5 comments about Blues for Rampart Street.

1. Hey I've got two ears, even though I've only got one leg, I know great blues music, when I hear it. Ida Cox recorded soem classic blues sides in the 1920s(I have all her 78 rpm's), and she tried to make a comback here with Coleman Hawkins, and darn nearly succeeded. Her vocie was in fine shape, and she sounds wonderfully miserable thru the whole session, capturing the TRUE spirit of teh downhearted mean evil blues, that same spirit that she had in those seminal 20's sessions. Here Cox is relaxed and sounds happy to be joined by the sax jazzman great Hawkins.

   This is a historical and wonderful issue, in 1961, not many remebered Cox, and she could have made a major comeback like Mississippi John Hurt or Skip James did, however ill heakth kept her from doing so, but true blues fans gt one HECK of a treat with this classic 1961 LP, now avaialbale here at Amazon on CD!!! She covers all her trademrk sonsg with new difinitive versions of Death letter Blues, St Louis Blues and the classic Wild Women Don't Get The Blues JUST BUY IT!!!

   Bottom line: Classic blues singer, reprises her 20's songs in style with jazz legend saxman Coleman Hawkins, ESSENTIAL CD!!!




2. The days of touring in tent shows were behind her & she had settled down to the quiet life of a church woman, but Miss Ida let out her lusty croaks one more time for Riverside Records, before she passed on. She sang of death and sweet poppas with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins & Sammy Price nudging her along in what she said was her "final statement". One of the last of the great vaudeville blues women, she went out with style and plenty of soul.



3. To tell the truth,even in her young days Ida Cox never had a beautiful voice (as say,Bessie Smith)- her weapons were charisma,sex appeal,beautiful clothes and spectacular shows.So what was left of her at the age 65 and two strokes behind her were sparks of indestructible spirit,not the voice.I agree that this album sound very similar to late Billie Holiday who recorded famous "Lady In Satin" with almost no voice left at all,but spreading the blood from her heart all over the album.Some people would find old and ragged Cox hard to listen,and I must say that I prefer her glory days of early 1920's more than this,but obvious respect and tenderness that backing musicians provided for her are touching.A survivor of long gone era was singing her last time on the record and this miracoulous event was fortunately saved for us to hear forever.Her contemporaries Alberta Hunter and Sippie Wallace had more upbeat albums in their late years - but beauty of this album is comparable to dry autum leaves,fragile and unforgettable in their own way.



4. ...They had been looking and looking for her for years.

   She never responded to them because, I personally would like to think, that was a chapter of her life that she closed completely and she was singing strictly for the Lord, again. But doggone it. One of those radio fellas in her home in Knoxville found her whereabouts, hounded her for an interview, and one day in 1962 turned up on her doorsteps with an old reel-to-reel recorder.

   And so, she recounted her story.

   She left home, barely a teenager to join a group of gypsy blues and ragtime singers, black vaudevillians and the assorted raggamuffin types that hang out with those who performed in evvy backwoods juke joint and subterranean after hours spot. Her folks were religious folk who required their kids to serve in the church somehow. Ida's gift was singing. Like evvy other bluesgirl's story, when she rebelled from her folks, the four fingers in a shotglass music seduced her, and how.

   And as she got better in her craft, so did her shows get better, the songs got sexier and sassier, and evvybody, men and women alike, were coming to her performances. And she became provocative, she dressed provovative and became direct competition to the likes of Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ma Rainey. On the streets they called her 'The Sepia Mae West'. The men loved her revealing outfits.

   She wrote many of her own tunes--"Wild Women Don't Have the Blues", "One Hour Mama", "Handy Man". And was one of the first blues singers who recorded many, many of her tunes ala the way many modern singers do it today. And performed with Benny Goodman, the Count and other bands. She was at the top of her game, on top of the world.

   On top of the world until, one night in the 40's she passed out during a performance in New York. She had a stroke and what she thought was the Lord's message to get back to His work.

   She turned her back from the stage and began living with her grown daughter in Knoxville and sang only in her church choir--getting back to the Lord's work--and lived life in relative obscurity till this guy with the reel-to-reel shows up, interviewing her. And on the tape she tells stories of how she wrote certain songs, who she met on the road, and who she recalled were with various bands. What led to "Blues For Rampart Street" is that she sung a few bars of some of her songs during the taping, here and there--for the story's effect, you know.

   But, it somehow led to renewed interest in the Uncrowned Queen of the Blues and, hence, this fabuloso 1962 recording with Coleman Hawkins, et al (word has it they were gin sopped when they first sat for recording sessions). The rest, as they say, is history.

   I know, it sounds like a movie, but its true. A great story of an American original...thanks for enduring my thumbnail version of her story. But, feel free to look up the Queen further, by investigating her earlier recordings and other history.




5. Much like Billie Holiday in her later years, her voice may be rough but it's that jazz phrasing and wonderful style which is highly appealing. Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge are excellent too. Recomended to jazz collectors.

No comments about Complete Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Vol. 2: 1943-1947.

No comments about Great American Songwriters, Vol. 3: Rodgers & Hart.

2 comments about Chicago: The Living Legends.

1. There's not enough good trad jazz that's been recorded from original artists like Lil Hardin. This CD is not only a great (sound-quality) recording of her playing and singing with a rather spontaneous big band, but it really conveys the energy, spontaneity, and excitement of what a live jazz session could be. Early recordings were too cumbersome to set up for much spontaneity, or if they were of live performances, didn't have such a great sound quality. This is an awesome CD, along with a track that Lil never recorded before (Clip Joint) that's one of my favorite songs!



2. Lil Harden, will go down in history as being the 1st important female musician in jazz history, she palyed piano on most of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band sides in the early 20's, and she also played piano on the majority of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives & Sevens in the 20's, eventually she would marry Armstrong, she also composed many jazz standards which Louis Armstrong got credit for composing, she composed "Struutin' With Some Barbecue Sauce" and "Just For A Thrill." She even led some of Louis Armstrong's small groups in the 20's under the name of "Lil's Hot Shots" which were the same group as his Hot Five & Sevens. This "Chicago: The Living Legends Series" which was documenting great jazz artists from the 20's, in the early 1960's, has Lil Hardin Armstrong in a dixieland setting, all insrumental but one self composed "Clip Joint" (she sings so great on this title, that you'll wish she had recorded more vocals) Lil on piano sounds as hot as ever, and the band is consistantly hot on all of these New Orleans/Dixieland standards. "Royal Garden Blues" "Muskrat Ramble" and "Clip Joint" are just a few of the highlights of this terrific CD. Essential for Dixieland and New Orleans collectors, this is the best music that ever came out of the 60's.

No comments about Finest Vintage Jazz, Vol. 2: 1918-1940.

No comments about Finest Vintage Jazz: 1917-1941.

2 comments about If You Want It, Come and Get It.

1. Anyone who'd give Miss Irma 4 stars probably eats fried chicken with a knife and fork.
   
   Title track is worth the price of the CD.



2. Excellent CD. Good job of re-masteriing old recordings. Good selection. And a great talant

5 comments about Let's Roll.

1. ETTA JAMES is the reigning Queen of Jazz & Blues, a terrific talent with a cornucopia of soul. The featured recording LET'S ROLL highlights the artist at top form. James delivers hard rocking message of motherly advice in Somebody to Love and Trust Yourself; a full throttle rendition of The Blues is My Business (And Business is Good); a humorous duet describing the male/female romantic relationship in Stacked Deck; and a slow blues ache of a relationship at the end of the road Please, No More.
   
   Blues to the Bone



2. This is just a fabulous CD.
   
   An earlier writer said that this is an album of covers. That's not true. Most of the songs are new.



3. My mother grew up listening to Etta James, and she played her records so much when I was growing up that I couldn't help but start to like her myself. I found out about this album, Let's Roll, which she released in 2003, so I went to pick it up. But I was a little disappointed to discover that this is an album of cover songs. I have no problem with covers, but I was hoping that she would be putting out an album of all new material. Oh well, to say that she did a great job with these remakes would be an understatement.
   
   Like I said in my review title, you may not want to hear this album if you're not a fan of remakes. But you should also be careful if you're a fan of the smooth, soulful Etta James too. Because instead of picking R&B standards to cover, all of these songs are rock tracks. But she still does a good job on songs like "Somebody to Love" (by Delbert McClinton, not Jefferson Airplane) and even the `50s classic "Stacked Deck".
   
   Everything else is great too, although I don't necessarily agree with Etta's mentioning in the liner notes that these songs are as great as "At Last" (and if you've never heard of that song, don't admit that to anyone). I mean, the songs ARE great, but as great as "At Last"? That's debatable. Anyway, pick up Let's Roll to enjoy some great stuff from a music legend, and if you want to hear from another 60+ soul artist that can still kick a**, check out George Benson's Irreplaceable.
   
   Anthony Rupert



4. Just to update a previous review, "Let's Roll" received the 2004 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.



5. Since the day in 1962 when I borrowed an LP titled "At Last" I have been addicted to the voice and style of Etta James; I've amassed everything she's ever recorded. We have been the benefactor of her incredible strength in overcoming serious personal problems and returning to us in the 80s.

   If you've never actually experienced this dynamic lady but would like to begin, I would recommend you begin with "Let's Roll". This recent release captures Etta James at her most powerful and sensuous best. Every cut demonstrates her trademark style. If after experiencing "Let's Roll" you don't immediately seek out many of her other recordings, I can only assume you were born without a central nervous system. I believe this may be the best she's ever done. Now in her 60s, the lady can still bring it.

5 comments about Royal Blue.

1. Big Koko fan here and this is a great CD for fans of her music. Its not as strong as some of her other albums but she always sets the bar high.



2. 2000's "Royal Blue" is Koko Taylor's first Alligator album in seven years. It is a tough and very well-arranged collection of blues and R&B, and the overall quality of the material is very high...there really isn't a bad song to be found.
   
   The band is excellent as well, and Koko Taylor's rough voice has lost little or none of its power. Keb' Mo' plays gritty slide guitar on Taylor's self-penned acoustic "The Man Next Door", and Elmore James' piano player, the late, great Johnnie Johnson who died just a few week ago as I write this, rolls the ivories on the slow grind of "But On The Other Hand" and the swaggering album highlight "Ernestine", which also features some really great harmonica playing courtesy of Matthew Skoller.
   
   There are plenty of other memorable songs, like the bump and grind of "Bring Me Some Water" and "Don't Let Me Catch You", and the powerful opener "Save Your Breath", all of them performed with power and conviction.
   This is one of those records which get better on each subsequent listen. Fans of Koko Taylor will not want to miss it, and casual listeners should find a lot to like as well. "Royal Blue" certainly proves that Taylor is still the undisputed queen of the blues.



3. Have you read the review beneath this one? Geez!
   "For the emty headed bozo who wrote the ignorant review "Not a member of the 'mutual admiration society'", 1st of all there isn't a mutual admiratio nsociety, and blues reviewers, at leats professional ones liek me..." Honestly! Learn to spell before you start calling other people "Bozo", bozo.
   
   Koko Taylor's first studio album in seven years, "Royal Blue" is mostly an up-tempo set with guest appearances by men like Johnny Johnson, B.B. King, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Shepherd who contributes some scorching guitar on the Melissa Ethridge-penned hit single "Bring Me Some Water", and Kevin Moore (okay, Keb' Mo') plays gritty Delta slide guitar on a great acoustic "The Man Next Door", one of four originals penned by Taylor herself.
   
   The overall quality of this material is very high, the production is excellent, and so is the band. Fans will not want to miss this one.



4. For the emty headed bozo who wrote the ignorant review "Not a member of the 'mutual admiration society'", 1st of all there isn't a mutual admiratio nsociety, and blues reviewers, at leats professional ones liek me, are nOT getting paid to plug cd's, only hateful and vengeful idiots would even think that. It's just that with blues artists, it's not liek reviewing pop music, because blues is not or at least it shouldn't be commercial, it's art, so no, there are not too many bad releases, and Koko has if anything gained something in her voice, that makes it become more appeallign each year.

   I would leave a bad review for one of the Fabulous Thunderbirds cd's because they saold out to pop music, but if ther eis a alck of bad reviews in blues magazines, it's because of two things. 1) there's a lack of HATEFUL idiots like the one who wrote the "Not a member of the 'mutual admiration society'" review, so there are no spitefu lreviews. 2)There are not too many truly bad blues performances, not many artists sell out, like some of BB's rock collaboration cd's, or Cyrus cd's, or Fab. Thunderbirds.

   In any case thsi is a fine effort, from koko, and she is still in fine voice, it may be a bit overproduced with too many guests, but still it's fine, and in her typically joyous fashion of shouting in her rhaspy and juke jointish vocals.

   Great cd, worth pciking up.

   Bottom line, another great blues cd, among the thousands of good ones out there.




5. Koko Taylor showed her real rough side in the song Ernestine.She attracts new generations of my kind.Koko has a way of singing the blues on this album.I reccomend this be a nice gift for someone.This is a good Blues album.

No comments about Queen of the Delta Blues, Vol. 2.