NEWSLETTER #126
Blues & Gospel
Various Artists
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Ace CDCHD 604 |
Deep Harmonica Blues |
● CD $18.98 |
24 tracks, 64 mins, recommended
Back in stock at a lower
price. A great collection of harmonica blues from the vaults of Excello
featuring Jerry McCain, The Blues Rockers, Baby Boy Warren (with Sonny Boy
Williamson/ harp), Little Sonny, Ole Sonny Boy, Lightnin' Slim, Slim Harpo,
Lazy Lester, Whispering Smith, Jimmy Anderson and Jolly George (probably
James Stewart). If you have been keeping up with your AVI/ Excello reissues
(all now deleted)
then you probably have almost everything here though this is a good disc to get
a harp fix all in one place and for completists there's a previously
unissued alternate take of Slim Harpo's Wonderin' & Worryin' and
Jimmy Anderson's Shut Your Mouth. Excellent sound and quality notes
by Chris Smith. (FS)
JIMMY ANDERSON: Rats And Roaches On Your Mind/ Shut Your Mouth/ THE BLUES
ROCKERS VOCAL EARL DRANES: Calling All Cows/ THE BLUES ROCKERS VOCAL LAZY
BILL LUCAS: Johnny Mae/ SLIM HARPO: Wonderin' And Worryin'/ JOLLY GEORGE:
She's Got Me/ When I Met You Baby/ LAZY LESTER: They Call Me Lazy/ LIGHTNIN'
SLIM: Goin' Home/ I'm Grown/ LITTLE SONNY: I'll Love You Baby (until The Day
I Die)/ Love Shock/ JERRY MCCAIN & HIS UPSTARTS: Courtin' In A Cadillac/
That's What They Want/ Things Ain't Right/ You Don't Love Me No More/ OLE
SONNY BOY: Blues And Misery/ You Better Change/ WHISPERING SMITH: Harmonica
Twist/ Please Give Me One More Chance/ BABY BOY WARREN WITH SONNY BOY
WILLIAMSON: Bring Me My Machine Gun (aka Baby Boy Blues)/ Chuck-a-luck
(chicken)/ Hello Stranger (aka Mattie Mae)/ Not Welcome Anymore (Sanafee)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Ace CDCHD 652 |
No Jive - Authentic Southern Country |
● CD $18.98 |
24 tracks, 66 min., highly recommended
Back in stock at a
lower price. It's 25 years since the June 1977 death of Ernest Lafayette
Young, owner & founder of Nashville-based Excello Records (established in
1952) and, with Ace Records at the helm, his early country blues productions
are finally being reissued, some for the first time. The four 1954 tracks by
Thomas Shy Guy Douglas are just one of the highlights of this set, in
particular No Place Like Home and I'm Your Country Man. From
recent research by Fred James, we now know that he was born in Franklin, TN.
(Nov 08/1917) and was 66 when he died in Nashville (Oct 19/1984). Other
highlights include one side of Slim Hunt's only known (1955) recording,
Welcome Home, Baby which features a very tasty Lloyd Glenn-like pianist,
and the one-offs by the delightful Dixie Doodlers (She Was All I Had)
and the Leap Frogs (Dirty Dishes). Other artists include Louis
Campbell, Robert Garrett, Arthur & Little Al Gunter, and unissued 1963 sides
by Charles Dowell & Good Rockin' Bob. (EL)
LOUIS CAMPBELL: Gotta Have You Baby/ The Natural Facts/ THE DIXIE DOODLERS:
Best Of Friends/ She Was All I Had/ SHY GUY DOUGLAS: I'm Your Country Man/
No Place Like Home/ She's My Kinda Girl/ Wasted Time/ CHAS DOWELL WITH JAMES
STEWART: Everybody Drinkin' Wine/ I've Been Jumpin' And Stompin'/ ROBERT
GARRETT: Do Remember/ Quit My Drinking/ GOOD ROCKIN' BOB: Ain't No Need To
Cry/ I'm Bad/ ARTHUR GUNTER: Honey Baby/ She's Mine All Mine/ You Are Doing
Me Wrong/ SLIM HUNT: Welcome Home Baby/ THE LEAP FROGS: Dirty Britches/
Things Gonna Change/ LITTLE AL: Easy Ridin' Buggy/ Every Day Brings About A
Change/ Little Lean Woman/ No Jive
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Black & Blue 447-2 |
Chicago Blues Festival '70 |
● CD $13.98 |
19 tracks, good. Three blues giants recorded in France in
1970 during a European tour. This album features 8 tracks by Homesick James,
6 by Roosevelt Sykes and 5 by Eddie Taylor. They are accompanied by the
premier Chicago blues band - The Aces (Louis & Dave Myers and Fred Below).
In spite of the abundance of great blues talent the performances rarely
catch fire with the exception of Roosevelt Sykes who was incapable of
turning in a less than powerhouse performance. Maybe a lack of rehearsal led
the musicians to play it too safe or perhaps they were tired from touring -
whatever the reason it's a minor entry in their discography.
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Delmark 760 |
On The Battlefield |
● CD $14.98 |
25 tracks, 70 mins, highly recommended
Terrific collection
of gospel quartet singing recorded for Chicago labels J.O.B. and United
between 1952 and 1954 - a good deal of it previously unissued. Joiner's Five
Trumpets, an acapella group, are particularly fine on their four sides with
soulful leads and wonderful buildups. The Veteran Singers are featured on
six tracks and are a fine group who were formed before World War II - they
are a frily restrained group and are backed by piano. There are eight songs
by the Southern Tornados who were thought to include members of the Veteran
Singers and their approach is a little more intense than that of the
Veterans and finally seven cuts, all of them unissued by the Spiritulaires
from South Carolina including demos cut at a radio station in South Carolina
and songs recorded in United studios in Chicago. In spite of the obscurity
of the performers and the fact that very little was actually issued the
musical standard is very high. Excellent sound and informative notes by Opal
Louis Nations. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Document DOCD 5668 |
Sammy Price & The Blues Singers, Vol. 2 |
● CD $15.98 |
24 tracks, 69 mins, recommended
Second collection on
Document featuring the talented and ubiquitous piano player Sam Price with
various bands accompanying several different blues singers. This one
features Lether McGraw, james Carter, Nora Lee King, Wee Bee Booze and
Herman "Peetie Wheatstraw" Ray. James Carter is probably the most
interesting singer here with his two powerful songs about death and Wee Bee
Booze is a good singer who has some fine topical songs about the war. Harman
Ray is pretty much a Peetie Wheatstraw imitator but he does a nice version
of Charles Brown's Trouble Blues and does an interesting topical
blues about President Truman. Good sound and informative notes by Chris
Smith. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Famous Groove 972000 |
Soulful Gospel - Vocal Groups, Vol. 1 |
● CD $18.98 |
26 tracks, recommended Best known for their doo-wop reissues
Famous Groove have come up with a fine collection of black gospel from the
60s. Many of the groups are pretty obscure and only recorded a handful of
titles - quite a few aren't even in the gospel discography published some
years ago. The Chambers Brothers are well known to 60s rock fans but their
two cuts here are superb quartet gospel with a Soul Stirrers feel to it.
Even more strongly influenced by the Soul Stirrers are the fine Clefs of
Calvary whose lead vocalist James Phelps does an excellent job of sounding
just like Sam Cooke. Other groups here include Harps Of The Coast, Morning
Echoes, Sensational Jubilettes (their Jordan River is a knockout),
Original Soul Revivers, Prodigal Sons, Jollyaires and others. In general I
don't find 60s gospel quite as compelling as that of previous decades but
there are some fine performances here. (FS)
THE BONNER BROS. SPIRITUAL QUARTETTE: Walking Thru The Streets/ You Ought To
Pray Sometime/ THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS: I Trust In God/ Just A Little More
Faith/ THE CLEFS OF CALVARY: God's Love/ Save Me/ THE DIVINE TRAVELERS: Rock
Of Ages - Pt. 1/ Rock Of Ages - Pt. 2/ THE GOSPEL FIVE: He Woke Me Up This
Morning/ Race, Creed And Color/ THE HARPS OF THE COAST: Up A Little Higher/
Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies/ THE JOLLYAIRES: The Lord's Been Good To
Me/ You Need The Lord/ THE MORNING ECHOES: I'm Singing, Lord/ Jesus Showed
Us The Way/ THE ORIGINAL SOUL REVIVERS: Lord, Don't Turn Me Away/ Lord, I've
Done You Wrong/ THE PRODIGAL SONS: I Found The Lord/ It's A Blessing/ THE
SENSATIONAL SAINTS OF OHIO: Ain't That A Shame/ Come On/ THE SENSATIONAL
JUBILETTES: Jordan River/ Judgement Day/ THE ZION TRAVELERS: Eternity/ Milky
White Way
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fremeaux & Associes 5008 |
New York City Blues, 1940-1950 |
● CD $25.98 |
Title is a little misleading as this is mostly country blues
by Piedmont artists but the tracks were mostly recorded in New York City so
it's not totally inappropriate. Whatever it's an excellent collection of
mostly guitar blues recorded between 1940 and 1950 - many of the tracks are
available elsewhere but there are a few making their first appearance on CD
and the music is consistently superb.
GABRIEL BROWN: Blackjack Blues/ CAROLINA SLIM: Mama's Boogie/ LEROY DALLAS:
I'm Going Away/ REVEREND GARY DAVIS: I'm Gonna Meet Me At The Station/
CHAMPION JACK DUPREE: I Think You Need A Shot/ BIG CHIEF ELLIS: Big Chief's
Blues/ BLIND BOY FULLER: Good Feeling Blues/ Three Ball Blues/ LITTLE BOY
FULLER: Bed Spring Blues/ Down Hearted Man/ BOY GREEN: A & B Blues/ Play My
Juke-box/ LOUIS HAYES: Honey Blues/ LEADBELLY: Good Morning Mr Blues/
BROWNIE MCGHEE: Key To The Highway/ My Bulldog Blues/ That's The Stuff/
STICKS MCGHEE: Baby Baby Blues/ She's Gone./ DENNIS MCMILLAN: Paper Wooden
Daddy/ Woke Up This Morning/ BUDDY MOSS: I'm Sitting Here Tonight/
Unfinished Business/ SETH RICHARD: Broom Street Blues/ Gas Station Blues/
MARYLIN SCOTT: I Got What My Daddy Likes/ ALEC SEWARD: Early Morning Blues/
Late Evening Blues/ SONNY & LONNIE: South West Pacific Blues/ TARHEEL SLIM:
Somebody Changed The Lock/ SONNY TERRY: Airplane Blues/ Telephone Blues/
JORDAN WEBB & SONNY TERRY: Touch It Up And Go/ JOSH WHITE: Evil Hearted Man
# 1/ RALPH WILLIS: Cool That Thing/ Going To Virginia
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Proper BOX 28 |
Gettin' Funky - The Birth Of New Orleans R&B |
● CD $25.98 |
Four CDs, 107 tracks, 294 minutes,
highly recommended
Disc
one is devoted to "Piano Power" containing 28 cuts from Champion Jack
Dupree, Professor Longhair, and Archibald while disc two offers 26 cuts from
"The Pioneers;" Dave Bartholomew, Paul Gayten, and Smiley Lewis. The third
disc collects "The Hitmakers" with 28 sides from Roy Brown, Fats Domino, and
Larry Darnell, where the final CD focuses on "Hip Shakin' Mamas, Crooners,
and Shouters" with 25 gems from Chubby Newsome, Alma 'The Lollipop Mama' Mondy, 'Blazer Boy' Locks, Erline Harris, Jewel King, and others. From
Champion Jack's early down-home style, to the uptown grace of Dave
Bartholomew's band, and Professor Longhair's combining of calypso, blues,
Latin, and more, the powerful horns, riffing guitars, and battered pianos
tell the story of New Orleans. The set comes with a 54-page booklet loaded
with solid notes, rare photos, and a full discography. Wonderful. (CR)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
P-Vine PCD 5831 |
Rock My Soul - East Coast Jubilee Quartets,
1944-1950 |
● CD $22.98 |
More wonderful gospel quartet singing featuring five fine
groups from the East U.S. - The Silver Echo Quartette, Sky Light Singers,
Silver Leaf Quartet Of Florida, The Silvertones and Silveraires
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
P-Vine PCD 5835 |
Goin' To Move - The Male Gospel Quartets
Anthology |
● CD $22.98 |
29 track, 73 mins, essential
Utterly fabulous collection of
gospel quartet singing - mostly by groups who only recorded one or two 78s.
The only well known name here is The Soul Stirrers who are featured on a
pair of Aladdin sides that were left off the double set of their early
recordings (PCD 5661/62 - $37.98) - needless to say they are superb. There
are also four cuts by group that has the audacity to call themselves The
Famous Soul Stirrers - they're not but they are pretty good. The last ten
tracks on the set features five groups who only recorded one 78 each but
their performances are as good as anything you'll hear in post war gospel -
The Famous Gospel Four, Royal Jubilee Singers, Southern Silvertone Singers,
Royal Harmony Singers (their Lord, Am I Born To Die is a real spine
chiller) and The Southern Travelers. The set is rounded out by the fine
Bailey Gospel Singers, The Flying Clouds (not the Detroit group), Jewell
Jubilee Singers and The L&N Gospel Singers. A real high point in P-Vine's
great gospel reissue series. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Random Chance 5 |
Harmonica Blues Orgy |
● CD $14.98 |
16 tracks, 69 minutes, very good
Known primarily as a
shuffling wizard behind the drums, Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith blows greasy and
unpretentious harp on five cuts with solid backing from Eddie Taylor Jr. and
Illinois Slim on guitars, plus Steve Cushing on drums, but Willie's voice
still remains his weakest draw card. Martin Lang's four instrumentals are
firmly grounded in Little Walter territory, getting help from Dave Myers and
Johnny Burgin on guitars and Kenny Smith's backbeats, then Little Arthur
Duncan steps in for three tracks. Alex 'Easy Baby' Randle returns from among
the missing to deliver four standouts beginning with the rustling Room
309/ Crazy Mixed Up World/ This Little Light Of Mine, and a brutal
Wolf-like Willie Mae, about a woman who hides a "razor in her
stockings, pistol in her brassiere." This is just pure, simple, unadorned
blues. (CR)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
RCA 63986 |
When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 1 - Walk Right
In |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
First in a series of
four CDs presenting a fine selection of mostly blues (plus some other
vernacular music) drawn from the vaults of RCA Victor/ Bluebird, from the
late 20s through the early 50s. Although all this material has been reissued
before these reissues features transfers from metal masters, vinyl test
pressings and mint 78s and utilizing the talents of Doug Pomeroy and John
R.T. Davies, these seminal recordings have never sounded better and there
are some rarely reissued titles featured. These reissues were compiled by
Barry Feldman, Colin Escott and David Evans and the attractive 16 page
booklets features informative notes on the recordings by Evans and Escott.
This volume features a variety of styles - country blues from legendary
artists like Big Joe Williams, Tommy Johnson, Bukka White, Leadbelly, Noah
Lewis and others plus vaudeville blues (Trixie Butler, Alberta Hunter), jug
bands (Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers), bluesy western swing (Milton Brown & His
Brownies), religious music (Rev. J.M. Gates, Paul Robeson) and more. The
series is subtitled "The Secret History Of Rock 'n' Roll" - no doubt a
marketing ploy - but if it brings more people to listen to this music I
won't complain. Since this is a major label release you are advised to get
these while you can as they may not be around for long once the marketing
people decides that something else is "hot". (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
RCA 63987 |
When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 2 - First Time
I Met The Blues |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, 77 mins, highly recommended
Another great
selection. The theme is ostensibly that of the "earlist recordings of
best-known blues songs" (i.e. mostly covered by white groups in the 60s and
70s) but only some of these fall into this category - nevertheless this is a
superb collection with impeccable sound. Includes Victoria Spivey, Genevieve
Davis, Jim Jackson, Tommy Johnson, The Memphis Jug Band, Edna Winston,
Lizzie Miles, Sippie Wallace, Sleepy John Estes, Blind Willie Reynolds,
Mississippi Matilda, Daddy stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah, The Mississippi
Sheiks and others including the title song which is featured here by its
originator by Little Brother Montgomery but is probably best known from
Buddy Guy's great version recorded at his first Chess session. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
RCA 63988 |
When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 3 - That's
Chicago's South Side |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, 76 mins, essential
Chicago has always been a
blues town from the earliest days to the present time and this superb volume
features some of the great artists who recorded in the windy city in the 30s
and early 40s - many who became permanent residents and helped forge the
blues sound that was to emerge in the late 40s. This volume actually has
more original versions of blues classics than volume 2. This volume includes
Sam Theard, Roosevelt Sykes, Joe Pullum, Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie,
Pine Top (the sublime first version of Every Day I have The Blues),
Walter Davis (Sweet Sixteen - one of my all time favorites), Richard
M. Jones, Robert Lee McCoy (aka Robert Nighthawk - doing Prowling Night
Hawk the song that gave him his new name), Speckled Red, Tommy
McClennan (the first hit version of Key To The Highway), Johnny
Temple, Yank Rachel and others. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
RCA 63989 |
When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 4 - That's All
Right |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, essential
This continues the theme of volume 3
featuring mostly Chicago based performers and continuing the development of
blues into the 50s. Although most of the artists are Chicago based we get to
hear urban New York blues from Sonny Terry, rocking Georgia blues from Piano
Red, the smooth West Coast sound of Johnny Moore's Three Blazes and the
first recording of a future rock 'n' roll star - Little Richard emulating
his idol Billy Wright on the slow blues Get Rich Quick. Includes
Doctor Clayton, Big Maceo, Memphis Slim, Lil Green, Robert Lockwood (his
exquisite slide guitar accompanied Little Boy Blue), Sunnyland Slim,
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (doing the original version of That's All Right
- the song that helped launch Elvis Presley's career), Jazz Gillum, Tampa
Red, Washboard Sam and others. (FS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Vanguard 79704 |
From Hell To Gone And Back - Texas Blues |
● CD $15.98 |
Vanguard continues to recycle its catalog with this
collection of Texas blues. It features tracks from the 60s and early 70s by
Mance Lipscomb, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton and Pee Wee Crayton and
three tracks from 2001 by blues rocker Lee Roy Parnell which seem out of
place in this setting. There are two fine previously unissued tracks by
Lightnin' Hopkins from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival but all the other
tracks are available on other Vanguard CDs.
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