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NEWSLETTER
#124
Blues & Gospel
Jerry Portnoy - > Jody Williams
| JERRY PORTNOY | Tiny Town 2011 | Down In The Mood Room | ● CD $15.98 |
| New album from this acclaimed harmonica player who is a
veteran of the Muddy Waters Band and the Eric Clapton group is a mixture
of jazz and blues drawing on old favorites along with some Portnoy
originals. Portnoy is accompanied by top East Coast sidemen like Duke
Robillard/ guitar, Marty Ballou/ bass and others. Eight instrumentals and
five vocals - the latter from Portnoy, Robillard or Bob Malone. Includes Doodlin'/
Canadian Sunset/ Jug Band Waltz/ Money/ Endless Road, etc. |
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| LITTLE GEORGE SUEREF | Pussycat 001 | And The Blue Stars | ● CD $16.98 |
| Debut album from acclaimed young British blues performer.
George sings and plays guitar and harmonica and wrote most of the songs
here. He has a distinctive high voice which may not be to everybody's
taste and is given a raw down home backing by his group The Blue Stars
(guitar, bass & drums). He wrote most of the songs here sprinkled with
a handful of covers. Legendary Louisiana bluesman Lazy Lester guests on a
number of cuts contributing harp, rhythm guitar and rhythm board. |
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| OTIS TAYLOR | NorthernBlues 009 | Respect The Dead | ● CD $16.98 |
| Otis Taylor's second album for NorthernBlues is another
powerful evocation of the African-American experience in America through
the dark imagery of his intelligent lyrics, intense vocals and dazzling
instrumental work. I don't like this quite as much as "White
African" - this seems a little more self conscious but it is still a
wonderfully exciting release. |
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| SONNY TERRY, BROWNIE MCGHEE, COUSIN LEROY | Blue City 813 | Froggy Went A Courtin' | ● CD $18.98 |
| 29 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended In spite of the shoddy packaging and total lack of documentation (not even who sings on what tracks!) this is an exciting and important release featuring some superb New York blues. Highlight is the extended look at the recordings of the outstanding and mysterious Cousin Leroy (Rozier) recorded at two sessions in 1955 and 1957 including four previously unissued songs and three unissued alternate takes from the second session - all of it excellent. Leroy was a terrific and powerful singer and is accompanied by small groups which included Jack Dupree on piano, the great Larry Dale on guitar and, on the second session, Sonny Terry playing some dynamite electric harp. Based on his style and choice of material I would guess that he's from Mississippi. His Crossroads is a masterpiece - using the tune and some of the lyrics of the traditional Catfish it has an opening verse that has one of the best evocations of the crossroads myth " I Walked Down By The Crossroads Just To Learn How Play My Guitar Well A Man Walked Up Son Let Me Tune It That Was The Devil That Was The Devil" and it features a wonderful tremolo laden guitar solo overladen with hot harp (is it really Sonny Terry?!). There is also a completely different alternate of this song which sounds like a rehearsal. Other great songs by him include Highway 41/ Stringbeans (two takes of an unissued song)/ Woke Up With The Blues/ Sail On/ Voodoo/ I'm Lonesome/ Catfish and others. The 14 other tracks on this collection feature our old friends Sonny & Brownie in a variety of settings - mostly from the 50s along with three from 1944 and all of them excellent and not readily available elsewhere. It includes the two sides with Sonny and his nephew J.C. Burris, one of them a bluesy treatment of the children's somg which gives this album its title, Sonny's hard to find Gramercy sessions and some fine sessions with small electric groups. Sound is generally fine though the three tracks from 1944 exhibit over use of digital noise reduction. I wish a label like Ace could have tackled this project and give it the production values the music deserves but nevertheless I unequivocally recommend this set - Cousin Leroy will knock you out. (FS) |
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| HENRY TOWNSEND | Arcola 1002 | The Real St. Louis Blues | ● CD $14.98 |
| Previously unissued recordings from 1979 by this magnificent
St. Louis bluesman. Lovely introspective and mournful songs featuring
Henry on acoustic and electric guitars, piano and harpsichord. Henry is
still playing today in his 90s but when these sides were made he was a
spry youngster of 70 and singing and playing are superb. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Charly CDGR 143 | Chicago Blues - The Golden Era | ● CD $18.98 |
| Two CD set - 44 classic tracks from Ora Nelle, Old
Swingmaster, J.O.B., Chance, Cobra, Chief, Vee Jay and other important
Chicago labels covering the period 1947 to 1964. Wonderful
music though just about everything here is available on other albums. BILLY BOY ARNOLD: I Was Fooled/ BIG MAC: Rough Dried Woman/ EDDIE BOYD: Five Long Years/ OTHUM BROWN: Ora Nelle Blues/ CHARLES CLARK: Row Your Boat/ BUDDY GUY: This Is The End/ EARL HOOKER: Blues In D Natural/ WALTER HORTON: Have A Good Time/ J.B. HUTTO: Combination Boogie/ Things Are So Slow/ LEE JACKSON: Fishing In My Pond/ ELMORE JAMES: Dust My Broom/ It Hurts Me Too/ FLOYD JONES: Dark Road/ Stockyard Blues/ J. B. LENOIR: Mojo Boogie/ LITTLE HUDSON: I'm Looking For A Woman/ LITTLE WALTER: Blue Baby/ I Just Keep Loving Her/ ROBERT LOCKWOOD: Aw Baby (sweet Home Chicago)/ MAGIC SAM: All My Whole Life/ All Your Love/ MEMPHIS SLIM: Wish Me Well/ WILLIE NIX: Just Can't Stay/ LILLIAN OFFITT: Will My Man Be Home Tonight?/ SNOOKY PRYOR: Judgement Day/ JIMMY REED: Baby, What You Want Me To Do/ You Don' Have To Go/ OTIS RUSH: Checkin' On My Baby/ Double Trouble/ I Can't Quit You Baby/ SHAKEY JAKE: Call Me If You Need Me/ JOHNNY SHINES: Brutal Hearted Woman/ Evening Sun/ SNOOKY & MOODY: Boogie/ SUNNYLAND SLIM: It's You Baby/ TAMPA RED: Please, Mister Doctor/ EDDIE TAYLOR: Bad Boy/ Big Town Playboy/ JUNIOR WELLS: Little By Little/ Messin' With The Kid/ Prison Bars All Around Me/ HOMESICK JAMES WILLIAMSON: Crossroads/ JOHNNY YOUNG: My Baby Walked Out |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Charly CDGR 145 | Chicago Blues - The Vee-Jay Era | ● CD $18.98 |
| Two CD featuring 50 sides recorded for Vee-Jay between 1953
and 1965 mixing old favorites from Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and Eddie
Taylor with less frequently reissued sides from Big Joe Williams, Memphis
Slim (including some great Matt Murphy/guitar), L.C. McKinley, Floyd
Jones, Billy Emerson, Snooky Pryor and others. Some cuts never before on
CD. BILLY BOY ARNOLD: Don't Stay Out All Night/ Here's My Picture/ Kissin' At Midnight/ Prisoner's Plea/ BILLY EMERSON: (Do)The Chicken/ Do Yourself A Favor/ Don't Be Careless/ Don't Start Me Lyin'/ Every Woman I Know/ If You Won's Stay Home/ Somebody Show Me/ The Pleasure Is All Mine/ Tomorrow Never Come/ BILLY "THE KID" EMERSON: You Never Miss Your Water/ ROSCOE GORDON: Just A Little Bit/ No More Doggin'/ JOHN LEE HOOKER: Crawlin' Black Spider/ Wheel And Deal/ FLOYD JONES: Ain't Time Hard/ Any Old Lonesome Day/ Floyd Blues/ Schooldays (On My Mind)/ J.B. LENOIR: Oh Baby/ L.C. MCKINLEY: Blue Evening/ Down With It/ I'm So Satisfied/ Lonely/ MEMPHIS SLIM: Blue & Lonesome/ Gotta Find My Baby/ Lend Me Your Love/ Messin' Around/ Mother Earth/ My Gal Keeps Me Crying/ Rockin' The House (Beer Drinkin' Woman)/ Sassy Mae/ Slim's Blues/ Steppin' Out/ The Comeback/ Wish Me Well/ SNOOKY PRYOR: Judgement Day (alternate)/ Someone To Love Me (Alternate)/ You Tried To Ruin Me Baby/ JIMMY REED: Going By The River, Part 1/ Going By The River, Part 2/ EDDIE TAYLOR: Ride 'Em On Down/ You'll Always Have A Home/ BIG JOE WILLIAMS: Baby Left Town/ Eula Mae/ Goin' Back (Goin' Back Home)/ King's Highway |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Charly CDGR 146 | Chicago Blues - The Chance Era | ● CD $18.98 |
| Two CD set with 50 tracks from the vaults of Chicago label
Chance - it includes several tracks leased by Chance from other labels and
many tracks not originally issued on 78s. Most of these recordings have
not been on CD before and includes seminal Chicago blues from Little
Walter, Homesick James, J.B. Hutto, J.B. Hutto, Big Boy Spires, Sunnyland
Slim and others. It also includes some superb early John Lee Hooker cuts
including his incredible Graveyard Blues |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | El Cerrito 1004 | Bay Area Blues Blasters, The 60s - Vol. 1 | ● CD $16.98 |
| 26 tracks, 66 mins, highly recommended. Terrific collection
of West Coast blues - many tracks featuring the brilliant and distinctive
guitar playing of Johnny Heartsman. There are a number of instrumental
tracks by Johnny and his band including his local hit, the two part Johnny's
House Party - a steal of Bill Doggett's Honky Tonk. His work as
an accompanying musicians is even more interesting and he is featured
playing some wonderful guitar (and occasionally flute) on sides by the
brilliant Tiny Powell (his classic My Time After Awhile), Tommy
Harris, Jesse James, Ray Agee (when is someone going to a whole CD of his
work?) and others. Heartsman is also obviously the guitarist on the track
by veteran West Coast bluesman Jimmy Liggins even though on the original
45 it was credited to "Jimmy Liggins, his guitar and Orchestra".
Heartsman influenced guitarist Eddie Foster is featured on a couple other
Tiny Powell cuts and the set ends with the excellent instrumental Jump
Back featuring another fine local guitarist Eugene Blacknell and his
band The Savonics. Sound is excellent and there are brief informative
notes. (FS) RAY AGEE: Love Is A Cold Shot/ The Monkey On My Back/ EUGENE BLACKNELL & HIS SAVONICS: Jump Back/ TOMMY HARRIS: My Conscience Is Bothering Me/ JOHNNY HEARTSMAN: Besame Mucho, Pts. 1 & 2/ Johnny's Blue Mood/ Johnny's Thunderbird/ One More Time/ Sizzling/ Syrup Soppin'/ JOHNNY HEATSMAN: Johnny's House Party, Pts. 1 & 2/ JESSE JAMES: A Love Like The Wind/ I Call On You/ I Wanna Full Time Love/ RUDY LAMBERT: I'll Do It/ Love/ JIMMY LIGGINS: Blues For Love/ TINY POWELL: Done Made It Over/ Get My Hat/ My Time After Awhile/ That Was Yesterday/ JOE SIMON: I Keep Remembering/ Troubles/ LACY STEWART: Lightning Flashing |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | El Cerrito 1005 | Don't Freeze On Me - Independent Womens Blues | ● CD $16.98 |
| 25 tracks, 65 minutes, essential. Fabulous collection of
sides from the 60s featuring some of the best female blues singers of the
era. The emphasis is on West Coast artists and this set includes five
tracks by the Queen of West Coast blues Big Mama Thornton recorded for
small West Coast labels. It includes a sequel to her hit Hound Dog
called Tomcat, the fabulous Mercy with hot guitar and the
fine You Did Me Wrong with Mama playing harmonica. Seeveral of the
West Coast gals are accompanied by Johnny Heartsman and his band with
Heartsman playing great and distinctive guitar - these include Ella Thomas
(a sensational singer with four great songs), Delilah (including a great
cover of Rock Me Baby) and Camille La Vah (a beautiful cover of the
soul classic Steal Away). Also from out West are Dell Graham, Mary
Ann Miles (duetting with Ray Agee), Al & Nettie, Marie Adams and Sugar
Pie DeSanto (including her wonderful Use What You Got). From New
York we have Betty James and her terrific double sider I'm A Little
Mixed Up and Help Me To Find with probably Tarheel Slim on
guitar. There's also Oliver Brown (from Detroit), Blanche Thomas (from New
Orleans) and Jessie Mae doing the title song. Excellent sound and brief
notes. (FS) MARIE ADAMS: Old Feeling (that Same Old Feeling)/ AL & NETTIE WITH JIMMY MCCRACKLIN BAND: Now You Know/ OLIVE BROWN: Roll Like A Big Wheel/ DELILAH: Packin' Up/ I'll Rock You Baby/ Worried Feeling/ SUGAR PIE DESANTO: Going Back Where I Belong / Strange Feeling/ Use What You Got/ DELL GRAHAM & THE QUE MARTIN BAND: Work With It/ BETTY JAMES: Help Me To Find My Love/ I'm A Little Mixed Up/ JESSIE MAE: Don't Freeze On Me/ CAMILLE LA VAH: Let's Steal Away/ MARY ANN MILES & RAY AGEE: Baby's Coming Home/ BLANCHE THOMAS: You Ain't So Such A Much/ ELLA THOMAS & THE JOHNNY HEARTSMAN BAND: Ain't That The Truth/ I'm Your Part Time Love/ Introducing A Fool/ Understanding/ BIG MAMA THORNTON: Big Mama's Coming/ Don't Do Me This Way/ Mercy/ Tomcat/ You Did Me Wrong |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Electro-Fi 3372 | Midnite Blues Party | ● CD $14.98 |
| 27 tracks, 70 mins, highly recommended A terrific collection
of obscure blues sides recorded between 1956 and 1970. The material,
recorded for tiny independent labels ranges from down home blues with
harmonica to uptown blues with big bands to a bit of funk flavored blues.
Among my favorites are West Coast bluesman Bob Reed's fine cover of Wolf's
I'm Leaving You, Al Garris's great That's All with some
really interesting horn riffs, Clarence Nelson's loping You Make Me
Feel So Good and Baby Huey & The Babysitters terrific version of Messin'
With the Kid with some wild guitar. It's all worthwhile and some of
the other artists here include Blue Bull, Birmingham Junior, Randy Hobbs,
Sonny Harper, Jim Sweeney, Jay Lewis, Rollie McGill, Percy Welsh, Thomas
East, Good Time Charlie, Little Joe Hinton and others. If you enjoyed the
Stompin' and El Cerrito series you love this too. Good sound. (FS) |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Indigo 2500 | The R&B Hits Of 1951 | ● CD $22.98 |
| Another of those great double CDs from Indigo featuring some
of the most popular blues and R&B songs from a given years. This time
it's 1951 and unlike some previous issues some of these did not reach the
R&B charts. Among the goodies here are Bloodshot Eyes by
Wynonie Harris, Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand by Ray Charles, I'm
Gonna Dig Myself A Hole by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, I'm A
Night Owl by Lowell Fulson, I Rule My House by Chuck Willis, Cotton
Picking Blues by Willie Mae Thornton, Walk That Mess by Tiny
Bradshaw and lots more from Peppermint Harris, The Griffin Brothers, Joe
Turner, B.B. King, Dinah Washington, Sonny By Williamson, Tampa Red, Roy
Brown, The Larks, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Nelson and lots more. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Indigo 2502 | Bed Spring Poker - Meat In Motion, 1926-1951 | ● CD $22.98 |
| Another one of those collections devoted to the ever popular
subject of sex. Two CDs with 48 songs including the title song from The
Mississippi Sheiks, Let Me Play With Your Poodle by Lightning
Hopkins, Pig Meat Papa by Leadbelly, She Wants To Sell My Monkey
by Tampa Red, I'm A Rattlesnakin' Daddy by Blind Boy Fuller, Shave
'Em Dry by Lucille Bogan (again!), My Baby's Playground by
Roosevelt Sykes, Carpenter Man Blues by Lee Brown, Love
Operation by Barrel House Annie, I Think You Nee A Shot by
Champion Jack Dupree ad more. It's too bad that Indigo used many tracks
that have been reissued time and again on collections of this sort. It's
not like there's any shortage of material to choose from. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | King 3512 | The King Anthology Of Risqué Blues | ● CD $19.98 |
| When it came to risqué blues in the 40s and 50s, King really
cornered the market, as this two CD set with 34 songs proves. All your
faves are here - Sixty Minute Man/ Lolly Pop Mama/ You Can't Keep A
Good Man Down/ I Want A Bow-Legged Woman/ Roll, Roll, Pretty Baby/ I Want
My Fanny Brown/ Smooth, Slow And Easy/ Big Ten Inch Record/ Rockin' At
Midnight/ Rocket 69/ Wasn't That Good/ Mountain Oysters and more stuff
likely to get John Ashcroft hot and bothered. And the vocalists, well, they
are the crème de la crème of R&B and blues singers - Billy Ward &
The Dominoes, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, The Swallows, Wynonie
Harris, Bull Moose Jackson, Fluffy Hunter, Little Esther, The Drivers and
others. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 5828 | Jesus Is The Name - The Tender Female Gospel | ● CD $22.98 |
| Fine set of gospel recorded between 1947 and 1952 featuring
solo and group female singers along with some tracks by male preacher
Elder Benjamin H. Broadie with a female congregation. Includes Willie Mae
Ford Smith, The North Philadelphia Juniors, Margaret Barnes, Sister
Dorothy Mae Willett, The Goldrock Gospel Singers (a great sanctified
sounding group with trombone accompaniment) and others. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Sirens 5002 | Heavy Timbre | ● CD $15.98 |
| A 70s blues label re-emerges with three new CDs including
this reissue of a 1976 album featuring five of Chicago's top blues and
boogie piano players - Sunnyland Slim, Willie Mabon, Jimmy Walker, Blind
John Davis and Erwin Helfer. All are in good form on their selections. The
CD includes five bonus tracks from the same sessions though these are, for
the most part, not as good as the issued tracks. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | The Sirens 5003 | 8 Hands On 88 Keys - Chicago Blues Piano Masters | ● CD $15.98 |
| 14 tracks , 48 min, highly recommended Four piano masters
recorded 11/13/01 - Barrelhouse Chuck, Detroit Jr., Erwin Helfer & the
legendary 88 year old Pinetop Perkins are heard, as the cover says, in
solos & duets. However, that's the only fault I find here - with that
title & the promise of "duets", there's only 1 pianist at a
time! The duets consists of one of the pianists playing while another
sings! The playing is outstanding, but the vocals, 2 by Chuck & 1 each
from Jr & Perkins make me wish the other guy was playing instead of
singing! Still, incredible pianistics all around! Includes Pinetop's
Blues/ Grinder Man Blues/ Staggerlee/ I Almost Lost My Mind. (GM) |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Westside WESD 233 | Rough Treatment - The J.O.B. Records Story | ● CD $23.98 |
| Two CDs, 54 tracks, 150 mins, highly recommended Fabulous
collection of Chicago blues from the golden age of Chicago blues - the
early and mid 50s. Two CDs with 54 tracks recorded for Joe Brown's J.O.B.
label. If you've been keeping up with all te P-Vine releases of J.O.B.
material then you probably have just about everything here and this set
recycles some tracks on other Westside collection but for sheer musical
value this is hard to beat featuring such great artists as Johnny Shines,
Baby face Leroy, J.B. Lenoir, Snooky Pryor, Little Hudson & His Red
Devil Trio, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Floyd Jones, Memphis Minnie, Eddie Boyd,
John Brim, The Fat Man, Moody Jones, Little Brother Montgomery, John Lee
(Henley), Grace Brim, Sunnyland Slim, Little Son Joe and Ernest Cotton!
Sound is excellent and 12 page booklet has usual informative notes from
Neil Slaven but no discographical info. (FS) BABYFACE LEROY: Blues Is Killing Me/ Late Hours At Midnight/ Louella/ Pet Rabbit/ EDDIE BOYD: Blue Coat Man/ Five Long Years/ GRACE BRIM: Hospitality Blues/ Man Around My Door/ JOHN BRIM: Drinking Woman/ Hard Pill To Swallow/ Trouble In The Morning/ ERNEST COTTON: Goin' Back To Memphis/ Uh'm Beautiful/ FAT MAN: Glad I Don't Worry No More/ You've Got To Stop This Mess/ LITTLE HUDSON: Things Going So Tough With Me/ FLOYD JONES: Big World/ Dark Road/ On The Road Again/ Skinny Mama/ MOODY JONES: Please Somebody/ Why Should I Worry/ JOHN LEE: Knockin' On Lula's Mae's Door/ Rhythm Rockin' Boogie/ J.B. LENOIR: How Much More/ Mojo/ People Are Meddling/ Play A Little While/ LITTLE HUDSON: Don't Hand Around/ I'm Looking For A Woman/ Rough Treatment/ LITTLE SON JOE: Ethel Bea/ Little Too Late/ ROBERT JR. LOCKWOOD: Aw Aw Baby/ Dust My Broom (alternate Take)/ Pearly B/ Sweet Woman From Maine/ MEMPHIS MINNIE: Kissing In The Dark/ World Of Trouble/ LITTLE BROTHER MONTGOMERY: Boogie/ Keep Drinkin'/ SNOOKY PRYOR: Boogie Fool/ Boogie Twist/ Cryin' Shame/ Eighty Nine Ten/ Raising Sand/ JOHNNY SHINES: Brutal Hearted Woman/ Cool Driver/ Evening Sun/ Ramblin'/ SUNNYLAND SLIM: Down Home Child/ Leaving Your Town/ Overnight |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Yazoo 2063 | Times Ain't Like They Used To Be, Vol. 5 | ● CD $15.98 |
| 23 tracks, 69 mins, essential. Another fantastic collection
of rural blues and country music from the 20s and 30s. There are some
fabulous blues rarities here including one side of the great Blind Joe
Reynolds 78 that only turned up recently (Cold Woman Blues - the
same side that was issued on the Revenant Charlie Patton box), a
previously unknown track by Ben Covington that's a real beauty and a great
track by an unknown performer recorded on the same day as a Blind Lemon
Jefferson session - whoever he is he's very fine indeed. As if that isn't
enough the booklet has previously unpublished pictures from the 30s of
Skip James and Buddy Boy Hawkins! I'm not as familiar with the country
artists here but there are some beautiful performances from Sam McGee,
Weems String Band, The Garland Brothers & Grinstead (lovely old time
gospel), J.P. Nestor & Norman Edmonds, The Grayson County
Railsplitters, The Murphy Brothers Harp Band, Wyzee, Tucker & Lecroy
and others. And there's more blues from Skip James, Buddy Boy Hawkins,
Charley Patton and more. Sound quality is superb and the 16 page booklet
has excellent, if occasionally patronizing, notes by Rich Nevins. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Yazoo 2064 | Times Ain't Like They Used To Be, Vol. 6 | ● CD $15.98 |
| 23 tracks, 69 mins, highly recommended More wonderful stuff
including the other side of the Blind Joe Reynolds 78 - Ninety Nine
Blues plus more great blues from Tenderfoot Edwards (aka Edward
Thompson), Mississippi Moaner, Skip James, Charley Patton, Louie Lasky and
Eli Framer. On the country side we have Eck Robertson's pioneer recording
of Sally Gooden reissued for the first time the correct speed plus
sides by Birkhead & Lane, Parker & Dodd, Virginia Mountain
Boomers, Jess Johnston & Byrd Moore, Red Headed Fiddlers, The Swamp
Rooters, Turney Brothers and others. (FS) |
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| T-BONE WALKER | Classics 5007 | The Chronological T-Bone Walker, 1929-1946 | ● CD $15.98 |
| First in a series which will reissue all of T-Bone's early
recordings features 23 tracks including his first country blues 78 as Oak
Cliff T-Bone from 1929. This does not include any of the alternate takes
featured on the recent English Capitol triple set and for the best deal on
T-Bone see below. T-BONE WALKER: Bobby Sox Blues/ Come Back To Me Baby/ Don't Give Me The Runaround/ Don't Leave Me Baby/ Evening/ Hard Pain Blues/ I Can't Stand Being Away From You/ I Got A Break Baby/ I'm Gonna Find My Baby/ I'm In An Awful Mood/ I'm Still In Love With You/ It's A Low Down Dirty Deal/ Mean Old World/ Mean Old World Blues/ My Baby Left Me/ No Worry Blues/ Sail On Boogie/ She Is Going To Ruin Me (fast Woman)/ T-bone Blues/ T-bone Boogie/ Trinity River Blues/ Wichita Falls Blues/ You Don't Love Me Blues |
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| T-BONE WALKER | Proper BOX 38 | The Original Source | ● CD $24.98 |
| Four CD set with 90 tracks featuring one take of every title
recorded by this great and important bluesman between 1929 and 1951.
Includes 44 page booklet. |
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| CROWN PRINCE WATERFORD | Classics 5024 | The Chronological Crown Prince Waterford, 1946-1950 | ● CD $15.98 |
| 24 tracks from this fine but obscure blues shouter. |
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| MUDDY WATERS | Chess 112 822 | Real Folk Blues/ More Real Folk Blues | ● CD $18.98 |
| Essential! Two great LPs from the mid 60s on one CD previously
available as individual CDs). "Real" is a great collection of Muddy tracks
covering the period from his earliest Aristocrat recording Gypsy Woman
in 1947 to his excellent Same Thing from 1964 where after a few
years of relatively unexciting recordings he recorded this gem along with
the almost as good You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never had. Along
the way we have his magnificent Screamin' & Crying where
Muddy's slide guitar is particularly lyrical and the piano accompaniment
by Johnny Jones is utterly exquisite. Also included are his take off of Bo
diddley's I'm A man which Muddy called Mannish Boy, the
urgent Just To be With You, his all time classics Walking Blues
& Rollin' & Tumblin' and others. "More Real" is
great collection of 12 sides recorded between 1948 and 1952 including
several not originally issued on 78 or 45. Includes 4 Aristocrat sides
with Muddy's searing guitar accompanied only by Big Crawford's thundering
string bass (beautifully brought on this remastering). Includes a version
of Robert Johnson's Kind Hearted Woman and the powerful Whiskey
Blues. Most of the other tracks add Little Walter's lyrical harmonica
and the interplay between Muddy's guitar and Walter's harmonica on tracks
like Sad Letter & Too Young To Know is positively
magical. Other tracks include Down South Blues/ Hello Little Girl/
She's Alright, etc. MUDDY WATERS: Appealing Blues (hello Little Girl)/ Canary Bird/ Down South Blues/ Early Morning Blues/ Forty Days And Forty Nights/ Gypsy Woman/ Honey Bee/ Just To Be With You/ Kind Hearted Woman/ Landlady/ Little Geneva/ Mannish Boy/ Rollin' And Tumblin', Pt. 1/ Sad Letter Blues/ Same Thing/ Screamin' And Cryin'/ She's Alright/ Sittin' Here And Drinkin' (whiskey Blues)/ Too Young To Know/ Train Fare Home Blues/ Walkin' Blues/ Walking Thru The Park/ You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had/ You're Gonna Need My Help I Said |
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| JAMES "WEE WILLIE" WAYNE | Bayou 1004 | From Texas To New Orleans | ● CD $18.98 |
| 31 tracks, 79 mins, recommended A most welcome reissue by
this excellent and distinctive Texas singer and excellent songwriter who
recorded quite extensively in New Orleans and is best known for the
original versions of the classic songs Junco Partner & Travelin'
Mood (both here). The recordings were made between 1951 and 61 - the
New Orleans sides feature such great names as Lee Allen, Justin Adams and
others. Also includes Bad Morning Mr. Blues/ Gypsy Blues/ I Got To Be
Careful/ A two Faced Man/ Bullcorn, etc. Sound is good but it's a
shame there are no notes. (FS) |
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| KENNY "BLUES BOSS" WAYNE | Electro-Fi 3371 | 88th & Jump Street | ● CD $15.98 |
| New album from this fine singer and piano player. Original
songs with solid band including guest apperances by Jeff Healey, Mel
Brown, Bob Stroger & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. |
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| JODY WILLIAMS | Evidence 26120 | Return Of A Legend | ● CD $15.98 |
| 13 tracks, 56 mins, essential Jody Williams is back .. with
a vengeance! As Bill Dahl points out in his excellent notes the term
"legend" is bandied about too freely these days but in the case
of Jody Williams it's justified. He was among the most influential
guitarists on the Chicago scene in the late 50s and early 60s but his name
is not too well known as most of his work was as a session guitarist and
he quit music in 1964 for a more secure job working for Xerox. Chances are
you've heard him though as he has played on sessions by Howling Wolf,
Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Witherspoon and many others. The handful
of singles issued under his own name are prized by collectors and held in
awe by blues guitarists. After retiring from his day job in 1995 he
finally allowed himself to be persuaded to perform and record again and
under the expert guidance of his long time friend Dick Shurman who
produced this album he has come up with what surely is going to be the new
blues album of 2002. He is backed by solid rhythm section, occasional
horns and occasional guest musicians (Billy Boy Arnold, Rusty Zinn, etc).
The songs and tunes are all originals including remakes of some of his
classic singles and a whole slew of new compositions. Jody is a tremendous
singer with a powerful and warm quality and the slightly offhand approach
is particularly suited to some of the wry songs he writes. His guitar
playing is dazzling - not flashy, though he can play fast when necessary,
but full of wonderfully constructed solos loaded with invention. If some
of his licks sound familiar from other guitarists playing chances are Jody
originated them! An exceptional release. (FS) |
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