This is where we
list some of the best and most popular releases
from thepast decade which you may
have missed them the first time we listed them -
or if you’re a new customer you may never
have seen them. We hope you will find here some that will
become your favorites.
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Hardbound, 308 pages, counts as six CDs for shipping
When Mississippi John Hurt was "rediscovered" by blues revivalists in
1963, his musicianship and recordings transformed popular notions of
prewar country blues. At the age of 71, his intricate and lively style
made him the most sought-after musician among the many talents the
revival brought to light. In this book, biographer Philip Ratcliffe
provides Hurt's life for the first time. Hurt's roots are traced to the
moment when his mother and father were freed from slavery, along with
anecdotes from his childhood and teenage years including the moment when
his mother purchased his first guitar when he was nine years old.
Ratcliffe's research includes interviews with neighbors, friends, wives,
and his extended family. He has even unearth treasures like Hurt's first
marriage record in 1916, images of his first autographed LP, and
excerpts from personal letters written in his own hand. From detailing
Hurt's musical influences and the origins of his style and repertoire to
featuring for the first time some of the last photographs taken,
Ratcliffe does an exemplary job of documenting the life and music of a
legendary bluesman.
Hardback, 232 pages, counts as 14 CDs for shipping
Gorgeous, copiously illustrated, coffee table book devoted to
rockabilly. Starting off with Elvis at Sun it covers many of Sun's great
and lesser known names (Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Warren Smith,
etc.) then spreads out to encompass rockabilly around the country (Buddy
Holly, Wanda Jackson, Jimmy Lloyd, Gene Vincent, etc.) then looks at
some of the artists who kept the rockabilly spirit alive in the 1960s
(Jack Scott, Ronnie Hawkins, etc.) and then on to the rockabilly
revivals in Europe and the rest of the world. There are sidebars on
session musicians, instruments used and more. Though not a comprehensive
history of the genre there's lots of useful information provided by
writers like Greil Marcus, Peter Guralnick, Robert Gordon, Deke
Dickerson and others plus interviews and reminiscences with Wanda
Jackson, Carl Perkins, Scotty Moore, Tav Falco, Cliff Gallup, Dale
Hawkins, etc. and topping it all off are the more than 600
illustrations including photos, concert posters, record labels,
memorabilia and collectibles.
Greatest Live Performances Of The '50s,
'60s and '70s
● DVD $18.98
13 songs, 71 mins, black & white/ color, very highly
recommended
A great selection of (mostly) live performances by The
Killer drawn from TV shows broadcast in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The
opening performance is the highlight of this DVD featuring a wonderfully
demented performance of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" from his first TV
performance on the Steve Allen Show in July 1957 which is worth the
price of admission. This is followed by two (rather badly) lip-synched
performances from Dewey Phillips Pop Shop in December of the same year
and a fine, if relatively tame performance of "Breathless" from the Dick
Clark show in February, 1958. Skip ahead to 1964 and a great 30 minute
show from British TV with Jerry Lee in fine form on a collection of six
rockers and country songs ending with a storming version of "Whole Lotta
Shakin'". Excerpts of this have appeared elsewhere but I believe this is
the first time it has been reissued in its entirety. From the 70s with
Jerry Lee back on top as country singer we have three performances from
Ralph Emery's "Country Goes Pop" TV show ending with Jerry Lee duetting
on vocals and pianos with his cousin Mickey Gilley on a medley of pop
and R&B songs including a hot version of "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"
and a killer rendition of "Lewis Boogie". Bonus features include a
fascinating 20 minute interview with Jerry Lee at the original Sun
studios where he discusses his early years as well a trailer for the
1958 movie "High School Confidential" where Jerry Lee performed the
theme song. (FS)
23 tracks, 64 mins, highly recommended
This is a great
way to get the complete DeLuxe and King recordings of trumpeter,
bandleader, arranger and producer Dave Bartholomew including two
previously unissued alternate takes. Bartholomew is best remembered for
sides he did with Fats Domino on Imperial, but between 1949 and 1952 he
cut for De Luxe and King under his own name. Although little more than
an average vocalist, Dave could blow breath-taking solos. Many star
instrumentalists passed through Dave's band: Frank Fields (bass), Earl
Palmer (drums), Todd Rhodes (piano), Herb Hardesty (tenor), and Ernest
McLean (guitar), among many others. Includes "Stardust/ Gumbo Blues/
Country Boy/ In The Alley/ Twins/ I'll Never Be The Same" ad others
including the two part "Lawdy Lawdy Lord" with a vocal by Tommy Ridgley
and the original recording of "My Ding-A-Ling". Sound quality is fine
and their informative notes by Victor Pearlin but no discographical
info. (FS)
22 tracks, 79 min., very highly recommended
It was as
one of the Famous Flames that Byrd earned the admiration of hardcore
soul fans. As a founding member, he invited James Brown to join, which
Brown did and then took over and put the Flames on the back burner. This
compilation collects material (released and unreleased) cut between
1964-73, includes backing from James Brown's band (Fred Wesley, Maceo
Parker, Fred Thomas, and others, including, on two tracks, Bootsy
Collins) as well as occasional assistance from Mr. Superbad
himself--grunts, shouts and a duet on "You've Got To Change Your Mind"
(making it to 47 R&B-wise in '68). Sure, you get the feeling that Brown
could have outperformed his long-time warm-up act on these tracks, but
that's hardly a fair criticism. Byrd, while perhaps not an extraordinary
vocalist is dynamic and exciting singer and acquits himself quite well
and even shines (almost) as brightly as his boss on "I Know You Got
Soul" (reaching #30 hit on the R&B charts). Other standout tracks
include "Baby Baby Baby" (a duet with Anna King), the #34 hit "Hot Pants
- I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming", the #40 hit "Keep On Doin' What
You're Doin'", and lots more. If not a definitive collection, easily the
best one so far, collecting the vast majority of his best sides, most of
which have been long out of print. No notes with this one but still too
good to pass up. (JC)
Two CDs, 43 tracks, highly recommended
Formed in Harlem,
NY as the Carnations in the early 50's, this R&B/doo-wop vocal group was
first influenced by the Orioles but soon developed their own style
managed to make a fine body of work during its original lifespan. This
great collection features all their singles issued between 1954 and '59.
Their first single "I Wonder Why" b/w "Gloria" and it was a regional hit
on the East Coast; both sum up the group's style: "Gloria" with its
romantic balladry and "I Wonder Why" with its up-tempo, swing-y love
declarations. The group finally hit big in 1955 with "Speedoo" - a
memorable paean to romantic prowess in honor of the group's leader Earl
"Speedoo" Caroll - and although they couldn't quite repeat the feat,
they remained a popular live act with their flamboyant stage antics.
Their later recordings have a more novelty feel and shows the influence
of The Coasters and while the latter sides are not as consistently fine
as the earlier ones there's lot's of great sides including my personal
favorite - the great "Peek A Boo". Excellent sound and informative notes
by Bob Fisher. (FS) THE CADILLACS: About That Girl Called Lou/ Ain't You
Gonna/ Always My Darling/ Bad Dan McGoon/ Betty My Love/ Broken Heart/
Buzz Buzz Buzz/ Cool It Fool/ Copy Cat 1959/ Down The Road/ Dumbell/
Girl I Love, The/ Gloria/ Holy Smoke Baby/ Hurry Home/ I Want To Know/ I
Want To Know About Love/ I Wonder Why/ Jay Walker/ Let Me Explain/ Look
A Here/ Lucy/ My Girl Friend/ Naggity Nag/ No Chance/ Oh Oh Lolita/
Peek-A-Boo/ Please Mr. Johnson/ Romeo/ Rudolp The Red Nosed Reindeer/
Shock A Doo/ Speedo/ Speedo Is Back/ Sugar Sugar/ Sympathy/ That's All I
Need/ Who Ya Gonna Kiss/ Window Lady/ Wishing Well/ Woe Is Me/ Yea Yea
Baby/ You Are/ Zoom
2 CDs, 57 tracks, 124 mins, highly recommended
Johnny
Cash certainly cast a long shadow in American Music history, so it's no
surprise that, years after his passing, there are numerous CDs worth of
quality recordings still being released. This collection includes early
Memphis area radio appearances, demos, and rare recordings, b-sides and
out-takes from about the first 15 years of Johnny Cash's career. Disk
one focuses exclusively on the formative years of 1955 - 1958 and has
the radio shows, a slew of demos and then some rare Sun records
recordings. There are 17 demo recordings throughout the 2 CDs, most of
them '58 or before, and they include the first recordings of such major
songs as "I Walk The Line/ Country Boy/ Get Rhythm/ Train Of Love/ Come
Along And Ride This Train," etc. These fantastic demo versions would be
enough for the price of admission for most Cash fans by themselves, but
then you have 40 more great tracks besides. The early radio shows
include Johnny Cash doing promotional spots for the Home Equipment
Company; not the natural pitch-man that someone like Hank Williams was,
but that makes these spots that much more endearing. Disk two focuses
mostly on Cash's late '50s to '60s material and has such gems as "All
Over Again/ The Johnny Yuma Theme/ Five Minutes To Live/ Johnny Reb/ The
Frozen Logger/ You Beat All I Ever Saw/ Foolish Questions," and so on.
As with the first installment in this series, I consider this an
essential for any Johnny Cash fans and at least highly recommended to
everyone else (I'll definitely be buying this copy!) (JM)
22 tracks, 57 min., essential
The Checkers are surely
one of the most underrated of the 50's vocal groups. Formed when the
Dominoes underwent their first major personnel shift in early 1952, the
Checkers roster included former Dominoes bass Bill Brown and former
Dominoes second tenor Charles White. Similarities also prevailed in the
shape and form of high tenor lead Little David Baughn, who went on to
sing with The Harps and to temporarily replace Clyde McPhatter in the
Drifters. Listen to Little David's emotionally touching pipes on the
beautiful "House Without Windows" and "I Promise You" - you'd swear you
were listening to C. McPhatter. Their ballad and jump performances,
recorded between 1952 and 1954, rank among the most pol in the
pantheon of rhythm and blues harmony. The program here includes 22 of
their classic performances mostly recorded between 1952 and 1954 plus a
few later sides by a different line up. Among the earlier gems are
"Flame in My Heart", "Night's Curtain", "Ghost of My Baby", "White
Cliffs of Dover", the hilarious answer to "Sixty Minute Man", "Don't
Stop Dan", "Mama's Daughter", and "Trying to Hold My Gal". Terrific
music, impressive sound quality, a cover photo of the group, and short
but solid liner notes. Simply not a disc to miss. (DH) THE CHECKERS: Can't Find My Sadie/ Don't Stop Dan/
Flame In My Heart/ Ghost Of My Baby/ Heaven Only Knows/ House With No
Windows/ I Promise You/ I Wanna Know/ I Wasn't Thinkin', I Was Drinkin'/
Let Me Come Back/ Love Wasn't There/ Mama's Daughter/ My Prayer Tonight/
Night's Curtain/ Nine More Miles (the Faster, Faster Song)/ Oh, Oh, Oh
Baby/ Over The Rainbow/ Trying To Hold My Gal/ White Cliffs Of Dover/
Without A Song/ You Never Had It So Good/ You've Been Fooling Around
23 tracks, 64 min., highly recommended
Sometime blues
can sound deceptively simple, especially when they are short & sweet and
to the point. Take for example the music of singer/guitarist Connie
Curtis (Pee Wee) Crayton. Relocating to California (in
1935), his 1948-1951 Modern Recordings are some of the best instrumental
guitar blues recorded - guitar blues played on a Vega guitar, full of
simple structures and emotions. His first R&B hit record, "Blues After
Hours" ('48, with pianist David Lee Johnson), charted for over 13 weeks,
and was the very first guitar instrumental to reach the #1 R&B position.
This wonderful track (a clever variation of pianist Avery Parrish's
composition "After Hours") is included in this first (of two) volume of
his best recordings. Other instrumentals include "Bounce Pee Wee" ('48),
"Rock Island Blues" ('48), "Pee Wee's Wild" ('50) and an alternate take
of "Texas Hop" ('48 with Buddy Floyd on tenor sax) - his 2nd Top 5 R&B
hit. As a bonus, ACE has included two 1949 tracks he recorded with Jay
McShann, "Black Gal" (unissued) and the rare instrumental "Boogie Woogie
Upstairs" (issued as by Al "Cake" Wichard, McShann's drummer).
Collectors should note that the set has the master take of "Central
Avenue Blues" ('48) and three titles from the 1950 session with the
Harry "Sweets" Edison-Ben Webster group, including "Please Come Back"
(with possibly Marshall Royal on alto sax) and a new alternate take of
"Louella Brown". (EL) PEE WEE CRAYTON: After Hours/ Austin Boogie/ Black
Gal/ Blues For My Baby/ Boogie Woogie Upstairs/ Bop Hop/ Bounce Pee Wee/
Central Avenue Blues/ Change Your Way Of Lovin'/ From Blues To Boogie/
I'm Still In Love With You/ Louella Brown/ My Everything/ Pee Wee's
Boogie/ Pee Wee's Wild/ Please Come Back/ Rock Island Blues/ Rockin' The
Blues/ Rosa Lee/ T For Texas (Mistreated Blues)/ Texas Hop/ Tired Of
Travelin'/ When Darkness Falls
Wailin' Daddy, The Best Of Maxwell
Davis, 1945-1959
● CD $22.98
Three CDS, 89 tracks, essential
A wonderful tribute to
one of the unheralded geniuses of blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll - West
Coast saxophonist/ writer/ arranger and producer Maxwell Davis whose
talents in one or more of those capacities was responsible for many
blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll hits. He worked for all the important West
Cost record companies (Aladdin, Swing Time, Modern, Specialty, etc.) and
was involved with hundreds of different performers. When Jerry Leiber
was asked about Phil Spector he responded "Phil made some good records,
but I know a lot of people who made better records .... Maxwell Davis
must have made a hundred hits, not 12 or 17. And nobody knows who
Maxwell Davis is today!" When he was at Specialty, Percy Mayfield
refused to record if Maxwell wasn't present. Disc 1 is devoted to
Maxwell's own recordings as saxophonist and bandleader and show him to
be a superb stylist which neatly straddles the line between jazz and R&B
ranging from the mellow sounds of the 40s to the more hard driving
sounds of the 50s always surrounded by the top musicians on the West
Coast. Maxwell was a consummate musician who didn't need to indulge in
over the top histrionics popular with some of his contemporaries. The
other two discs features Maxwell's work as sideman, arranger or producer
featuring contributions from performers like Jo Evans, Helen Humes, Gene
Phillips, Joe Turner & Pete Johnson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson,
Mickey Cooper, Percy Mayfield, Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers, Rock
Heart Johnson, Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five, The Cocoas, Young Jessie
and many more. Although the emphasis is on blues and R&B recordings
there are also a few examples of Maxwell's work in the jazz (Charles
Mingus Sextet, Red Callnder Sextette, etc) and pop (June Christy, Ray
Anthony). A superb collection with excellent sound and informative notes
from Dave Penny. The only thing lacking is detailed discographical info.
(FS) JO JO ADAMS: Hard Headed Woman Blues/ PATTI ANNE:
Shtiggy Boom/ RAY ANTHONY ORCHESTRA: Blow, Man, Blow!/ CALVIN BOZE:
Waiting And Drinking/ GATEMOUTH BROWN: Without Me Baby/ RED CALLENDER
SEXTETTE: Chico’s Boogie/ IKE CARPENTER ORCHESTRA: Pachuko Hop/ JUNE
CHRISTY: Some Folks Do/ THE COCOAS: Flip Your Daddy/ MICKY COOPER: When
I Had Money/ EARL CURRY: I Want Your Loving/ MAXWELL DAVIS: Belmont
Special/ Blue Shuffle/ Blue Tango/ Bluesville/ Boogie Cocktails/ Bristol
Drive/ Cool Diggin’/ Get Out/ Hey Boy/ Hey, Good Lookin’/ Honey Dripper/
Hot Point/ Hung Out/ I’ll Always Be In Love With You/ I’m Waiting Just
For You/ Little White Lies/ Lonesome Road Blues/ Look Sharp - Be Sharp
(The Gillette March)/ M T Boogie/ Ooh!/ Popsicle/ Resistor/ September In
The Rain/ Side Car/ Strange Sensation/ Tempo Rock/ The Glory Of Love/
The Way You Look Tonight/ Thunderbird/ Th’ Adams Bop Hop/ Welcome Home
Baby/ CORDELLA DE MILO: I Ain’t Gonna Hush/ MARY DE PINA: Boogie Woogie
Man/ FLOYD DIXON: Real Lovin’ Mama/ JO EVANS: Goody Goody Baby/ LOWELL
FULSON: Jimmy’s Blues/ CLARENCE GARLOW: I’m Hurt/ LLOYD GLENN ALL STARS:
Jumpin’ With Lloyd/ FELIX GROSS: Peaceful Lovin’/ PEPPERMINT HARRIS: Let
The Back Door Hit You/ MEREDITH HOWARD: Goodbye/ HELEN HUMES: He May Be
Yours/ It’s Better To Give Than To Receive/ Riffin’ Without Helen/ YOUNG
JESSIE: Mary Lou/ EDDIE JOHNSON: Mr Juice Head/ ROCK HEART JOHNSON: Rock
Heart’s Blues/ PETE JOHNSON SEXTETTE: Half Tight Boogie/ BETTY HALL
JONES: The Same Old Boogie/ LOUIS JORDAN: Hog Wash/ B.B. KING: I’m In
Love/ JOE LIGGINS: Going Back To New Orleans/ LITTLE MISS CORNSHUCKS:
Cornshucks’ Blues/ LITTLE WILLIE LITTLEFIELD: Kansas City/ PERCY
MAYFIELD: Half Awoke/ Loose Lips/ BIG SPEED MCDANIELS: The Jumping
Boogie Blues/ RUSTY MCDONALD: Dirty Pool/ OSCAR MCLOLLIE: Hot Banana/
AMOS MILBURN: Pot Luck Boogie/ CHARLES MINGUS SEXTET: Swingin’ An Echo/
JIMMY NELSON: Cry Hard Luck/ GENE PHILLIPS: Big Legs/ JAKE PORTER: Jump
Safari/ Opus Five–Jake’s Jive/ LA MELLE PRINCE: Get High/ MABEL SCOTT:
Gee/ Wailin’ Daddy/ EFFIE SMITH: Effie’s Boogie/ GEECHIE SMITH: T-Town
Jump/ GEORGE SMITH: Cross-Eyed Suzie Lee/ JOE SWIFT: Alligator Meat/ JOE
TURNER: Don’t Talk Me To Death/ T-BONE WALKER: Welcome Blues/ CROWN
PRINCE WATERFORD: Love Awhile/ BOB WILLIAMS: Talk To Me/ JIMMY
WITHERSPOON: Call My Baby/ LEE YOUNG BAND: Seeing Double
Walkin' The Blues - Very Best Of
Champion Jack Dupree
● CD $15.98
28 tracks, 65 mins, highly recommended
Most welcome
reissue featuring all of Jack's King recordings in chronological order.
His first session was in July 1951 and featured Jack with Brownie
McGhee, a bass player and drummer and was issued under the name Big Tom
Collins. The vocals were split between Jack and Brownie and only the
tracks with Jack's vocals are featured here. The remaining tracks were
recorded between 1953 and 1955 and issued under his own name. Jack is in
fine form accompanied by small R&B combos with varying musicians often
featuring the great guitarist Mickey Baker who plays some tasty slide on
two 1955 sessions. One 1953 sessions features harmonica from Papa
Lightfoot and the last session from November 1955 features dynamite harp
by George Smith including the instrumental "Sharp Harp". Some tracks
feature sax work from Sidney Grant or Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson. On a
few tracks he affects an annoying "tongue tied" vocal approach but
there's enough fine singing and playing elsewhere to more than
compensate. Sound quality is excellent and the booklet has informative
notes by Victor Pearlin. (FS)
7 tracks, 38 mins, very highly recommended
A real treat
for Dylan fans - a previously unknown live recording made at the
Brandeis University Folk Festival on May 10th, 1963 - two weeks before
the release of his groundbreaking "Freewheelin'" album. Four of the
seven song appeared on that album - "Honey, Just Allow Me One More
Chance/ Masters Of War" (a particularly compelling and savage
performance)/ "Talking World War III Blues" and his exquisite reworking
of the traditional song "Lord Franklin" as "Bob Dylan's Dream". Two of
the songs "Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues" and "Talkin' Bear Mountain
Picnic Massacre Blues" were recorded at the the Freewheelin' sessions
but never made the final cut. The final song, the chilling "Ballad Of
Hollis Brown" had been written in 1962 and appeared on his third album
"The Time They Are A-Changin'" in 1964. Bob is in great form, sound
quality is superb and there are informative notes by Dylanologist
Michael Gray. This won't excite your average listener but will be
invaluable for Dylan fans both for the quality of the performance and
for it's importance in being the last live performance recorded before
he satarted heading for superstardom. (FS)
Volume 1: 1926-1929 :Mrs Clinkscales To
The Cotton Club
● CD $28.98
4 discs 96 tracks essential
This may be one of the best
sets to be released in 2005! Ellington collectors find it hard to keep
track of the early years, as he extensively recorded for the four major
labels Victor, Columbia , Brunswick & Vocalion. The set starts off with
some of Duke's rarest, the pre-majors recordings starting with backing
Alberta Prime & Florence Bristol in 11/24 for Blu-Disc, as well as their
own first coupling "Choo Choo/ Gotta Hurry Home". From there it was The
Washingtonians recording for Pathe'& Gennett before starting to record
for Vocalion & Brunswick as Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orch, for
Victor as Duke Ellington Orch, Columbia as The Washingtonians. And that
doesn't include sessions for Pathe as The Whopee Makers, Okeh as The
Harlem Footwarmers & The Chicago Footwarmers, even Warren Mills & His
Blue Serenaders. There's multiple versions of his signature tunes of the
time, some of my faves of all-time, including "Black & Tan Fantasy/
Creole Love Call/ East St. Louis Toodle-Oo/Jubilee Stomp/ Black Beauty/
The Mooche/ Digga Digga Doo" & "Doin' The New Lowdown". There's
discographical info that's a bit hard to follow, & unfortunately no
credits for the remastering. And by the way, Mrs Clinkscales was the
actual name of young Edward Ellington's piano teacher! (GM DUKE ELLINGTON: Animal Crackers/ Awful Sad/ Bandanna
Babies/ Birmingham Breakdown/ Birmingham Breakdown/ Black And Tan
Fantasie/ Black And Tan Fantasy/ Black And Tan Fantasy/ Black Beauty/
Black Beauty/ Black Beauty (Firewater)/ Blue Bubbles/ Blues I Love To
Sing, The/ Blues With A Feelin', The/ Bugle Call Rag/ Chicago Stomp
Down/ Choo Choo (Gotta Hurry Home)/ Creeper, The/ Creeper, The/ Creole
Love Call/ Diga Diga Doo/ Diga Diga Doo/ Doin' The Frog/ Doin' The New
Low - Down/ Doin' The Voom Voom/ Doin' The Voom Voom/ Down In Our Alley
Blues/ East St. Louie Toodle-Oo (East St. Louie Toodle-Oo)/ East St.
Louis Toodle-O/ East St. Louis Toodle-O/ East St. Louis Toodle-O (Sic)/
East St. Louis Toodle-Oo/ Flaming Youth/ Georgia Grind/ Goin' To Town/
Got Everything But You/ Harlem River Quiver (Brown Berries)/ Harlem
Twist/ High Life/ Hit Me In The Nose Blues/ Hop Head/ Hot And Bothered/
Hot And Bothered (Hot And Bothered)/ Hottentot/ How Come You Do Me Like
You Do?/ I Can't Give You Anything But Love/ I Done Caught You Blues/ I
Must have That Man/ I'm Gonna Hang Around My Suga/ I'm Gonna Put You
Right In Jail/ If You Can't Hold The Man You Love/ Immigration Blues/
It's All Coming Home To You/ It's Gonna Be A Cold, Cold Winter (So Get
Another Place To Stay)/ Jubilee Stomp/ Jubilee Stomp/ Jubilee Stomp/
Jubilee Stomp/ Lil'l Farina/ Louisiana/ Lucky Number Blues/ Misty
Mornin'/ Misty Mornin'/ Mooche, The/ Move Over/ Move Over/ New Orleans
Low-Down/ No, Papa, No/ No, Papa, No/ Parlor Social De Luxe/ Parlor
Social Stomp/ Rainy Nights (Rainy Days)/ Red Hot Band (Red Hot Brand)/
Santa Claus Bring My Man Back To Me/ Saturday Night Function/ Soliloquy/
Song Of The Cotton Field/ St. Louis Blues/ Stack O'Lee Blues/ Swampy
River/ Sweet Mama (Papa's Gettin' Mad)/ Take It Easy/ Take It Easy/ Take
It Easy/ The Mooche/ The Mooche/ The Mooche/ Tiger Rag-Part 1/ Tiger
Rag-Part 2/ Tishomingo Blues/ Trombone Blues/ Washington Wabble/
Washington Wobble/ What Can A Poor Fellow Do?/ Yellow Dog Blues/ You've
Got Those) Wanna-Go-Back-Again Blues
32 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
If you like your
R&B hot and rocking then Cincinnati based Robert "H-Bomb" Ferguson is
your man. True to his name he explodes out of your speakers with his
tough gravel voice and some wonderfully hard driving bands. This CD is
crammed full of mostly up tempo sides recorded between 1950 and 1960
with the occasional slow but searing ballad. On his early sides H-Bomb
sounds a lot like Wynonie Harris but his approach is even more
uninhibited and apparently his stage act was more uninhibited still!
Most of earlier sides were recorded in New York with top New York
sidemen like Charlie Singleton, Big John Greer, Lou Donaldson, Jack "The
Bear" Parker, Count Hastings, Mickey Baker and others - the later sides
were recorded in Cincinnati with unknown but superb musicians and show
that H-Bomb was perfectly at home with a more rock 'n' roll flavored
material. No notes but sound quality is, with a few exceptions,
excellent. (FS) H-BOMB FERGUSON: Big City Blues/ Bookie's Blues/
Crying Over You/ Feel Like I Do/ Give It Up/ Good Lovin'/ Good Time Gal/
Hard Lovin' Woman/ Hot Kisses/ I Love My Baby/ I Need You Baby/ I'm
Crying Boo Boo Hoo/ I'm So Lonely/ Lady Queen/ Life Is Hard/ Little
Tiger/ Mary, Little Mary/ Midnight Ramblin' Tonight/ My Brown Frame
Baby/ My Love/ New Way Blues/ No-sackie-sack/ On My Way/ Preachin' The
Blues/ Rock H-bomb Rock/ Slowly Going Crazy/ Spaghetti And Meat Ball/
Sundown Blues/ The Mess Around/ Tortured Love/ Wine Head/ Work For My
Baby
15 tracks, essential
In the 70s and early 80s nobody on
the British Isles folk scene was better than Dick Gaughan with his rich
smoky baritone voice and dazzling guitar technique. A change of
direction in the 80s resulted in music that was less consistently
compelling than his earlier work. This compact disc reissues his 1978
album "Gaughan" with the addition of four instrumental sets from his
groundbreaking all instrumental album "Coppers And Brass" and two from
his guest appearance on the High Level Ranters mining songs album
"Bonnie Pit Laddie. This disc is superb in every respect and shows
Dick's willingness to experiment with the recording process -
occasionally multi-tracking his guitar and, on the powerful Dominic
Behan song "Crooked Jack", playing some spine chilling electric guitar.
His version of the long ballad "Willie Of Winsbury" is lovely with some
exquisite finger picked guitar and is one of his all time gratest
performances. His version of"The Recruited Collier" is very moving as is
"The Augengeich Disaster", the latter with lovely concertina by Alistair
Anderson. Gaughan may not have been the first to play traditional Scots
and Irish tunes on guitar but he was certainly one of the best - the
slurs and slides of the tunes are transformed into rolls and triplets
which trip off thumb and flatpick in an exhilarating cascade of
coruscating notes. The playing never sacrifices technique for feeling.
Essential! (FS)
29 tracks, very highly recommended
Terrific and varied
collection of material, most of it featuring singer/ guitarist Walter Hurdt from Asheville, North Carolina it opens with four cuts from 1937 -
superb white blues in the Jimmie Rodgers style - two by Hurdt on his own
and two with Claude Boone on guitar and duet vocal. This is followed by
19 tracks from 1938 and 1939 with a small group featuring Lawrence
Wiseman on fiddle and Leroy Johnson and Cecil Burleson on guitars and
vocals. The material includes blues, western swing, duet harmony singing
in the style of The Delmore Brothers, a couple of jazzy guitar duets and
the first recorded version of "Orange Blossom Special" which 18 year old
fiddler Wiseman learned directly from its composer Ervin Rouse who
recorded it a couple of months later. The final six sides finds the
group recording without Hurdt as Slim Johnson & The Singing Cowboys and
continue in the fine tradition of the earlier sides. Fine sound and
informative notes from Kevin Coffey. (FS) WALTER HURDT: Blue Skies Above/ Carry Me Back To The
Blue Ridge/ Cause My Baby's Gone/ Double Trouble Blues/ Down The Arizona
Trail/ Fiddle And Guitar Runnin' Wild/ Fisherman's Daughter/ Fox
Hunter's Luck/ Guitar Rag/ Hold Him Down Cowboy/ Honeysuckle Blues/ I'm
A Straight Shooting Cowboy/ I'm Drinking My Troubles Down/ I'm Ridin'
Now/ I'm Through With Women/ I've Always Loved My Old Guitar/ My Brave
Buckaroo/ My Skinny Sarah Jane/ Playing Around/ Rhythm In E/ She Won't
Pay Me No Mind/ The Hobo Blues/ The Old Gold Coast/ Think Of Me/ To The
End Of The Trail/ Train Special (Orange Blossom Special)/ Truck Driver's
Blues/ Two Timing Mama Blues/ What If My Dreams Don't Come True
25 tracks, 69 min., essential
The companion disc to The
Cadets Meet the Jacks is a winner from start to finish. The Cadets/Jacks
were one of the premier groups of the 50's. With a lineup that included
Aaron Collins, chief songwriter and brother to the Teen Queens (see
below), future soul star Ted Taylor, and bass singer extraordinaire Dub
Jones, they certainly had more talent than most of their competition.
And the mostly ballad material here attests to that. Highlights include
the title cut, plus "Away", "So Wrong", "Let's Make Up", "Why Did I Fall
in Love", and "This Empty Heart". Not only do the two discs include all
of their 45 rpm and lp cuts recorded under either the Jacks' or the
Cadets' name, this one also includes both sides of the very rare MJC 45
on which Jacks lead Willie Davis moonlighted-"My Reckless Heart" and
"They Turned the Party Out Down at Bessie's House". A great program put
together with Ace's usual good taste, featuring a particularly nice
cover design, fine sound quality, and informed liner notes by Jim
Dawson. A must buy. (DH)
22 tracks, 73 min., essential
Jackson signed with Malaco
in 1982 as the house songwriter for Denise LaSalle, Latimore, Johnnie
Taylor, Bobby Bland, Tyrone Davis, and others. And as luck would have
it, Malaco eventually bought Muscle Shoals Sound, where Jackson used to
be the house pen. So when Grapevine licensed the Malaco material they
gained access to a wealth of demonstration tapes Jackson had recorded to
promote his songs in hopes of their being covered. The earlier CD,
George Jackson In Muscle Shoals, featured 20 songs from that cache, and
this disc sports another 22 of no less quality than their brethren.
Mostly, Jackson is backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (Jimmy
Johnson on guitar, Barry Beckett on Keys, David Hood on bass, Roger
Hawkins on drums), perhaps the best in the business at the time.
Jackson's sometimes Sam Cooke-influenced vocals are pleasing enough, to
be sure, but the songs themselves are the stars here. Great lost soul
rediscovered. (JC)
Two CDs, 46 tracks, 125 mins, very highly recommended
A
fabulous collection of early sides by R&B and soul legend Etta James.
Disc one is devoted to recordings made for Modern/ Kent between 1954 and
1957 featuring most of her singles along with a couple of LP tracks. It
starts with her classic "The Wallflower" aka "Roll With Henry", a duet
with Richard Berry in answer to The Midnighters "Work With Me Annie"
that topped the R&B charts in February 1955. It also includes the answer
to the answer "Hey Henry" and her only other hit for the label "Good Rockin' Daddy" later in the same year. Although her other sides didn't
make the charts she turned out some fabulous R&B rockers along with
blues ballads - initially backed by The Johnny Otis Band and then by the
Maxwell Davis Orchestra. It also includes a few tracks from a session
held in New Orleans in 1956 with the Dave Bartholomew Band including a
great reworking of her debut release as "Dance With Me Henry". Disc 2
starts with her great 1959 Kent duets with Harvey Fuqua as Betty &
Dupree. Etta singned with the Chess subsidiary Argo in 1960 that was to
begin a steady stream of hits starting with the soulful ballad "All I
Could Do Was Cry" and including another couple of fine duets with Fuqua
as Etta & Harvey including a fine rendition of Willie Dixon's
"Spoonful". In 1960 issued their first Etta James LP "At Last" comprised
of tracks originally issued on singles and includes most of her early
Argo hits including "My Dearest Darling/ Trust In Me/ All I Could Do Was
Cry" and the iconic title song which was first recorded by Glenn MIller
in 1941. It also includes he great rendition of the Muddy Waters
favorite "I Just Want To Make Love To You" which though not a hit at the
time became a top ten hit in the U.K. in 1996 after it was used in a
Coca Cola commercial. Truly classic R&B and early soul from one of it's
most exciting performers. (FS) BETTY AND DUPREE: I Hope Your Satisfied/ If It Ain’t
One Thing/ ETTA AND HARVEY: My Heart Cries/ Spoonful/ ETTA JAMES: A
Sunday Kind Of Love/ All I Could Do Was Cry/ Anything To Say You’re
Mine/ At Last/ Baby Baby Everynight/ Be Mine/ By The Light Of The
Silvery Moon/ Come What May/ Crazy Feeling/ Dance With Me Henry/ Fools
We Mortals Be/ Girl Of My Dreams/ Good Lookin’/ Good Rockin’ Daddy/ Hey
Henry/ Hold Me Squeeze Me/ I Just Want To Make Love To You/ If I Cant
Have You/ In My Diary/ It’s A Crying Shame/ I’ll Dry My Tears/ I’m A
Fool/ Let Me Know/ Market Place/ My Dearest Darling/ My One And Only/
Nobody But You/ Plum Nuts/ Seven Day Fool/ Shortnin’ Bread Rock/ Stormy
Weather/ Strange Things Happening/ Tears Of Joy/ That’s All/ The Pick
Up/ The Wallflower/ Then I’ll Care/ Tough Lover/ Tough Mary/ Trust In
Me/ W-O-M-A-N/ You Can Count On Me
24 tracks, 77 mins, essential
Bert Jansch has influenced
artists from Paul Simon, Donovan, and Nick Drake, to Neil Young and Led
Zeppelin, to Johnny Marr and the Smiths, among countless others, and
this collection does a fine job of illustrating why. Bert Jansch
revolutionized acoustic guitar playing and his skillful fingers and
lyrical sense make for amazing instrumentals as well as beautiful
accompaniment to his and others voices. Sampling from Jansch's most
prolific years 1965-1972-a seven-year period that saw Jansch perform on
five solo albums, two collaboration LPs with John Renbourn, and six as a
member of Pentangle-this collection does a fine job showing how much
ground he covered in that short span of years. Whether it is his dynamic
cover of Davy Graham's brilliant instrumental "Angie," his hugely
influential arrangement of the traditional "Blackwaterside," the
heartbreaking "Needle Of Death," the Jazzy/ Donovan-esque "A Little
Sweet Sunshine," or the dramatic "No Love Is Sorrow," each twist and
turn along the road finds Jansch creating something new & special:
beautiful music that has lasted decades and should be loved for
generations to come. This is a fine introduction to his early career, he
released a whole slew of fantastic material over the years, and so if
you use this compilation as a jumping off point, you have a lot of great
music ahead of you. Unfortunately I am writing this just days after
Jansch has died, so listening to his music and writing this review was
all the more bittersweet. The world of music has lost a true genius.
(JM)
29 tracks, highly recommended
Fine collection of 29
sides recorded between 1952 and 1955 by this excellent and distinctive
performer from Kentucky with a voice that sounded 20 year older than his
real age and a frailing banjo style that owed a lot to his influence
Uncle Dave Macon. Accompaniments range from old timey to mainstream
country with mandolin, steel guitar, electric guitar, fiddle, etc.
Includes his cover of LuluBelle & Scotty's topical "I'm No Communist"
plus "Retreat Cries My Heart/ TV Blues/ Sassafras/ Dear Old Sunny South
By The Sea" (with some fine yodeling)/ "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet/ That
New Vitamine/ Some More Mountain Dew/ Standing In The Depot/ Old Dan
Tucker/ In The Future", etc. None of these songs were hits but Grandpa
had a loyal following and his music is consistently entertaining. (FS)
GRANDPA JONES: Bread And Gravy/ Closer To The Bone/
Dear Old Sunny South By The Sea/ Gooseberry Pie/ Herd Of Turtles/ High
Silk Hat And A Gold Top Walking Cane/ I'm No Communist/ In The Future/
Keep On The Sunny Side/ Looking Back To See/ Mountain Laurel/ My Heart
Is Like A Train/ Old Blue/ Old Dan Tucker/ Old Rattler's Son/ Pap's Corn
Likker Still/ Retreat Cries My Heart/ Sassafras/ Some More Mountain Dew/
Standing In The Depot/ Stop That Ticklin' Me/ TV Blues/ That New
Vitamine/ The Champion/ The Trader/ What Has She Got/ Y'All Come/ You
Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet/ You're Never Too Old For Love
15 tracks, 41 mins, highly recommended
Though not a
familiar name, Al King (aka Alvin K. Smith) was an excellent West Coast
blues singer with a smooth but powerful vocal style. He was an excellent
songwriter too, often taking familiar sayings and turning them into
blues songs - "Think Twice Before You Speak" (with the classic line "I
ain't no dentist/ But I'll get your teeth out free")/ "Everybody Ain't
Your Friend/ Don't Put Off For Tomorrow" and others. He also covers a
couple of Lowell Fulson songs "Reconsider Baby" and "Blue Shadows" and
makes them all his own. These recordings were made between 1964 & '68
for the Shirley, Flag and Sahara labels. He is accompanied by excellent
small bands and what elevates his recordings from excellent to
outstanding is the incredible guitar playing of Johnny Heartsman - a
truly talented and innovative musicians. A few of the tracks are listed
as being unissued but they show up in the discography as being issued.
Remastering could be a little better but is generally very good and
there are informative notes by Chris Biehler. (FS)
16 tracks + bonus video track, very highly recommended
Subtitled "Morris Dance Tunes from the Cotswolds" this was originally
released in 1976 on Free Reed and reissued on CD by Topic in 1993. This
new reissue has been newly remastered and includes a bonus video track
about the making of the album with interviews with John Kirpatrick and
Neil Wayne. Kirkpatrick is a wonderfully appealing performer on all his
various squeeze boxes and probably knows enough about Morris Dancing to
earn a PhD or two. This is a fun CD for lovers of English music, even if
you don't dance a step. If you do dance, not only can you crank this CD
up and go wild, but the booklet contains an astonishing amount of
information on Morris dancing and the Longborough style in particular.
Martin Carthy, Sue Harris, Martin Brinsford, and Fi Fraser round out the
band and play it all with necessary and consummate gusto. (DC/ FS)
You Got To Reap What You Sow - Texas
Songster Vol. 2
● CD $12.98
24 tracks, 78 mins, essential
Mance Lipscomb was one of
the greatest musical discoveries of the 60s - a wonderful singer and
guitarist with an extensive repertoire that encompassed not only blues
but rags, dance tunes, pop songs, spirituals, children's songs and more.
This wonderful collection of 24 songs was all recorded in one afternoon
in May 1964 - most in one take! The material is varied including old
blues favorites ("Come Back Baby/ Bumble Bee"), regionally popular blues
("Charlie James/ Hattie Green", the powerful "Tom Moore Blues" about a
Washington county land owner and the exquisite "Willie Poor Boy"),
popular and jazz songs ("Long Way To Tipperary / You Rascal You") which
become completely new songs in Mance's hands, instrumental pieces
("Spanish Flang Dang/ Boogie In "A"") and more. A couple of tracks
feature some lovely slide guitar including a version of the topical
ballad "The Titanic" and "Joe Turner Killed A Man". He also sings a
surprising unaccompanied version of the Anglo-American traditional
ballad "Lord Thomas". There are a lot more musical treasures featured
here. Sound quality is superb and there are fine notes by Chris
Strachwitz who discovered Mance and recorded the selection here. (FS)
MANCE LIPSCOMB: Boogie In A/ Bumble Bee/ Charlie
James/ Cocaine Done Killed My Baby/ Come Back Baby/ Hattie Green/ I
Looked Down The Road And I Wondered/ If I Miss The Train/ Joe Turner
Killed A Man/ Long Way To Tipperary/ Lord Thomas/ Mama, Don't Dog Me/
Missouri Waltz/ Police Station Blues/ Sentimental Blues/ Silver City/ So
Different Blues/ Spanish Flang Dang/ Tall Angel At The Bar/ The Titanic/
Tom Moore Blues/ Willie Poor Boy/ You Got To Reap What You Sow/ You
Rascal You
17 tracks, essential
Reissue of Chess 3012 from 1969
with six bonus tracks. Gene Barge puts together a blazing horn led band
with Donny Hathaway on piano on several cuts to back Milton on a superb
collection of soul and blues including the big hit title song along with
other hits like "Let's Get Together/ Poor Man's Song" and "Baby I Love
You" and some great covers like "Things I Used To Do/ Kansas City" and
"Blues Get Off My Shoulder". Bonus cuts includes his hit and one of his
trademark songs "Grits Ain't Groceries", stunning covers of "The Dark
End Of The Street" and "I (Who Have Nothing)" and more. This is Milton
at the peak of his powers with great songs, magnificent singing, a
killer band and a few flashes of Milton's dynamite guitar work. Includes
12 page booklet with extensive notes, label shots and photos. Soul-blues
doesn't get much better than this. (FS)
24 tracks, 63 mins, highly recommended
24 tracks from
"the most colorful hillbilly band in America." 17 are from their classic
recordings made for Four Star from the late 40s and early 50s. As far as
I can tell these have not been not on CD before and there are some great
performances including some great gospel performances which show, that,
in spite of their general zaniness they could perform songs like
"Flowers From A Master's Bouquet/ Gonna lay My Burden Down/ Unclouded
Day" and others. There is also a stunning version of "Tramp On Your
Street" plus other great performances like "Sweet Little You/ I'll Still
Write Your Name In The Sand/ Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die" and a
riotous rendition of "Bring It Down To My House Honey" with great
rockin' mandolin. The remaining seven tracks are from the groups early/
mid 50s Columbia recordings which are available in their entirety on
Bear Family (BCD 15850 - The Most Colorful Hillbilly Band - 4 CDS -
$84.98) and are enjoyable but pretty tame compared to the Four Star
sides. The rest of the groups Four Star sides are available on Arhoolie
391 and Arhoolie 437 ($12.98 each) and are also indispensible releases.
(FS) ROSE MADDOX & THE MADDOX BROTHERS: Baby You Should
Live So Long/ Bring It On Down To My House Honey/ Cowboy Bugle Boy/
Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die/ Flowers From The Master's Bouquet/ Gonna
Lay My Burden Down/ Hasty Baby/ Hummingbird/ I'd Rather Die Young/ I'd
Rather Have Jesus/ I'll Be No Stranger There/ I'll Still Write Your Name
In The Sand/ In A Land Where We Never Grow Old/ Just When I Needed You/
Old Pal Of Yesterdays/ Rosalie By The Rio/ Sweet Little You/ The
Nightingale Song/ There's No Right Way To Do Me Wrong/ Tramp On The
Street/ Unclouded Day/ Waltz Of The Pines/ Wedding Blues/ When The Sun
Goes Down
21 tracks, 69 mins, essential
Fabulous collection of
barrelhouse piano blues from Birmingham, Alabama singer & piano player
Robert McCoy. McCoy started his musical career in the mid 20s inspired
by the playing of his older brothers as well such artists as Clarence
"Pinetop" Smith, "Cow Cow" Davenport, Jabo Williams and Leroy Carr. He
performed regularly and although he never recorded under his own name he
played on recordings by the likes of "Jaybird" Coleman, "Peanut The
Kidnapper" and Guitar Slim. Like many others, economic conditions put an
end to his musical careerin the 30s. He was discovered by 14 years old
blues enthusiast Pat Cather in 1961 who recorded him on a number of
occasions over the next few years and issued two now extremely rare
albums on his own Vulcan label. The first 14 cuts here are beautifully
recorded studio sides, five of them previously unissued, and the
remaining seven tracks (6 of them previously unissued) were recorded "on
location" and have inferior sound though featuring fine performances. On
the basis of these recordings McCoy was a major talent - a wonderful and
expressive singer and a sensational piano player with a rolling style
that is both energetic and sensitive - you can hear the influences of
some of the people he associated with but he is very much an original.
His material is a fine mix of traditional based originals and original
takes of songs from the repertoire of St. Louis Jimmy, Leroy Carr,
Pinetop Smith and others. The opening cut "Bye Bye Baby" is a real
stunner as is his take on Luke Jordan's "Church Bell Blues" and Leroy
Carr's "Gone Mother Blues". That McCoy didn't become a regular on the
blues circuit is a real shame. A second CD of McCoy's recordings for
Cather is in the works for which I can only say "hallelujah"! (FS)
24 tracks, essential
Ever wondered what the 78s on your
reissue CDs really sounded like? With remastering by John R T Davies,
who worked on this three volume set (two of which were originally issued
by JSP), you get as close as possible to finding out. Davies isn't
concerned with removing all traces of surface noise but with preserving
the information on the original discs; and in doing so he really brings
this great music to life. Volume one covers the band's first twenty
sides (from February 1927 to February 1928) and includes a further four
tracks of solo performances by Will Weldon and Vol Stevens. (These solo
tracks are otherwise found on Wolf WBCD 004.) Excellent notes by Neil
Slaven sketch the social context in which the band operated as well as
providing a critical commentary on each recording session. Not that this
is music to be listened to in a high state of critical awareness - so
what if the band occasionally sounds like it's falling apart, that's
part of the fun. Sit back and enjoy Charlie Polk's 'richly flatulent
emissions' and the rest of the gang as you've never heard them before. A
full discography completes the picture. (DPR) THE MEMPHIS JUG BAND: Beale Street Mess Around/ Bob
Lee Junior Blues/ Coal Oil Blues/ Evergreen Money Blues/ I'll See You In
The Spring When The Birds Begin To Sing/ I'm Looking For The Bully Of
Thetown/ Kansas City Blues/ Memphis Boy Blues/ Memphis Jug Blues/
Newport News Blues/ Packed My Suitcase Started To The Train/ Papa Long
Blues/ Peaches In The Springtime/ She Stays Out All Night Long/
Snitchin' Gambler Blues/ Sometimes I Think I Love You/ State Of
Tennessee Blues/ Stingy Woman Blues/ Sun Brimmers Blues/ Sunshine Blues/
VOL STEVENS: Baby Got The Rickets Mama's Got The Mobile Blues/ Vol
Stevens Blues/ WILL WELDON (CASEY BILL): Hitch Me To Your Buggy And
Drive Me Like A Mule/ Turpentine Blues
23 tracks, essential
Volume two of the chronological
reissue covers MJB's recordings between September 1928 and October 1929.
The band are now hitting their stride, and this disc contains some of
their most memorable performances, including "Lindberg Hop", "Stealin'
Stealin'" and the beautiful "K. C. Moan". As in volume one there is
great variety in both material and mood - from the wildly exuberant to
the sombre and downbeat. We even get two waltzes! This volume also
includes two solo titles apiece by Will Shade and Hattie Hart otherwise
found on Wolf WBCD 004. Detailed notes on the performances by Neil
Slaven. The full discography is particularly valuable with an ever
changing group like this, and sound quality is again exemplary. (DPR)
HATTIE HART: Won't You Be Kind To Me?/ You Wouldn't,
Would You, Papa?/ THE MEMPHIS JUG BAND: A Black Woman Is Like A Black
Snake/ Feed Your Friend With A Long Handled Spoon/ I Can Beat You Plenty
(that Hand You Tried To Deal Me Will)/ Jug Band Waltz/ K.c. Moan/
Lindberg Hop/ Memphis Yo Yo Blues/ Mississippi River Waltz/ On The Road
Again/ Stealin' , Stealin'/ Sugar Pudding/ Taking Your Place/ Tired Of
You Driving Me/ Whipped My Woman With A Single-tree/ Whitewash Station
Blues/ WILL SHADE: Better Leave That Stuff Alone/ I Can't Stand It/ She
Stabbed Me With An Ice-pick/ What's The Matter?/ MINNIE WALLACE: Dirty
Butter/ The Old Folks Started It
With The North Carolina Ramblers And The
Highlanders
● CD $28.98
4 CDs, 96 tracks, essential
Although there are some
flaws in this collection it is still an absolutely indispensible set
featuring recordings by one of the finest and most popular string bands
of the late 20s led by singer and banjo player Charlie Poole. Poole had
a distinctive vocal style and played banjo in a precise three finger
style that owed more to minstrel shows and ragtime than to the more
raucous style of other old time banjo players and was to prove an
influence on later generations of banjo player and was a forerunner of
Scruggs style bluegrass banjo. The group usually worked as a trio and
Poole was joined by fine fiddlers Poser Rorer, Lonnie Austin or Odell
Smith and except for the groups first session in July 25th which
featured guitarist Norman Woodlieff their regular guitarist was Roy
Harvey and the group adopted the name the North Carolina Ramblers. The
sound of the group was a joy - more melodic and nuanced than many of
their contemporaries and their material included traditional ballads
(some with their origins in English and Irish songs), minstrel songs,
old popular songs, sentimental songs and more. Their first session
yielded their wonderful "Don't Led You Deal Go Down" which sold over
100,000 copies and put their name on the map. Roy Harvey also recorded
as leader of the North Carolina Ramblers sometimes with Poole on banjo
and at other times with Bob Hoke on banjo-mandolin and many of these
tracks are featured here though one six track session from February 1928
is misidentified as by Poole and The North Carolina Ramblers when he
isn't present at all. Many of the groups songs became old time and later
bluegrass standards and includes such gems as "The Girl I Left In Sunny
Tennessee/ White House Blues/ Sweet Sunny South/ He Rambled/ Coon From
Tennessee/ If I Lose, I Don't Care/ Take A Drink On Me/ Baltimore Fire/
If The River Was Whiskey" (a great variation on "Hesitatin' Blues")/
"Hungry Hash House" and many more. It also includes the delightful four
part musical/ comedy skit "A Trip To New York" issued as by The
Alleghany Highlanders and a couple of banjo solos by Poole accompanied
by Roy Harvey's sister Lucy Terry. Sound quality is generally excellent
though a few tracks are from worn 78s. The only real drawback is that it
doesn't quite include everything Poole recorded as a couple of 78s are
not included though they are in the hands of collectors and could have
been used if a little more effort had been taken by JSP. It's also
puzzling that they didn't include a couple of unissued tracks that have
been reissued on LP and CD. Still apart from those minor omissions this
is a truly stellar and inspiring collection of old time country music.
(FS) CHARLIE POOLE: A Home Without Babies/ A Letter To My
Mother/ A Letter To My Mother/ A Trip To New York Part 1/ A Trip To New
York Part 2/ A Trip To New York Part 3/ A Trip To New York Part 4/ A
Young Boy Left His Home One Day/ As We Parted At The Gate/ Baltimore
Fire/ Bill Mason/ Bill Mason/ Blue Eyes/ Budded Rose/ Budded Roses/ Can
I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister/ Don't Let Your Deal Go Down/ Don't
Let Your Deal Go Down Blues/ Falling By The Wayside/ Flop Eared Mule/
Flyin' Clouds/ Forks Of Sandy/ From Tennessee/ George Collins/ Give My
Love To Nell/ Goodbye Booze/ Goodbye Mary Dear/ Goodbye Sweet Liza Jane/
He Rambled/ Home Without Love/ Honeysuckle/ Hungry Hash House/ Husband
And Wife Were Angry One Night/ I Cannot Call Her Mother/ I Once Loved A
Sailor/ I'll Be There Mary Dear/ I'm Glad I'm Married/ If I Lose, I
Don't Care/ If The River Was Whiskey/ It's Movin' Day/ Jealous Mary/
Just Keep Waiting Till The Good Time Comes/ Kitty Blye/ Leaving Dear Old
Ireland/ Leaving Home/ Look Before You Leap/ Lynchburg Town/ May I Sleep
In Your Barn/ Milwaukee Blues/ Monkey On A String/ Mountain Reel/ My
Gypsy Girl/ My Mother And My Sweetheart/ My Wife Went Away And Left Me/
Old And Only In The Way/ On The Streets Of Glory/ Pearl Bryant/ Please
Papa Come Home/ Poor Little Joe/ Ragtime Annie/ Ramblin' Blues/ Richmond
Square/ San Antonio/ She Is Only A Bird In A Gilded Cage/ Shootin'
Creek/ Southern Medley/ Sunset March/ Sweet Sefrain/ Sweet Sixteen/
Sweet Sunny South/ Sweet Sunny South/ Take A Drink On Me/ Take Back The
Ring/ Take Me Back To Home And Mother/ Tennessee Blues/ The Bluefield
Murder/ The Brave Engineer/ The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee/ The
Highwayman/ The Letter That Never Came/ The Man That Rode The Mule
Around The World/ The Old Clay Pipe/ The Only Girl I Ever Loved/
There'll Come A Time/ There'll Come A Time/ There's A Mother Old And
Gray Who Needs Me Now/ Too Young To Marry/ Took My Gal A Walkin'/ Under
The Double Eagle/ We Will Outshine The Sun/ What Is Home Without Babies/
White House Blues/ Wild Horse/ Wreck Of The Virginian No.3/ You Ain't
Talkin' To Me
The Classic Early Recordings In
Chronological Order
● CD $28.98
5 CD box set, 124 tracks, essential
Django & The Quintett Of The Hot Club of France cut a myriad of pre-war sides that
have been haphazardly re-issued for decades. This 5 CD set (originally
issued as five separate CDs) is not exactly chronological, but each
takes on a different facet of Django's early career with the Hot Club
(usual line up with Django on lead guitar), Stephane Grappelly (later
spelled Grappelli) on violin, Joseph Reinhardt & Pierre Ferret or Roger
Chaput on guitars & Louis Vola on string bass). The CD starts with their
original recordings under the name "Delauney's Jazz" from '34, then the
Hot Club recordings of '35, including the Hot Club members backing Big
Boy Goude & Alix Combelle. Vol 2 skips over to '38-39 to cover all the
London Decca sides including the Reinhardt/Grappelly duets, some with
Stephane on piano, as well as Django's solo sides. Vol 3 has the '38-39
Paris Decca sides. Vol 4 actually follows vol 1 & goes back to '35,
starting with Grappelly (on piano) & Reinhardt with Coleman Hawkins, in
his band &, on "Stardust", an incredible trio!, then back to the est of
the '35 & '36 sides, including some with vocalist Freddy Taylor. The
final volume has the '37 Quintet sides (going up to the material on vol
2), ending with the '34 sides with Django playing with Garnet Clark &
His Hot Club 4, featuring Bill Coleman on trumpet & vocals. Each CD has
24-26 sides, & all but Vol 4 have rare alternate takes. All tracks have
been remastered from best available 78s and pitch corrected where
necessary by mastering engineer Ted Kendall - a protégé of John R.T.
Davies (GM) DJANGO REINHARDT: After You've Gone/ Ain't
Misbehavin'/ Alabamy Bound/ Appel Direct/ Are You in the Mood?/ Avalon/
Avalon/ Believe It, Beloved/ Billets Doux/ Blue Drag/ Blue Moon/ Body
and Soul/ Charleston/ Chasing Shadows/ Chicago/ China Boy/ Clouds/
Continental/ Crazy Rhythm/ Daphné/Black and White/ Dinah/ Djangology/
Don't Worry 'Bout Me/ Exactly Like You/ Flat Foot Floogie/ Georgia on My
Mind/ H.C.Q. Strut/ Honeysuckle Rose/ Hot Lips/ Hungaria/ Hungaria/
Hungaria (alt)/ I Can't Give You Anything But Love/ I Got Rhythm/ I Saw
Stars/ I Saw Stars/ I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight/ I Wonder Where My
Baby Is Tonight/ I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight (alt)/ I'm Confessin'
(That I Love You)/ I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)/ I'se A-Muggin'/
I've Found a New Baby/ I've Found a New Baby/ I've Got My Love to Keep
Me Warm/ I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm/ I've Had My Moments/ If I Had
You/ Improvisation/ Improvisation No. 2/ Improvisation No. 2/ In a
Sentimental Mood/ In the Still of the Night/ It Don't Mean a Thing (If
It Ain't Got That Swing)/ It Had to Be You/ It Was So Beautiful/
Japanese Sandman/ Japanese Sandman/ Jeepers Creepers/ Jeepers Creepers
(alt)/ Lambeth Walk/ Liebestraum No. 3/ Lily Belle May June/ Limehouse
Blues/ Limehouse Blues/ Little Love, a Little Kiss/ Louise/ Man I Love/
Miss Annabelle Lee/ Moonglow/ My Melancholy Baby/ My Melancholy Baby/ My
Sweet/ My Sweet/ Mystery Pacific/ Nagasaki/ Night and Day/ Nocturne/
Object of My Affection/ Oh, Lady Be Good/ Oriental Shuffle/ Parfum/
Please Be Kind/ Rose Room/ Rosetta/ Runnin' Wild/ Sheik of Araby/ Sheik
of Araby/ Shine/ Smoke Rings/ Solitude/ Some of These Days/ Souvenirs/
St. Louis Blues/ St. Louis Blues/ Stardust/ Stardust/ Stompin' at Decca/
Sunshine of Your Smile-Ultrafox/ Swanee River/ Sweet Chorus/ Sweet
Georgia Brown/ Sweet Sue, Just You/ Swing '39/ Swing Guitars/ Swing de
Paris/ Tea for Two/ Tea for Two/ Tea for Two (alt)/ Tears/ Them There
Eyes/ Three Little Words/ Tiger Rag/ Time on My Hands/ Tornerai
(J'Attendrai)/ Twelfth Year/ Twelfth Year (alt)/ Undecided/ What a
Diff'rence a Day Made/ When Day Is Done/ Why Shouldn't I?/ You're
Driving Me Crazy
It Ain't GOnna Be That Way - The
Complete Smash Session
● CD $18.98
29 tracks, 69 mins, very highly recommended
Before his
70's renaissance at the hands of Nashville producer Billy Sherrill,
Charlie Rich's most noteworthy period was the 18 months he spent Mercury
Records' Smash subsidiary. Starting in 1965 and on into 1966, Rich
produced some of his most adventurous music; mixing R&B, Jazz, and
Country and performing songs mostly written by himself or his wife, he
created a sound uniquely his own and these tracks are considered to be
as close as we would ever get to the "real" Charlie Rich. Of these
songs, the only one that was hit was "Mohair Sam" - written by Dallas
Frazier- but there's many fine compositions that deserved to hear by the
masses: ballads like "It Ain't Gonna Be That Way/ I Can't Go On" or "A
Field of Yellow Daisies" (which, in fact, was a minor hit for Smash,
cashing in on Rich's newfound success in the 70's); and up tempo jivers
like "Everything I Do is Wrong" and "Just a Little Bit of Time". For
those keeping score, these tracks were originally released as the Smash
LPs "The Many New Sides of Charlie Rich" (1965) and "The Best Years"
(1966); in 1992, Mercury issued three additional tracks from these
sessions that had never been released before. But for the first time
it's all here in one place: the glorious gospel inflected "You Can Have
Her" and "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water", the Ray Charles-style of
"Down and Out", the rock and roll of "When My Baby Comes Home", and the
update of his Sun classic "Lonely Weekends". If you're a fan of
Charlie's, this CD is mandatory. (GMC)
10 tracks, essential
Back in print. 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 issued it 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. (FS)
15 tracks, 66 minutes, very highly recommended
This
one's going on my 10 best of 1996 list without a doubt. It is simply the
most exciting and rewarding acoustic album I have hear in a long time.
Marc and Ann Savoy are long time musical collaborators with Michael
Doucet, but here they team up with Louisiana state fiddle champion Ken
Smith, with amazing results. There is a relaxed and intimate feel to the
music, like old friends sitting around the parlor after the dinner
dishes have been cleared away. The emphasis is on the interaction
between fiddle and accordion. Ken Smith and Marc Savoy both take
extended instrumental breaks even on the vocal numbers, passing the lead
back and forth in an effortless manner, never missing a beat. The
singing and musicianship is uniformly excellent but special note must be
taken of Smith's fiddle work. He plays in a manner that is both complex
and emotional, sliding and bending notes like a blues guitarist! The
repertoire includes a few standards but mostly consists of less familiar
material, including a charming version of the Tin Pan Alley classic
"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" sung in French. All in all a wonderful piece
of work - don't miss it! (DP)
32 tracks, 80 min., very highly recommended
Discovered
by Hank Thompson and credited with releasing the first concept album in
country music -- "Songs Of A Love Affair" in 1956 -- Shepard spent the
1950s releasing impressive single after impressive single for Capital
Records. The hits (e.g., "A Satisfied Mind" and "Beautiful Lies")
eventually stopped coming but not the fine honky-tonked songs of broken
hearts and homes. This fine release collects the songs from the "Love
Affair" LP and adds 20, for a generous total of 32. Most have been out
of print for a while, so it's nice to have such indispensable country
music available again. Too bad the booklet doesn't offer any session
information, dates, labels, or anything other than a brief biographical
sketch of Shepard. Absolute first rate music, though. (JC) JEAN SHEPARD: A Passing Love Affair/ A Satisfied Mind/
A Thief In The Night/ Act Like A Married Man/ Beautiful Lies/ Crying
Steel Guitar/ Did I Turn Down A Better Deal/ Girls In Disgrace/ Hello
Old Broken Heart/ I Learned It All From You/ I Love You Because/ I
Married You For Love/ I'd Rather Die Young/ I'll Thank You All My Life/
It's Hard To Tell The Married From The Free/ Memory/ My Wedding Ring/
Over And Over/ Sad Singin' And Slow Ridin'/ Shadows On The Wall/ Sweet
Temptation/ Tell Me What I Want To Hear/ The Mysteries Of Life/ The
Other Woman/ The Weak And The Strong/ Two Whoops And A Holler/ Under
Suspicion/ Why Did You Wait?/ You Can't Break The Chains Of Love/ You
Win Again/ You'd Better Go/ You're Calling Me Sweetheart Again
26 tracks, 64 mins, highly recommended
The Showmen are
best known for their classic rock 'n' roll anthem "It Will Stand", their
only hit. Listening to this collection of recordings made between 1961
and '67 it comes as a surprise that they didn't have greater success as
they were exceptional. Their music has the feel of The Drifters of the
period but without the overly lush arrangements. Originally from
Norfolk, Virginia the group featured the distinctive and incredibly
soulful lead vocals of Norman Johnson (who later went on to front
Chairmen Of the Board) and great harmonies from the rest of the group.
Most of their earlier sides were recorded in New Orleans so they had
backing from some of the best R&B musicians in the business. Soul
harmony at its finest on songs like the title song "39-21-40 Shape/ This
Misery/ Country Fool/ For You, My Darling/ I Love You, Can't You See?/
I'm Coming Home/ The Wrong Girl" and others. Good sound but,
unfortunately, no notes. (FS) THE SHOWMEN: 39-21-40 Shape/ Country Girl/ Fate
Planned It This Way/ For You, My Darling/ For You, My Darling (demo)/ I
Love You, Can't You See/ I'll Go On Loving You/ I'm Coming Home/ In
Paradise/ It Will Stand/ It Will Stand (outtake)/ Let Her Fell It In
Your Kiss/ Our Love Will Grow/ Please Try And Understand/ Skinny
Mcginny/ Strange Girl/ Swiss Fish/ Take It, Baby/ The Honey House/ The
Owl Sees You/ The Owl Sees You (demo)/ The Wrong Girl/ This Misery/ True
Fine Mama/ Valley Of Love/ You're My Everything
2 CDs, 49 tracks; 2 hrs, 1 min; essential
After years
of spotty availability of the most important recordings of this
legendary band, we have recently been deluged with great Stanley
Brothers reissues. This latest, featuring all their recordings from
Mercury, is particularly welcome because it features a large percentage
of their classic numbers, including Carter Stanley-composed songs such
as "This Weary Heart You Stole Away, Our Last Goodbye, Poison Lies, I
Long To See The Old Folks, Nobody's Love Is Like Mine," and "A Lonesome
Night", all now staples of the bluegrass repertoire. The bands here are
more in the traditional vein, featuring less guitar than on the later
King recordings; among the musicians featured here are fiddlers Art
Stamper, Joe Meadows, Ralph Mayo, and Chubby Anthony. Mandolinists
include Peewee Lambert, Bill Napier, and Jim Williams. This collection
also features classic recordings of the gospel number "Cry From The
Cross", which has become a staple of Ralph Stanley's bands, and a
haunting version of the traditional "Angel Band", along with a
significant number of Bill Monroe compositions, including "A Voice From
On High, Blue Moon Of Kentucky, I Hear My Savior Calling," and "Close
By." Also included are two numbers recorded for the Blue Ridge label in
1959, among the Brothers' rarest recordings, the traditional songs "Meet
Me Tonight" and "Nobody's Business." Great notes and discography by Gary
Reid, good sound. As always, the mournful and intense lead vocals of
Carter Stanley, the chilling tenor voice of Ralph, and his ringing banjo
stamp these recordings with The Stanley Brothers' inimitable sound.(RP)
28 tracks, 74 min., essential
The second volume of Ace's
look at the Dootone label of Los Angeles is every bit as solid as volume
one. Cover art features a stellar shot of the Calvanes making a local TV
appearance. The notes by Jim Dawson are intelligent and informative. And
the music, in Dawson's words, is "sometimes crude, occasionally
dissonant, but always interesting." Right on. Featured numbers include
"I Still Remember" by the Romancers (led by Bobby Freeman), "Honey Gee"
by the Saigons, "Ay Si Si (Mambo)" by the Dootones, "I Ain't Gonna Cry
No More" by the Penguins, "Did I Do Wrong" by the Cuff Links, the very
nice ballad "Sailor Boy" by the Dootones #2, "You're An Angel" by the
Pipes, "That'll Make It Nice" by Eli and the Manhattans, "I'll Never
Love Again" by Johnny Twovoice & the Medallions, and "So Long Daddy" by
the Souvenirs. The West Coast vocal group sound at its best. (DH) THE CALVANES: Baby Come On Come/ Crazy Over You/ One
More Kiss/ LEE COLLINS & THE ORBITS: Tell Me Baby/ Two Crazy Scientists/
THE CUFF LINKS: My Heart/ THE DEBONAIRES: May We Be On Better Terms/ THE
DOOTONES: Ay Si Si (mambo)/ If You Were My Darling/ Sailor Boy/ CLEVE
DUNCAN & THE RADIANTS: I'm Betting My Heart (on You)/ ELI & THE
MANHATTANS: That'll Make It Nice/ THE FASCINATORS: I Wonder Why/ HENRY
HOUSTON & CUFFLINX: Lawful Wedding/ DON JULIAN & THE MEADOWLARKS: Heaven
& Paradise/ THE CUFF LINKS: Did I Do Wrong/ ARTHUR LEE MAYE & THE
DREAMERS: Ding A Ling/ THE MEDALLIONS: Speedin'/ THE PENGUINS: I Ain't
Gonna Cry No More/ THE PIPES: You're An Angel/ THE ROMANCERS: House Cat/
I Still Remember/ Jump And Hop/ This Is Goodbye/ THE SAIGONS: Honey Gee/
You're Heavenly/ THE SOUVENIRS: So Long Daddy/ JOHNNY TWOVOICE & THE
MEDALLIONS: I'll Never Love Again
30 tracks, highly recommended
Great collection of rockin' blues and R&B sides recorded in Los Angeles in 1954 and 1955 for
Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller's Spark label. Although only in their early
20s they had had a string of their songs recorded by some of the top R&B
artists of the day including the million selling "Hound Dog" by Big Mama
Thornton. They formed Spark after they had gotten a raw deal from Don
Robey at Duke over that song. Over a period of about 18 months they
recorded a wide variety of black talent - mostly from the Los Angeles
area - the incredibly talented duo wrote many of the songs and produced
most of the sessions. One notable exception are the fine sides by Eugene
"Sly" Fox recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi by Ike Turner who together
with members of The Kings Of Rhythm backed Fox. The label's most
succesful act were The Robins who were picked up by Atlantic and became
The Coasters and Leiber & Stoller moved to New York to write for them
and produce them. Other fine acts here include the duo Willy & Ruth who
do the original version of "Love Me" - later recorded by Elvis, tough
sax man Gil Bernal who has a couple of instrumental sides and backs many
of the other artists, prolific L.A. bluesman Ray Agee, Big Boy Groves
with the great "I Gotta New Car", poerful bluesman Mister Ruffin and
others. Sound, of course, is superb, and the 12 page illustrated booklet
tells the Spark Record story. (FS) RAY AGEE: Another Fool (sings The Blues)/ Wobble Lou/
ERNIE ANDREWS: In The Still Of The Night/ Soft Winds/ GIL BERNAL:
Easyville/ King Solomon's Blues/ GARLAND THE GREAT: Strike A Match/ Tree
Stump Jump/ GENE & BILLY: It's Hot/ Zerlene/ BIG BOY GROVES & BAND: I
Gotta New Car/ Midnight Special/ THE HONEY BEARS: I Shall Not Fail/ One
Bad Stud/ FRANKIE MARSHALL: Just Say The Word/ No One Else Will Ever
Know/ THE ROBINS: I Must Be Dreamin'/ Loop De Loop Mambo/ Riot In Cell
Block #9/ Smokey Joe's Cafe/ The Hatchet Man/ Whadaya Want/ MISTER
RUFFIN: A Touch Of Heaven (just Around The Corner)/ Bring It On Back/
THE SLY FOX: Alley Music/ Hoo-doo Say/ I'm Tired Of Beggin'/ My Four
Women/ WILLY & RUTH: Farewell/ Love Me
Long awaited first volume in a series documenting
recordings made in the Southern states in the early 50s by the Modern
Record Company. This first volume features recordings made by partner
Joe Bihari with the assistance of Ike Turner in Arkansas & Mississippi
in 1951 and 1952. The most well known artist recorded was the great
Elmore James but we also hear from Drifting Slim, Houston Boines,
Charlie Booker, Red Boyd & His Orchestra, Ernest lane, Sunny Blair &
Junior Brooks. Downhome blues at its finest with extensive notes from
Jim O'Neal and three previously unissued tracks. SUNNY BLAIR: 5 Foot 3 Blues/ Glad To Be Back Home/
HOUSTON BOINES: Going Home/ Relation Blues/ CHARLIE BOOKER: Moonrise
Blues/ No Ridin' Blues/ Rabbit Blues/ RED BOYD ORCHESTRA: Red' Ride/
JUNIOR BROOKS: Lone Town Blues/ She's The Little Girl For Me/ DRIFTING
SLIM: Down South Blues/ My Little Machine/ BOYD GILMORE: I Believe I'll
Settle Down/ I Love My Little Woman/ If That's Your Girl/ If That's Your
Girl/ Just An Army Boy/ Ramblin' On My Mind/ Ramblin' On My Mind/
Ramblin' On My Mind/ ELMORE JAMES: Hand In Hand/ Please Find My Baby/
ERNEST LANE: Little Girl Little Girl/ What's Wrong Baby
The Complete Meteor Rockabilly &
Hillbilly Recordings
● CD $24.98
Two CDs, 42 tracks, highly recommended
Some years Ace
rushed out a budget compilation of rockabilly from Lester Bihari's
Memphis based Meteor label to compete with a bootleg reissue going the
rounds. Now they have upgraded the project with a double CD featuring
every hillbilly and rockabilly track recorded for the label between 1954
and 1957 including four not originally issued. The Meteor label was part
of the original Memphis constellation. Started in 1952 by the Bihari
brothers to record blues, they soon branched out into C&W and rockabilly
and although the label was short lived (gone in 1957) they made their
mark. The recordings are presented in chronological order and most of
the first disc is devoted to fine hillbilly by Bud Deckleman (his
classic and much covered "Daydreamin'"), "Red" Hadley's Wranglers,
Haward Swords with The Blue Light Boys, Mac & Jake with The Esquire
Trio, Barney Burcam, Buddy Bain, Lendon Smith and Mason Dixon. In the
midst of the country there is one fine stab at rockabilly with two
bluesy cuts from Jess Hooper and the disc ends with the two sided
rockabilly classic bu Junior Thompson - "Mama's Little Baby/ Raw Deal".
The second disc opens up with Meteor's most famous rockabilly tune -
Charlie Feathers' masterpiece "get With It/ Tongue Tied Jill" and it's
mostly rockabilly all the way there on with tracks from Bill Bowen, Brad
Suggs, Brad Suggs, Wayne McGinnis, Mary Edwards, Jimmy Haggett, The
Velvatones, Jimmy Lamerth, and Steve Carl (including four tracks by Carl
originally unreleased). All tracks have been newly remastered and set
comes with a 40 page booklet with extensive notes by Memphis researcher
Martin Hawkins and lots of photos and label shots. (FS) BUDDY BAIN, KAY WAYNE, MERLE "RED" TAYLOR WITH: Can We
Live It Down?/ Daydreams, Come True/ BILL BOWEN WITH THE ROCKETS: Don't
Shoot Me Baby (i'm Not Ready To Die)/ Have Myself A Ball/ BARNEY BURCHAM
WITH THE DAYDREAMERS: Can't Steal My Way Around/ Much Too Young For
Love/ STEVE CARL WITH THE JAGS: 18 Year Old Blues/ Blacksmith Blues/
Curfew/ Lonely Road/ Stone Cold Mama/ You're For Me/ BUD DECKELMAN WITH
THE DAYDREAMERS: Daydreamin'/ Let's Not Pretend/ MASON DIXON WITH THE
REDSKINS: Don't Worry ’bout Nuthin'/ I'll Never Fall Out Of Love With
You/ MARY EDWARDS WITH THE SAXONS: Chilly Willy/ Oh! Oh! Mama/ CHARLIE
FEATHERS WITH JODY & JERRY: Get With It/ Tongue Tied Jill/ 'RED'
HADLEY'S WRANGLERS: Brother, That's All/ Ring Out Those Bells/ JIMMY
HAGGETT WITH THE DAYDREAMERS: Gonna Shut You Off Baby/ Tell Her True/
JESS HOOPER WITH THE DAYDREAMERS: All Messed Up/ Sleepy Time Blues/
JIMMY LAMBERTH WITH THE SAXONS: I'll Pretend/ Latch On To Your Baby/ MAC
& JAKE WITH THE ESQUIRE TRIO: Yakety Yak/ MAC SALES WITH THE ESQUIRE
TRIO: A Gal Named Joe/ WAYNE MCGINNIS WITH THE SWINGSTERS: Lonesome
Rhythm Blues/ Rock, Roll And Rhythm/ LENDON SMITH WITH THE JESTERS: Lost
Love/ Women/ BRAD SUGGS WITH THE SWINGSTERS: Bop, Baby, Bop/ Charcoal
Suit/ HAWARD SWORDS WITH THE BLUE LIGHT BOYS: I'm As Lonely As I Can Be/
You Will Have To Pay/ JUNIOR THOMPSON WITH THE METEORS: Mama's Little
Baby/ Raw Deal/ THE VELVATONES WITH MEMPHIS RHYTHM BOYS: Feeling Kinda
Lonely/ Real Gone Baby
26 tracks, 66 mins, essential
The second volume of
recordings from the field trips to the South made by Joe Bihari and Ike
Turner features 26 tracks recorded in Arkansas and Mississippi in the
spring of 1952 including many of the same artists as on the first
volume. The first 12 tracks were from Missippi including two tracks by
the excellent Boyd Gilmore including the Elmore James flavored "All In
My Dreams" to which the Biharis dubbed in the intro and guitar solo from
Elmore's "Please Find My Baby" to accnetuate the connection. He also
does a terrific version of "Take A Little Walk With Me" with some
splendid guitar work from Boyd himself. There are two tracks by the man
Elmore himself and the rest of the Mississippi recordings features
Greenville based trio of musicians - singer/guitarist Charley Booker,
singer/ harmonica player Houston Boines and singer/ drummer Cleanhead
Love. They all take turns at the vocal mike and all are fine - Boines's
songs feature some memorable lyrics - his "Superintendant Blues" is
actually about a school superintendent! The last 14 sides feature
another all star Arkansas group led by singer/ harmonica player Drifting
Slim (aka Model T Slim aka Elmon Mickle), a fine singer and harmonica
player influenced by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. This group also
featured the superb guitarist and vocalist Baby face Turner and singer/
harmonica player Sunny Blair - all of them fine. This superb disc
features several previously unissued songs or alternate takes. Sound
quality is sensational and the 12 page booklet has extensive notes by
Jim O'Neal - much of it based on hs own research. (FS) SUNNY BLAIR: My Baby's Gone/ Send My Baby/ Step Back
Baby/ Step Back Baby (please Send My Baby Back)/ HOUSTON BOINES: G Man/
Monkey Motion/ Operator Blues (take 1 False Start)/ Operator Blues (take
2)/ Operator Blues (take 3)/ Superintendent Blues/ CHARLEY BOOKER:
Charley's Boogie Woogie/ DRIFTING SLIM: Good Morning Baby/ I Feel So
Good/ My Sweet Woman/ Shout Sister Shout/ You're An Old Lady/ BOYD
GILMORE: All In My Dreams/ Take A Little Walk With Me/ ELMORE JAMES:
Long Tall Woman/ Please Find My Baby/ CLEANHEAD LOVE: Why Don't My Baby
Write To Me/ BABY FACE TURNER: Best Days/ Blue Serenade/ Blue Serenade
(take 1)/ Blue Serenade (take3)/ Gonna Let You Go
30 tracks, 66 mins, highly recommended
Fine collection
of mostly unissued primitive Texas rockabilly and honky tonk from the
vaults of Texas bandleader, songwriter and entrepreneur Jack Rhodes. The
reason for the album name is that several of the songs that Rhodes and
his cohorts wrote were pitched to and recorded by Gene Vincent and this
set features the original recordings or demos of "Woman Love/ Red Blue
Jeans And A Pony Tail/ Bi-BickeyBi, Bo-Bo-Boo" and a wonderful version
of "Git It", one of my favorite Vincent songs, performed by an unknown
black vocal group. Quite a few of the other songs are in the Vincent
style and so were probably pitched to him but rejected. Among the
artists featured here are Elroy Dietzel & The Rhythm Bandits, Derrell
Felts, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Dollar, Johnny Fallin and others. Many of
the tracks here are demos recorded in Rhodes' home studio and some are
pretty rough but there's a lot of worthwhile stuff here. Usual
impeccable Ace sound and set includes 20 page illustarted booklet with
extensive notes by Rob Finnis. (FS)
30 tracks, 65 min, highly recommended
Because of the
source material, this set is noisy & a little hard to listen to, but the
rewards are great. These are taken from very rare sources, mainly
Berliner 7" discs & brown wax Columbia & Edison cylinders, It includes
brass band music, popular songs, sentimental songs, novelty songs,
"coon" songs, coemdy skits and banjo solos. It's interesting to hear
early recordings of songs that became country standards like "Turkey In
The Straw" and "The Girl I LOved In Sunny Tennessee". There are a few
cult classics like "The Laughing Song" & "The New Bully" (the latter
covered a few times by The Holy Modal Rounders & others as "Bully Of The
Town"). The 1st prolific recording groups were the military bands, &
John Philip Sousa is well represented with 2 of his most famous marches,
"El Capitan" & "The Washington Post" as by Sousa's Band. Other artists
include Vess Ossman, Ada Jones & Cal "Uncle Josh" Stewart. Includes 32
page illustrated booklet with information on the music and the times and
profiles of the performers. (GM)
22 tracks, very highly recommended
Marvelous collection
of 22 heavenly female duets & trios recorded in south Texas by Armando Marroquin for the Ideal label. Starting with Marroquin's wife & her
sister, Carmen y Laura in 1945, Ideal recorded many duetas, realizing
how popular the sound of 2 women wailing of the joys & sorrows of love
were, especially in the jukeboxes of the cantinas. While going against
the traditional role assigned Hispanic women, glorious and gritty
singers like the Hermanas Guerrero, Rosita y Laura, Hnas. Segovia, Las
Abajenas, Chelo Silva, and, of course, Lydia Mendoza & her sisters,
overcame this with heartfelt emotions & angelic harmonies. Backed not
only by conjunto accordion greats like Narciso Martinez, Paulino Bernal,
& Tony De La Rosa, but by mariachis, the excellent Beto Villa orchestra,
and innovative combinations of all these styles, Ideal maximized its
appeal to all classes of Tejano society. With a 28 page booklet chock
full of photos, artist profiles & lyrics in Spanish & English, this a
welcome survey of this lovely music. (JM)
25 tracks, 75 mins, highly recommended
Wonderful
collection of old time country music recorded for the Columbia label
between 1924 and 1931 - many cuts making their first appearance on CD.
It opens with the remarkable novelty song "My Little A-1 Brownie", the
only recording of the mysterious Charles B. Smith whose accompanying musicicians include King Benny Nawahii on steel guitar and Benny Goodman
on clarinet! Other artists include Riley Puckett, Dock Walsh, Charlie
Parker & Mack Woolbright (two delightful performances including the
great "The Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home"). The Pelican Wildcats, Dan
Hornsby (two fascinating topical songs with accompaniments by Claton
McMichen & Riley Puckett), The Skillet Lickers, Obed Pickard (vocals and
Jews harp!), Gid Tanner & Fate Norris, Smith's Sacred Singers(beautiful
old time gospel), Gid Tanner & His Georgia Boys, Miner Hawkins, Vernon
Dalhart, Arthur Tanner's Corn Shuckers, McMichen's Melody Men, Chubby
Parker, The Deal Family and The Grady Family. Sound quality is fine and
their are brief notes by Brian Golbey. (FS) AL CRAVER (VERNON DALHART): Kinnie Wagner/ VERNON
DALHART: Frank Dupree/ THE DEAL FAMILY: Be A Daniel/ THE GRADY FAMILY:
Carolina‘s Best/ MINER HAWKINS: Song Of The Sea/ DAN HORNSBY: The Shelby
Disaster/ The Story Of C. S. Corres/ MCMICHEN’S MELODY MEN: House Of
David Blues/ CHUBBY PARKER: Down On The Farm/ CHARLIE PARKER & MACK
WOOLBRIGHT: The Man That Wrote Home Sweet Home/ Ticklish Reubin/ THE
PELICAN WILDCATS: Walking Georgia Rose/ OBED PICKARD: The Old Grey Mare/
RILEY PUCKETT: Old Joe Clark/ THE SKILLET LICKERS: Cotton Baggin‘/ New
Arkansas Traveller/ CHARLES B. SMITH: My Little A-1 Brownie/ SMITH’S
SACRED SINGERS: Where We‘ll Never Grow Old/ GID TANNER & FATE NORRIS:
Goodbye Old Booze/ Where Did You Get That Hat/ GID TANNER & HIS GEORGIA
BOYS: Just Gimme The Leavings/ GID TANNER & RILEY PUCKETT: Little Old
Log Cabin In The Lane/ ARTHUR TANNER’S CORN SHUCKERS: Dr. Ginger Blue/
DOCK WALSH: Bulldog Down In Sunny Tennessee/ Educated Man
32 tracks, 78mins, highly recommended
Great collection
of blues and R&B issued on the Imperial subsidiary Bayou in 1952 and
1953. This is almost the entire output of this label. In addition to
tracks only issued on Bayou the label also featured titles previously
issued on Imperial as well as sides licensed from the Freedom label of
Houston from around 1949/50 including fine Texas blues from L.C.
Williams, Clarence Samuels and Goree Carter (the superb "Drunk & Sober"
is listed as by Samuels but is actually by Carter). There's fine New
Orleans R&B from Dave Bartholomew, Fats Matthews, the brilliant Jesse
Allen and Roy Brown clone Jimmy Gil. From the West Coast we have honking
R&B from Red Callender, Joe Houston and Big Jay McNeely. There's also
two cuts by the always fine Big Joe Turner (recorded in New Orleans with
local musicians) and four tracks by the wonderful and original Mercy
Dee. There are no notes but sound is fine and the music is great. (FS)
31 tracks,73 mins,highly recommended
Though there wasn't
a lot of rockabilly issued by Chicago's premier blues label Chess (and
its subsidiaries Checker & Argo) what there was very good indeed and
most of it is featured on this collection. Unlike most of it's blues &
R&B artists which were Chicago based most of the rockabilly recordings
were licensed from various producers throughout the country including
several from Stan Lewis in Shreveport whose best known discovery is Dale
Hawkins who is represented here by "La Do Dada". Other Shreveport based
recordings includes Jimmy Lee & Wayne Walker's classic "Love Me" and two
takes of Maylon Humpries' "Worried About You Baby" with James Burton on
lead guitar. Chess leased Rusty York's great "Sugaree" which was
originally issued on Rusty & Jackie De Shannon's PJ label out of
Cincinatti. There are two hot piano based rockers recorded in Nashville
by Mel Robbins who later became one of Nashville's most prolific sidemn
as Hargus "Pig" Robbins. There are two cuts from Eddie Fontaine
including "Nothin' Shakin'" originally issued on New York's Sunbeam
label and features great jazz guitarist George Barnes playing hot rock'n
roll licks. Lots more goodies from G.L. Crockett, Bobby Sisco, Lou
Josie, Russel Bridgers (later known as Leon Russell), bluesman Johnny
Fuller, Billy Barrix, Brothers, Dick Glasser, Joey Long, and more. Great
sound and 52 page booklet crammed full of information, photos and
discographical details. (FS) JERRY ADAMS: Old Black Joe/ BILLY BARRIX: Almost/ Cool
Off Baby/ RUSSELL BRIDGES: All Right/ BROTHERS: Lazy Susan/ JACKIE
CANNON: Chill Bump/ G.L. CROCKETT: Look Out MabeL/ BOBBY DEAN: Just Go
Wild Over Rock 'n' Roll/ LARRY DIAMOND: True Love Come My Way/ THE
FAIRLANES: Little Girl, Little Girl/ EDDIE FONTAINE: Don't Ya Know/
Nothin' Shakin'/ JOHNNY FULLER: All Night Long/ DICK GLASSER: Crazy
Love/ DALE HAWKINS: La-Do-Dada/ MAYLON HUMPHREYS: Worried About You
Baby/ Worried About You, Baby (alt)/ THE JET-TONES: Jet-Tone BoogiE/ LOU
JOSIE: Breezin' Out/ Vacation's Over/ Why Did You Leave Me/ JIMMY LEE &
WAYNE WALKER: Love Me/ JOEY LONG: Leall/ MEL ROBBINS: Are You With Me/
Save It/ DEL SAINT & THE DEVILS: Rock Yeah/ THE SILVA-TONES: Roses Are
Blooming/ BOBBY SISCO: Go Go Go/ Tall, Dark And Handsome Man/ RUSTY
YORK: SugareE/ Sweet Talk
Acadian All Star Special - Cajun
Recordings of J.D. Miller
● CD $97.98
Incredible three CD set with 78 tracks and 80 page hard
cover book featuring recordings of Cajun music made between 1946 and
1959 for legendary Crowley, Louisiana record producer J.D. Miller and
issued on his Fais-Do-Do and Feature. Miller is best known for his
classic blues recordings released on Excello (Slim Harpo, Lightnin'
Slim, Lazy Lester, etc). Information on these Cajun recordings has been
very sketchy and many of the recordings are exceedingly rare and most
are making their first appearance on LP or CD! The material ranges from
the simple fiddle and guitar records of "Doc" Guidry and "Happy" Fats to
the raucous sides of Robert Bertrand and the Lake Charles Playboys.
Included here are the first recordings of Jimmy Newman, Terry Clement's
original recording of "Diggy Diggy Lo" and Papa Cairo's "Big Texas" -
the song that was adapted by Hank Williams as "Jamabalaya". Other artists
include Jimmy Choates & The Melody Boys, Austin Pete (Pitrie) & His
Evangeline Playboys, Amidie Breaux & The Acadaian Aces, Lionel Cormier &
His Sundown Playboys, Abe Manual & His Louisiana Hillbillies and others.
Cajun music expert Lyle Ferbach, who wrote the book, tracked down as
many survivors and relatives to interview. The book is crammed with rare
photos, label shots and includes full discographical information. ROBERT BERTRAND & THE LAKE CHARLES PLAYBOYS:
Drunkard's Two Step/ Lost Love Waltz/ AMIDIE BREAUX & HIS BAND: Hard
Luck Waltz/ Hey, Mom!/ AMIDIE BREAUX & THE ACADIAN ACES: Acadian Two
Step/ Criminal Waltz/ Jole Blonde/ Poor Hobo/ PEE WEE BROUSSARD & HIS
MELODY BOYS: Chere Tu Tu/ Creole Stomp/ Le Valse De Bayou Blanc/ M&S
Special/ The Pee Wee Special/ The Waltz That Carried Me To The Grave/
JIMMY CHOATES & HIS MELODY BOYS: Chere Meon/ Petite Negress/ TERRY
CLEMENT & HIS RHYTHMIC FIVE: Diggy Liggy Lo/ Le Valse De Te Maurice/
LIONEL CORMIER & HIS SUNDOWN PLAYBOYS: Sundown Playboys Special/ Welcome
Club Waltz/ JIMMY DURBIN & THE COUNTRY BOYS: Drunkard Waltz/ Fais Do Do
Two Step/ CHUCK GUILLORY & HIS BOYS: Oakdale Waltz/ Walfus Two Step/
CHUCK GUILLORY & HIS RHYTHM BOYS: Chuck's Waltz/ Teiyut Two Step/ HAPPY
& DOCTOR AND THE HADACOL BOYS: Crowley Two Step/ La Valse De Hadacol/
HAPPY, DOC & THE BOYS: Allons Dance Colinda/ Bayou La-Fourche/ Chere
Cherie/ Dans La Platin/ Don't Hang Around/ Fais Do Do Breakdown/ Gabriel
Waltz/ Is It Too Late To Cry/ La Cravat/ My Sweetheart's My Buddy's
Wife/ New Jolie Blond/ Setre Chandelle/ Somehow You Don't Care/ Sothe
Fermon/ LEBLANC & ADAMS AND THE VERMILLION PLAY: Chere Petite Brun/
Vermillion Two Step/ ABE MANUEL & HIS LOUISIANA HILLBILLIES: Country
Gentleman (French)/ Country Girl/ Hippy-Ti-Yo/ I've Got Your Heart
Locked Up (French)/ CLEVELAND MIRE & THE JOLLY BOYS: Hudson Breakdown/
Prison Waltz/ JIMMY NEWMAN & THE RHYTHM BOYS: (I Know Now That) I've
Made A Big Mistake/ I Don't Know What I'm Going To Do/ PAPA CAIRO & HIS
BOYS: Big Texas (English)/ Big Texas (French)/ AUSTIN PETE & HIS
EVANGELINE PLAYBOYS: Chatatinia Waltz/ Evangeline Playboys Special/ High
Point Two Step/ Redell Waltz/ AUSTIN PETE & THE LOUISIANA RHYTHMAIRES:
Janot Special/ La Valse De Chagrin/ Prison Two Step/ ALDUS ROGER &
LAFAYETTE PLAYBOYS: Hix Wagon Wheel Special/ Love Sick Waltz/ Mardi Gras
Dance/ The Lafayette Playboys Waltz/ LEE SONNIER & HIS ACADIAN ALL
STARS: Acadian All Star Special/ Along The River/ Cankton Two Step/
Chere Catan/ Chere Eci Et Cher Laba/ Dans Les Grand Meche/ La Blues De
Cajin/ War Widow Waltz/ LOUIS SPELL & HIS FRENCH SERENADERS: Lover's
Waltz/ The Fifty Cent Song/ THE VETERAN PLAYBOYS: Chinaball Special/
Eunice Waltz
35 tracks (!), 77 min., highly recommended
Because rock
and roll was still in its swaddling clothes in 1955 (and suddenly
profitable, thanks to Elvis and a few others), just about every song
here repeats the word "rock" as often as is humanly possible. Which is
fine, charming even. And while normally a scope as narrow as Texas
rockabilly during one particular year would be so limiting as to be
problematic, Texas is so damn big and 1955 was such a productive year,
everything works out all right. So what we have here is rockabilly in
varying degrees of wildness and sophistication recorded by labels with
varying financial resources and artistic integrity. It's rockabilly (or
"cat music" as it was apparently known in Eastern Texas), but in this
nascent form it's possible to hear the various influences (swing,
country, r&b, blues, even doo wop). A lot of these guys must have had a
big stack of Joe Turner 78s at home. Most heavily repesented are Johnny
Carroll and Sonny Fisher with seven cuts apiece, and not far behind is
Bob Luman with five. Other treats include a pair from Sid King & The
Five Strings ("Sag, Drag & Fall", "Purr, Kitty, Purr"), two by the
shaky-voiced Jimmy Heap ("Sebbin' Come Elebbin'", "Go Ahead On"),
"What'll I Do" by Mac Curtis, and the classic "A Real Cool Cat" by Sonny
Burns, which, although no doubt heresy to say so, sounds more like
country than rockabilly, the cool vocabulary notwithstanding. Six pages
of informative booklet notes by Dave Penny. Sound quality is generally
quite good, especially considering that some (but not all) of the source
material is vinyl. (JC) DEAN BEARD: Sing, Sing, Sing/ Time Is Hangin' Heavy on
My Hands/ CHARLIE BROWN: Don't Put the Blame on Me/ Have You Heard the
Gossip/ SONNY BURNS: A Real Cool Cat/ JOHNNY CARROLL: Crazy Little Mama/
Cut Out/ Hearts of Stone/ Sexy Ways/ Stingy Thing/ Why Cry/ You
Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often/ MAC CURTIS: What'll I Do/ LINK DAVIS:
Grasshopper/ SONNY FISHER: Hey Mama/ Hold Me Baby/ I Can't Lose/ Rockin'
& A-Rollin'/ Rockin' Daddy/ Rockin' Daddy (alternate)/ Sneaky Pete/ BEN
HALL: Move Mama/ JIMMY HEAP: Go Ahead On/ Sebbin' Come Elebbin'/ SID
KING & THE FIVE STRINGS: Purr, Kitty, Purr/ Sag, Drag & Fall/ BOB LUMAN:
Hello Baby/ In the Deep Dark Jungle/ Stranger Than Fiction/ That's All
Right/ You Were the Cause of It All/ FRANK STARR: Dig Them Squeaky
Shoes/ The Dirty Bird Song/ WAYNE WALKER: Love Me/ Love Me (alternate)
22 tracks, 68 mins, highly recommended
Wonderful reissue
of recordings from the 50s featuring Jamaican mento music. Mento is a
dance style that like much Caribbean music draws on both African and
European influences. It has some similarities to Trinidadian calyspo but
is a distinctly Jamaican musical form. The songs, like calypso, deal
with topical events, philosophical observations and, of course, the joys
and tribulations of love. Instrumental accompaniments are by small
groups featuring instrumentation which includes fife, banjo, guitar,
maracas, rumba box (a form of bass thumb piano), violin, bamboo clarinet
and more. There are some wonderful singers here including Count Lasher,
Lord Lebby, the particularly fine E. Bedasse and Lord Power. At times
one can hear hints of the forthcoming ska music which was become popular
in the early 60s. Sound quality is generally excellent though some of
the original recordings have distortion which cannot be eliminated. 28
page booklet has informative notes by Richard Noblett and transcripts of
the lyrics. (FS)
25 tracks, highly recommended
Richmond, IN was the home
of The Starr Piano Co., which put out the legendary Gennett label, home
of some of the finest hot jazz of the 20s. 1st up are 4 sides by Alex
Jackson & His Plantation Orch, which included future Fletcher Henderson
great Bob Ysaguirreon brass bass. One 78 from these 78s came out on
Gennett, the other 2 as by The Plantation Serenaders on Champion,
including the hot When Erastus Plays His Old Kazoo. Much hotter are the
8 sides by Alphonso Trent Orch starring the great Stuff Smith on violin
& vocals, along with Snub Mosely, Peanuts Holland on the '28 & '30 sides
& on the 2 from '33, Stuff is gone, but joining the trumpet section is
Sweets Edison (Louder & Funnier/ St. James Infirmary). Zack Whyte's
Chocolate Beau Brummels has 6 tunes from '28. Featuring trumpeter Sy
Oliver's great arrangments in an orch that also included Big Al Sears on
tenor & bari & Herman Chittison on piano. Oliver's West End Blues & It's
Tight Like That are heard in their Spotlight & Champion versions, & West
End adds a 3rd version released on Merritt. The set is rounded up by 4
'31 sides by Red Perkins & His Dixie Ramblers. Loaded with old band
pics, ads, posters & 78 labels. The following CD is a companion to this
one. (GM)
Four CDs, 100 tracks, essential
Utterly fantastic
collection of Mississippi country blues. JSP has already issued some
sets featuring the big names in Mississippi blues (JSP 7702 - "Charlie
Patton & Associates - Complete Recordings", 7715 - "Legends Of Country
Blues" and JSP 7719 "Big Joe Williams & The Stars Of Mississippi Blues"
- $28.98 each) but this set features lesser known artists - many who only
recorded a couple of songs but what recordings they were - in many cases
the equal of recordings made by the more well known figures. At first I
was taken aback that the set is not organized by artist or
chronologically but then I realized what a smart move that was - like
those old OJL or Yazoo LPs we collected in the 60s and 70s you never
know what's going to come next but you can be sure that it will be
great. Mississippi blues is noted for its intensity and there's no
shortage of that here with incredible tracks like Jim Thompkins'
"Bedside Blues" - his only issued recording but a truly monumental
performance with a vocal reminiscent of Robert Johnson and a unique
plangent slide guitar style. Why oh why didn't he record more? Then
there's the magnificent William Harris who recorded about a dozen sides
though only a few of them have been found - his "I'm Leavin' Town" and
"Bullfrog Blues" with their hypnotic churning rhythm are among my all
time favorites. The Mississippi Moaner (Isaiah Nettles) takes Blind
Lemon Jefferson material and tunrs it into pure Mississippi blues. On
the more unusual front we have Walter Rhodes who accompanies himself on
primitive accordion accompanied by Pet & can on guitars or the
intriguing Willie '61" Blackwell - a somewhat limited musician who makes
up for it with truly fascinating lyrics. We also get songs and alternate
takes only discovered in recent years of Son House, Blind Willie
Reynolds and Robert Johnson and so much more from the like of Garfield
Akers, The Mississippi Jook Band, Geeshie Wiley, Freddie Spruell
(possibly the first Mississippi country bluesman to record), Joe McCoy,
Charlie McCoy, Mose Andrews, J.D. Short, Bogus Ben Covington, Buddy Boy
Hawkins, Robert Lockwood, George Torey, King Solomon Hill and more.
There's not a single track that's less than excellent and many are truly
outstanding. Sound is as good as one can expect for on some of these
extremly rare records and brief notes by Neil Slaven help roun out an
exceptional package. This is one of those few box sets where you can
play all the CDs one after another without the slightest trace of
boredom. (FS) GARFIELD AKERS: Cottonfield Blues Pt 1/ Cottonfield
Blues Pt 2/ Dough Roller Blues/ Jumpin' And Shoutin' Blues/ MOSE
ANDREWS: Ten Pound Hammer/ Young Heifer Blues/ KID BAILEY: Mississippi
Bottom Blues/ Rowdy Blues/ WILLIE '61' BLACKWELL: Bald Eagle Blues/
Chalk My Toy/ WILLIE ‘61' BLACKWELL: Don't Misuse Me, Baby/ WILLIE '61'
BLACKWELL: Four O'Clock Flower Blues/ Machine Gun Blues/ Noiseless Motor
Blues/ Rampaw Street Blues/ She's Young And Wild/ MISSISSIPPI BRACEY:
Cherry Ball/ I'll Overcome Someday/ Stered Gal/ You Scolded Me And Drove
Me/ SAM BUTLER: Devil And My Brown Blues/ Jefferson County Blues/ Poor
Boy Blues/ You Can't Keep No Brown/ JOE CALICOTT: Fare Thee Well Blues/
Traveling Mama Blues/ SAM COLLINS: Devil In The Lion's Den/ Loving Lady
Blues/ The Jail House Blues/ Yellow Dog Blues/ BOGUS BEN COVINGTON: Adam
And Eve In The Garden/ Boodle-De-Bum Blues/ MATTIE DELANEY: Down The Big
Road Blues/ Tallahatchie River Blues/ WILLIAM HARRIS: Bull Frog Blues/
Early Mornin' Blues/ I'm Leavin' Town/ Leavin' Here Blues/ BUDDY BOY
HAWKINS: Jailhouse Fire Blues/ Number Three Blues/ Shaggy Fog Blues/
Snatch It Back Blues/ KING SOLOMON HILL: My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon/ Tell
Me Baby/ Times Has Done Got Hard/ SON HOUSE: Clarksdale Moan/
Mississippi County Farm Blues/ ROBERT JOHNSON: Traveling Riverside Blues
Tk 1/ ROBERT LOCKWOOD: Black Spider Blues/ I'm Gonna Train My Baby/
Little Boy Blue/ Take A Little Walk With Me/ MISSISSIPPI JOOK BAND:
Barbecue Bust/ Dangerous Woman/ Hittin' The Bottle Stomp/ MISSISSIPPI
MOANER: It's Cold In China Blues/ Mississippi Moan/ MISSISSIPPI JOOK
BAND: Skippy Whippy/ CHARLIE McCOY: Baltimore Blues/ Last Time Blues/
Motherless And Fatherless Blues/ JOE McCOY: Evil Devil Woman Blues/ Look
Who's Coming Down The Road/ Meat Cutter Blues/ When The Levee Breaks/
ARTHUR PETTIES: Good Boy Blues/ Out On Santa Fe Blues/ Quarrellin' Mama
Blues/ Revenue Man Blues/ That Won't Do/ Two Time Blues/ BLIND JOE
REYNOLDS: Cold Woman Blues/ BLIND WILLIE REYNOLDS: Married Man Blues/
BLIND JOE REYNOLDS: Ninety Nine Blues/ BLIND WILLIE REYNOLDS: Third
Street Woman Blues/ WALTER RHODES: Leaving Home Blues/ The Crowing
Rooster/ JELLY JAW SHORT: Barefoot Blues/ Grand Daddy Blues/ Snake
Doctor Blues/ FREDDIE SPRUELL: 4A Highway/ Don't Cry Baby/ Let's Go
Riding/ Milk Cow Blues/ Mr Freddie's Kokomo Blues/ Muddy Water Blues/
Way Back Down Home/ Your Good Man Is Gone/ JOE STONE: Back Door Blues/
It's Hard Time/ ELVA THOMAS & GEESHIE WILEY: Motherless Child Blues/ JIM
THOMPKINS: Bedside Blues/ GEORGE TOREY: Lonesome Man Blues/ Married
Woman Blues/ OTTO VIRGIAL: Bad Notion Blues/ Got The Blues About Rome/
Little Girl In Rome/ GEESHIE WILEY: Last Kind Words Blues/ Over To My
House/ Skinny Leg Blues
24 tracks, 66 min., essential
Jazz saxophonist Joe
Evans' capitalized on the burgeoning soul market of the early to
mid-1960s by starting Carnival Records. Along the way to discovering his
label's financial wheel horse, The Manhattans, he recorded some truly
wonderful acts, though most were unfortunately destined for the
footnotes of soul history. Most notably, the super fine Barbara Brown,
who, as the story goes, left the music biz because of a jealous and
possessive boyfriend, had talent to spare, as her "Forget Him" will
attest. Norma Jenkins' "Me Myself And I" and Lee Williams & The Cymbals'
1966 gem "I Love You More" may be counted as 2 of the 3 miracles Evans
needs to attain sainthood. (Fans should also be advised that of the 3
Manhattans Carnival singles that do not appear on their LPs, one is
here, one on vol. 2, and one on vol. 3.) (JC) RENE BAILEY: I'm Gonna Be Missing You/ BARBARA BROWN:
Forget Him/ HARRY CALDWELL: Nobody Loves Me (Like My Baby)/ CURBY
COGGINS: Come Home To Daddy/ NORMA JENKINS: Me Myself And I/ JIMMY
JULES: Nothing Will Ever Change (This Love Of Mine)/ LEON AND THE
METRONOMES WITH THE KOOL KI: I'll Catch You On The Rebound/ THE
LOVETTES: I Need A Guy/ THE MANHATTANS: All I Need Is Your Love/ Til'
You Come Back To Me/ THE METRICS: Wishes/ THE PETS: I Say Yeah/ THE
PRETENDERS: I Call It Love/ I Wanna Be (Your Everything)/ KENNETH
RUFFIN: I'll Keep On Holding On/ PHIL TERRELL: Can I Come In/ Love Has
Passed Me By/ THE THREE REASONS: Go Right On/ THE TOPICS: She's So Fne/
THE TRUE-TEENS: My Baby's Gone/ THE TURNER BROTHERS: My Love Is Yours
Tonight/ LEE WILLIAMS AND THE CYMBALS: I Love You More/ It's Everything
About You (That I Love)
36 tracks, 76 minutes, essential
Apparently Dave Travis
has been buying up the rights to some of the small 50's rockabilly
labels. It looks like he's grabbed Satellite, Profile, Erwin, Demon,
Memphis and more, so far. Hopefully, some of the artists here will make
a few bucks off of these vintage recordings. Even though some mastertapes were used the sound is no better than any of the other comps
around. The line-up here is incredible though - a virtual rollcall of
great rockers - Mickey Hawks, Don Willis, Ray Scott, Johnny Carroll,
Eddie Bond, Jody Reynolds, Andy Anderson, Charlie Feathers and on and
on. Many are around on other comps but you can't beat the bang for the
buck here with a whopping 36 tracks worth of rompin' stompin' mostly
Tennessee rockabilly. Don Willis- "Boppin' High School Baby/ Warrior
Sam" , Jimmy Evans - "The Joint's Really Jumpin'" , Johnny Carroll - "Be
Bop A Lula Is Back On The Scene/ Rockin' Maybelle/ Crazy Crazy Lovin'" ,
Andy Anderson - "You Shake Me Up/ Tough, Tough, Tough" , etc.
(AE)
23 tracks, 66 min, essential
Stunning music selected by
editor Pat Conte from rare 78s from around the world, recorded before
the full impact of radio and records on the traditional musical cultures
of our world. Each selection is an absolute gem, crystallizing the
uniqueness of the performers and the power of their tradition, from
manic violin/accordion party music from Ceylon, & wild gypsy tunes from
Romania & Russia, to eerie Rajastani vocal duets & somber Japanese court
songs. Sardinian "launedda" bagpipes, Indian "ghungur" bells, and
Swedish "nyckelharpa" fiddles vie for unusual instruments, while
Nigerian, Society Island, Fijian and Abyssinian choirs expand our
perception of vocal possibilities. Vibrant, syncretic popular musics are
represented by Cuba's Septeto Matamoros (with a bagpipe!), Jamaica's
Lord Composer, a klezmer orchestra, flamenco's La Nina De Los Peines, &
Basque "Triki-Triki" music. Wonderful music, masterfully programmed,
with fine sound and great notes and pix. A true delight! (JMC)
17 tracks, 38 min., highly recommended
Farms in
Berkeley? Nope. But what about bluegrass? Well, of course--at least it
was so in the 1960s when Vern and Ray (originally from Arkansas) were
living in Stockton. They met in 1958 or '59, eventually bringing their
bluegrass intentions to San Francisco, Modesto, Berkeley and throughout
Northern California. They had an EP on Starday in 1961 (a four-song 45
rpm), but spent most of their waking hours raising their families,
dedicating spare moments to making music. The boys joined youngster Herb
Pedersen and eventually moved to Nashville, where bluegrass was only
mildly more popular than it was in the S.F. Bay Area. Vern and Ray
performed together until 1974. These songs were recorded live at the San
Francisco State Folk Festival in 1968 while Pedersen was still
harmonizing and playing banjo with the boys. And while the sound quality
is surprisingly high under the circumstances, the musicianship is even
higher. Vern and Ray turn in an amazing performance, complete with fiery
fretwork and tight harmonies that the Louvins or Delmores might admire.
A lost treasure recovered by the fine folks at Arhoolie. Any more Vern
and Ray recordings out there? (JC)
29 tracks, highly recommended
A great collection of
tracks recorded for RCA between 1966 and 1977 and focusing on some of
the more offbeat and darker material Porter recorded. It includes the
crazed title song plus songs dealing with murder, child abuse and
suicide along with the more familiar cheating and drinking songs. Only a
couple of these tracks were hits - most were album tracks and B-sides
and show that there was more to Porter than the cheerful gregarious
figure that he cut on stage. Most of the songs were written by Porter
along with a few by Dolly Parton (he duets with her on the truly grim
"The Party" about children dying in a fire). Many of the tracks feature
soulful narrations by Porter. Probably not the ideal album to listen to
if you're feeling depressed or are expecting mainstream country but a
real eye opener. (FS) PORTER WAGONER: As Simple As I Am/ Bones/ Cassie/
Crumbs From Another Man's Table/ Fairchild/ First Mrs Jones/ George
Leroy Chickashea/ He's Alone Again Tonight/ Indian Creek/ Jim Johnson/
Julie/ Let Me In/ Life Rides The Train/ Little Boy's Prayer/ Lonely
Comin' Down/ Lonelyville/ Moments In Meditation/ My Last Two Tens/ My
Many Hurried Southern Trips/ Nothing Between/ Out Of The Silence (Came A
Song)/ Shopworn/ The Bottom Of The Bottle/ The Caroll County Accident/
The Cold Hard Facts Of Life/ The Rubber Room/ Wino/ Woman Hungry/ The
Party
11 tracks, 58 mins, essential
Another fabulous
collection of traditional songs and tunes from this wonderful family
group - Martin Carthy, his wife Norma Waterson and their daughter Eliza
Carthy. They are among the finest singers in Britain and Martin and
Eliza are superb instrumentalists. For their fourth album they are
joined by the splendid Tim van Eyken on melodeon and vocals plus
occasional guest instrumentalists. The songs are performed solo, as
duets, trios and quartets and is drawn from the repertoire of some of
the great traditional singers who inspired the members of the group
including Seamus Ennis, Sam Larner, Almeda Riddle, Packie Manus Byrne
and others. Songs include "The Devil & The Farmer/ Death & The Lady/ The
Lofty tall Ship/ The Old Churchyard/ Diego's Bold Shore" and others.
Just when you think it can't get any better the album ends with a true
piece de resistance - a version of the traditional hymn "Shepherds Arise"
inspired by the singing of the great and influential Copper Family. It
opens with a spine chilling modal fiddle intro by Eliza and then the
glorious vocal harmonies come in and ends with the fiddle being joined
by Martin's guitar and Tim's melodeon - the result is stunning and
inspired. Glorious. (FS)
12 tracks, 37 mins, essential
After leaving Alan Stivell's band in 1973 and prior forming the great band Malicorne in
1974, Gabriel Yacoub and his wife Marie put out this album of
traditional songs and tunes under their own name on Barclay. This gem is
now available again on CD. Joining them are fellow Stivell alumni Dan Ar
Bras and Alan Kloatr as well as other fine French musicians. As in
Malicorne their approach to traditional songs and tunes was strikingly
imaginative, using ancient and contemporary instruments (acoustic and
electric guitars, dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, harmonium, psaltery, bagpipes,
bouzouki, crumhorn, etc) weaving them together in a complex interplay of
sounds but always remaining faithful to the spirit of the original.
Gabriel has a rich baritone voice full of emotion that is beautifully
complemented by Marie's lovely fragile soprano. A number of tracks
feature those spine chilling, almost Gregorian chant sounding, harmony
vocals that were to become a trademark of Malicorne's sound. The
material is consistently fine with the highlights being the beautiful
title song which segues into a wonderful bransle and the powerful "Le
Prince D'Orange" but it's all superb. You owe it to yourself to hear
this! (FS)
14 tracks, 47 mins, essential
Originally issued on LP in
1972 as Atlantic 7229 and subsequently on CD as Atlantic 82368. The 14
cuts here, 5 of which feature effective vocals by Mama Yancey, were
originally cut in 1951, just eight weeks before Jimmy passed away. And
they are stunning examples of the stately style of one of the elder
statesmen of boogie woogie piano. Tracks include "Mournful Blues/ Yancey
Special/ 35th And Dearborn/ Make Me A Pallet On The Floor/ How Long
Blues". Features the 1972 notes by Bruce Bastin and fine digitally
remastered sound. Buy two, just in case a friend with good taste steals
one while you're not looking. (DH)
2 discs, 40 tracks, 125 min., essential
This set
represents some of Lester Young's earliest post-1942 sides including his
first as a leader, the 1942 Philo Records trio session with Nat King
Cole and bassist Red Callender, now finally available without the drum
overdubbing! Like their other 'Aladdin' releases, EMI/Capitol has done
us a great service in releasing these Lester Young sides along with the
1945 Helen Humes recordings, where our man is mostly in the ensemble,
soloing only on "Pleasing Man Blues". As a special bonus an
awesomely-rare instrumental from this session has finally come to light.
Accidentally used on an early pressing of "See See Rider", the now
retitled "Riffin' Without Helen" offers everyone a chance to solo,
including uncredited trumpeter, Snooky Young! The remainder of this
collection is made up of his 1945-1947 sides that were first compiled in
1975 supplemented now with "Easy Does It" (alt tk), "One O'Clock Jump"
and "Tea For Two". Recorded shortly after his Army conscription and his
resulting mental breakdown, the opening 1945 title "D. B. Blues" (for
Disciplinary Barracks) has Lester Young in all his glory, playing in
that cool, laid-back style that was so unique and significant. The
pattern was also set with these early sides, a pattern where (using
sometimes pickup groups) last minute decisions were made, resulting in
snappy (yes, even raggedy) endings ; or as he had a habit of doing,
introducing whole new melodies to standards, rarely returning to the
original tune, as evident on "These Foolish Things" and "Lover Come Back
To Me". Yes, maybe these recordings were works-in-progress, but I prefer
to consider them 'diamonds in the rough', and if you want to hear the
genius that was Lester Willis Young, this set is essential. (EL)