5 comments about Mo' Roots.

1. Taj brings the character of his blues soaked voice to the island sound.
   Can't miss.
   This album has suffered not one iota in 30 years of listening.
   Is Taj the greatest black voice of all?
   Maybe...



2. I first purchased the album in the early 70s in my twenties. I liked it so much I had to buy the cd, in my fifties.



3. Yeah I rather love this record although its more the overall mood than that every song is great, but it just flows together so well. this version of slave driver is just fantastic ( and probably better than the original. some of the songs taken in isolation seem weak,why the fadeout on 'johnny too bad'? Some great backing vocals - a short album but such a happy vibe



4. I've got "Dancin the Blues" and "Like Never Before" but I still keep coming back to this album. This album sets me free. I play it constantly and I got it in the seventies. I think Taj is the coolest guy on the planet. Cajun Waltz makes me grab my wife and dance her around the room. His musical sense and timing I can't begin to describe. All the songs are very unique and unlike anything I've ever heard. Give this one a shot. I've never turned anyone on to this album that didn't love it.



5. I saw Taj twice in the 1970's, what a treat! His music still holds up so well. I'd highly recommend this to any one who enjoys great music done by a naturally gifted musician.

5 comments about Live at the Regal.

1. So they finally went back and remastered the muddy audio on this classic album! The new sound is fantastic -- clear as a bell. Sadly, while the audio was being cleaned up, no one bothered to clean up the very, very sloppy edits (especially in the second half), such as when the second intro of B.B. (why two separate intros, anyway?) gets abruptly chopped off and goes right into a song that from the background crowd noise came at some other point in the show. If you're going to do a live album, the tracks should at least create the illusion of a live show, especially in this digital era when fade-outs and fade-ins are no longer used, and audience applause can be smoothly edited in to create seamless transitions!
   
   The performance is powerful and this is definitely a 5-star recording that has been royally botched by sloppy and oh-so-obvious edits. In addition, many remasters go back and add in some bonus tracks. If no original source material survives (which may be the case 42 years after this performance!), then something from the era is added as a bonus and the CD is fleshed out to anywhere from 60 to 79 minutes long. Not here. You get the original 35 minutes. No more. No less.
   
   Anyone who's seen what Legacy is doing with classic LPs (adding more to the original CD, plus a second CD of extra material) by Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, The Who, etc., surely have some idea how this great LP could have been updated for the 21st century. What we get is clearer audio, and nothing else. What a disappointment!



2. B.B. King-Live At The Regal *****
   
   Recorded live at the Regal in Chicago in 1964 this went on to become what is now widely considered the all time greatest live blues album. This is rightly deserved as this is in fact the greatest live blues album of all time.
   
   King's single note guitar lines are crisp as ever, and his vocals are beyond comparison. Aside from being obviously his best live recording, Live At The Regal is the best recording of King period. This is with out a doubt the best version of 'Sweet Little Angel' ever released. The essential version is more correct. 'Every Day I Have The Blues' and 'Its My Own Fault' are among some of the most inspired performances ever caught on tape. The albums closer 'Help The Poor' is just gut-wrenching. Pure bliss!
   
   This performance is pure electric. With every passing listen to Live At The Regal I still get chills all down my spine, and if you ask me that is the mark of a fantastic album after all these years and listens.



3. As a Memphis native, I have heard B.B. on many occasions. Never have I seen or hear him play with the same passion he did here in 1964. The quality of the recording is outstanding, with Lucille giving the center-stage on many occasions. The clarity and quality is amazing for a forty year old recording. This is the live B.B. King recording to buy. The Cook County Jail performance from 1971 is a close second, but the quality is not nearly as good.



4. recorded live at the regal theatre, chicago in 1964, this is generally considered b.b. king's best album, and deservedly so. this is simply one of the great urban blues albums of all-time. b.b.'s singing is as powerful and nuanced on this recording as it was ever to be, before or after. his guitar playing is at a peak of expressive beauty here, far more tasteful and beyond the technic, at this point, of what any rock and roll guitarist was yet capable of. yes, the rock and rollers would improve greatly in time, but this was 1964, and King was the undisputed guitar king. a fine horn section, it should be mentioned, also graces the album. the whole affair is magical. a great night in recording history.



5. BB King's Live at the Regal is a recording of a great show performed at the Regal Theater in Chicago in 1965. Considered among many, including myself, as his greatest album its a must for any blues collection. King is at the top of his form and you can hear it in his guitar playing. His band gives their all and, importantly, the song selections are magnificent.
   
   Its a great recording of a great performance. Its also a perfect introduction to the blues for neophytes as well. Highly recommended.

2 comments about The Very Best of Lightnin' Hopkins.

1. I'm nearly happy with this album. Its major flaw, that I'm quite irritated about, is that the introduction to Big Car Blues cuts off before Hopkins has finished his story. It goes straight to the song, which is about Lightnin' trying to recover his stolen car, but the listener never gets to hear how it was stolen. This effectively butchers the story telling element of Hopkins' work.

   Other than that, it's a fine collection. But since it contains songs that are obvious choices for an anthology, I'd suggest getting another anthology with a more complete version of Black Car Blues




2. I'm nearly happy with this album. Its major flaw, that I'm quite irritated about, is that the introduction to Big Car Blues cuts off before Hopkins has finished his story. It goes straight to the song, which is about Lightnin' trying to recover his stolen car, but the listener never gets to hear how it was stolen. This effectively butchers the story telling element of Hopkins' work.

   Other than that, it's a fine collection. But since it contains songs that are obvious choices for an anthology, I'd suggest getting another anthology with a more complete version of Black Car Blues

5 comments about Triumvirate.

1. I have been relistening to this album in the last few days and suddenly thought to look at the Amazon reviews.
   
   For the first time in a long time, I find myself disagreeing with some clearly serious reviewers.
   
   I rate this as a five star album precisely _because_ it is a laid-back display of the genius of three very different bluesmen who have made a superb album in which not one of them tries to steal the show and in which all contribute their particular skill to form a magnificent whole.
   
   True, you won't find a firework display of Bloomfield guitar playing, but you will hear Bloomfield's guitar in its place, as you will Dr. John's piano and swampy rhythms, and John Hammond's smoky voice and blues delivery. It's a weird and wonderful three-way crossroads where Lousiana meets Chicago meets East Coast.
   
   The material is excellent and track selection is sensitive, with each artist getting at least one showcase item: e.g. Dr. John (Sho Bout to Drive Me Wild); Bloomfield (Rock Me Baby), John Hammond just about everywhere since he does the vocals...
   
   Add to this the fact that it is a superior production, beautifully recorded in LA and San Francisco and I rate this album as one of the best I own.



2. This is the blues equivalent of Blind Faith, a supergroup that never took off. The reason is on the record, a lackluster, tepid effort from three guys who each waited for the other to take the reins and run. No one did. While it's not awful, and some tracks are quite enjoyable ("Cha-Dooky-Doo," "I Yi-Yi"), the overall experience leaves you a bit wanting. Personally, I would have liked a lot more Dr. John and Bloomfield, and a lot less Hammond. At least on this recording, he strikes me as out of his depth and simply not in the same league as his band mates.
   
   I did notice the inestimable Thomas Jefferson Kaye sat in on these recordings, no doubt supplying the chemical support needed to keep these guys happy and in the studio. Apparently, according to the liner notes, that was not an easy job. This is a curio, for hard-core fans of these musicians only.



3. You know the saying. So when you get a New Orleans/piano legend, a delta blues revivalist, and the leading white American blues guitarist of his today together you would expect a dynamite jam session. What this album feels more like though is that everyone waited back for the "magic" to happen. And it never did. There isn't much here to celebrate. That's not to say it's bad. It just doesn't live up to expectations.

   For someone who bought this to hear Bloomfield's guitar it's too far back in the mix and there's too little of it. I also like Dr. John but there isn't enough of his New Orleans funk here either. It's just sort of 'eh'. At the same time if a young blues/r&b outfit put this out today we'd probably talk about the promise they displayed and admire their restraint. It just doesn't do the individual artists justice. The liner notes, once you've got the CD, give you a warning as they cover the failed first attempt for these guys to find some chemistry in playing together. Not terrible, just unremarkable.




4. The year was 1973, an era when super groups were the vogue a la Blind Faith. The idea was to take a piano player whose style was New Orleans Cajun- Dr. John, a guitar icon with roots in Chicago Blues - Mike Bloomfield and a vocalist who reverently performed delta blues classics - John Hammond. It could have worked and made a huge impact on the music of the day and brought more people to the way of the blues - it didn't. Instead it was a blip in all of these great musicians careers - few people took note of it then or now.

   While none of the artists on the album seem to be spotlighted to show the degree of talent that they possessed, it is an interesting cd with some good numbers on it. Such numbers as Cha dooky-doo and I yi yi seem silly and dated - others as Sho Bout to Drive me Wild, It Hurts Me Too and Rock Me Baby are noteworthy and a good listen.

   All in all, the cd is worth the price, especially for fans of Dr. John, Mike Bloomfield or John Hammond. For those not familiar with their work or blues in general another cd would be a better choice.




5. I wanted to first respond to BluesDuke's initial review of Triumvirate...He characterized John Hammond, Michael Bloomfield and Dr. John as performers who had sumpreme control of themselves. I disagree. Hammond, Bloomfield and Renneback are three of the most erratic performers around. I have seen Hammond on good and bad nights and on bad nights he drinks too much beer and makes you wonder if he's going to fall off his stool. Dr. John is probably the most gifted player of the piano around, (listen to some of his stride piano playing) but if the vibe is not right, he sleepwalks his way through a set. Michael Bloomfield was a heroin casualty. The saddest set of music I ever saw was Bloomfield playing with his brillant Electric Flag ensemble in Chicago in the late 60's. Michael's playing was technically impecible and loaded with passion but he had to play the entire set laying on the floor of the hall because he was "rushing" from a near overdose of heroin. I would advise each consumer to select the CDs which reflect the strengths of each of these artist's careers, rather than this insipid "supergroup" album which only underscores the problematic nature of each artist's brilliance.

5 comments about Strong Persuader.

1. I have been looking fo this for a long time and I have finally found It.



2. STRONG PERSUADER, Oregon bluesman Robert Cray's classic 1986 breakthrough album, is a unique mix of blues and Stax/Volt soul which proves that great blues can come from anywhere, not just the Midwest, the South, or even England. Cray's sound and style take the blues to the next level, proving that you don't have to have slept in boxcars or picked cotton in order to be a great blues musician; you just have to be human. This is a great album about love gone wrong in contemporary settings, with Cray playing both victim and perpetrator, sometimes both on the same song. This is a wonderful CD that's a must-own for any blues/roots-rock fan.



3. this absolutely, positively a must have cd for any one who appreciates great music. it is all good.



4. Robert Cray is one of those singers who is a quintessential crossover artist because he is able to bring a type of music (in this case blues)into the mainstream. Of course when you do that the hardcore blues fans will say its not bluesy enough etc.. but who cares. The first several songs on this CD are so catchy I still hmm them 18 years after I bought this CD!



5. One of the cool features of the Blues is how many types and styles there are. Unfortunately for my wallet, I enjoy just about every form out there. Way back when Strong Persuader came out, it just knocked my socks off. It was quite different from anything I'd ever heard. The more I listened into it, the more I heard. I was rewarded with every repeated playing. This album isn't like Stevie Ray Vaughn, isn't like Clapton when he plays the Blues, isn't' like Muddy Waters, isn't like Hubert Sumlin, Son House, Lonnie Johnson.... it isn't like anything but Robert Cray... and that's a good thing, as Martha would say.
   
   Guitar players worldwide admire the tight, efficient, textured, smooth style of Mr. Cray. Clapton, Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, and even Chuck Berry have all sung the praises of Mr. Robert Cray on electric guitar. THAT should tell you something.
   
   I have much of his catalog in my collection and some of it is uneven. Not this baby! There are no bad songs here... period. Cut after cut, the playing is energetic and the singing is spot on. There's only as much there as there needs to be and no more than that. Because of that, the music and the lead licks get a chance to breathe a little. They're not covered up by the other instruments in the mix.
   
   I've been lucky enough to see the Robert Cray Band twice in fairly small venues, both in Spokane, WA, and he simply tore the joint up both times without looking like he was doing it. When you listen to this disc, you definitely get a strong taste of what those two concerts were like.
   
   From my perspective he is the consumate professional and a most courteous musician who has no problem with the spotlight being on someone else. On my 2-disc version of CHUCK BERRY: Hail! Hail! Rock n' Roll, there's Robert playing RHYTHM guitar in the background, laying down in the weeds and putting out that trademark sound which allows the pyrotechnics of Mr. Berry to be luminescent due to the contrast. Make no mistake; Robert Cray is a Big Dog in the world of Blues. It tells you all you need to know about the guy when you see and hear him do something like this.
   
   If you get this one, try playing it on a "big" system sometime - one with strong, tight bass and crisp sparkle in the treble area. When you close your eyes, you can almost hear the angels... and the devils gettin' down...
   
   In going back to his roots as far as his catalog is concerned, you can't go wrong here. I'd give this one 6-stars if I could.

No comments about Blues T-Bone Style.

1 comments about Blues Bar-B-Que.

1. This CD has much in common with the backyard bar-b-que from which it takes its name. Some of it needs to be thrown out, but most of it is so satisfying that as soon as you're done you start looking forward to the opportunity to do it again.
   
   You can never go wrong with Marcia Ball. The green bullet screams in that painfully pleasing way through BBQ at JD's. Hot Sauce will have you shaking your hips while you shake a little dry rub on those ribs.
   
   If you put sauce on your meat while you cook it don't buy this CD. You don't know BBQ so you probably don't know blues.
   
   By the time you make it to Heartburn, track 9, you should be ready to give yourself a little heartburn with what you are taking off the grill. Pop open another Bud and hit repeat on this disc. This is livin'.

3 comments about There Must Be a Better World Somewhere.

1. This is a Classic, the Sax player is the Legendary David "Fathead" Newman, a true artist who teams with BB king to produce a remarkable CD. Short but complex on so many levels.



2. Fun is teh only word to describe this GREAT music, jump blues with BB's vocals and guitar work by BB on lucille!!!



3. This is a reissue of an album that originally came out on vinyl in the late '70's or early '80's, but it's still one of my favorites. "More, More, More" is vintage B.B. in his "nothing exceeds like excess" mode, while "There Must Be a Better World" is the blues in action. But "Born Again Human" is, IMHO, one of the best tunes he ever recorded, positive and uplifting without being sappy, and touching without being sentimental. Good stuff.

4 comments about The Best of B.B. King.

1. That 5 is really a 4.5.
   
   I don't write reviews usually but the previous reviewers are entirely misguided and wrong, hence the need for another review. This is NOT a compilation disc- it is not a greatest hits collection, and it is not 70 minutes long. "Blues on Top of Blues" was an ALBUM, and a good one at that. The album is very brassy, as B.B. hired a fellow named Johnny Pate (who also worked with Curtis Mayfield) to help him arrange the songs. There are definite gems here- "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss" is a classic, and "Heartbreaker" and "Raining in My Heart" are good cuts. I don't know why I single them out, because it's pretty good end to end- lots of soul, great singing and playing by B.B., and standard era arrangements. This is a major piece that chronicles an important place in B.B. King's career, and should be treated as such. If you are looking for "The Thrill Is Gone," get a different cd, rather than buying this album and then complaining about its absence because you are too stupid to research your purchase!
   
   "Blues on Top of Blues" came out in 1968 (hence the brevity which the other geniuses noted), but it's still pretty much the same quality as the vinyl, so when they remaster it I'll give that the full 5 stars.



2. I had this on vinyl years ago, but lost it. I reordered it on CD because the tunes still ring in my mind. The best horn arrangements I've ever heard on a B.B. King album. Not a lot of guitar, but great vocals, great arrangements, Horns are awesomeat times. So many of his albums just repeat previously recorded stuff- THIS IS A GEM!



3. start point 0 points
   Time spanned (1951 - 1960) 0 points
   length (not even 30 minutes) 0 points
   track sellection (no post fifties = no Sweet sixteen, Thrill is gone, Don't answer the door, How blue can you get...) 0 points
   key tracks 5/10 +0.5 point
   total 0.5 point = aproximately 1 star
   recomendation : buy this, only if you like me, have better 50's
   B.B. compilation as well as a post50's one and you only miss Three o' clock blues and When my heart beats like a hammer. otherwise, avoid.



4. This CD is kind of a jip when you think about it. Yes, it's inexpensive, but it's only about 29 minutes long. There are many other BB King CDs out there that give you lots of music for your money. However, this isn't really one of them.

   The songs featured here are early recordings, as one might guess from the rather young-looking picture of BB on the cover. The recording quality sounds a bit dated, but there is plenty of energy in the songs to make up for it. There is a kickin' horn section on some of the songs that don't really typify the blues, but are still delightful.

   There are no liner notes, so you have no idea what the chronology of the songs are or who the musicians were, other than the man himself. But it's over before you know it, so don't pay too much for this. I imagine the box set is a little more worth the cost, wouldn't you think?

1 comments about Atlantic Blues: Guitar.

1. This is a must have for anyone with a love of the blues and the guitar artist who made it great. The last track on the CD is a live recording of Texas Flood by S. R. Vaugn, the best live track of his I have ever heard.