5 comments about A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

1. 
   Vaughan's old band, led by his brother Jimmie, and a group of big-name blues-rock stars, play tribute to the late-great blues man. Guests are B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Dr. John and Art Neville.
   
   In between the songs are tributes by those guests, and some short excerpts of Vaughan's performances from various concerts. Those excerpts are great, and really show off Stevie Ray's extraordinary talent.
   
   Speaking of talent, all the guests are entertaining and fun to hear. Buddy Guy is fun to watch, too. Does anybody have more fun playing blues on his guitar than Guy? Nobody, frankly, does a super song but they are all good and, for just $10, this is a good deal.. The best number is at the end when the group jam and takes turns with solos. The finale, "SRV Shuffle," to me, was the best song on the DVD. It's so good I get tears in my eyes every time I watch and hear that last number.



2. This is one of the best of ACL and that's saying a whole lot. This 1995 tribute to Austin-based Stevie Ray Vaughn featured an all-star cast, including Stevie's brother, Jimmy, Eric Clapton, BB King, Bonnie Raitt, and more.
   
   "Pride and Joy" by Bonnie Raitt is probably my favorite of the bunch, but there's not a bad song in the collection.
   
   For such a short life, Stevie Ray Vaughn made an outstanding contribution to blues and guitar and he will be sorely missed. In my opinion, this is one of the best tributes I have ever seen or heard.



3. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert King are my two favorite electric blue guitarists. I've had this CD for 10 years and it's just as great every time I play it. Until the last month (December 2006) I didn't know about amazon.com's venue for reviews, so Shaq is making up for lost time. This is without a doubt a 5 star classic! With stars paying tribute to Stevie, such as Bonnie Raitt, BB, Buddy Guy, Clapton, Doctor John, Robert Cray, brother Jimmie, and others. Buddy Guy performs a "haunting" version of "Long Way From Home". The lyrics for "Six Strings Down", which basically, welcomes Stevie to blues heaven, where he joins with the likes of Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, T-bone and others, is intelligent, touching, and oh yea! Has a good beat! SHAQ BLUES HISTORICAL TRIVIA NOTE FOR MY LOYAL BLUES FANS: "The night Stevie died, at the end of the concert in Wisconsin, Eric Clapton, told Stevie, with witnesses, "You're the best blues guitarist I ever heard!" By the way, read all of Shaq's blues reviews for all kinds of nuggets like these. P.S. Stevie's last recorded CD is "Family Style". I'll rate it a 5 here because I can't find it on amazon. It's a 4 musically, but the fact that it was the last CD he recorded, in addition to being the reuniting of brothers Stevie and Jimmie, and the hatchet between the brothers was buried.



4. Tribute albums aoften strike me as a collection of poor imitations of the original- but this is different. First and foremost, everyone on it was close to SRV, from his brother on down. They knew him, they played with him, and they understood his style. Second, and perhaps even more importantly, this was a live concert. Instead of a bunch of gunslingers trying to out-SRV each other in a studio, you have a group of great musicians, each a great stylist in their own right, and none of whom has to prove anything to anyone. The result is magical music that serves as a true tribute to that great Texas guitar player, Stevie Ray Vaughn.



5. This CD has the best blues musicians in the world paying tribute to SRV.
   Bonnie Raitt opens with a killer slide version of Pride and Joy,
   Jimmy Vaughn does a great version of Texas Flood second only to the version by Stevie.
   BB King does Telephone Song. Buddy Guy almost steals the show with Long Way From Home.
   Eric Clapton does a solid version on Aint Gonna Give Up On Love.
   Robert Cray does a strong version of Love Struck Baby
   This is a fitting tribute of musicians who are honoring SRV along with SRV's former band members.
   This is a must for any SRV fan, or any blues fan............

5 comments about Sad Days, Lonely Nights.

1. As you may know, most follow-up albums suck. This is mainly do to the fact that the main surprise that makes the artist so special has already been exposed, so when the second disc comes out it, the artist has nothing new to offer. Or they have taken there music in such a radicly different or over-produced direction, that it doesn't even sound like that artist. Well this CD is different. Even though Kimbrough keeps the sound that you're probably familiar with, he still has some new tricks up his sleave, like kenny brown's slide playing. It even has a verson of "Crawlin' Kingsnake" on it! This is the kind of album that makes you realize that I'm not crazy to like blues.



2. ...THIS IS THAT ALBUM! YOU WANNA GET DRUNK AND REMINISCE ABOUT A LONG LOST LOVE, FUSS ABOUT HOW YOUR OLD LADY IS DOIN YOU WRONG, FLIRT WITH THAT NEW GIRL WORKIN DOWN AT THE DOLLAR STORE OR GET UP AND GO GET BACK WHATEVER IT WAS THAT WAS TAKEN FROM YOU...THEN THIS IS THAT ALBUM TO GET YOU IN THE MOOD FOR ALLA THAT!
   THIS MAN IS SERIOUSLY SLEPT ON, BUT MR. KIMBROUGH HAS BROKEN THRU TO MY TOP 5 OF FAVORITE ARTISTS...JUST BEHIND ARETHA FRANKLIN, ISAAC HAYES, THE O'JAYS AND OUTKAST!
   THIS MAN IS PURE AND HIS CARRYIN' ONS WILL GET YOU CLOSER TO YOURSELF AS HE REACHES IN AND PULLS YOUR SOUL OUT!



3. I saw Junior open for Iggy Pop in about 1996. He sat in his chair, unmoving, for 45 minutes and played what seemed like one single, endless song. When he finished, I couldn't remember how he'd began, but I knew I'd been taken someplace far, far away, and I was sad to be back. This album conjures that same feeling for me. The word "groove" has been poisoned by association with post-hippie jam-band idiocy, but Junior's music grooves. It will move you in ways you didn't think possible. It will burn tracks into your brainpan and it will never leave once it's in you. Yes, you've lived this long without this album, but once you hear it you'll wonder how that could have been possible. Junior Kimbrough changed my life. Let him change yours.



4. Half mountain holler, half strangled cry, Junior Kimbrough's was a music in which the elementary components dripped with something deeper. He didn't just restore the hypnotic ramble and hum of classic north Mississippi blues, he gave it a steroid shot with his slow-boiling style and his wide groove. This is a far cry from the shred-manic, soul-deprived garbage which is being passed off as the blues most of the time today. And it's as close to the core of humanness as contemporary blues will ever get without yanking Robert Johnson or Fred McDowell up out of their graves, fitting them with electric guitars, and urging them to let it loose right there with the elder upstart.



5. I don't listen to Junior Kimbrough's music as often as I might but when I do, I binge. And Sad Days Lonely Nights is the one I start playing when I do. No one can get his tone. He was a stunning artist, one of the great under-recognized bluesmen of our time.

5 comments about At Last!.

1. I'd ordered several of these CDs, which were put into one bubble envelope, but not individually wrapped -- consequently, they arrived with three of the jewel cases cracked.



2. So glad I got this album! It's all here! Won't point out my fav cuts; if you're a blues/Etta lover you'll figure yours out - they're all there. If you're not(yet), this will be your epiphany - this stylist and the selections are astounding. [Note "Sunday Kind Of Love" and "Stormy Weather".]



3. The music quality had been fixed up,(do'nt know the word) to sound really great! I listened to the music when I was a teen, forty-five years ago. It sounded better now, even though I truly thought it was the best & loved the songs then!



4. This is one of the most pleasurable CDs on the market. This collection of Etta's songs showcases her considerable talent as a blues singer. Though the instrumentation is dated on some of the songs (the strings soar a little too high), her voice saves the day, alternately powerful and vulnerable.
   
   Her version of "I Just Want to Make Love to You" rocks harder than the Rolling Stones version, and that is no small feat. 'At Last' is a great song, and her vocal interpretation is the best out of many artists who attempted it. 'Sunday Kind of Love' is another masterpiece, as is her rendition of 'Stormy Weather'. Not a bad song on the record.
   Etta James is a national treasure. Thanks for the beautiful, heart-felt music.
   
   As an aside, does anyone else see a resemblance between Etta's singing and Janis Joplin?



5. I have 2 other Etta James cds and I love them. This cd left me cold...very 'pop' very little blues. I didn't like it at all...very
   disappointed!

5 comments about A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

1. 
   Vaughan's old band, led by his brother Jimmie, and a group of big-name blues-rock stars, play tribute to the late-great blues man. Guests are B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Dr. John and Art Neville.
   
   In between the songs are tributes by those guests, and some short excerpts of Vaughan's performances from various concerts. Those excerpts are great, and really show off Stevie Ray's extraordinary talent.
   
   Speaking of talent, all the guests are entertaining and fun to hear. Buddy Guy is fun to watch, too. Does anybody have more fun playing blues on his guitar than Guy? Nobody, frankly, does a super song but they are all good and, for just $10, this is a good deal.. The best number is at the end when the group jam and takes turns with solos. The finale, "SRV Shuffle," to me, was the best song on the DVD. It's so good I get tears in my eyes every time I watch and hear that last number.



2. This is one of the best of ACL and that's saying a whole lot. This 1995 tribute to Austin-based Stevie Ray Vaughn featured an all-star cast, including Stevie's brother, Jimmy, Eric Clapton, BB King, Bonnie Raitt, and more.
   
   "Pride and Joy" by Bonnie Raitt is probably my favorite of the bunch, but there's not a bad song in the collection.
   
   For such a short life, Stevie Ray Vaughn made an outstanding contribution to blues and guitar and he will be sorely missed. In my opinion, this is one of the best tributes I have ever seen or heard.



3. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert King are my two favorite electric blue guitarists. I've had this CD for 10 years and it's just as great every time I play it. Until the last month (December 2006) I didn't know about amazon.com's venue for reviews, so Shaq is making up for lost time. This is without a doubt a 5 star classic! With stars paying tribute to Stevie, such as Bonnie Raitt, BB, Buddy Guy, Clapton, Doctor John, Robert Cray, brother Jimmie, and others. Buddy Guy performs a "haunting" version of "Long Way From Home". The lyrics for "Six Strings Down", which basically, welcomes Stevie to blues heaven, where he joins with the likes of Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, T-bone and others, is intelligent, touching, and oh yea! Has a good beat! SHAQ BLUES HISTORICAL TRIVIA NOTE FOR MY LOYAL BLUES FANS: "The night Stevie died, at the end of the concert in Wisconsin, Eric Clapton, told Stevie, with witnesses, "You're the best blues guitarist I ever heard!" By the way, read all of Shaq's blues reviews for all kinds of nuggets like these. P.S. Stevie's last recorded CD is "Family Style". I'll rate it a 5 here because I can't find it on amazon. It's a 4 musically, but the fact that it was the last CD he recorded, in addition to being the reuniting of brothers Stevie and Jimmie, and the hatchet between the brothers was buried.



4. Tribute albums aoften strike me as a collection of poor imitations of the original- but this is different. First and foremost, everyone on it was close to SRV, from his brother on down. They knew him, they played with him, and they understood his style. Second, and perhaps even more importantly, this was a live concert. Instead of a bunch of gunslingers trying to out-SRV each other in a studio, you have a group of great musicians, each a great stylist in their own right, and none of whom has to prove anything to anyone. The result is magical music that serves as a true tribute to that great Texas guitar player, Stevie Ray Vaughn.



5. This CD has the best blues musicians in the world paying tribute to SRV.
   Bonnie Raitt opens with a killer slide version of Pride and Joy,
   Jimmy Vaughn does a great version of Texas Flood second only to the version by Stevie.
   BB King does Telephone Song. Buddy Guy almost steals the show with Long Way From Home.
   Eric Clapton does a solid version on Aint Gonna Give Up On Love.
   Robert Cray does a strong version of Love Struck Baby
   This is a fitting tribute of musicians who are honoring SRV along with SRV's former band members.
   This is a must for any SRV fan, or any blues fan............

2 comments about Atlantic Blues: Vocalists.

1. It's a shame that Atlantic cut several tracks from the vinyl LP to make a one disc CD - ZZ Hill's (Home Just Ain't Home At) Suppertime is NOT on this CD. Check the track list carefully before you buy it as a replacement for your cassette or vinyl.



2. Here's a stellar collection of blues vocalists tapping into Atlantic Records' strength; the distinctive Southern R&B voices who gave the label its first 20 years of hits, here on lesser known and even previously unreleased tracks and singles.

   Starting off with Sippie Wallace's ragtime "You Got to Know How" (featuring Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar), this album walks through remakes of some early blues' hits ("Big Joe" Turner sings all over "St. Louis Blues," LaVerne Baker does likewise to Bessie Smith's "Gimme A Pigfoot.") It also salutes the label's two greatest female vocalists, Ruth Brown (the previously unreleased "Ruth Is A Bringdown") and Aretha Franklin ("Takin' Another Man's Place.")

   It marches on through the genre songwriters like Percy Mayfield (w/Johnny Guitar Watson on "Nothin' Stays The Same Forever") Titus Turner (the overlong, faux-live "Baby Girl") and Rufus Thomas ("Did You Ever Love A Woman," later covered by Derek & The Dominoes). It also includes genre giants Bobby Bland, Johnny Copeland (on the remarkable "It's My Own Tears Being Wasted") and ZZ Hill. Outstanding collection, especially for the price, and recommended.

5 comments about Super Session.

1. Marc Greilsamer has it dead wrong. When this album was released I was 17 years old. At the time, it was considered to be a must have album for music lovers that liked the guitar driven jam sessions. In the late 60's everything on the radio was a 3 minute commercialized song. The long jam session albums were the real music of the time. This album was one of them.



2. Of course, Kooper and Butterfield did greater work backing Dylan's recordings but this is a very interesting combo of styles. Stills has worked with so many other musicians but his work here is worthy of praise. Worth getting if you want something to take you back to the 60s.



3. In the absence of any intelligible listener reviews (such as the well written entry by BluesDuke below) I usually defer to Amazon's editorial reviews for guidance on unfamiliar music. As I am well familiar with the music on this disc I find Mr. Greilsamer's comments to be pretty far off the mark. What he dismisses as "enjoyable but dispensible noodling" I have for almost the last three decades considered to be some of the finest electric blues guitar playing I have ever heard. Indispensible. Opinions in music vary widely to be sure but to provide a more founded perspective than the editor who either listened to this disc only once or has no real insight into the music he's reviewing I have been studying guitar for 30 years and have found Mike Bloomfield's playing on this disc to be some of the finest I have ever heard, unqualified. In attempting to learn the craft of blues guitar improvisation I have learned more from "Albert's Shuffle" and "Really" than most all other albums combined. From what I have derived over the years, many other listeners and guitar players alike share this opinion. I'm a little concerned when I read supposedly authoritative reviews by people who have no more than a superficial knowledge of the genre and the music they are panning.



4. If you want Bloomfield's best blues, and jazziest, most soulful, most lyrical album, then this is your Holy Grail. With the passage of time some things wear thin, like Kooper's vocals on "Man's Tempation", the tape-whoosh dual-flanger effect on "You Don't Love Me," and the overkill of the 15-minute "Season of the Witch," but "Harvey's Tune" (with no guitar!) is a beautiful, soulful, lovely jewel of a song, and Stills' guitar-work on "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" and "You Don't Love Me" are first-rate, with Stills sounding an awful lot like Jimi Hendrix on the latter tune, which really deserves that treatment. In the end though, the more you listen to it, the more beautiful Bloomfield's playing becomes on soulful tunes like "Really" (and if you like this tune you should buy Barry Goldberg's Two Jews Blues just for "Blues For Barry And" with Bloomfield on it). Bloomfield's best straight-ahead blues is "Albert's Shuffle," and the beauty and creative lyricism (as well as the speed) of his jazz improvisation on "His Holy Modal Majesty" is breathtaking--it absolutely must be heard to be believed. And on every second of this album, Kooper's organ is just as beautiful, exquisite and soulful as Bloomfield's guitar. His organ playing is truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It's such a dirty rotten shame that this didn't turn out to be Bloomfield's first solo album, as Kooper had planned it. But considering each side of the album was cut with in only one day with Bloomfield and only one day with Stills, this album is a genuine miracle!



5. This is an album composed almost entirely of blues, with a little soul (Man's Temptation) and jazz (Harvey's Tune) thrown in. It is Al Kooper's creation, and his keyboards (mostly organ, some electric piano) anchor the entire effort. Mike Bloomfield lays down sizzling lead guitar jams, but only on four instrumental tracks. Steven Stills fills that role less inspiringly on the subsequent, less guitar-driven tracks. Horns provide backup throughout, but never take the lead until the last track (Harvey's Tune), indicating that after being booted from Blood Sweat and Tears, Al backed off the idea of horn-based rock. Although Mike's solos merit a close listen, the album as a whole rates better as background music to a late night party than it does as a front and center event. It definitely has the feel of a "session", a very good one, but hardly "super", and you can get bored if you try to focus all your attention on it! So why 4 stars instead of 3? Simply because the 2-minute jazz masterpiece "Harvey's Tune", written by bassist Harvey Brooks, brings the whole album up one notch. As jazz, it doesn't even belong here, and would have been much more fitting on the occasionally jazzy Blood Sweat and Tears debut album "Child is Father to the Man". It has a gorgeous major-minor melody (sax in the lead), exquisite harmonies and counterpoint from trumpet and trombone, and Al's electric piano brilliantly defining the theme and the complex chord progression. It is moody and sophisticated and utterly beautiful - and much too short! So give the album 4 stars, and hooray for Harvey!

2 comments about The Best of Mountain Stage Live ,Vol. 4.

1. This is a collection of songs played live on the Mountain Stage radio show. Most of the songs here are the blues, but there are other styles represented. My personal favorite is the acappella version of "Purple Haze" by the Bobs.



2. I have had all eight of the Mountain Stage series for a number of years and they all get play time in my house. Somehow, though, I always come back to this one. It's a good thing.

   Marcia Ball rips through "That's Enough..." If you don't dance to that, you're dead. The soulful Charles Musselwhite lays down one of the best guitar licks I've ever heard on "It's Getting Warm in Here". Pops Staples recalls his days traveling with Martin Luther King including a conversation the day before MLK was killed.

   Get the disc and be happy.

5 comments about And This Is Maxwell Street.

1. There is a lot of good stuff on this set and the booklet is great. That said, I knocked off one star because I was a little disappointed with this when compared to the Robert Nighthawk cuts that form his "Live On Maxwell St.-1964" CD. That one is an absolute masterpiece. This one is not nearly as consistant. Sometimes less IS more.



2. Even the most casual fans of classic Chicago blues need to own a copy of slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk's 1964 album "Live On Maxwell Street".
   And those slightly more obsessed will want to check out this wonderful document, the soundtrack, if you will, to Mike Shea's 1964 documentary "And This Is Free". It features all of Nighthawk's recordings, plus another 18 cuts by artists like Johnny Young, Carey Bell and Big John Wrencher, and it is one of the most impressive live blues albums you'll ever come across.
   
   The well-written and exceptionally thorough 62-page (!) booklet includes information about every recording, artist's biographies, interviews, pictures, and all available recording information, and the sound is surprisingly clear and full considering the unusual circumstances. You can sometimes hear a car driving by, a street preacher pops up for a few seconds, and the chatter of the crowd is audible in the background.
   
   This two-hour collection is a rare treat indeed. You can just pop the discs in you CD player and turn it up. No need to program anything out...there is barely the slightest dip in quality along the way.
   Disc one opens with singer/guitarist Johnny Young's excellent, gritty rendition of "The Sun Is Shining", all clattering drums and simple but effective boogie-styled rhythm guitar, and one-armed harpist Big John Wrencher's tough "Can't Hold Out Much Longer" is equally wonderful. You can also hear John Wrencher jamming with guitarists Robert Nighthawk and Little Arthur King on his own "Lucille", and inquiring about the drinking habits of his fellow musicians: Tea or coffee? Apparently Robert Nighthawk was a coffee-man ("coffee" meaning whiskey. "Tea" was wine).
   
   Other highlights include "All I Want For My Breakfast" by Johnny Young, and pretty much everything by Robert Nighthawk, including the menacing "Cheating And Lying Blues", an up-tempo "Take It Easy, Baby", and a couple of songs not included on Nighthawk's "Live On Maxwell Street". One is a snippet of Robert Nighthawk doing "That's All Right" (the Jimmy Rogers tune, not the one by Arthur Crudup that Presley recorded); "Honky Tonk" is a swaggering instrumental boogie, and Nighthawk also lays down a thumping "Dust My Broom" which was mysteriosly omitted from previous issues of this material.
   
   And disc two is equally great. A lively performance of J.B. Lenoir's infectious boogie "Mama Talk To Your Daughter" has previously been credited to its composer, the man with no first name, but nothing indicates that Lenoir was present when this music was recorded, and this repacked and expanded edition of the Maxwell Street tapes credits Robert "Big Mojo" Elam as the singer. He supposedly got his nickname because of his ability to pull off a rousing rendition of Lenoir's "Mojo Boogie".
   Harpist Carey Bell, who later became a member of the Muddy Waters band (and is still playing), smoulders on the instrumental "Carey'n On", little-known singer/guitarist Arvella Gray does a thoroughly authentic sounding solo performance of "John Henry", and the listener is treated to a couple of gospel numbers:
   The James Brewer Gospel Group do a wonderful swinging "When The Saints Go Marchin' In", and a rendition of "Fly Away" which is made all the more remarkable by a very enthusiastic harmony vocal by one of the male singers! Also, the (unfortunately truncated) "I Shall Overcome" by singer/guitarist Fannie Brewer is just beautiful.
   
   But, again, the main attraction is Robert Nighthawk (or "Night Hawk" as the liner notes call him). Nighthawk's magnificent 8 1/2 minute medley of his two biggest hits and best-known songs, "Anna Lee" and "Sweet Black Angel", has been restored...the previously issued version which edited out two minutes of instrumental bridge, and his single-string solo halfway through the supremely tough "The Time Have Come" is quite mind-boggling. Nighthawk was as accomplished a lead guitar player as he was a slide slinger, and his single-string picking is pure liquid fire.
   The slow grind of "Love You Tonight" is another previously unreleased number by Big John Wrencher, and Robert Nighthawk's powerful rendition of Big Joe Turner's "Honey Hush" takes Turner's bouncy jump blues into new territory.
   
   The dozen songs by Robert Lee "Nighthawk" McCullum do indeed form the centrepiece of this collection, but literally everything is worth a listen. This is one top-notch blues box set...great annotation, great music, nicely packaged. Five stars and no reservations at all.



3. I am grateful that, in my lifetime, fate has given me the opportunity to discover the pure talent and outstanding blues recordings in AND THIS IS MAXWELL STREET. In researching my family's history, I am overwhelmed by Arvella Gray 's (my father's only male sibling) significant contribution to this genre.



4. At last! What a pleasure it is finally to see the original recordings from Mike Shea's 1964 Maxwell Street documentary "And this Is Free" available in the North American market (also now in Europe on the Catfish label as KAT3D1) with its in-depth liner notes in English for the first time-more than 60 pages! (these recordings first appeared in 1999 in Japan as P-Vine PCD 5527/28). Both this set from Rooster and the Catfish release are identical to the P-Vine release with the exception of the language of the liner notes and the addition of a third bonus disc, which contains the entirety of the 44-minute interview of Robert Nighthawk conducted by guitarist Michael Bloomfield as part of the "And This Is Free" documentary project.

   And what extraordinary music it is. This disc contains the first known recordings of Carey Bell (who was about 28 in 1964). It contains one of the very few glimpses we have of Robert Nighthawk on the street. Highlights include his growling guitar work on "Cheating and Lying Blues;" some of the most extraordinary electric blues guitar playing ever recorded on "I Need Love So Bad;" Nighthawk doing the two songs that brought him his first real fame--"Annie Lee" and "Sweet Black Angel;" and a lively rendition of "Take It Easy, Baby." Not to be overlooked is fine harp work by Carey Bell, and perhaps the most dynamic and moving performances by one-armed harpist Big John Wrencher that were ever recorded. Here we also get gospel performances by James Brewer, a fine "John Henry" from Arvella Gray (so much livelier than the stiff version on the Swedish Radio tapes also recently issued), and rousing, raw gospel shouting from Carrie Robinson and other performers. Another highlight is two fine songs from Johnny Young. In short, this music captures the excitement of raw, live blues on Chicago's Maxwell Street in its heyday.

   Interspersed between the songs are snippets of street preachers, hawkers, hucksters, and the voices of the musicians between numbers. We also hear car horns, conversations, street noise, and the enthusiastic shouting and clapping of the audience on tracks such as "Dust my Broom" and two jams that are perhaps the wildest, most spirited live blues performances ever captured on tape. The producers have attempted (and succeeded, in my view) to recreate the experience of a Sunday on Maxwell Street in the 1960s. Revel in it.

   (...) "And This Is Maxwell Street" is the real thing. Don't confuse it with the Rounder disc. My advice is to take your Rounder version to the used record store and replace it with this one.

   While this raw, raucous, record of the blues in the streets of Chicago will not appeal to casual listeners who want to turn on some easy background music and relax, it should make any serious blues fan sit up straight and listen hard. This is a slice of what the blues was really about during this period. The interview disc is icing on a very fine cake.

   Highly recommended. Nominated this year for a W.C. Handy Award and surely the right choice for best historical release.




5. While efforts continue (bluesman Jimmie Lee Robinson has been on a hunger strike) to preserve the remaining portions of the historic Maxwell Street market area, Rooster Blues has released a three disc compilation, And This is Maxwell Street that presents music that was recorded as part of the making of the film, And This is Free. Some of the music from here was issued on Rounder on lp and cd as Robert Nighthawk, Live on Maxwell Street, which has been repackaged and reconfigured with a some previously unissued selections and including tracks attributed to J.B. Lenoir, Carey Bell and Johnny Young, The Rooster Blues has a full two hours of music and includes also selections from Little Arthur (Red Top/Ornithology which is deleted from the latest version of the Rounder); Big John Wrencher; Arvella Gray, Carrie Robinson; and James and Fannie Brewer. Additionally, Mama Talk To Your Daughter, credited to JB Lenoir on the Rounder is credited to Big Mojo Elem here. And there are several Nighthawk performances here that are not on the Rounder including a Dust My Broom that includes Mike Bloomfield on guitar (possibly being Bloomfield's earliest recordings). The full range of music here is quite powerful and entertaining including such selections as Nighthawk's updating of Dr. Clayton's Cheatin' and Lyin' Blues, the fervent gospel singing of Carrie Robinson as well as James and Fannie Brewer, street singer Arvella Gray's vigorous renditions of Corinna, Corinna and John Henry, and one armed harp wizard Big John Wrencher's Lucille. Several tracks spotlight Carey Bell, with I'm Ready perhaps being his first recorded vocal. Portions of vendors' sales pitches and street preachers' sermons are heard here as well. Providing some context to the recording. The Rounder has a portion of Mike Bloomfield's interview with Robert Nighthawk which is heard in its entirety (nearly 50 minutes) on the third disc of the Rooster Blues. My advance copy of the Rooster Blues lacks the booklet that should be accompanying it so I cannot comment on this aspect of the package, but because of the more complete reissue of this historic material, clearly is preferable, and a contender for vintage reissue of the year.

3 comments about Back in the Alley.

1. "Alley" collects BB's live and studio performances from his most productive era - mid '50s and '60s. The songs in "Alley" well represent his unique singing and guitar style. This is highly recommended for those new to BB's music and blues in general.



2. B.B. King's "Alley" is by far his best. He went on to record some wonderful original blues. It is most unfortunate that this disc is OOP. However, the search for it and cost at a bit of a premium is well worth it.



3. With "Back In The Alley", B.B. King demonstrates he can do more than just belt out a blues number with great authority. He also incorporates a jazzy atmosphere into a fair number of the tracks in this upstanding collection of both live and studio cuts (courtesy of B.B.'s backing band, who are talented in their own right, "The King of the Blues" included). B.B. really takes the cake (and eats it too!!!), especially in front of a live audience, as evidenced in the live compositions "Sweet Little Angel", "Sweet Sixteen" and "Gambler's Blues". Lucille has a mind of her own, too, for she doesn't take any sass from anybody - B.B. included (just kidding!!!)! "The Bluesmeister" gets all the credit for making Lucille all she has turned out to be, for it takes magical, majestical fingers (such as B.B.'s) to really get her jump-started and electrified. All the studio tracks here are priceless gems as well, especially "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss" and "Lucille", as these two musical delights are truly a musicians institution. Although "Back In The Alley" is now out of print, a majority of these numbers can be found on other B.B. King compilation CD's, such as on "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss" and on the currently in print live CD "Live & Well", among others. Hopefully, MCA will give "BITA" the remaster treatment, as they have done with a majority of B.B.'s other CD titles, with the exception of "Indianola Mississipi Seeds" and the aforementioned "Live & Well", to which both could definitely use the remaster treatment. If you are lucky enough to get a hold of a copy of "Back In The Alley", you are in for a treat. If you already have it, then you already know what a treasured gem this recording truly is. No B.B. King fan can live without it!

5 comments about The Original Delta Blues.

1. For all those pursuing deep blues this is essential listening. Sound quality is excellent. Guitar playing is rough and ready by modern technical standards, but hey - that's the way it is - all feel. Vocals are stunning. Great to hear his homage to Patton's 'Moon going down' -'Empire State Express'. This is your chance to hear real deep delta blues sans the crappy dynamics of 78RPM recordings. If only more of the old Delta players had survived long enough to be able to be re-recorded with such quality.



2. I just listened to this CD. If you listen carefully, you'll notice that this dude stole a lot of riffs from old Led Zeppelin records.



3. this cd is classic delta blues i feel honored to be able to receive this quality of music john m king thanks for having such great music



4. If you wanna' know where it started, if you wanna' learn to play slide, if you wanna' get chills and fee like you're on a front porch in the delta, get this one...



5. Son House is an early blues singer, who, along with Charlie Patton and Willie Brown, in the words of the liner notes, "helped to shape the music of three younger men who would far exceed their fame"--Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. The musical progeny of House and his colleagues alone testifies to their significance.
   
   The songs on this CD were recorded long after he had ceased making singing a career. He was in his 60s when these tracks were recorded in 1965. Even at that, the results speak to a master bluesman.
   
   In "Death Letter," he shows a lively acoustic guitar style, well played. Although past his vocal prime, he sings this tune well. One nice line:
   
   "You know it's so hard to love someone
   Who don't love you."
   
   "John the Revelator" is a song with religious themes. It is voice only, with only his clapping serving as any sort of instrumentation. The vocalizations are compelling. One recurring set of lines:
   
   "Tell me who's that writin'?
   John the Revelator
   Wrote the book of the seven seals."
   
   "Empire State Express" features Al Wilson on guitar backing House on vocals and guitar. This is a lively tune. The song focuses on his baby being on board a train, and all that goes with that. Nice blues tune!
   
   So, here is a CD with rather few songs on it, but it is still a nice entrée to the work of Son House.