5 comments about Wander This World.

1. After "Lie To Me", I thought I would buy anything this artist put out. 3 albums later, I'm regretting that decision. It started with this title. Did that trip to Memphis make him think he's Al Green? Did his guitar fall down and it can't get up? Is he only a 6 string stud in the studio with a lot of help from the engineers and timed tracking? I honestly don't get it. As utterly IMPRESSIVE and AMAZING as "Lie" was, subsequent releases have only put me to sleep. Forced blue-eyed soul ain't doing it for me. Stax/Volt is out of business and the Staple Singers aren't holding auditions. I don't want to be unkind because anyone who can cut the very best version of "Matchbox" will always have a home in my heart but in the words of the immortal Frank Zappa, "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar".



2. Nothing is more depressing than an incredibly gifted blues musician playing pop music. Nothing against pop, but really, come on. Can you imagine Howling Wolf singing "yummy yummy yummy i've got love in my tummy", or Muddy Waters singing "Daydream believer"? Sickening.



3. Jonny Lang proves once again that age is not a required criteria when producing a blues album wrought with feeling and emotion. Thanks Jonny...



4. After hitting big time stardom with his previous effort Lang follows things up with another strong one. The album scored another big hit with the leadoff track "Still Rainin", but shows Lang moving in some new directions. Blues is still the main denominator for this album, but Lang starts bringing in a lot more soul, gospel and funk into the mix as well. This conglomeration of styles would indicate the path his career would take with later albums. I think that this may be Lang's best release to date. The material is all strong and he sings and plays like a man on a mission to prove himself. Highlights include "I Am", "Wander This World", "The Levee", the funky "Right Back", the ballad "Leaving To Stay", and the final track a killer cover of Luther Allison's "Cherry Red Wine". There really is not a weak track on the disc. If you have never explored Lang's material this would be a great place to start.



5. Johnny Lang is what--19 here? He's already one of the guitar legends and his voice isn't so bad, either. Admittedly, he's had some amazing help here--David Z produced this CD, but if he didn't have the chops that wouldn't have gotten done.
   
   This is a hard CD to pick a favorite. There's nothing I'd skip over, which is uncommon even for my ultimate favorites. When he belts out the last of "Cherry Red Wine" I've had to just start the whole CD over from the start.
   
   "I Am" is a great soulful song and I can see why so many of the other reviewers have picked it. I keep going back to "Back to the Levee" and "Angel of Mercy" and for the moment, those are my favorites, but that's changed just about every time I've played this CD.
   
   So far, I have liked every single one of Johnny's CDs, looking forward to a long career with a lot of good music.

5 comments about Live in Cook County Jail.

1. BB King had already recorded over 300 songs when this album was recorded. Prime arrangements of some standards and a few lesser known tunes. If you've never seen him live, this is close to it.



2. great fun.takes you into the hall ,the booing of the sheriff and judge sets the tone for a fun gig.foot tapping and air guitar.



3. B. B. King is more than a talented musician and songwriter, he is a phenomenal entertainer as well. He works a crowd like few others with his obvious love for people and his devotion to giving his best. This album captures BB as he is best, live and in action. He does not need light shows or other props to sell his work, he just plays and sings with a style and an infectious joy that few entertainers can match. One of his best albums.



4. Fans often call B.B. King the king of the blues guitar, but if B.B. were only a brilliant guitarist he wouldn't be a household name for decades. B.B. King is also a powerful singer, a terrific interpreter of others' material, an effective bandleader and - most importantly - a thoroughly professional entertainer. You can experience all B.B. King's sides on the "Cook County Jail" CD.
   
   Virtually every cut on the CD is a powerhouse. Although the Cook County Jail setting might lead one to expect that B.B. King would play up the outlaw aspects of the blues (the way that Johnny Cash did with his prison LPs), B.B. takes the opposite approach. He delivers a well-rehearsed and utterly professional show. It must have seemed a revelation to rock fans, as most blues-rock concerts at the time were notoriously sloppy affairs. But it's what we expect from B.B. King. He may define himself as a bluesman, but B.B. applied many lessons learned from tight jazz combos.
   
   For the uninitiated, the strong performances of B.B. King's best-known hits "Sweet Sixteen" and the "Thrill is Gone" will be the selling points, but every track has its delights. For me, the strongest moment comes with "How Blue Can You Get?" Here, we clearly get to experience how B.B. King is able to feed off the energy of a responsive audience, to the point where the inmates are practically bandmembers. When we hear their laughter and applause, we know that B.B. King has won over one of the most difficult audiences to please. Every solo on the CD is well-constructed, and at no time does B.B. allow himself to become self-indulgent.
   
   The CD's short running time is the only deficit. While appropriate for an early 1970s LP, this is one short concert by modern CD standards. It would be nice to see this CD reissued with material cut from the original release (as is the usual trend for live album reissues), but there is no denying this is one of the very few live albums worth revisiting again and again. It belongs in the collection of anyone who truly loves post-war blues.



5. This CD captures the very essence of what makes Blues Boy King the King of the Blues. The power of BB's music thunders througout the CD. This album has the best rendition of "The Thrill is Gone" I have ever heard, and I've heard just about all the versions he has done over the years. You can almost see him crooning to the microphone with his eyes closed, and Lucille gives this song so much more with her solo at the end. If anything buy this CD for the "The Thrill is Gone"; as soon as you get it turn it up, sit down and close your eyes...

3 comments about Full Tilt.

1. As a Ed Head of over 20 years and having seen these guys over 100 times I can honestly say this is the greatest release ever from a band whose previous work has already garnered numerous awards. The best thing about these guys is the energy and pacing of their live shows, it is captured in this release.
   
   It kicks off with "Hold That Train" loaded with Ed's signature greasy Chicago slide and impassioned vocals. The Blues Imperials are as usual tight and crisp. This is just sheer joy, real deal Chicago Blues. No one plays this type of passionate Chicago Slide anymore,I will guarantee this will be nominated for a BMA for best album. Other great tracks include "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" with some piano mixed in for good measure and a racous cover of Houndog Taylor's "Take 5". There's also burning slow blues like "Check My baby's Oil" and "Life Got in the Way". They even cover Smokey Robinson's 'First I Look at the Purse". If you want to have some fun, have a few drinks, shake your booty a bit, you do not want to miss this release. Good stuff from start to finish.



2. got hip to this band recently and dug the Grooves and live feel and truth be told these songs are gonna be even stronger live because you get that feeling that on the stage it's gonna be wild. the instrumentation is solid all the way through and this album is very well Produced.a real cool and loose feeling album from start to finish.



3. This could possibly be Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials' best album yet! I am a huge fan of theirs and listen to them a lot. I have never been disappointed with any of their albums and this one is no exception. From the first track through the last, you'll be rockin'! There is not a bad song on it. Full Tilt is the perfect title for this! These guys have been together for years and it shows. They are TIGHT! Buy this CD and see live if you get the chance. You won't be sorry.

5 comments about The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

1. Along with Earl Hooker's "The Moon Is Rising", this album is a Chicago Blues masterpiece. Though the lead singer and harmonica player is white, his singing is more than credible and his harmonica playing is excellent. Guitarist Michael Bloomfield plays some incendiary lead guitar, and was taken from us much too early. His death is a tragedy in the truest sense of the world. I recently viewed a video of him at one of the many folk festivals during the 1960s, perhaps Newport, talking about how his father is rich, his family is Jewish, he had a Bar Mitzvah, and how he'll never be able to play or sing like Son House. His admiration for the great Son House was more than obvious. Recently, rock guitar magazines have started to talk more about Bloomfield and his wonderful talents, which is a great thing. He deserves to be ranked up there with Clapton and Allman in terms of white guys who play Blues and/or Blues-Rock. Every track on this album is fun, full of energy and masterfully played. I highly recommend this album to anybody interested in Chicago Blues, especially those coming to the Blues from a Classic Rock or Clapton-related background. My personal favorite on the album is the band's cover of Elmore James' "Shake Your Moneymaker", which is a great deal different than the original, but in a good way.



2. This was an amazing album when it was released in 1965, and it is now.
   While the vinyl seems superior to the CD [I have 2 copies of the vinyl]
   they are both amazing and full of energy. There is a note on the back of the original album cover advising to play loud for maximum effect. That is just as true now as it was then....These are the guys that played with Dylan at times. That is, Sam Lay, Jerome Arnold, Mike Bloofield.



3. The general critical consensus seems to be that the PBBB's second album, "East/West," is the one to get, but I disagree. I own both, and I find that this, the band's first release, is much better than album #2. The songs here are played with more intensity and focus (the band is "tighter," as musicians say), and the vocals and harp are tough, gritty and "authentic," in a blues sense. In contrast, the band seems to be trying too hard to sound like great blues on "East/West." On this album, everything feels organic and unforced. Mike Bloomfield, of course, is excellent on every track, and that makes a significant difference between this and any other "white boy blues," or whatever you want to call it, that was around at the same time. Here, and on Dylan albums, he's really the difference between "good" and "great." Get this one--it sounds fresh, almost contemporary, despite its age.



4. this white boy blues stuff is so over-done. every band like this from this era all sound the same: boring, watered-down, stuck-in-the-same-groove, white-boy, schlock. pure torture!! sure, the PBBB, John Mayall, Clapton, etc, all did their part by bringing the underlying music (real blues) to the attention of a larger audience, which is not necessarily a good thing, but i can respect that they liked what they heard and copied it. fair enough. however, if you're looking for something that can be felt through your speakers and over time and space, check out Magic Sam, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, or Lonnie Mack, or, if you like the older stuff, Son House, or RL Burnside. this 3rd generation blues stuff is soooo boring and predictable at this point.



5. I say they don't make music like this anymore.Its a twist of Rolling Stones an Cream and for Mike Bloomfield, to me he is one of the best in his field. So if you like the Stones or Cream you will like this, enjoy.

5 comments about Can't Quit the Blues.

1. A great box set of of blues from the man who was before Jimi, before Stevie and before Eric. I should have been listening to Buddy long ago. Three solid discs of tunes and a snappy DVD with a great mix of interview and concert video. Includes a sizeable booklet of Buddy Guy history along with the CD tracks and players. I love this set and I have nothing negative to say about it. A must have!



2. Can this mans career be compressed down to three CDs?
   In my opinion no. He is one of "THE GREATs". But this set gives you a very good sampling of some of his best work.
   
   Every song included is good. Not a dud in the whole bunch.
   
   The extra DVD included is a big plus for all us Buddy Guy fans. And the little booklet that's stapled into the box cover has some good extra material also.
   
   All in all - a very good package that is well worth the money.
   
   I does make me want to fill out my collection and get more of his music.



3. Nice survey of Guy's career. Three CD's full of some of Guy's best. The DVD contains an extensive interview and good concert footage, but beware! The DVD is 4:3 standard definition or letterbox within 4:3 throughout. It shouldn't be a surprise that concert footage covering 30+ years would largely be standard def, but it is surprising that nothing on this DVD is formatted for widescreen.



4. I purchased this box set during one of Amazon's Gold Box specials. I was excited about the box set and just couldn't wait till it arrived. 2-1/2 weeks after placing the order, it arrived. I opened the package, opened the box set and could not get the CDs loose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I broke my thumbnail, I have pressed and mashed, still the CDs will not release! The only way I see to get the CDs out without breaking the center is to destroy the packaging. Help! the packaging may keep the CDs in place during mailing, but can't there be a choice between "Child proof" and regular? I am so disapointed that I can't get the CDs out.
   Maybe this is a great set, but I can't hear it!



5. I have not even listened to the cd's yet. I went straight for the DVD and was just realy impressed. Great stuff. I paid full price of $45 too...and dont even regret it because I always wanted some good Buddy Guy footage. Now I have it. I am a guitar nut extreme and this is great stuff.

5 comments about The Definitive Collection.

1. This is just a really good collection assembled here. There's always those purists who think one song shouldn't have made it on a greatest hits type album and that another should have gotten its place, but the fact is that this is a really good album.
   
   As someone who has only recently started listening to the Blues, I was surprised when I first introduced myself to Bo Diddley because I knew so many of his songs but just not sung by him. I was amazed to find out how much influence this man had on my own musical experience without my ever even hearing about him until very recently. I was happy to remedy that situation with a great album such as this one. This is the type of CD you can put in and just listen over and over again. The only reason to touch the dial after you put this CD in is to turn it back to re-listen to one of your favorites.
   
   From the rough and fast Who Do You Love to jocular Say Man this album has great songs. We recently lost this musical giant but with this recording and many like it he will live on forever.



2. The last time I had occasion to mention the late Bo Diddley in this space was in connection with a series of interviews and performances along with Chuck Berry, Little Richard and others in Keith Richards Chuck Berry tribute film Hail, Hail Rock and Roll. The talk centered, rightly, on the dismal fate of many black recording artists who developed what would become Rock and Roll when the white artists like Elvis took it over and reaped the benefits of a mass audience. Well, those interviews occurred a while ago, back in the 1980's, but Bo's sense of not having been properly recognized I believe remained until his death. Yet, when one thinks of the sounds created by the founders of Rock and Roll can anyone deny that Bo's primal beat was not central to that explosion? I think not.
   
   Here, in one album we have, if not all of Bo's creative work then a good part of it, at least a good place to start. Of course, the classic song Bo Diddley and its offshoots and variations are here. However, the one Diddley song that will probably outlive them all though is Who Do You Love. Although not a theme song it nevertheless expresses the raw energy of rhythm and blues/ rock/ carib sound like not other. Hell, George Throughgood was able to make a whole career on the basis of having covered that song and other Bo work (and to be fair, covering the work of Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor as well).
   
   And that is a good point to finish on. The really great rockers, and Bo is in that company, unlike the one-shot johnnies get covered because their work expresses something that someone else later wishes to high heaven that they had created. (George has been quoted directly on that point.) Finally, I give the same warning here as others have given in their comments about the sameness of this CD and the Chess 50th Anniversary CD from 1997. Get one or the other and save those pennies to get more of Bo's work. "I said- I'm just 22 and I don't mind dying. Who do you love?" Thanks for that line Bo. Kudos



3. Really enjoyed this CD of pioneer Bo Diddley. Showcases many of his hits. Also shows that he was very spontaneous with his playing and arrangements. "Roadrunner" is a little known gem that I really enjoyed.



4. Yeah, I see what they did with the repackaging that has been mentioned already. I was lucky enough to get the former version of this album for about 3 dollars through an "overstock sale" at a music club recently, glad I got it then!
   
   Good collection here, I have to give it 5 stars; Bo is such an influential artist of course. Almost seems to deserve more on the "reissue", but for a casual fan of Bo and the history of Rock and Roll, this is a must have, if you like what you hear here, then perhaps graduate to the Chess box set too!?
   
   He and Chuck Berry are essential to any Rock And Roll collection, in what form you choose to catalog them is up to you I guess. Either a box set or a nice collection like this, at least you get a good feel either way of such a wonderful almost forgotten today artist.



5. Yes, every one of the 20 tracks on this set is excellent, and many are seminal classics. But as my esteemed colleague with the "unhelpful" votes writes, this is 1997's Chess comp in new clothes, song for song, and not newly remastered either. Bo Diddley's March 1955 Chess debut, 'Bo Diddley' b/w 'I'm A Man' represented Bo with a fully developed style and persona, one side redefining children's nursery rhymes against an masterfully arranged and recorded track that is pure rhythm long before J.B.'s mid-sixties funk bombs. Emphasizing tom-toms, Jerome Green's sizzling maracas, and the primal jangle of Bo's guitar, it was backed by a blues classic that inspired Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy'. This is surely one of the most influential singles ever, and followups such as the irresistable 'You Don't Love Me' and 'Pretty Thing' are just as explosive, original, and uncompromised. Bo's influence on second generation rock 'n' rollers such as The Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Animals, and (obviously) Pretty Things insured his work would shape popular music for decades to come. And on their classic 1973 debut New York Dolls included just one cover, Mr. Diddley's 'Pills'. All these great recordings and more are included on this collection. Yet, unforgiveably, very little of Bo Diddley's great body of work - his fat years cover roughly 1955 to '66 - remains in print in his own country. By all means snap this up if you are a neophyte looking to buy your first Bo collection, for the music is utterly undated, even thrilling. However, clocking in at under an hour, the set remains merely acceptable (the remastering is very good), certainly not generous. For fans there is nothing here we don't already have. The notes are nothing special, which reminds me that it's time for the 1989 "Chess Box" to get the sonic upgrade - and, while we're at it, expanded treatment - the first generation's most innovative rock 'n' roller deserves. That set, despite sonic limitations due to the problems endemic to early digital, contains unissued rarities, seldom heard gems, and classics. But it is most revelatory for Robert Palmer's brilliant in depth essay analyzing and celebrating Bo's work, an essential read that remains the most intelligent piece I've seen about the music (the box also contains a biographical piece). And expand that box to three discs! Bo issued a string of fine albums during his 'golden decade', plus some terrific single sides and unissued material (some is collected on the superb and - naturally out of print - "Rare & Well Done"). The man is 78 as I write this, recent victim of a stroke, yet the 50th anniversary of his classic debut went virtually unnoticed, as did his 75th birthday. Sonic innovator, grunge craw-dad, rap progenitor, rhythm king, the man deserves at least some of the accolades, sensitive reissue campaigns, and serious critical attention Ellington, Armstrong, Elvis, Sinatra, and others received on such occasions.

5 comments about From the Cradle.

1. First, let me say I have nothing against white blues guitar slingers. Love Bloomfield and Jonny Winter.
   
   Second, as a "classic rock dude" Clapton can't be beat. Layla, and all that other stuff- its seminal classic rock. The guy almost defines the genre.
   
   However, as a blues player, and especially as a blues singer, he is way overrated. People float him five stars because of the above classic rock god status. "Clapton? I love Clapton. Five stars."
   
   The licks are ok, the solos are ok when he keeps them short. When he tries to go gonzo on a slow blues, he just sounds silly. Everything after Bluesbreakers was downhill for the guy blues-wise.
   
   And the singing. Terrible. Imagine the whitest dude you know- Nay, the whitest BRITISH dude you know, trying to sing blues. Some can pull it off: Robben Ford, Jonny Winter, NOT Clapton. He sounds awful.
   
   In summary: as classic rock dude: wonderful. As gut bucket blues stringer: emberassing



2. I am a huge blues fan. I love artists like Peter Green, SRV, BB King, Muddy, Buddy guy and so on. I wouldn't rank Clapton up with any of these guys by any means, which most people would agree with me, would be a unfair comparison anyway. I am not a huge Clapton fan, I liked the stuff he did with John Mayall, but after that, I hadn't really heard a Clapton song I really enjoyed. I do agree with alot of people, Clapton doesn't have the phrasing the true greats have, but he does have some chops and a very good understanding of blues music. Its nice to see him go back to his earlier roots. This album is by far my favorite album of his, and I would rank it as one of the top blues albums i've ever heard. His phrasing on this album is exceptional, and his tone is just killer on EVERY track. His voice is fairly soulful on this album as well. But this is definately not your typical Clapton fan's favorite album. This sets Claptons prime for me. GREAT ALBUM! Now go listen to some Peter Green and enjoy the true British blues experience :).



3. Anyone who appreciates the blues, especially from a guitarist's paradigm, will enjoy this recording. Clapton is always a delight. However, on this album you get to enjoy a cornacopia of Slowhand riffs and solos throughout every track.
   If you do "air guitar", you'll want this disc.



4. "Clapton is God" used to be scrawled on the subways and phone booths of England in the 1960s. From the Cradle shows why. A tour de force of blues solos and techniques, Clapton shows why he is the master of rock and blues guitar, without ever sounding derivative. From the opening slide licks of Blues Before Sunrise through the incendiary riffs of Five Long Years and down to the syncopated jangling of Motherless Child and the choogling grind of Drifting, Clapton lays out the entire blues vocabulary in one tight, very listenable CD. Knowing that every song on here was done in one take with only minimal overdubs only makes this album all the more legendary. A must-have for any student of the blues.



5. Have to say that I have been a huge Clapton fan since the Cream days...He has just gone soft, it's time to face the facts...It has way more to do with inspiration than his getting on in years...I really had my hopes up that this would be an inspired effort, but nothing could be further than the truth!!! If this is "soul" then you are probably someone who thinks that Michael Bolton is a soul singer.

5 comments about Long Time Coming.

1. I miss the old Johnny Lang music. I don't listen to this tape much.



2. Some of these "fans" and reviews baffle me...
   I guess some people expect an artist to never change anything up, or have the artistic integrity to express their real life through their music? Or to get older, and evolve a little?
   
   Jonny Lang is still the amazing blues talent he always has been. I just went to one of his shows, and trust me, he STILL plays the blues. Like crazy! But he also plays some funky, gospel-ish, rock. It is NOT AT ALL overtly religious. It is NOT "Christian Rock". But much of it IS optimistic and postive, in a "Stevie Wonder" kind of way. And much of it does explore something spiritual. (*gasp! oh no! not that!*)
   
   ...I guess some people would rather he had continued along his path of drug-abuse and pain, and had instead ended up dying a young genius in his genre. That would be better. At least then "the evangelicals wouldn't have gotten their claws into him." Yeah. Because the world is much better with out Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison, right? Phew! At LEAST they didn't turn into Christians...
   
   Well not me. I want many more years of whatever this this kid can bring.



3. Once again, institutional Christianity, by which I mean mainstream evangelicals, have taken something incredible and turned it into something pathetic and mediocre. So Johnny had a mystical experience of Jesus. Great, nothing wrong with that. I don't doubt that it was very real and meaningful to him. He's casting about for what to do next, and gets hooked up with a Christian church of some kind. Ok, still makes sense to a certain extent. As he gets acclimated into the evangelical culture, he starts getting the mistaken idea that there is something "wrong" with his old music ie paint-peeling gut bucket blues. He starts thinking that he "should" be preaching his new found gospel in some way shape or form. That he isn't "using his talents" for "the Lord" if he's ripping out malicious searing 24 bar solos. Next thing you know we get an album like this, and one of the most gifted kids to come down the pike is flushing his talents in the name of religion. I personally don't want to follow any deity who's not big enough to enjoy a good electric blues song. I personally think that only God himself could inspire and inhabit a music as powerful as the blues. Look, if God gave Johnny the innate talent to be a scary good *blues* guitar player, isn't it misguided for him to move away from that? Look at Stevie Ray Vaughn's last album. Very spiritual, very rockin, very bluesy.



4. I bought this cd first out of Jonny Lang's collection. It is the most consistant complete album as far as that goes. Lie to me, and wander this world have his best songs on them but they also have some fillers. This one I can listen to without skipping any songs.



5. The same thing happened with Jonny Lang that happened with Ian Moore....incredibly talented guitar players that put out a couple of blistering blues CDs, then did a 180 and completely abanddoned their roots. Jonny and Ian are wasting their talents with this pop pablum they are putting out claiming that this is really "their" style. Well, that may be true, but now they sound like a million other artists. Their original blues-styling and guitar playing abilities and their live performances are all part of what made them unique. I saw Jonny and Ian live during their "blues days" and they blew everyone away with their blistering guitars and passionate vocals. Now, either one could be mistaken for John Mayer...another phenomenon. Mayer plays steaming blues guitar and exhibits some impressive chops on the Trio album and other live performances, but all his other albums sound like elevator music and the vocals of a man who has been castrated.
   All the great blues guitarists seem to have dropped out. Why?????

5 comments about Breakin' It Up & Breakin' It Down.

1. What a concert CD! "Breakin' it Up, Breakin' it Down" features the vocals of three pretty good bluesmen--Muddy Waters, James Cotton, and Johnny Winter. Waters and Winter also play guitar, and James Cotton is referred to as "Superharp" in the notes accompanying the CD. Also in the group: Bob Margolin (guitar and vocals), Pinetop Perkins (vocals and piano), Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (drum), and Charles Calmese (Bass). They play awfully well together. . . .
   
   Bob Margolin wrote to notes. At one point he says of this CD: "[The CD] showcases each of these [three] blues legends leading the band, but more important historically, and much more fun, we find them jamming together, pushing, teasing, and inspiring one another."
   
   Let's take a look at a few examples of the cuts on this live CD. . . .
   
   "Black Cat Bone/Dust My Broom." The authorship of this song is split among Winter, Elmore James, and Robert Johnson. This is a rocking version of this song! There is fine guitar work, good keyboards, and terrific harmonica. It is taken at a rollicking pace. The three central vocalists take turns in vocals--to good effect.
   
   "Can't Be Satisfied." One of Muddy Waters' hits, covered by many others, including the Rolling Stones. There is cool guitar work at the outset, and Waters' singing does justice to this song. There is a sense of improvisation and spontaneity, as the three central players interact with one another. Lots of fun.
   
   "Rocket 88" is one of Cotton's songs, about his car. It starts up with some great harmonica work. This work is taken at the quick pace and there is a sense of joy to Cotton's vocalizations.
   
   Another Waters' classic closes out this concert CD--"Got My Mojo Workin.'" The three principal artists share in the vocals, but this is Muddy Waters' song. Love the lyrics!
   
   "Got my mojo workin',
   Just don't work on you.
   So bad I just don't
   Know what to do."
   
   A real lively version, with the crowd getting involved. Harp, drums, guitars work well together. There is some nice jamming among the musicians in the middle. What a way to close out this CD.
   
   So, my judgment? If you like the blues, this would be a fine addition to your library. I rate this highly.



2. Why was this stuff hidden away for so long--I love this CD--a great addition to my collection



3. As a Muddy Water's CD, I've heard him do better, but as a Johnny Winter CD it's some of his best work. Still, if you are a blues fan, you must add this important collaboration to your collection.



4. This was a match made in "blues heaven". Some have lamented that Johnny Winter and James Cotton sings part of these tunes...somehow they just don't understand that all of these men are true legends of the blues.
   
   I saw Muddy Waters as the headliner in 1970. Ten Years After stole HIS show! He was going through the motions, but he pretty much "phoned in" his set. He looked and sound whipped. I saw this group at the Palladium in Los Angeles, CA. on 03/04/1977 (I still have the stub). Johnny Winter was producing and resurrected Muddy. Ever since Johnny had struck gold with The AND Band, he was a huge personality in the Rock and Roll genre and with the blues crowd. Muddy was a new man compared to what I saw in 1970. To this day, the show I witnessed in LA, was one of my all time favorite blues shows (and I seen dozens).
   
   Toss out the 2 star guy, he obviously doesn't understand the importance of this offering. If you LOVE THE BLUES, or you enjoy any of these featured artists, buy this one, you'll have no buyer's remorse.



5. You thought this was a Muddy Waters CD? Not so, majority of the vocals here are Winter and Cotton, with Muddy Waters singing some or part of only 5 songs on this 11 song disc. Unless you want to hear James Cotton imitate a young man singing like a girl, pass this up and head for the real deal that this tour sprung from, the excellent Muddy Waters "Hard Again" disc. Even "Got My Mojo Workin'" begins with Johnny Winter singing vocals on the song Muddy Waters made into a classic.

5 comments about Howlin' Wolf/Moanin' in the Moonlight.

1. Howlin' Wolf is one of the seminal blues artists. His guitar and that scritchy voice are definitive of the blues standard. This CD is actually a two-fer, a Chess compilation of his two first albums: Howlin' Wolf and Moanin' at Midnight.
   
   The packaging isn't much to be proud of. You get liner notes, but not much else and the paper's pretty disreputable.
   
   Favorites:
   
   "Back Door Man" you'll hear this one covered all over the place, but nobody does it like the Wolf.
   
   "Evil" well, doesn't the name say it?
   
   "Going Down Slow" this is an interesting perspective on the music business and money.
   
   Rebecca Kyle, August 2008



2. It's hard to over rate the impact these early HW recordings have had on rock and roll. As is well known HW and his contemporaries were hugely influential on the 60s giants like Hendrix, Clapton, the Stones, Led Zeppelin and John Mayall but countless other lesser known lights have also sprung from HW's fertile loins. Even now, 50 or so years later, these two platters still stand up to scrutiny. HW's voice is one of the most distinctive in modern music and he uses it to great effect on every track here. The lyrics are superb too, always lascivious, frequently laugh out loud funny. It's a stone classic in every way and anyone with even a remote interest in the evolution of rock music should own a copy. Also good for shaking your thang to... "We're gonna wang dang doodle ALL night long..!"



3. A few songs from Moanin' in the Moonlight (Moanin' for My Baby, All Night Boogie, Forty-Four, Baby How Long) aren't exactly all that great, but the rest makes up for it. This is basically a set of blues classics, in fact if Killin' Floor and Sittin' on Top of the World were included you'd think it was a very in-depth best-of. Just look at how many legendary musicians have covered (or ripped off, in Led Zeppelin's case) some of these songs: The Red Rooster, Spoonful, Wang Dang Doodle, Goin' Down Slow, Back Door Man, How Many More Years, Who's Been Talkin'? Smokestack Lightin', Evil, Tell Me or I Asked Her for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline). Most artists are lucky to have two or three legendary songs. Wolf has eleven on this album alone, and this one doesn't even have Killin' Floor, Sittin' on Top of the World or I Ain't Superstitious, also part of legend. But I digress. These original recordings, taken from the old '45s rather than being the remakes spread across his career, pound any cover you can imagine into all hell. Okay, maybe Cream's version of Spoonful beats the original. Maybe not. It's a tough call. But that's beside the point.
   Okay, blues fans withuut this are simply doing themselves a disservice. But a rock or soul fan looking to trace the music's roots who doesn't own a copy of Howlin' Wolf/Moanin' in the Moonlight is also shooting themselves in the foot. Actually, so is anybody who enjoys good music. Plain and simple.



4. My friends, this is the real deal, it just doesn't get any better than this. This is Howlin' Wolf at his gritty, slashin', terrifyin' best, and just about nothing matches the greatness and intensity of the Wolf at his best. Nearly every track is a classic and all of them are superb. "Red Rooster" "Wang Dang Doodle" "Spoonful" "Back Door Man" "Evil" "I Asked For Water..." are among the most well known clasics in the entire genre, but every track is top notch. His voice was truly original (even tho Capt. Beefheart managed to imitate it uncannily well) and likely shocked the pants off the first to hear him. This is such down and dirty, greasy, slicin' blues that it's impossible to think of it as being as "old" as it is. The Wolf was so far ahead of his time that time still hasn't caught up. Though he's had many admirers among rock stars, such as the Stones, he's really never quite received the fame and recognition that he deserves for having been such a genius. THe musicians are wonderful, Hubert Sumlin may be the nastiest blues guitarist ever to grace a track, but it is the monumental, legendary, godlike Wolf who stands out the most.



5. Let's get my only gripes out of the way now--a drunk monkey could've come up with better packaging than what comes with this 2-albums-in-one set. The cover art is sloppily integrated and cheap, the albums are oddly in reverse chronological order (the self-titled album was released in 1962, Moanin' In The Moonlight in 1959), the liner notes are minimal given Chester Burnett A.K.A. Howlin' Wolf's importance to modern blues and the sound quality is so-so (Chess offers a remastered single disc titled His Best, if this bothers you). They even left off a track due to what they claim is CD length limitations, which is B.S. since the whole thing is under 70 minutes and most of the existing tracks are under three. Who are they trying to kid?
   
   Other than that, this is SEMINAL electric blues from one of the best in the business. Wolf is quite simply the finest blues vocalist ever--his gravelly, soulful, cavernous growl is unmistakable and awesome, befitting a man of such huge girth and power (listen to the microphone nearly detonate on the beginning of Moanin' In The Moonlight from trying to handle his voice). His lyrics exude passion and grit, but not without a touch of humor--this is blues to party to. The band behind him is equally potent, with Hubert Sumlin's iconic riffs and Willie Dixon's bass playing and songwriting acumen.
   
   Every song from the self-titled is a classic--the boogie-blues of Shake For Me, innuendo-drenched Little Red Rooster, party stomper Wang Dang Doodle, slow-burning and funny Goin' Down Slow, and the catchy backbeat of Down From The Bottom being my favorites. Moanin' In The Moonlight isn't quite as memorable, but it too has its share of historical blues singles such as How Many More Years, Smokestack Lightnin', Forty Four, and the Dixon-penned Evil.
   
   This is the real stuff, and an essential buy. Let's just hope this package gets updated for a new generation.