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P-Vine
Japanese Imports
Blues
& Gospel
The Selah Jubilee Singers -> Smokey Wilson
|
THE SELAH
JUBILEE SINGERS THE SOUL STIRRERS IKE TURNER & THE KINGS OF RHYTHM |
VARIOUS
ARTISTS T-BONE WALKER SMOKEY WILSON |
| THE SELAH JUBILEE SINGERS | P-Vine PCD 5547 | Selah Gospel Train | ● CD $22.98 |
| 26 tracks, 72 mins, highly recommended. A beautiful
collection of gospel quartet harmony from this outstanding and important
group. It essentially continues on from Document 5500 featuring 26 sides
recorded for Continental, Lenox, Arista & Capitol between 1945 and
1949. For most of this period the lineup was constant featuring the sweet
and soulful leads of Thurman Ruth and Williams "Highpockets"
Langford (the latter also provides the guitar accompaniment), the baritone
of Theodore Harris and Jimmy Gorham on bass. The perform traditional and
original songs like You Go & I'll Go With You/ Dry Bones/ Selah
Gospel Train/ Standing On The Highwat/ I Opened My Mouth To The Lord/
Jericho Road/ Going To See My Jesus, etc. On the last two sides from
1949 the lineup had changed considerably with only Ruth and bass singer
Gorham remaining - he is joined on leads by Alden "Allen" Bunn
with Junius Parker/tenor and Melvin Colden/ baritone. These two sides
display a slightly harder edge than the earlier sides. Wonderful gospel
singing! (FS) |
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| THE SOUL STIRRERS | P-Vine PCD 5594/5 | He's My Rock | ● CD $37.98 |
| Two CDs, 55 tracks, essential Fantastic two CD set featuring almost all the recordings made by arguably the greatest of all post war gospel quartets prior to their signing for Specialty (1939-1948). The only thing missing are the titles where they back singer/ guitarist Willie Eason and Aladdin 2026 which, presumably, could not be found. Hailing from Trinity, Texas in the mid-1930's, the Soul Stirrers are largely responsible for creating the modern gospel quartet sound. Under the direction of their first lead singer, the brilliant Rebert H. Harris, they became the first gospel quartet to add an extra lead singer, thus enabling the lead to step "out front" while the second lead kept the four-part harmony intact. This style quickly became the accepted norm, as did Harris' innovative falsetto. Except for the earliest sides the leads are taken by Harris or baritone singer Heywood "James" Medlock and on a number they share the leads. Providing the harmonies are usually Senior Roy Crain (tenor), Thomas L. Bruster & R.B. Robinson (baritones) and Jesse James Farley (bass). Between them they generate a quiet yet bone shaking intensity without any resort to histrionics. The songs and harmonies have a beautiful and sublime quality that will send shiver after shiver down your spine. It's almost impossible to pick out favorites but be sure to check out the definitive version of Precious Lord, the exquisite This Friend Of Mine |
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| IKE TURNER & THE KINGS OF RHYTHM | P-Vine PCD 3031/2 | Rocks The Blues | ● CD $37.98 |
| 2 CDs, 44 tracks, 123 min., recommended Fine collection of rockin' blues sides from Ike Turner and his Orchestra recorded between the early and mid-1950s for the Modern, RPM, Flair, and Blues & Rhythm labels. You get Cuban Get Away/ You're Driving Me Insane/ Troubles And Heartaches, and a few others with just Turner & co., but most cuts feature them backing the likes of Dennis Binder, Lover Boy, Little Johnny Burton, Clayton Love, Billy Gayles, Mary Sue, Mat Cockrell, and others. Other interesting moments include Lonnie "the Cat" doing I Ain't Drunk, Eugene Fox's playlet Fox's Dream, Brother Bell's Whole Heap Of Mama, and an alternate take of Johnny Wright's The World Is Yours. What's not to like? (JC) DENNIS BINDER: Early Times/ I Miss You So/ Nobody Wants Me/ You Got Me Way Down Here/ BROTHER BELL: If You Feel Froggish/ Whole Heap Of Mama/ LITTLE JOHNNY BURTON: One Day/ Talking About Me/ Walk My Way Home/ Why Did You Go Away/ MATT COCKERELL: Baby Please/ Gypsy Blues/ EUGENE FOX: Fox's Dream/ BILLY GAYLES: I Miss You So/ I'm Tired Of being Dogged Around/ My Heart In Your Hands/ Night Howler/ IKE & BONNIE: Lookin' For My Baby/ My Heart Belongs To You/ LONNIE "THE CAT": I Ain't Drunk/ The Road I Have To Travel/ CLAYTON LOVE: Why Don't You Believe In Me?/ Wicked Little Baby/ LOVER BOY: Love Is Scarce/ Nobody Seems To Want Me/ The Way You Used To Treat Me/ Why Did You Leave Me/ MARY SUE: Everybody's Talking/ Love Is A Gamble/ IKE TURNER: All The Blues All The Time/ Cuban Getaway/ Cubano Jump (Hey Miss Tina)/ Go To It (Stringing Along)/ Loosely (The Wild One)/ Troubles & Heartaches/ You're Driving Me Insane/ J.W. WALKER: Can't You See My Baby/ J.W.'s Blues/ Sitting Here Wondering/ Why Won't You Be True?/ JOHNNY WRIGHT: Suffocate/ The World Is Yours/ The World Is Yours (take 5) |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 1888 | Chicago Boogie | ● CD $22.98 |
| 14 tracks CD issue of album originally issued on Barrelhouse
and St. George. Incredible collection of Chicago blues recorded in 1947
and '48 by Little Walter, Othum Brown, Johnny Young, Johnny Williams,
Jimmy Rogers and others. BOLL WEEVIL: Christmas Time Blues/ Thinkin' Blues/ OTHUM BROWN & LITTLE WALTER: Ora Neel Blues (Take 1)/ Ora Nelle Blues (Take 2)/ SLEEPY JOHN ESTES: Harlem Bound/ Stone Blind/ LITTLE WALTER & OTHUM BROWN: I Just Keep Loving Her (Take 1)/ I Just Keep Loving Her (Take 2)/ JIMMY ROGERS & LITTLE WALTER: Little Store Blues (Take 1)/ Little Store Blues (Take 2)/ JOHNNIE TEMPLE: Olds '98 Blues/ JOHNNY WILLIAMS & JOHNNY YOUNG: Worried Man Blues/ JOHNNY YOUNG & JOHNNY WILLIAMS: Money Taking Woman (Take 1)/ Money Taking Woman (Take 2) |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3057 | Houston Jump Blues, The 50s | ● CD $22.98 |
| 23 tracks, 63 mins, recommended Fine collection of Texas and
West Coast blues recorded in the early/mid 50s. The "Houston"
part of title is a bit misleading but all the artists here are connected
to Texas in one way or another. Among the highlights are the tracks by
Quinn Kimble and Connie Mack Booker whose sides are enhanced by the superb
guitar work of Cal Green. Clarence "Bon Ton" Garlow's Crawfishin'
and Route "90" are wonderfully hot rockers with a
Louisiana flavor. There are some fine unnamed instrumentals from King
Curtis along with tracks by Melvin Daniels (with Curtis's band), Lucky
Enois, Peppermint Harris, Preacher Stevens and Mercy Dee. (FS) CONNIE MACK BOOKER: All Alone/ Love Me Pretty Baby/ Love Me Pretty Baby (RPM unissued alt take)/ KING CURTIS: unknown instrumental/ unknown instrumental/ unknown instrumental/ unknown instrumental/ MELVIN DANIELS: Boogie In The Moonlight (Lean Chick)/ Hey Hey Little Girl/ I'll Be There/ If You Don't Want My Lovin'/ MERCY DEE: Come Back Maybellene/ True Love (Flair unissued instrumental version)/ LUCKY ENOIS: Crazy Man Crazy/ Zig Zag Ziggin'/ CLARENCE "BON TON" GARLOW: Crawfishin'/ Route "90"/ PEPPERMINT HARRIS: Bye Bye Fare Thee Well/ The Blues Ain't Nothing (RPM unissued)/ QUINN KIMBLE: Blue Memories/ Feel My Broom/ PREACHER STEVENS: So Far Away/ Whoopin' & Hollerin' |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3058 | Juke Joint Blues - The 50s & 60s | ● CD $22.98 |
| 26 tracks, 74 mins, highly recommended Splendid and varied
set of down home and small group Southern urban blues. Among the
highlights here are a 10 track session (8 previously unissued) from 1969
by former Lightnin' Hopkins running mate Luke "Long Gone" Miles
- his rich dark voice is accompanied by two guitars, bass, drums and the
stellar harp blowing of George Smith. Some great mystery men here too
including fine Memphis singer/ guitarist Jim Lockhart with washboard
accompaniment taken from a rough acetate. Singer/ piano player Clarence
Lively is featured on three unissued tracks recorded in Los Angeles in
1954 - his slow blues Back To The Country is simply stunning with
truly lovely rolling piano. There are two unissued harmonica instrumentals
from an unknown artist - credits saay "possibly Walter Horton" -
I doubt it but they are very nice. Leon "Dr Jive" Williams is
another excellent unissued mystery recorded in Mobile, Alabama in 1954
with a small band and some tough electric guitar. The set is rounded out
by two early Rufus Thomas tracks, 4 by New Orleans bluesman Eddie Lang and
two by Walter Miller. (FS) EDDIE LANG: Come On Home/ I'm All Alone/ I'm Beggin' With Tears/ You Gotta Crawl Before You Walk/ CLARENCE LIVELY: Back To The Country/ Stop It All/ Untitled Boogie/ JIM LOCKHART: Boogie Woogie Baby/ LONG GONE MILES: Gotta Find My Baby/ Hello Josephine/ I Don't Want No Army/ Let Me Play With Your Poodle/ Little Sweet Thing/ Low Down Dirty Shame/ Miss Nera Belle/ My Kind Of Woman/ Need LOve So Bad/ Rocks In My Pillow Blues/ WALTER MILLER: My Last Mile/ Standing On The Highway/ RUFUS THOMAS: I'm Steady Holdin' On/ The Easy Livin' Plan/ UNKNOWN: Untitled Harmonica Boogie/ Untitled Harmonica Boogie/ LEON "DR JIVE" WILLIAMS: Same Mistake Twice/ The Other Man |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3060 | West Coast Modern Blues - The 60s | ● CD $22.98 |
| 23 tracks, 68 mins, recommended Excellent collection of 60s
West Coast blues featuring a mixture of familiar and obscure names. The
set starts off in fine style with Stacy Adams' great Consider Yourself
with great guitar by Ike Turner in his unique style. The other two Johnson
sides are mainstream soul efforts. Vernon Guy is another fine obscure
performer with two cuts. There are four cuts from the great T-Bone Walker
- nice, if not memorable and there are four excellent unissued cuts by
Little Joe Blue - a couple with Jimmy McCracklin's band. B.B. King is
featured on one song - the fine That Evil Child - though the string
overdubs were unnecessary. Flash Terry is a decent though unexceptional
performer. there are four tracks from the excellent King Solomon including
the topical Please Mr. President. The set winds up with three fine
down home blues cuts from singer/ harmonica player Willie Garland. (FS) LITTLE JOE BLUE: Can't Have Your Cake & Eat It Too/ Dirty Work Going On/ Jimmy's Special/ Understanding/ WILLIE GARLAND: Address In My Hand/ Black Widow Spider/ Soul Blues/ VERNON GUY: They Ain't Loving You/ You Got Me/ STACY JOHNSON: Consider Yourself/ Don't Believe Him/ Remove My Doubts/ B.B. KING: That Evil Child/ KING SOLOMON: Mr. Bad Luck/ New Figure/ Please Mr. President/ S.K. Blues/ FLASH TERRY: On My Way Back Home/ One Thing We Know/ T-BONE WALKER: Hey hey Baby/ Jealous Woman/ Love Will Lead You Right/ Should I Let Her Go (Sittin' here Thinkin') |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3061 | Funky Blues, 1960s-1970s | ● CD $22.98 |
| 21 tracks recorded for Kent and Modern between 1967 and 1977
featuring Lowell Fulson, Arthur K. Adams, The Newman Family, T.V. Mama
Jean, Jimmy Bee, Tommy Youngblood, Brenda George, Rudy Rae Moore, Smokey
Wilson and Foxfire (with Johnny Adams). Highlights are the solid
performances by Fulson, Adams and Youngblood. There are some good
performances from the others but they are often marred by overdone wah-wah
guitar, fuzz guitar or a combination of the two!. ARTHUR K. ADAMS: I'm Lonely For You/ Let Your Hair Down/ You Make Me Cry/ JIMMY BEE: Funky Way/ FOXFIRE: Tramp/ LOWELL FULSON: Funky Broadway/ Hobo Meeting/ I'm A Drifter/ Mellow Together/ The Thing/ BRENDA GEORGE: What You See Is What You Gonna Get/ RUDY RAY MOORE: The Turning/ THE NEWMAN FAMILY: Kidney Stew/ Two Ton Mama/ T.V. MAMA JEAN: Women's Liberation/ SMOKEY WILSON: Deuce & Quarter (remix)/ Go Go Train (alternate)/ Night Time (alternate)/ Tell Me Baby (alternate)/ TOMMY YOUNGBLOOD: Hey Little Girl/ Who Will You Favor |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3062 | Blues Divas, 1940s | ● CD $22.98 |
| 24 tracks, 63 mins, recommended Fine collection of blues and
R&B from seven excellent female singers who recorded for Modern and
RPM between 1949 and 1956. The fine and ever popular Helen Humes is
featured on four sides - two studio cuts including I Ain't In The Mood
(the "answer" song to John Lee Hooker's I'm In the Mood)
and two cuts live from The Blues Jubilee Concert with Roy Milton's Band in
front of a very enthusiastic audience. There are two sides by the
wonderful Little Esther from 1949 with Johnny Otis & His Orch
including some hot guitar by hot guitar. There are two sides each by Zola
Taylor (who later became a member of The Platters) and the obscure but
excellent Linda Peters. There are six cuts from 1955 by the fine Dolly
Cooper from 1955 with a hard driving band led by Maxwell Davis - half of
her cuts are tough blues and the other half are bluesy doo-wop ballads
like Teenage Prayer and Teen Age Wedding Bells no doubt
aimed at the growing rock 'n roll audience. Donna Hightower is another
fine singer whose material is divided between hard blues & R&B and
more pop oriented material but all of it is very listenable and there's
some hot guitar pickin' on He's My Baby. (FS) DOLLY COOPER: Ay La Bah/ Down So Long/ Every Day & Every Night/ My Man/ Teen Age Prayer/ Teen Age Wedding Bells/ DONNA HIGHTOWER: Dog Gone It/ Hands Off/ He's My Baby/ I Ain't Gonna Tell/ Love Me Again/ Right Now/ Since You Left Me/ HELEN HUMES: I Ain't In The Mood/ I'm Gonna Let Him Ride/ Livin' My Life My Way/ Million Dollar Secret/ LITTLE ESTHER: I Gotta Guy/ Mean Ole Gal/ LINDA PETERS: Central 1609/ If I had Listened/ ZOLA TAYLOR: Make Love To Me/ Oh My Dear |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3063 | West Coast Modern Blues, The 1960s Vol. 2 | ● CD $22.98 |
| 25 tracks, 63 mins, very good A collection of urban blues
from the 60s and early 70s. In spite of the title, not all of these are
West Coast recordings. The two opening cuts by Arthur K. Adams are
excellent sides with tough guitar and Big Mama Thornton's rare Kent single
from 1964 is a real treat. The rest of the set is hit or miss - Sam Baker,
Filmore Slim, Little Joe Hinton and Esther Williams are generally
nondescript singer though a couple of the Slim sides have some hot guitar.
There are four sides by Johnny Copeland from the early 70s which are very
nice if not among his best work. (FS) ARTHUR K. ADAMS: Gimmie Some Of Your Lovin'/ She Drives Me Out Of My Mind/ SAM BAKER: He'll Be Sorry/ Keep On Scratchin'/ Stormin' & Rainin'/ You Better Check Out What You Got/ JOHNNY COPELAND: Every Dog's Got His Day/ No Puppy Love/ Old Man Blues/ Wizard Of Art/ FILMORE SLIM: Everything I Do Is Wrong/ Everything I Do Is Wrong (alt)/ Fast Gun Annie/ Go Ahead/ Playboy/ Playboy (alt)/ LITTLE JOE HINTON: Get In This Car/ I Need Love So Bad/ The Whip/ Tired Of Walking/ JIMMY MCCRACKLIN: This Life Of Mine (demo)/ BIG MAMA THORNTON: Before Day (Big Mama's Blues)/ Me And My Chaueffeur/ ESTHER WILLIAMS: It's OK/ This Life Of Mine |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3064 | Barrelhouse & Rockin' Blues, The 1950s - Vol. 2 | ● CD $22.98 |
| 24 tracks, 68 mins, highly recommended Excellent collection
of West Coast urban blues recorded between 1949 and 1954 for Modern &
RPM. There are 10 cuts by distinctive singer/ piano player Little Willie
Littlefield accompanied by largish bands - 5 are listed as unissued but I
believe they may have appeared on long out of print Ace LPs. Fine singing
and dynamic boogie piano work from Willie. Floyd Dixon is another fine
piano player though his performances are often in the Charles Brown ballad
mould - he is featured with snmaller groups featuring the fine guitar of
Tiny Webb. And talking about guitar - did Pete Lewis's hot playing on the
two instrumentals by Johnny Otis & His Orchestra. There are two sides
from obscure but fine vocalist Earl Curry and a couple of hard driving
instrumentals from the Jay Franks Orchestra. (FS) EARL CURRY: I Want Your Lovin'/ One Whole Year Baby/ FLOYD DIXON: Baby Come Home/ Doin' The Town/ Drifting Blues/ It's Gettin' Foggy/ Mississippi Blues/ Roamin' Around/ Shuffle Boogie/ You Made A Fool Out Of Me/ JAY FRANKS ORCHESTRA: Fish Tail/ Stripped Gears/ LITTLE WILLIE LITTLEFIELD: Drinkin' Hadacol/ Hit The Road/ Long About Midnight/ Mean Mean Woman/ Money Hustling Woman/ Real Fine Mama/ Rockin' Chair Mama/ Tell Me Baby/ Til We Meet Again/ Train Whistle Blowing/ JOHNNY OTIS & HIS ORCHESTRA: Good Ole Blues/ Thursday Night Blues |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 3065 | West Coast Modern Blues 1960s, Vol. 3 | ● CD $22.98 |
| Fine collection of sides from the mid-late 60s recorded for
Kent and Modern It includes 10 by Al King (two previously unissued), 12 by
Willie Headen (9 previously unissued) and 3 by King Solomon (all
unissued). |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 5271/4 | Vee-Jay, Chicago's Black Music | ● CD $79.98 |
| 4 CDs, 90 tracks, 3 hrs 54 mins, highly recommended Four CD box set featuring 90 blues and R&B cuts recorded for Vee-Jay between 1953 and 1964. The first CD is all down home blues featuring artists originally from Mississippi - Elmore James (who opens the set with the first Elmore track I ever heard and still one of my favorites Coming Home), Big Joe Williams, J.B. Lenoir, Floyd Jones and others - no surprises but all great music. The second disc is "the best of the Vee-Jay blues guitarists" and includes Junior Wells & Earl Hooker (not really a Vee-Jay cut!), Memphis Slim (with great Matt Murphy guitar), Willie Cobbs (two cuts recorded in Memphis in 1961 featuring an early appearance on record of Samy Lawhorn), the fine T-Bone flavored vocalist L.C. McKinley, Pee Wee Crayton (his sensational The Telephone Is Ringing), Larry Birdsong (horrible vocals but fine guitar by Lefty Bates), Little Richard (with a pre Experience Jimmy Hendrix demonstrating his blues chops). The third disc features Chicago urban blues and R&B and includes three tracks by The Tommy Dean Orchestra with excellent vocalist Joe Buckner including his topical Recession and the great One More Mile which has been covered by a number of performers. Also included on this disc are the Jay McShann Orchestra with vocalist Priscilla Bowman, Jimmy Witherspoon (a great loping version of K.C. Loving aka Kansas City), Earl Phillips (best known as a session drummer - he's an unexceptional vocalist but has a hot band with Jody Williams and Henry Gray), The Crume Brothers, Edith Mackey (with the Arnett Cobb Orch), Camille Howard, Grant Jones and others. The fourth disc features Southern R&B performers including Roscoe Gordon (including his big hit and frequently covered Just A Little Bit and a remake of No More Doggin'), Gene Allison (his soulful You Can Make It If You Try and two others), Christine Kittrell, Lue Cazz ( a cover of Jimmy McCracklin's The Walk with McCracklin's Orchestra!), Lee Diamond with The Upsetters, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters and others. Sound quality is generally very good. 40 page booklet has notes (in Japanese), discographical information, photos and song lyrics. There are only 15 duplications with the Charly Vee-Jay double released a while back (CDGR 145) and the selection of music is more varied. (FS) GENE ALLISON: Reap What You Sow/ Three Times Seven/ You Can Make It If You Try/ BILLY BOY ARNOLD: Don't Stay Out All Night/ I was Fooled/ HANK BALLARD & THE MIDNIGHTERS: The Twist/ LARRY BIRDSONG: Ain't Nothin But A Fool/ Fanny's Place/ I'll Run My Business/ I'm Pleading Just For You/ My Darling/ PRISCILLA BOWMAN: A Rockin' Good Way/ HAROLD BURRAGE: Crying For My Baby/ CHICK CARBO: Baby, Baby/ I Don't Want To Lose Her/ Pigtails And Blue Jeans/ So Tired/ LUE CAZZ: The Walk/ Your Picture/ DANNY COBB: Some Day/ WILLIE COBBS: Lonely Boy (I Need A Woman)/ You Don't Love Me/ You're So Hard To Please/ PEE WEE CRAYTON: The Telephone Is Ringing/ Tie It Down (Benedict Canyon Boogie)/ THE CRUME BROTHERS: It's You I Love You/ Rock 'n Roll Boogie/ TOMMY DEAN ORCHESTRA: Eventime/ One More Mile/ Recession/ LEE DIAMOND: Upsetter Rock/ Wake Up/ Hattie Malatti/ Vald Head Baby/ DIZZY DIXON: Soup Line/ BILLY "THE KID" EMERSON: You Never Miss You Water/ THE FIVE ECHOES: Evil Woman/ Tell Me Baby/ ROSCOE GORDON: Goin' Home/ Jelly Jelly/ Just A Little Bit/ No More Doggin'/ JOHN LEE HOOKER: Boom Boom/ Dimples/ House Rent Boogie/ Moanin' Blues/ CAMILLE HOWARD: Business Woman/ ELMORE JAMES: Coming Home/ Cry For Me Baby/ Elmore's Contribution To Jazz/ It Hurts Me Too/ Knocking At Your Door/ Take Me Where You Go/ The 12 Year Old Boy/ FLOYD JONES: Ain't Times Hard/ Any Old Lonesome Day/ Floyd's Blues/ Schooldays (On My Mind)/ GRANT JONES: What have You Done To Me/ CHRISTINE KITTRELL: I'm A Woman/ It's Nobody's Fault/ Mr Big Wheel/ Sittin' And Drinkin'/ J.B. LENOIR: Do What I Say/ Oh Babe/ LITTLE RICHARD: Money Honey/ EDITH MACKEY: The Skillet's Gonna Fry/ L.C. MCKINLEY: Down With It/ She's Five Feet Three (Brown Skin Baby)/ PRO MCLAM: Cinemascope Baby/ BIG JAY MCNEELY: Big Jay's Hop/ JAY MCSHANN ORCHESTRA: Hootie Blues/ MEMPHIS SLIM: Blues & Lonesome/ Guitar Cha Cha/ MORRIS PEJOE: Hurt My Feelings/ You're Gonna Need Me/ EARL PHILLIPS: Oop De Oop/ SNOOKY PRYOR: Judgement Day/ Someone To Love Me/ JIMMY REED: Boogie In The Dark/ High And Lonesome/ You Don't Have To Go/ EDDIE TAYLOR: Big Town Playboy/ I'm Sittin' Here/ NOBLE "THIN MAN" WATTS: Give It Up/ South Side Drive/ JUNIOR WELLS & EARL HOOKER: Calling All Blues/ BIG JOE WILLIAMS: Baby Left Town/ King's Highway/ JIMMY WITHERSPOON: K.C. Loving |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 5406 | The Birth Of Modern Blues | ● CD $22.98 |
| 25 tracks, 71 mins, highly recommended At first glance this
seemed to be another recycling of familiar material but on closer
inspection it turns out that only about a third of the titles here have
been reissued on CD by Ace with maybe a couple more on other P-Vine CDs.
What we have here is the complete issued recordings (plus a few unissued)
on the various Modern owned labels by Fenton Robinson, Little Milton,
Bobby "Blue" Bland, Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and Earl Forest
plus all four cuts from B.B. King's first session for RPM in August 1950.
The music here is consistently fine urban blues and is of significance
since all the artists here, except Robinson and Forest, went on to carve
out succesful careers on the blues circuit. (FS) JOHNNY ACE: I Cried/ Midnight Hours/ BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND: Crying All Night Long/ Drifting From Town To Town/ Dry Up Baby/ Good Lovin' (Love You, Yes I Do)/ Love My Baby/ EARL FOREST: I Can't Forgive You/ I Wronged A Woman/ Rumpus Romp/ Sad & Lonely/ Trouble And Me/ Whole Heap Of Mama/ B.B. KING: B.B.'s Boogie/ Mistreated Woman/ The Other Night Blues/ Walkin' And Cryin'/ LITTLE MILTON: Let My Baby Be/ Let's Boogie Baby/ Love At First Sight/ Oh My Little Baby/ LITTLE JUNIOR PARKER: Bad Women Bad Whiskey/ You're My Angel/ FENTON ROBINSON: Crying Out Loud/ Tennessee Woman |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 5544/5 | The Best Of A Capella Gospel | ● CD $37.98 |
| 2 CDs, 52 tracks, 146 mins, essential A truly stunning
collection of acapella gospel - mostly from the mid/late 40s . Considering
the popularity and number of recordings issued in this style in this
period it is astonishing that so little has been reissued. So this release
makes a particularly invaluable contribution. Most of the groups here will
be unfamiliar to all but the most serious gospel collector but all are
fine. The music presented shows the transition of black gospel from the
older jubilee style to the harder edged style that came to prominence a
little later. Among the groups here are the wonderful and seminal Famous
Blue Jay Singers of Alabama, with 5 tracks, 3 of the featuring the
stunning baritone lead of Silas Steele - their I'm Bound For Canaan
Land has been reissued before (unlike most of the material on this
collection) but is such a magnificent performance that it deserves to be
heard again! There are four sides by The Paramount Singers from the San
Francisco Bay Area with Vance "Tiny" Powell on lead - the two
part In That Awful Hour is a spine chilling example of how some
gospel performances gradually build to such a level of intensity that it
leaves you drained by the time it's over. There are two truly sublime
performances from 1947 by The Richmond Harmonizers (I'm Bound For
Higher Ground/ One Day) - a few years later they would change their
name to the Harmonizing Four. Other groups include The Kings Of Harmony,
National Clouds Of Joy, Sons Of Heaven (actually The Selah Jubilee Singers
with Thurmon Ruth and Allen Bunn), Singing Crusaders, Singing Sons and
others. A few of the cuts do feature guitar accompaniments but to all
intents and purposes the performances are unaccompanied. Sound is a bit
rough on a few of the cuts but is generally fine. (FS) REV. F.F. BILLUPS & HIS KANSAS CITY GOSPEL SINGERS: On The Jericho Road/ When I've Gone The Last Mile/ THE CLOUDS OF JOY: L Let Nothing Separate Me From His Love/ Rock My Soul/ THE FAMOUS BLUE JAY SINGERS OF BIRMINGHAM, A: I Must Tell Jesus/ I'm Bound For Canaan Land/ In The Upper Room/ Lift The Savior Up/ Old Time Religion/ THE KELLY BROTHERS: God Said He Was Coming/ Prayer For Tomorrow/ THE KINGS OF HARMONY OF ALABAMA: I'm A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow/ Lord Give Me Wings/ THE NATIONAL CLOUDS OF JOY: Bound For Canaan Land/ Brand New/ Don T Wonder About Him/ Hearse Wheel Keep On Rolling/ I'm Tired/ Jesus Met The Woman At The Well/ Thank You Jesus/ THE NORFOLK FOUR: He's A Battle Axe/ It May Be The Last Time/ Oh Lord! Oh Lord!/ Sleep On, Mother/ THE PARAMOUNT SINGERS: In The Awful Hour Part I/ In The Awful Hour Part Ii/ Will The Circle Be Unbroken?/ Workin On The Building/ THE REVELATORS: Brother Moses/ Didn't My Lord Deliver/ Free At Last/ He Is My Rock/ I'll Tell It Wherever I Go/ Noah/ Walk Together Children/ Who Is That Riding/ THE RICHMOND HARMONIZERS: I'm Bound For Higher Grounds/ One Day/ THE SINGING CRUSADERS: I Know It Was The Blood/ Motherless Children/ THE SINGING SONS: Spiritual Prayer/ The Power Of The Lord/ THE SONS OF HEAVEN: I'll Be Satisfied/ Let The World See Jesus/ Lord Give Me Rest/ Since I Laid My Burden Down/ The World Is In A Bad Condition/ Wade In The Water/ When Was Jesus Born/ Zig Zag Lightning/ THE SWANEE RIVER QUARTET: Jesus Is My Friend/ Lord Have Mercy |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | P-Vine PCD 5736 | Slidin' The Blues - The Best Of Slide Blues Guitar | ● CD $22.98 |
| 23 tracks, recommended Excellent collection of slide and bottleneck guitar blues from the period 1927 through 1940. If you have much of a pre-war blues collection you probably have almost everything here but if you want to focus in on that spine chilling sound of the slide this is a mostly rewarding collection featuring Hambone Willie Newbern, Charley Patton, Blind Joe Reynolds, Bukka White, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Black Ace, Furry Lewis, Barbecue Bob, Fred McMullen, Casey Bill Weldon, Tampa Red, Robert Lee McCoy and others. Sound is satisfactory and, as is common with most Japanese reissues there are full lyric transcripts. There is minimal duplication with similarly themed compilations. (FS) KOKOMO ARNOLD: Feels So Good/ BARBECUE BOB: Yo Yo Blues/ BLACK ACE: Lowing Heifer/ KING SOLOMON HILL: Tell Me Baby/ BO WEAVIL JACKSON: You Can't Keep No Brown/ BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON: Jack O'Diamond Blues/ KANSAS JOE & MEMPHIS MINNIE: My Wash Woman's Gone/ FURRY LEWIS: Cannonball Blues/ ROBERT LEE MCCOY: Friar's Point Blues/ FRED MCMULLEN: De Kalb Chain Gang/ BLIND WILLIE MCTELL: Travelin' Blues/ HAMBONE WILLIE NEWBERN: Roll & Tumble Blues/ CHARLEY PATTON: A Spoonful Blues/ Mississippi Boweavil Blues/ BLIND JOE REYNOLDS: Outside Woman Blues/ TAMPA RED: Moanin' Heart Blues/ New Strangers Blues/ SYLVESTER WEAVER: Bottleneck Blues/ CASEY BILL WELDON: Guitar Swing/ Somebody Changed The Lock On That Door/ BUKKA WHITE: Po' Boy/ Sic 'Em Dogs On/ OSCAR WOODS: Don't Sell It, Don't Give It away |
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| T-BONE WALKER | P-Vine PCD 5517 | Feeling The Blues | ● CD $22.98 |
| 9 tracks recorded by T. Bone in France in 1968 and
originally issued on Black & Blue 33.019. They feature a good small
group including Hal Singer on tenor and George Avanitas on piano. Good
standard T. Bone fare with good singing and playing all round. |
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| SMOKEY WILSON | P-Vine PCD 3022 | Blowin' Smoke | ● CD $22.98 |
| 11 tracks, 41 mins, good. Originally issued on the Kent
subsidiary Big Town in 1977 this is a solid set of no nonsense blues by
this powerful singer and guitarist based in Los Angeles. Smokey has a
tough aggressive approach in singing with a voice obviously inspired by
Howling Wolf and Elmore James. He is also a solid, if not necessarily,
original guitarist. He is accompanied by a small band of local musicians
on guitar, bass, drums and piano plus, on some tracks, an uncredited
harmonica player (George Smith?). His songs are often based around blues
standards or traditional themes. It's a shame that P-Vine didn't see fit
to include some tracks from Smokey's second Big Town album which would
have given us better value for the money. Ah well ... Enjoyable. (FS) SMOKEY WILSON: Annie Lee/ Go Go Train/ How Many More Times/ I Wanna Do It To You Baby/ I'm Gonna Leave You Baby/ I'm Gonna Put You Down/ Night Time/ Put Your Lovin' Arms Around Me/ Straighten Up Baby/ Teach Me How To Love You/ Tell Me Baby |
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| SMOKEY WILSON | P-Vine PCD 5401 | Sings The Blues | ● CD $22.98 |
| Reissue of 1978 album originally issued on Big Town label
plus one bonus cut originally on a 45 - Blues For Big Town/ Honey Bee/
Loudella/ I'm No Fool, I Know The Rule/ You Shadowed My Dream, etc. 9
tracks in all. |
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