2 comments about That's When I Know.

1. Of all the old school bluesman, Eddie Campbell is my favorite, hands down. He's got such a simple, yet unique blues sound. Young blues rockers take note: it doesn't take a lot of chord changes and fast notes to create a good blues groove. Campbell can say more with just a couple chords and a voice that he uses as his main weapon. With that silky smooth voice he can hit the high notes one minute, and the lows the next. A great example of this is in the song "Busted", where he sings about the woman who still loves him even though he's flat broke. A lot of emotion is displayed in this song. Outside of Muddy Waters, who this bluesman got his start with at the age of 12, I can't think of anybody who's more believable in getting a story across to the listener than Campbell. And at the same time giving you some very infectious grooves that's stay with you long after you hear it. This man's timing and delivery is perfect on every great song on this album. If you buy any of Campbell's cd's, start here first. I think this remains his best album. And it deserves a hard listen. Highly recommended.



2. Eddie C. Campbell has a great voice - lots of inflection - especially in the song "Busted". There are some great guitar riffs that carry through some of the songs. This is a great CD, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for old-fashioned rough guitar blues.

No comments about Five Long Years.

1 comments about I'm a Mad Man.

1. If you like blues with the basic, raw-edged and unadorned power of the Chicago electric sound, this is the disc for you. Great blues voice and awesome guitar work.

4 comments about Say What You Mean.

1. I am a professional musician, based in Chicago, and have a huge collection of blues recordings. I have always been impressed with Phil Guy. As a guitarist/vocalist, Phil is at the top of his game. And, he's quite the likeable person. I became a dedicated Phil Guy fan upon hearing this CD! This is wonderful music. I listen to it over and over and over again and enjoy it every time. I take it everywhere I go and play it for all my friends. This is an absolutely must-have CD.



2. I'm a big fan of Chicago blues, and this CD is one of my favorites. "Lonesome Blues" and "Say What You Mean" are superb up tempo songs. Great guitar work, strong vocals, and some good horn play make this very enjoyable for blues fans.



3. I picked this CD up from a live show that Phil did in New Buffalo Michigan, being very impressed with what they were doing. Alas, the CD is a bit of a disappointment. The vocal performance is a bit shaky in places, there are a few glitches in the recording and it's just not as good as most of my other blues CDs.

   One nice thing about the CD though is that the bass is very clear in the mix (and uniformly well-played) which is cool to me since I'm a bass player. I'd also praise the horn instrumental about midway through the disc (whose name escapes me at the moment).




4. Say What You Mean is a great addition to any blues lover's collection. A good mix of up tempo "funkified" numbers, with plenty of traditional "slow & easy" blues. Phil's classic; "Fixin To Die" is one of my all time favorites.

No comments about Maricela's Smile.

5 comments about Let Me Play with Your Poodle.

1. Marcia delivers piano as sizzling uptempo or in yearning ballad forms and comes out sounding fab either way. The title track and Crawfishin' are instant classics, and all her slower moments are sweet and tender.
   
   Not a duff track in the batch. The song blend of originals and covers is well focused, and lends creedance to the great history of music and life on the Bayou (Delbert McClinton, Randy Newman).
   
   I've listended to a lot of blues influenced ivory ticklers on CD, and I've seen many a player hit the 88 keys live and in person, but Marcia delivers the right stuff from start to finish.
   
   Her voice is warm and welcoming. Session heavyweight Doyle Bramhall (Sr.), joins in to add spice to the party in session.
   
   Next time the neighbors are coming over for a BBQ, slip into something comfortable and try on a little Marcia Ball..this Poodle is worth picking up.



2. Enough said. Marcia knows her way around the piano. Well-written songs and a tight, supportive band bring out the best of this great musician.



3. Marcia is a great New Orleans blues singer. She has a wonderful stage presence and should get more national recognition.



4. I've been following Marcia off and on for the last 10 years...always thought of her as a fun artist with a nice voice and enough piano to make her credible.

   Then I heard this album...she cranks out a bunch of blistering pounding piano solos that impressed this old hard heart.

   Go get this one...by far the best of her albums




5. This was a chance purchase by my Father who shares my love of blues. I feel like I have been let into a new field of boogie~woogie, key dancin...world. This lady is fantastic, I would give my right left toe to be able to do what she does to those ivorys. Play with Your Poodle is a piece of mastery that would bring anyone out of the deepest funk they have ever been in. I thought for a minute this lady knew me in 'can't trust my heart'... Wonderful mix of boogie and soulful heart breakers... I will be working my through the rest of these! If you love piano music of this kind as I do, this is a must have..the whole CD is great....

5 comments about House of Blues: Essential Blues V.1.

1. I bought the Shoebox Full of Blues which contains this disc, and the selection and quality is first rate. There isn't a bad track on the disc, and the mastering is superb. These may be the highest quality versions of these classics you'll hear. Blues purists may argue that vinyl is the only "true" way to listen to these, but who among us has pristine vinyl and the equipment to do it justice?
   
   I wish I had known about the commentary/intros mentioned in another review of this title (There's no mention of the commentary on the reviews or details of the box set). I too find them extremely annoying, and really detest the fact that the produces grafted them onto the end of tracks instead of making them standalone cuts. For all of us that rip our CD's to MP3 there is a cure. It takes a few minutes, but it's worth it. Grab MP3Trim, a free MP3 editor from http://www.mptrim.com/ Then trim from the end of these cuts as indicated.
   
   Killing Floor - 28 Seconds
   Better Off With The Blues - 19 Seconds
   Mojo Hand - 43 Seconds
   Walking The Backstreets And Crying - 35 Seconds
   Let's Straighten It Out - 27 Seconds
   Rainin' In My Heart - 31 Seconds
   
   I'd also suggest you adjust the volume by -3 db when you trim or you'll induce some clipping on the edited tracks.
   
   Once you do that, and assuming you don't rip the intro that starts each disc, you're left with 30 tracks of nothin' but Blues, guaranteed to make you want more.



2. I have had this C.D. for at least 6 years and it is still one of my favorites. I also happen to like the introductions that the other reviewer found annoying...it makes me feel like I am at the show. I bought my CD at the House of Blues in New Orleans and it brings back great memories of my trip. Several of my friends have heard the CD and wanted to buy it.



3. While the music here is solid and the packaging first rate, the incredibly annoying voiceover to announce which artist is up next interupts the music's flow and is enough to make one hit the eject button. And that's after the first listen. Trying to get through it again and again is next to impossible. To add insult to injury, because the VO is tacked onto the back of the tracks, RIPing the disc and removing the offending noise isn't a workaround unless you want to start editing audio files.

   Gimme music without interruption.




4. This set provides the listener with a broad variety of blues sounds, and is perfect for the person who can't decide on just one artist. Two thumbs up, five stars, and all that stuff too.



5. This set provides the listener with a broad variety of blues sounds, and is perfect for the person who can't decide on just one artist. Two thumbs up, five stars, and all that stuff too.

3 comments about Raw Magic.

1. I spent a lot of time listening to Slim at the Checkerboard Lounge in Chicago in the early 80s when this album was cut. It captures the energy of his live performances. "Gravel Road" has to be one of the tightest blues songs ever recorded.



2. I couldn't agree more with the other reviewer of this album that stated that this is the greatest album ever. I first heard this thanks to UCF radio show by David Jones back in 1990. Even to this day in Aug 2007 I listen to the album all the time. This is an absolute classic. Unfreakinbelievably wonderful. You can really feel this album. Just a wonderful sound. Drive far to see this man, he is the best damned entertainer. The songs are more real than anything. I have been looking for this kind of music ever since and it is hard to match this album. Every single song on it is fantastic.



3. If you are a fan of Chicago blues and you have never heard of Magic Slim, go immediately and get as many CDs of his as you can find. "Raw Magic" is the very best one, and my favorite blues album of all time. Although it is in part a compilation of some earlier released material, it holds together like a perfect studio album should (for those who think the best blues is live blues, take a listen to this CD). Magic has a powerful voice to match his tremulous and beautifully jarring guitar playing. The rhythm guitarist, Jr. Pettis, lays down pulsating chords around Magic's solos that almost sound like an organ. Nate Applewhite and Nick Holt work the drums and bass hard. That's all there is to the sound -- no horns, no piano, no nothing; for my money, the best Chicago blues is exactly that: 2 guitars, a bass, and drums. All the songs on this album are perfect, but especially check out Slim's version of "Mustang Sally" and "In the Heart of the Blu! es" (there is a certain point in the latter, during one of Slim's solos, where I can actually see God, no joke).

5 comments about Standing on the Bank.

1. Upon the death of SRV, Rolling Stone asked, 'how does it feel to be the best blues guitar player alive today?' E.C. replied, "I've no idea, go ask Tab Benoit."
   
   I've seen him in person - a wonderful, powerful, full-on assault of blues and bending the frets as he cares to - and now own several of TB's works, and love them all.
   
   If your taste for the blues runs like mine - ZZ Top to Clapton to SRV to Robert Randolph and the Family Band to Muddy Waters to Buddy Guy to Erida Badu to the Blues Brothers - ANY of Tab's works will make you smack your lips in indulgence and reflect 'mighty tasty indeed'.



2. This is the first review I've ever written so I'll be brief. If you don't like music don't buy this album, that is the only excuse I can think of not to buy this album or any of Tab's stuff for that matter.

   Mr. Himes needs to spend more time in New Orleans contemplating why he is wasting everyones time writing reviews. I'm sure he doesn't like Stevie Ray Vauhn, Cool John Ferguson or BB King either. What an idiot! If you don't like the blues don't review the blues. This album is awsome.




3. One of my favorite Tab albums. His own material is great, and he covers the "Alberts" to a T. This guy (from Houma, LA by the way) has with "Standing on the Bank" recorded a master piece. But he is even better live. Catch him at the Rock-N-Bowl on a Saturday night, and get blown away. He plays really hard - usually pops at least 4-5 strings per show. And on home turf he doesn't want to quit, and will go as long as they let him. Go see him when he comes to your town!



4. I don't generally comment on other peoples reviews but after reading Mr. Geoffery Himes review, I avoided this cd and opted for "These Blues Are All Mine" instead. Then, Tab Benoit came to town and put on a little show. Not only was he a fantastic performer, but I realized that several of the tunes he was playing, and which had the audience in a frenzy, were all songs off of this cd. In fact, at the show, Benoit sold every copy of this cd that he had brought with him. Shortly after the show, I came back to this cd and reread Himes review. What is this guy smoking? The cd is excellent and may well be the best that Benoit has produced.

   Benoit's mastery of the fret board is astonishing and, as one writer commented, "the man knows more chords than Six Figures Mandel and is able to make them all sound like Uncle Paul could play them".

   Oddly, and again contrary to Himes comments, Benoit's least likeable song on this cd is "Rainy Day Blues" with Willie Nelson. Not that it is a bad song, but it just doesn't fit with the rest. Don't make the same mistake I did and rely on Mr. Himes, buy this cd today.




5. Pay no attention to Mr. Himes' Blues Snob review! Tab Benoit delivers great, gritty blues guitar and vocals throughout this CD. This IS the blues Geoffy! Don't believe it? Just catch Tab's live show some Saturday night in New Orleans and watch him pack'em in. If the blues is about energy & passion...Tab is a FIVE STAR BLUESMAN!

5 comments about Chicago/The Blues/Today!.

1. I bought the three separate Vanguard vinyl LP's years ago. Wore 'em out. They got me started on the harp and I have played ever since....or at least, tried to play. I memorized and absorbed all of this inspiring stuff, I played it so much. It has had a major influence on my entire life. What a brilliant idea by Sam Charters in the first place, and then to actually pull it off, with all these blues giants, is a simply amazing feat. Prior to that the only blues I had listened to was the Stones and Paul Butterfield, and from there I went back to the originals, like Little Walter and Muddy and Wolf and Sonny Boy.
   Those last four legends are NOT on these recordings--Walter and Sonny Boy had passed by then--but just about everyone who meant anything in Chicago blues is. Muddy's former harp player James Cotton and the one and only Otis Spann, his favorite keyboard man, are both in strong form. Cotton's version of Rocket '88 is the most rocking and explosive jump blues you will ever hear, truly a gigantically important recording. His harp performances on this set are tremendously powerful and creative, showcasing his inimitable style. Junior Wells and Buddy Guy play a strong mini-set, with Junior's vocals on Vietcong Blues some of the best he's ever done.
   It is simply incredible that these recordings feature three guys who, over the years became some of my all-time favorite musicians, and remain so to this day: Johnny Shines, Otis Rush, and Charlie Musselwhite. Not that race matters, but Charlie, just as in the very first Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969, is the only white guy on the records. Since it's Chicago blues, Johnny Shines plays electric here, and he blows the doors off with his powerful and impassioned vocals. I am convinced that Shines, unlike any musician I can name, is at least as great acoustically as he is amped up. The great Big Walter "Shakey" Horton lends superb harp to Shines', and Johnny Young's sets, and Charlie--billed then as Memphis Charlie--plays a really nice harp duet with Big Walter.
   The immortal Otis Rush, again, only in my opinion, the greatest combination blues singer/guitarist ever, tosses off a sublime version of I Can't Quit You Baby, which rivals and possibly exceeds his Cobra version.
   This is an absolutely essential recording for anyone interested in blues Chicago-style: amplified, electric, stunningly powerful. These blues will grab you and will not let you go.



2. As a serious blues musician, I am always on the lookout for those few seminal recordings which I might have heard about, but not owned. To go over to the jazz world for a moment, I would put Chicago the Blues Today
   in the realm of A Love Supreme by Coltrane or Kind of Blue by Miles et al in terms of influence. And, as a harp player, the Junior Wells and James Cotton tracks are absolutely killer!!! I can't believe how good this is-one of the crown jewels.



3. Chicago: The Blues Today! contains great and classic performances. This three-CD set features two to three different artists on each CD, such greats as Otis Rush, Otis Spann, James Cotton, JB Hutto, Johnny Young, Homesick James Williamson, and Johnny Shines.
   
   Highlight are Rush's I Can't Quit You Baby, My Black Mare by Young, Spann's Stomp by Spann, and Somebody Been Talking by Homesick James. This is a great collection for your blues collection.



4. In early 1966, blues history was made with the issuance of a three-volume set of new recordings produced by blues historian Samuel Charters. This series was known as Chicago/The Blues/Today! and the release sent shock waves through the world of rock and roll. Every artist on the three volumes had recorded before (some, like Otis Rush and Junior Wells, had actually seen small hits on the R&B charts), but these recordings were largely their introduction to a newer -- and predominately white -- album-oriented audience.The "today" part of the title was no bit of hyperbole, either. This series accurately portrayed a vast cross section of the Chicago blues scene as one could hear it on any given night in the mid '60s.
   Rather than record full albums (which Charters had neither the budget nor legal resources to pull off), each artist simply came in for a union-approved session of four to six songs, with each volume featuring three different groupings. With these recordings, blues suddenly gained respectability as something much more vital and vibrant than just a poor cousin of jazz. A new market for this music began, one that exists today in full blossom.Their effect on musicians was enormous. It's fair to assume that most blues-influenced artists had all three volumes in their respective collections, and the songs on them ended up in the repertoires of everyone from Jimi Hendrix (Junior Wells' "Rock Me") to Led Zeppelin (a note-for-note copy of Otis
   Rush's "I Can't Quit You Baby") to Steppenwolf (Junior Wells' "Messin' with the Kid") and beyond. These recordings have stayed in print and been reasonably good sellers over the 30 years since their original release, all coming out on compact disc in the mid 1980s. This new packaging puts all three volumes together, but with no bonus tracks, as no extras were recorded for these sessions.So if one already owns these sides, what's the incentive this time around? That's easy: The sound is massively improved, with the bass that was rolled off the vinyl and original CD versions now being restored. This
   makes the tracks truly come alive, especially on the Otis Rush and Junior Wells sides, both fortified with some major amounts of badass bass thumping by Roger Jones and Jack Myers, respectively. One can really hear the spaciousness of the old RCA studios where this stuff was cut for the first time, and the detailing of the mix is in sharp focus throughout, although the increased bass causes some unwanted distortion on the Homesick James Williamson tracks. The other plus is the new packaging, which features a nice booklet with detailed, updated notes from Charters, a nice appreciation from Ed Ward, and absolutely eye-boggling session photos taken by Charters' wife, Ann, that alone are worth the price of the set. With the glut of blues reissues out there, it is often a coin toss as where to best spend your hard-earned money. Even if you still have the original vinyl or CDs, this is one of the times when it would be best to spend the dough and add this one to your collection, because blues records seldom come as important, innovative, or just plain pleasurable to listen to as this set. File under "essential."



5. In the sixties, the Chicago blues scene was so vibrant, alive, and brimming with great blues that an enterprising producer could (and did) literally pull some of the finest second-line bluesmen off the street, hustle them into a studio, and turn them loose. The resulting three-disc set represents some of the finest blues ever made, yet no one on this session is named Muddy, Wolf, Johnson, or Hooker! Of course, Junior Wells (with Buddy Guy in tow) is brilliant, especially with his moving "Tribute to Sunny Boy" (Williamson, of course!) and his fabulous "Messin' With The Kid" (later covered by the Blues Brothers, among others). JB Hutto is amazing, sounding as raw and unpolished as Robert Nighthawk, yet every bit as soulful. His mighty, slide-fueled renditions of "Going Ahead" and "Too Much Alcohol" will leave you begging for more! (More blues AND more alcohol, too!) Otis Spann, Muddy Waters long-time pianist, closes out Disc One with five mellow-yet-intense pieces, including an extra-wonderful "Spann's Stomp". Disc Two kicks off right-as-rain with another former Muddy colleague, harp extraordinaire whiz James Cotton. His frenzied cover of Ike Turners "Rocket 88" is the standout of his set. Otis Rush contributes a superb version of "I Can't Quit You Baby", later borrowed by Led Zeppelin, while former Elmore James cohort Homesick James weighs in with his first-rate "Set a Date." If there is a weak point of this set, it happens during the third disc, with Johnny Young and his rather annoying use of "blues mandolin"; however, his rendition of "One More Time" is very good indeed. Finally, ex-Robert Johnson sidekick Johnny Shines closes out the set in chilling, thrilling style, with "Dynaflow Blues" and "Black Spider Blues", while Big Walter Horton and Memphis Charlie (Musslewhite) serve up a sizzling version of "Rockin' My Boogie". A great 47-page booklet accompanies this box set, and the photos of winter in Chi-town circa 1965 are haunting and evocative indeed. In short, this is a must-purchase, for this three-disc wonder, recorded it seems only just yesterday, will give you true pleasure from Chicago blues not only today but tomorrow and far into the future as well!!!