No comments about American Roots Songbook: The Blues from Memphis to the Mississippi Delta.

1 comments about Bed Spring Poker.

1. Two cd's each over seventy minutes long. The recordings are for the most part clean and clear-much better than you would think. The artists range from well known ( Lightin' Hopkins, Bessie Smith) to somewhat obscure(Dan Pickett, Ralph Willis) but the songs are always entertaining. This area of blues music is somewhat small but is important in an overall view of the genre. The styles of music range from traditional blues to hokum to r&b. It is surprising that so many women recorded music of this kind. This is a good companion to Bill Wyman's collection Rude Dudes that was released a few years ago. The price makes this a very good buy. Don't believe the hype about all of these being rare,some of these have appearred on Rude Dudes. However,this is a compilation worth purchasing.

2 comments about Prison Songs (Historical Recordings From Parchman Farm 1947-48), Vol. 2: Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling?.

1. I heard a great arraingement of "Berta" during the movie "The Piano" which stared Charles Dutton. I thought that arraingement or at least some approximation was on this CD but it turns out that track 8 'O' Berta' is a disapointing version of that great tune. Otherwise if you like to hear these types of songs you might like this cd.



2. This collection has real feeling and that's what music is supposed to be about. I highly recommend it.

2 comments about More Crucial Guitar Blues.

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



2. This type of release from Alligator records, is good for two types of electric blues fans. The first type, is for the novice, just getting into electric blues. You can get an assortment of blues artists, with one small investment, and get to hear 12 "full" blues tunes. That's much better than hearing countless 30-second samplers. 30 seconds, at the start of an electric blues song, could just be some basic notes on a guitar, that may not even be, the actual beat and rhythm, that is the heart of the song. The second type, is for someone like Shaq, "The King Of The World Blues Reviewer". Good, new, electric blues, is very hard to find. And I spend, an enormous amount of time researching, new, and old electric blues. I bought this CD, with the same goal, that I bought, previous Alligator CD's of this genre. I felt, if I could find one artist, that I hadn't known about, or that I had heard about, but never got to hear much of, the ridiculously low purchase price was well spent. It's from CD's like this, that I "discovered", Luther Allison, Dave Hole, and Koko Taylor, among others. This CD, has a great song from Luther Allison (Will It Ever Change). A great one, from one of my six all-time favorite electric blues guitarist's, Albert Collins, (Get To Getting). It has one of the rockiness' songs, I've ever heard from Little Charlie & The Nightcats, (You Got Your Hooks In Me), it includes, a great Lonnie Brooks cut, (You Know What My Body Needs (Live)), and a guy I have never heard of Lucky Peterson, who has a song "Don't Cloud Up On Me", that is good enough, for me to practice, what I just preached to you, and investigate him further. All this for under $8.00! How can you not take a chance and buy this? Isn't your time, worth more than $8.00, to try and find new and unknown (to you) electric blues artists, in one swoop? Instead of listening to countless 30-second sound bites? Plus, Shaq just lessened your risk, by sharing this review with you! You can thank me, by rating this a helpful review. I've made this purchase, for you and me. I'll let you know, in future reviews, how my investigating turns out. P.S. I wish I had someone to help me like this.

5 comments about House of Blues: Essential Women in Blues.

1. This is one CD I never tire of! Everyone I have turned on to this CD feels the same way! The music is timeless.



2. While it's a good sampler cd (as are all the Essential Blues from the House of Blues series), I have one complaint:
   The formating of the discs from this pressing seem to be VERY tempermental for some computer cd drives.



3. Every time I hear a really great blues recording, like this one, I realize anew that this is where we achieved our finest moment in making a permanent, unassailable contribution to modern music. If you hear other, more modern, and most especially WHITE singers, doing these numbers, they are NOT the ones that did it first. Black Americans are the absolute center of this music and these women, every single one of them, is the real thing, the first modern musical artists. I really liked the idea too of breaking these albums up into special sectors with this one focusing solely on the authentic blues women. The male artists in this genre are very different from the women so it really makes sense to listen to them separately. Sometimes I feel as if the UKers might be leaving us in the dust musically but not when I listen to this album and the others like it, forming the core of America's musical contribution to the best of what we hear today. I think this would make an especially great gift to a friend in another country who thinks our major contribution was Elvis Presley. In fact, it might even make a great gift for Americans who remain oblivious to this national heritage and contribution!



4. This is a great CD set for the Blues afficionato as well as those just getting their feet wet. The songs cover the spectrum from classic to contemporary, and the recording sounds excellent. The closest thing I have to a complaint about it is that it might have been nice if the songs were organized more chronologically so that the musical and stylistic evolutions were more gradual and kinder to the listening ear. Still, this is by far my favorite collection, and my most listened to blues CD.



5. This is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable and fun CD sets I've heard in a long time. I am even ordering two more sets for a friend to give as gifts. It would be hard to pick favorites here, but Ruth Brown, Candye Kane, Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith would be at the top. Anyone who likes vintage and contemporary blues would do well to buy this set.

5 comments about Not the Same Old Blues Crap.

1. WARNING: Listening to this CD will warp your perception of blues music. Anyone within earshot will conclude that you are, indeed, insane. Playing the CD with the windows open will kill your lawn. Do not handle this CD without protective gloves. Sanitize your CD player after each play.
   
   Fat Possum has released three compilations of their stable of artists. This is the first in the series and most potent. This is rough, raw, in your face blues peformed mostly by old men who have lived hard lives. You will either love it or hate it. I love it.
   
   You have been warned.



2. Not everything on here is great, but if you're at all open-minded about the blues, you need to listen to this record.
   
   It's raw, it's unfiltered, it's unproduced, it's authentic, it's brilliant in spots.
   
   It's cheap, buy it now.



3. I bought this CD from Amazon because it was shockingly inexpensive and I wanted to pad out an order. I wasn't expecting great things; I hoped merely that I hadn't wasted the meager amount of money I'd spend. Boy, was I happy when I finally played this. This is great!

   The blues. A genre which can communicate untold pain, depthless heartache and a universe of suffering. Or it can encompass songs like "Crack Whore Blues", which is exactly what you would expect it to be from the title. The tracks on here are vibrant and alive. This is wonderfully thrilling, foot-tapping stuff that can be serious on the few occasions that it wants to be.

   Since this is a sampler compilation containing disparate artists, it's difficult to sum up this album in a few paragraphs. We go all the way from rompy throwaway musical jokes right into genuinely soulful lyrics. But the one constant is quality. What many of the performers lack in technical ability, they more than make up for in enthusiasm. This is a release from a tiny record label with no terribly big names, which goes a long way towards explaining the emotion.

   The liner notes are absolutely hideous -- green text written on a purple background. It makes my eyes water just thinking about it. There's also a funny gag on the back, which I shall not spoil here.

   As a sampler, the idea is to throw as much onto the disc as possible and hope that the customer likes at least one or two selections enough to purchase a full album. They've convinced me; I have some shopping to do. Anyone with even a passing interest in the blues should pick up this one. You can do it without breaking the bank, and, unless you're familiar with the artists already, you'll be hearing the blues like you haven't quite heard them before.




4. I'm a fan of Mr. Burnside, so getting this was easy, and enjoying it easier even. This is not revolutionary music by any means, but it is refreshingly wild and iconoclastic. Get it, it is fun



5. As a long time blues fan and blues musician I have heard lots of blues, but rarely have I heard a steaming pile of unlistenable rubbish like this collection.As if the back cover art of some old fool wearing a nazi hat, smoking a plastic cigar and wearing a dog collar wasn't warning enough- the front cover art of someone wearing a gas mask should have been. Perhaps he got a whiff of the contents of this cd. Even at [price] it is grossly over-priced.

No comments about The Blues Scene.

1 comments about New Blues Classics.

1. This is my FAVORITE blues cd! It has all the flavor of traditional blues music, but with a very contemporary sound. This is going to be one of YOUR favorites too. I have loaned this cd out many, many times, the last time it didn't come back. This is the ONLY site I could find it on. I will be re-purchasing it. Forget the music stores, You won't find it. If you buy it and DON'T like it, contact me, I will buy it from you! Then when everyone asks to use it, I'll just give them a copy for themselves. DON'T forget to listen to the demos!

No comments about Front Porch Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Instrument.

2 comments about Crucial Slide Guitar Blues.

1. Nice idea .. a slide guitar compilation from Alligator .. so why no Lil' Ed and Imperials? no tracks from the classic Whoopin' Johnny Winter /Willie Dixon / Sonny Terry release.No Roy Buchanan some gaps here ..need a re-think If your gonna do it , do it right That goes for entire crucial series don't use outtakes if they are not up to par .... bring Bruce back from semi retirement .. Koester is(still) on the ball jack...I'm just jokin'



2. What can I say, Alligator knows how to name CDs. This Truly is a Crucial must have CD series. This CD is a blast of guitar greats just rolling out one after another. Johnny Winter sets the pace and gets the ball rolling with a hard rocking number named "It's My Life, Baby". Screaming guitars cutting the axe are heard on almost all twelve tracks. Notables on this CD are Bonnie Raitt who appears with A.C. Reed, Elvin Bishop, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, Corey Harris who has a wonderful acoustic number and the late Hound Dog Taylor. Also there is two tracks from "Hound Dog Taylor: A Tribute". This CD is a must have for any new comer to blues tradition and all guitar fans.