originally recorded - they are all so
good. Excellent sound, detailed notes by Steve LaVere and Bob Eagle, a
couple of great vintage photos and full discographical details. When this
Doctor is in the neighborhood you'd not eat any of those apples! (
FS/AE)
DR. ROSS: Boogie Disease/ Chicago Breakdown/ Country Clown/ Down South
Blues/ Downtown Boogie/ Dr. Ross (Chicago) Break Down/ Feel So Sad/ Going
Back South/ Going To The River/ Good Thing Blues/ Industrial Avenue
Boogie/ Juke Box Boogie/ Little Soldier Boy/ Memphis Boogie/ Mississippi
Blues/ My Bebop Gal/ Polly Put Your Kettle On/ Shake 'Em On Down/ Shake A
My Hand/ Taylor Mae/ Texas Hop/ Turkey Leg Woman
|
DR. ROSS |
Blue Horizon 1 |
The Flying Eagle |
● CD $18.98 |
Wonderful informal recordings from the good doctor featuring
12 sides recorded in a hotel room in London, England in 1965 and six
recorded by Ross himself at his home in Flint, Michigan in 1966.
|
FREDDIE ROULETTE |
Hi Horse 4044 |
Back In Chicago |
● CD $13.98 |
First album in a long time and first all blues album by this
excellent and unique lap steel guitarist. Freddie is accompanied by Willie
Kent's group.
|
OTIS RUSH |
Alligator 4797 |
Lost In The Blues |
● CD $13.98 |
A smart move by the good folks at Alligator. With no new
release from this great singer/ guitarist and nothing likely to be
forthcoming in the near future, Alligator have taken these recordings from
1977 dusted them off, polished them up and presto - an almost new Otis
Rush album. These recordings were made for the Swedish Sonet label in
Sweden with the band touring with Otis - Bob Levis/ rhythm guitar, Bob
Stroger/ bass and Jesse Lewis Allen/ drums plus one cut with Alan Batts on
piano and organ. Coming on the heels of his masterpiece "Right Place,
Wrong Time" and a couple of fine Delmark albums this one was somewhat
lost in the shuffle and the fact that it was unavailable for long periods
at a time didn't help. For this reissue Alligator have remixed the tapes
to emphasize Otis's vocals and guitar and overdubbed Lucky Peterson on
piano and organ to beef up the sound. It still does not rate among Otis's
better efforts - his singing and playing are a little too restrained and
the material is not particularly striking (Hold That Train/ Little Red
Rooster/ You Don't Have To Go/ Baby What You Want Me To Do, etc) but
even when not in top form Otis is better than most with his aching vocals
and soaring liquid guitar runs. Worth a listen. (FS)
|
OTIS RUSH |
Blind Pig 73188 |
Tops - Recorded Live At The S.F. Blues
Festival |
● CD $15.98 |
Recorded in 1985, this set finds Otis doing a mixture of
originals (Right Place Wrong Time, Tops, and a painfully short Keep
On Loving Me Baby ) and standards like Crosscut Saw, Gambler's
Blues, Feel So Bad . While it's really not a bad album, it's not very
exciting either. Because of his reluctance to put together his own band
and do it right, Otis continues to short-change his own talent and
legendary status. The backup band is solid, but they simply aren't
familiar enough with Otis and his choice of material. Vocally he is in
fine form - his playing is imaginative and sometimes fiery. The thing is,
if this were the debut of a new artist it might be looked at differently,
but this is Otis Rush, and the name alone deserves more. (RJ)
|
OTIS RUSH |
Collectables 7704 |
Mourning In The Morning |
● CD $12.98 |
Previously on Atlantic 82367. Reissue of rare Cotillion
album from 1969, with Duane Allman and Jimmy Johnson joining Otis on
guitars, Mark Naftalin on keyboards, and songs by the new blues elite of the
time - Mike Bloomfield, Nick Gravenites mainly along with a remake of Otis's
classic My Love Will Never Die and a superb cover of B.B.'s
Gambler's Blues. 11 cuts.
|
OTIS RUSH |
Delmark 781 |
All Your Love I Miss Loving - Live At The
Wise Fools Pub |
● CD $14.98 |
12 tracks, 68 mins, essential
A live set from 1976 featuring
Otis Rush at the top of his game - need I say more? Otis was possibly the
greatest of the new breed of Chicago bluesmen to emerge in the mid 50s with
an intense emotion drenched vocal style and an incredible guitar technique
that owes a debt to the long drawn out phrasing of Albert King but takes it
to a new level. This live session was recorded at Chicago's famed Wise Fools
Pub with his band of the time (Bob Levis/ guitar, Albert Gianquinto/ pno, Bob
Stroger/ bass and Jesse Green/ drums). The titles are mix of Rush classics (All
Your Love/ It takes Time) and blues standards (Please Love Me/ Mean
Old World/ Gambler's Blues), etc. but all take on a new life in the
hands of the master. As liner note writer Steve Tomashefsky points
out Otis Rush is one of a handful of Chicago bluesmen who is a great singer and a
great guitarist and "When he is on - as he is here - there seems to be
nothing he can't do with either instrument." I dare you to sit still during
the closing instrumental Motoring Along. (FS)
|
OTIS RUSH |
Delmark 638 |
Cold Day In Hell |
● CD $15.98 |
If you've got his Cobra recordings and his masterpiece Right
Place, Wrong Time, this is the place to go next. Recorded in 1975,
this album is filled with Rush's stinging guitar and impassioned vocals
focusing on the topics of love and misery (as if they were different). The
opener is Cut You A Loose, followed by 8:31 of the mournful You're
Breaking My Heart. Anchored with the rhythm section of James and Jesse
Green on bass and drums, the band more than keeps up with Otis, while Abe
Locke and Chuck Smith spend their time blowing sorrow out of their
saxophones. Those who already own the LP are directed to the previously
unreleased Part Time Love and an alternate take of You're
Breaking My Heart, which bring the running time up to a respectable
59:46. Unrelenting Chicago blues. (JC)
OTIS RUSH: All Your Love/ Cold Day In Hell/ Cut You A Loose/ Mean Old
World/ Midnight Special/ Motoring Along/ Part Time Love/ Society Woman/
You're Breaking My Heart/ You're Breaking My Heart (alternate Take)
|
OTIS RUSH |
Delmark 643 |
So Many Roads |
● CD $15.98 |
Otis recorded live in Japan
in 1975 with group led by Jimmy Johnson.
|
OTIS RUSH |
Genes 4131 |
Live And Awesome |
● CD $15.98 |
|
OTIS RUSH |
Hightone HCD 8007 |
Right Place, Wrong Time |
● CD $13.98 |
Arguably the best recordings of this great Chicago singer/
guitarist with the possible exception of his recordings for Cobra in the
50s. Originally recorded for Capitol in 1971 it was not released by them
and was subsequently bought by Bullfrog in 1976 and then in 1986 the
rights were acquired by Hightone who have issued on LP, cassette and now
on compact disc. Accompanied by a superb band of San Francisco based
musicians Otis turns in superb versions of original songs like the title
song, Take A look Behind and the superb instrumental Easy Go.
he also turns in outstanding versions of ike Turner's Tore Up,
Albert King's Natural Ball, Little Milton's Lonely Man and a
remarkably sensitive version of Rainy Night In Georgia. Otis
singing throughout is outstanding - passionate and intense but not out of
control as is sometimes the case on his 70s & 80s recordings. He is
also one of the world's greatest blues guitarists and there is a lot of
opportunity for his playing to shine here. Highly recommended!
|
OTIS RUSH |
Westside 858 |
Good 'Un's - The Classic Cobra Recordings,
1956-1958 |
● CD $22.98 |
24 tracks, 75 mins, essential With the Paula label now
defunct it's a real joy to see that Westside is starting to reissue
recordings from the Cobra label. And what better way to start than with
the finest recordings made for that label and some of the greatest of
Chicago blues recordings - and sounding better than they have ever before.
Otis Rush's career has had it's share of ups and down but these recordings
made when he was in his early 20s show why he is held in awe by both fans
and fellow musicians. He sings with a powerful and aching intensity that
sends shivers down your spine and his guitar playing echoes that intensity
with a searing economy of style full of his trademark riffs and licks that
have been followed closely by many musicians. Most of the songs were
written by Willie Dixon and some of them are pretty dopey but Otis's
singing and playing take them to a new dimension though even he can't do
much with the insipid Violent Love. But all the classics are here -
I Can't Quit You baby/ My Love Will Never Die/ Groaning The Blues/
Three Times A Fool/ Checking On My Baby/ All Your Love and the others.
If Dixon's songs are sometimes dubious his production is exemplary using
such musicians as Little Walter, Walter Horton, Jackie Brenston, Red
Holloway, Lafayette Leake, Louis Myers, Ike Turner, Al Duncan and others
to produce a dense "wall of sound" backdrop to Otis's tortured
vocals and searing guitar. The remastering here lends a clarity and
definition to the backing instruments that I've not heard before.
Complementing the 16 issued takes are eight well chosen alternates to help
provide a more complete picture. The booklet has informative notes by Neil
Slaven but no discographical info. These recordings are truly
indispensable to any blues fan and even if you have the previous Paula
release you might want to go with this for the superior sound. (FS)
|
JIMMY RUSHING |
Blue Boar 1011 |
The Blues I Like To Hear |
● CD $12.98 |
24 tracks, 73 mins, highly recommended. Excellent collection
of sides from this outstanding jazz/blues shouter from, probably, his best
period : 1937-1945. Most of the tracks are from his long tenure with the
great Count Basie Orchestra plus some tracks with Johnny Otis & His
Orchestra and with Jimmy Mundy & His Orch. There are fine urban blues
numbers like Don't You Miss You Baby/ Sent For You Yesterday (And Here
You Come Today)/ Blues In The Dark/ Goin' To Chicago Blues and the all
time classic Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong) with a lovely boogie
solo by Basie. There are also bluesy, jazzy interpretations of popular
songs like Exactly Like You/ You Can Depend On Me and I Can't
Believe That You're In Love With Me. The band rocks powerfully behind
Rushing's blues and ballads, yet the arrangements always manage to
emphasize the vocalist and his powerful delivery. Sound is excellent and
there informative notes (in tiny print) and full discographical info. (FS)
|
JIMMY RUSHING |
Collectables 6313 |
Five Feet Of Soul |
● CD $11.98 |
First CD reissue of Colpix CP 446 from 1963 with four bonus
cuts. Mr Five by Five belts out 14 tracks (mostly standards) backed up by
an incredible big band line-up put together for the 2 day session.
Personnel include Phil Woods(as), Zoot Sims(ts), Joe Newman(t), Urbie
Green(tb), Freddie Green(g) & Milt Hinton(b)! Just Because/ 'Tain't
Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do/ Trouble In Mind/ You Always Hurt The One You
Love, etc. (AE)
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