5 comments about Collins Mix: The Best.

1. Albert rocks, his tone and licks are amazing! He's got a good sense of humor and the band is great too! Not all that great as a lyricist, but he writes what he knows and it works. I dig this CD!



2. I can't tell you that this is Collins best release but I can tell you that it's worth the money, if only for the first solo he plays on the track 'If Trouble Was Money', wow! THAT is how a slow blues was meant to be played. Great sound, killer vibrato and deep emotion, and I don't even play guitar!
   That solo gives me goosebumps every time.
   One of my all time favorite guitar players, Gary Moore, also does a solo on that track and I think it is one of his best. It's not his usual fire and brimstone attack but a very smooth and understated solo, very tasty indeed.
   'Mastercharge' is a great funky toe-tapper of a number featuring a great solo by the Iceman. This is a real nice disc and you can't go wrong here.
   
   [...]



3. What separates a good player from a master is the little things. Albert Collins was a true master of the blues whose piercing playing could send chills down the spine. One of the few players who could rival the intensity of Albert King, Collins like King (who cited Collins as his favourite player) forged his own unique style that countless guitarists have tried to emulate (including yours truly) but none have successfully duplicated it.

   Of course that was the idea as Albert saw it - create your own means of expressing yourself through the instrument. This album captured Collins in excellent form covering a retrospective of songs spanning thirty odd years of his career. Guests on the album include the great BB King (on one of Albert's signature instrumentals 'Frosty'), Gary Moore (on the slow burning 'Time is Money'), and old Tonight Show band frontman Branford Marsalis trades licks with Albert on 'Honey Hush'. Without prejudicing the other tracks on this album, some of the standouts to me include (other than the ones already listed) 'Tired Man' (a slow shuffle blues with harmonica accompanyment), 'The Moon is Full' (Albert's solid backing band is particularly funky on this one), Mastercharge (a funny song with possibly my favourite Collins guitar solo on this album), and 'Collins Mix': a musical mosaic of how to let one's guitar do the talking - few could compare to Collins in this area. I know some of the reviewers have personal album favourites of theirs but in my opinion this is the best Collins album because it is a solid retrospective. And unlike a lot of "greatest hits" compilations, this one lives up to its billing and showcases a legend who never received the degree of acclaim that he should have. For lovers of good music, 'Collins Mix' belongs on your music rack.




4. This is not the best of Albert Collins, but a bunch of re-recordings of his best songs made at the end of his career. If you're new to Albert Collins buy Ice Pickin' or Cold Snap for a more rockin' sounding Collins. This is more for the completist.



5. This CD is great, yet if you are expecting a real blues of Mr.Collins this is not the one. For a true blues fan I recommend "Alive and Cool" in stead of this CD.

No comments about Never Too Late.

5 comments about Together Again...Live.

1. I'm not sure if this is the same performance my husband and I were fortunate enough to be in the audience for. It was for "Blues In The Schools" at County Hall in Charleston, SC. It has to have been a long time ago, because County Hall no longer exists. It was replaced many years ago by an auditorium and now a Performing Arts Center and a Coliseum. We just don't get the same kinds of performers there that we prefer. So I rely on my CDs. I can't remember the date; one of my children was in the High School band and this performance was designed for introducing youngsters to this genre' of music. I think it was great. I don't remember the profanity, so this probably isn't the one, since there were plenty of school kids in the audience. Hard to believe that Bobby "Blue" could behave that long isn't it? But he did and they were both just outstanding. This CD certainly was similar to what we saw that night. I have always loved blues, along with any number of other genre's of music. So I jumped at those tickets and I've never forgotten that show. It was wonderful. Even though my husband isn't crazy about 'blues' like I am, (he prefers Bluegrass), I caught him patting his foot and nodding his head quite a bit. (I don't think he was nodding off.) Could'a been though. I think it was the first in a long time and possibly the last good Blues show ever performed in Charleston. If there have been more, they got past me. It was about the time of this recording because our daughter was in the Junior Band and HS band until 1981 (from 1975). I will be purchasing the other versions right now. Or as we say in SC, 'rat now.



2. Bobby & BB is a awesome cd.The music takes you back. I recommend this cd to anyone who likes blues. You feel like you're at the concert in person.



3. I went to the concert when this album was made; the reproduction is great. Both this album and "Together For The First Time,Live", will be an asset to any blues lovers collection.



4. though I dig the first one better overall there is something about the musical chemistry that B.B.King&Bobby Bland have that blends there styles together so well. "Let the Good Times Roll" is on Point. B.B. with Lucille&Bobby on Vocals make a strong combination. this is a Good Live set.



5. I have been listening to this record for over 25 years, BB:s tone on this record still strikes me as it did the first time I heard it. One of BB:s outro:s in one of the medleys on this record is a fantastic value for the price paid for this alone. You can hear a young BB play really loud and strong making his amp sing in fantastic overtones on this one, not that nice and sweet studio tone. The two artists, BB and Bobby, works very well together and if their first record together was Bobbys, this is definitely BB:s.

5 comments about Otis Rush - Live at Montreux 1986.

1. Otis Rush is one of the best Bluesman of all times. He is a great singer, guitarist and composer, on the same level as the late Magic Sam and the current leaders of the Chicago Blues, Buddy Guy and the really magic Magic Slim, all of them creators of the sound known as West Side. I find this live record a jewel with only one defect, which is its sound. The bass guitar practically is nonexistent, particularly in some themes as for example the one that opens the LP, "Tops", or the one that closes the record, the brilliant Memphis Slim's "Every day I have the Blues". Nonetheless it is an extraordinary record, one of the best live records I have heard. Otis' way of playing and singing is absolutely superb and all the musicians do a great job, with powerful contributions by an inspired Eric Clapton, aka Slow Hand, in four themes, in the last of which coinciding with another top figure as Luther Allison, a great admirer of Otis Rush. The record contains several extraordinary original themes as well as versions. I want to highlight the intensity of the version of the classic Albert King's "Croscut Saw", and one of his great compositions, "All your love (I miss loving)". I'm also partial to "Double trouble", a great Blues with that Otis' feeling, and the blues which closes the record, Memphis Slim's "Every day I have the Blues", with Clapton, Allison and Rush showing their mastery, even though towards the end of the theme the sound loses some clarity. Highly recommended for all the blues and guitar lovers. I give it 5 stars in spite of this somewhat flawed sound and long live to Otis Rush.



2. I was blown away and at the same time disappointed in this cd. The music and performances are stellar. This is superb blues, my foot never stopped tapping. The problem is and I agree with the reviewer Somebody, the sound is not excellent by any means. I have an expensive stereo sytem and it reveals the recording as very sub par. Bass lacks and the guitars are not all that clear. Albert King and SRV In Session is a notable example of a great recording. If this cd sounded as good it would be tough to beat.



3. This is a "new" release, 20 years after the actual performance. I suppose one of life's unknown questions, along with what went on in Area 51, is why is Otis Rush's "Live At the Wise Fools Pub" (See Shaq's previous review!) recorded 30 years ago, louder and clearer than this one! Oh well! Back to the musical review. Part of my reason for rating this a 4 star as compared to "Wise Fools Pub" 5 rating, is due to the clarity and sound volume. Other than that, this is still worth purchasing. Starting with the 6th song Eric Clapton, joins Otis on stage, and that was probably the last time; Clapton ever did anything positive in the electric blues arena. His guitar playing does pick things up a bit. To me, the pinnacle, of the CD, emotionally, as well as physically, is on the last song #9, when Luther Allison, comes on stage, and gives a speech to the audience, stating (What Shaq already knew.) for the record, that Otis Rush was his idol! The fact that, that declaration of thanks and admiration, was recorded for posterity, to me was a singular point in time, emotionally. How many times in everyone's life, does just praise, come when it's too late? When the person deserving the recognition is gone! I'm happy, for Otis, and Luther, that it was stated for the record, with witnesses, for time, in- memoriam!



4. This is the Otis Rush CD to get. It has great songs, and captures him live very well. The guests actually play with Otis and don't just hang out and have fun. He has a great version of Crosscut Saw. If you don't have any Otis, or much live blues this is a great place to start.



5. that takes this record to places it never would have reached otherwise. Otis Rush is a major force compositionally and stylistically in contemporary electric blues, and he has the voice of genuine authority when he sings. What you get on the first five cuts are a sampling of just how strong those talents are. When Clapton comes on to join him, Rush pulls out of Clapton some of the very best work Eric has committed to recording ever. For my ears, it would be until THE CONCERT FOR GEORGE and the Robert Johnson discs that Clapton would be this incendiary again. And that's odd about Clapton: on his own, he is not his best advocate. Put him in a context like this, where he is working within the blues, and he is a very different beast altogether. Clapton tears up his counterattacks to Rush and they clearly are intensely focused on wringing everything out of each song.
   That alone would be enough for any record to aspire to, but wait. Luther Allison arrives for the closer, at first without a guitar, and whips not just the audience, but Rush and Clapton into a frenzy. Strapping on his Strat, Allison takes this recording to heights clearly unaniticipated by everyone else in the room. It is a performance for the ages. But Luther was always like that. For my money, there was and remains no finer or more exciting guitarist in any discipline of music. So, as stunning as the first 8 tracks are, number 9 blows them all away.
   
   And the best part is, the DVD is even better!

5 comments about The Best Blues Album in the World...Ever!.

1. Product arrived on time as promised and in good condition. I would use this vendor again without hesitation.



2. Although the title is totally hyperbole, this is an excellent collection of blues tunes of various eras and styles.

   I am a relative newcomer to the blues, so a compilation like this is right up my alley. It lets me get a taste of different aspects of the blues, and to discover artists that I would not have otherwise been exposed to.

   Represented here are some of the early delta bluesmen (Lightnin' Hopkins "Abilene", mislabeled as "Shotgun Blues"), the early electric blues (Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy"), the '60's revival (B. B. King's "3 O'Clock Blues"), the great female blues singers (Koko Taylor's smokin' "Wang Dang Doodle"), the British blues bands (John Mayall's "Spinning Coin"), contemporary American blues rock (Johnny Winter's "Illustrated Man"), and lesser known contemporary artists (Colin James' infectious cover of "No More Doggin'").

   Throw in selections by Albert Collins, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, J. J. Cale, and others, and you have a blues compilation CD that may not be "The Greatest in the World", but one that both novices and long time blues fans can enjoy. Highly recommended to anybody with ann interest in the blues.




3. Calling your album the "best ever" takes balls, but this CD stands the test. From classics like Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy' or Little Walter's 'My Babe' to hot female singers like Etta James and the dynamic Koko Taylor to oldies radio station's staples like 'Reeling and Rockin'' by Chuck Berry and classic rock blues like Gary Moore's 'Still Got The Blues', this CD covers a lot of ground.

   If you want an introduction to the blues and can only buy one CD, this should be it! If you already love the blues, you'll love hearing these songs again and remember them like your first kiss. Either way, this CD will put sadness in your heart or heat in your loins, sometimes in the same song!




4. Not even close to the best ever. The actual title should read: "The Best Blues Album For Which We Were Able To Get Rights To The Songs Quickly" or something like that. The fact is this double disc set is just a grab bag of songs with absolutely no thought put into it whatsoever. With a few exceptions, disc one is practically a throw away. Larry McCray, Kinsey Report, Gary Moore, and Terry Evans et. al. are all ok modern blues artists but hardly deserve to be on a blues album titled "The Best Ever" -especially one limited to only two discs.

   This is a Virgin release, so poor understanding of the genre is to be expected. However, to boldly exclaim that this is the best ever compilation is a rather ostentatious position -even for the Virgin people. The best ever blues compilation would certainly be a difficult undertaking. However, this set completly ignores the likes of giants like Big Maceo, Tommy Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson I & II, Robert Johnson, Tampa Red, Lowell Fulson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson, Roosevelt Sykes, Robert Nighthawk, Jimmy Witherspoon, Floyd Dixon, and so many many more important and entertaining historical blues artists. The most shocking eversight is the absence of T-Bone Walker!

   Really, I think this is a waste of your money. Even on its own level the flow is odd especially on disc one. Disc two has a better grouping and flow of great blues artists and songs, but still not worth the price. There has yet to be a true "best of" compilation to be released, so for now I suggest you may want to explore the best attempt to date. It is a four disc box set released on MCA in 1996 called "Mean Old World."




5. I really enjoyed these CDs. it gives a good mix of old school and new school blues so to speak. From todays best to the acoustic sounds of yesteryear, this CD entertained me for a very long time with some great blues.

5 comments about Blue Yule: Christmas Blues and R&B Classics.

1. Score one more for Rhino. This label really does know how to find obscure cuts and bring them into standout various artist collections. The only gripe I could have is this disk sounds a bit monaural in a mix, but I'll still use it--it's fun to mix up a little blues with the typical sugary Christmas sentiment.
   
   What can I say about this collection that has not been said? Just add Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Canned Heat and the rest of the crew in and you've got a mix that'll make your season funky.



2. if, like me, you make bizarre anthologies of Christmas music, this is a great addition to your library. Raucous and gutsy, a lot of these songs will shake up your celebration and possibly offend the people you want to bother. Some of them belong right alongside my long-time favorite, "Marry Christmas from the Family" by Robert Earl Keen, which is available on Tinsel Tunes, another excellent collection on Sugar Hill (which means it's mostly bluegrass/acoustic).



3. I've had this CD before. There are quite a few blues christmas albums out there. This is definately one of the better ones. Allot of older blues christmas tunes. If you love the blues, this one's for you



4. Blues musicians don't record Christmas songs that often, but Rhino Records managed to find 18 Christmas blues songs for this CD. Charles Brown's definitive recording of "Merry Christmas Baby" is well known, but the rest of the tracks are pretty obscure. There are a lot of good songs here, with my personal favorites being the ones by Eddie C. Campbell and Canned Heat. If you have any interest in the blues, this is the Christmas CD to get.



5. Well, let's see. As I write this review, the date is December 8th, 2004, and it's another two weeks and three days till Christmas finally arrives on the 25th. Since virtually every place in Creation started playing Christmas music on November 1st, you've had 38 days to become thoroughly SICK of the same dozen songs played over and over again from every radio station and retail establishment. Want some relief? How about an album chock-full of great Christmas BLUES music, that truly sounds more like blues that like standard, overplayed holiday ditties? Well, folks, get this CD!! It's nice and long (18 tracks) and only one or two numbers are overly familiar (and one of those, Charles Brown's immortal "Merry Christmas Baby," is usually considered the top Christmas blues recording of all time!) Standouts include Canned Heat (Their song is straightforward blues, not the novelty track they spun with ALvin and the Chipmunks), Detroit Junior with his hard-driving boogie "Christmas Day", the Pilgrim Travelers and their delightful, close-harmony doo-wop gospel classic, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and the always-irrepresible Louis Jordan with "Santa Claus, Santa Claus." There's not a bad number in the bunch, but the pick of this holiday litter must go to Edddie Campbell and his delicious take on the Junior Wells masterpiece, here titled "Santa's Messin' With the Kid". So don't delay! Order today, there's still time to get it rushed to you by Christmas. Do it, and the best yuletide blues and r and b will be home to you, if not by Christmas, then by New Years night.

2 comments about Johnny Shines with Big Walter Horton.

1. If Big Walter Horton got mentioned in the title every time he played on an album, half of all major 50s, 60s and 70s blues records should be called "This-and-than-artist and Big Walter Horton".
   
   Here he is again, blowing his harp behind Robert Johnson's one-time travelling companion Johnny Shines on a reissue of Testament 2217 with two bonus tracks added.
   This is Shines' second band-backed, electric album for Testament, and it brings together material from two different sessions (Chicago 1966 and Los Angeles 1969). Otis Spann plays superb piano on the Chicago tracks, which features the same band that played with Shines on his "Masters Of Modern Blues" album, and Luther Allison plays second and occational lead guitar on the L.A. tracks.
   And the music is excellent. There may not be very much here as instantly memorable as the best songs by men like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, or Elmore James, but the songs are of generally high quality, and this is an enjoyable slice of classic 60s blues, played by some of the finest musicians of the genre.
   
   The tracks recorded in Chicago are the best, featuring both Spann and blues drummer par excellence Fred Below (Horton is on all of them), and they include a fine rendition of Big Maceo Merriweather's "Worried Life Blues" and the almost jazz-like "I Want To Warn You".
   But the L.A. tracks are not far behind, with some great guitar playing from Luther Allison, a funky "Fat Mama", and a great "If It Ain't Me", which sees Johnny Shines doing a good impression of Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II).
   
   A critic once called this the greatest Chicago blues record ever. It's not, but it is a pretty good one all the same.



2. This a great CD!

1 comments about Crucial Acoustic Blues.

1. I love the Alligator label and their compilation albums are always a treat! Kudo's to Bruce Iglauer his taste is excellent!

5 comments about Otis Spann Is the Blues.

1. In addition to great blues, there is the extra bonus of there being 16 tracks rather than the 10 listed on Amazon and on the CD itself. There is no information on the other 6 tracks but more blues is more blues. This is a great record (sorry for dating myself). One song after another - just sublime. Who would think that a piano player/singer and a guitar player/singer could put so much potency into their music without the usual band make-up. Every song is a killer. Otis Spann is just the greatest blues pianist ever. No one is in his league. The songs that feature just him on piano or just him on piano and vocal show how great his is. The songs that have the guitar accompanying him show that Robert Lockwood Jr. is a tremendous guitar player. Low key and understated but adding a dimension to the songs that sends them into the stratosphere. All I can say is that if you love the blues or want to explore the blues, you will be glad you bought this record.



2. Too bad that Otis Spann died so young. He could have done so much more and been more of a legend. As it is, not too many people that are casual blues fans even know his name. I bought "Otis Spann Is The Blues" and listen to it over and over. He has an almost cosmic connection with his guitarist and there is one priceless cut on there where they talk all during the song...playing and never skipping a beat (!) just like old friends. It's charming and special. His songs about the hardship that he had gone through growing up brought tears to my eyes. He puts all of his heart and soul into the music. His piano style is powerful, clean, and with a driving bass beat. You couldn't ask for a better add to your blues collection.



3. I heard track 15 on Music Match. Had to buy the album. Was I suprised to get the CD and see only 10 songs listed. Put it in the CD player anyway, and there are 6 unlisted tracks on the CD.
   Track 15 is my favorite-- pulsing piano blues. Makes me wish I could play the piano.
   If you want good clean blues, with promiment soundstage and clarity for all instruments and vocals, I suggest this album.



4. Wow, I just got Otis Spann Is The Blues, and Walking The Blues, and I love em both. Otis and Lockwood together is pure blues heaven. Actually pure music heaven. Their playing transcends genre and falls in the category of sheer musical genius. I can't pick a favorite song on Is The Blues. Walking The Blues is almost as powerful a project.,HAving more of a variety of vocals is enjoyable. St. Louis Jimmy Oden was on e wonderful singer. All in all, both discs are a piece of history, blues at it's purest and finest. Reccomended to all blues lovers.



5. If you want blues piano this album is the best. The sound quality is excellent, very atypical for a 1960's album; you'll think you're in the studio with them. I bought the album in 2004 and it contains 6 additional tracks, all of which appear to be additional studio jams, but not necessarily from the same session. There is no information on the album or internet regarding these tracks, and the album doesn't even list the titles. Thus, the total album time is 73 min and well worth the price. If you want to hear absolutely great blues piano without a lot of accompanyment, this is the album to get.

5 comments about Blue House.

1. Marcia is a fine singer who writes many of her own songs, though she is never afraid to record covers where they are suitable. Her albums can be almost relentlessly upbeat, as with Hot tamale baby, but this is generally a much sadder album - more like one would expect from a blues singer.

   Marcia still demonstrates her Jerry Lee-ish piano playing here, on the opening Red beans, the third track Down the road and particularly on her cover of Joe Ely's Fingernails, but those are not typical of this particular album.

   More typical is the title track, in which Marcia painted her house blue after her man left for good, or St Gabriel, about being sent to prison and later being released with nowhere to go.

   This is a fine album that demonstrates Marcia's ability to sing a variety of different types of song.




2. I found this one by accident, but it turned out to be a great find. I was in a used CD store and picked up a CD by Luther Allison. It had been repackaged and shrink wrapped. When I popped it into the CD player, out came this very vibrant female voice singing a song that I would later find out is called Red Beans. It caught my attention and in what seemed like no time at all, I was through the entire CD. I played it twice more before I finally managed to find out who this was and print out a list of tracks.

   Every track is great and my favorite of the bunch is Fingernails. Since then, I have gotten more Marcia Ball CDs (on purpose!!) and can't say anything negative about her.




3. thought I'd would from hearing her interview and excerpts at the House of Blues. "St. Gabriel" still sings to me, but there is not one bad track on this CD, and will play them all over and over. Not all CDs past that test. Sometimes I'll buy a CD and only like one or two tracks.

   Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.




4. St. Gabriel should be the poster song for battered wives... and all the other songs are wonderful too. Heard her songs at the House of Blues website ... and craved some more. I shall buy this one here and also Gator too. Recommend her for anyone who loves the Blues!



5. I first heard Marcia Ball wailing out a song on the radio when I was traveling through Glenwood Springs Colorado several years ago. The beat and lyrics of 'I keep my fingernails long so they click when I play the piano' captivated me so much , I rushed to a phone and called the local radio station to find out who the artist was. That day I purchased this album and have been a fan since. Her unique cajun style and excellant intrumental accompaniment will have you tapping your foot to her music. Enjoy!