1 comments about I Heard It on NPR: Shake These Blues.

1. There are some great surprises on this compilation. Some of the tracks are classic blues tunes but are not played by the same old artists you hear doing them every time. My favorite cut is a fine rendition of "How Long Before I Change My Clothes" by Alvin Youngblood Hart. There's lots of great archieval stuff on here but some sweet tunes by newer artists as well.

5 comments about D.C. Blues: Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 2.

1. I love this album. Mississippi John Hurt has such a soothing voices. This is a must for any blues fan, or anyone who likes to listen to music for that matter.
   
   Being from Arkansas near where the blues originated, I have been able to attend many blues festivals and hear many artists. Mississippi John Hurt ranks on the top of great blues musicians.



2. This recording along with Vol. 1 really capture John Hurt at his finest. I prefer these to the later Vanguard recording.



3. I have all of Missispi John Hurt's recordings-and this one is the worst-the live the best.
   
   Clearly sitting in front of a mike(you a Black man) with two white people watching you is null of inspiration. Clearly the electronics was poor (1950-60) The guitar sounds decrepit and run-down at the heels. The voicing is good but...all the rest is uninspiring.
   To collectors i say get it-and then compare it with "Missisipi John Hurt Live"



4. Been listening to John since the mid 60's. Love the guy, and study and play his tunes for no reason other than the pure joy of it. Recently picked this up. Wow! Until I heard these recordings, I would positively tell you that "Today!", produced lovingly by Patrick Skye, was absolutely the best Hurt album ever. Now it has some competition. This album brings out new aspects of Hurt. I particularly liked Disc 2. You should do yourself a favor and get this.



5. If you are newly interested in Mississippi John Hurt and looking for a good musical intro to his music, I dare say that this recording may not be your best choice; recording quality and performance quality could be better. The Vanguard "Complete Studio Sessions" 3-CD set might well be a better intro to the music of John Hurt.
   
   If however you are a serious John Hurt fan, then this 2-CD set (previously available only in Europe) would be essential to your collection. Some songs found on this collection are not available elsewhere. In addition, some versions of previously available songs (guitar arrangements, keys, and lyrics) are different on this recording. As usual, the performances are always charming.
   
   Moreover, this CD provides an unvarnished picture of how Mr. Hurt was playing, right at the very beginning of his "rediscovery" period circa 1963. His technique is not nearly as smooth as it was to become just a year or so later. On some songs, the guitar is out of tune; I know this doesn't sound like a 4-star recording per se, but, for the John Hurt afficionado, it really adds to the total picture provided by the man's recorded legacy. And the other thing too... he was such an interesting fellow.... it's great to hear an occasional verbal comment or two made before and after takes.
   
   In short: I have been listening to this guy for 40 years, and it sure is nice to encounter another batch of recordings from MJH.

5 comments about Mr. Wizard.

1. BEING A 56 YEARS YOUNG ENGLISHMAN, WITH MUSICAL TASTES FROM SINATRA, MATT MONROE, ELVIS, THE BEATLES TO - WELL AS AN ABSOLUTE LED ZEPPELIN FANATIC, I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS MAN IS NOW ON TOP OF MY PLAYLIST ON MY PC, ABOVE LED ZEPP, AND THAT HAS BEEN A TOUGH DECISION. I CAME ACROSS THIS GUY ON A BBC RADIO 2 SATURDAY MORNING SHOW, AND THE REST IS HISTORY!! HE HAS THE BEST GUTTERAL TONES, GUITAR, HOME FEELINGS FROM THE DELTA, IT IS PURE MAGIC. THANKS RLB FOR INTRODUCING ME TO A STYLE I HAD NEVER HEARD OF. IT IS A GREAT JOY TO ME THAT I FOUND YOUR MUSIC JUST BEFORE YOU LEFT FOR BLUES HEAVEN.. I SAY -BUY THIS MAN'S MUSIC, IT IS GENIUS...



2. What can I say this Cd kicks. Paked full raw unadulterated electric slide guitar just dripping with distortion. The first song is alittle weak compared to the rest of the disk, but the second song is so great it more than makes up for it. The slide guitar on the fourth track "Snake Drive" is amazing, listen how Kenny brown realy gets into it. Buy it!!



3. It was the fall of '97 and I was minding my business, scarfing some bargains from a local new & used music store, when over the shop stereo came blaring what I can only rather lamely describe as a 'skronk stomp' punctuated by sporadic, though authoritative, vocals and frenzied (and occasionally wah-wah'ed) slide guitar -- all ending with an appropriate "Well, well!" Thus my introduction to the song "Snake Drive", and the man -- R.L. Burnside. Thankfully I have never been much of a purist in regard to anything, and the blues is certainly no exception to my personal rule. This is gutbucket blues with some splattered brains and a couple displaced eyeballs added to the (un)savory mess. Believe the other reviewers when they tell you how raw and nasty -- and doggone satisfying -- this CD is. As a fringe benefit the Jon Spencer & Co. emissions are kept to a minimum on this release (I know it's hard ,Jon, but keep it in your pants...you and your boys already popped your cork all over 'A Ass Pocket of Whiskey'). As for you folks who count yourself in the purist camp...not to worry...Burnside has released a bit of good acoustic material as well as a great CD of more traditional electric blues 'Too Bad Jim'. Fanciers of 'Mr. Wizard may want to give R.L.'s 2001 live release 'Burnside on Burnside a spin. To me it's all good as long as it hasn't been copiously spewed upon by wannabes or overtly tweaked by Fat Possum executives. Enjoy this drunk or sober it's 99.44% raunch...and, in terms of the blues, you can't get much purer than that.



4. R.L. Burnside is a god among fans of dirty Delta Blues. His music makes you wanna get up and move, and if you don't, your listening to the wrong music. One of my favorite tracks has to be "Rollin' & Tumblin'," which is the base song of the remix "It's Bad You Know" from the album "Come on In." You can't help but smile when you listen to the fast paced and loud "Snake Drive" as his entire band goes to town. He is undoubtedly one of the best artists under Fat Possum Records (or anywhere for that matter), just about every album of his kicks out that nitty-gritty Delta vibe, but this one of Burnside's albums that does it the best. His soulful music is what real blues fans should be looking for. Buy it.



5. This CD is raw & electric - and one of my all time favorites. I agree with one reviewer who said that he keeps trying to find another R.L. CD with this much energy, but can't. I doubt we ever will. If you like the "quieter", more traditional style of "Too Bad Jim", you may not find this to your taste. But for raw power and emotion, you won't find anything else like it. I think that's why I've played it so much over the past 5 years - it's just different. First you get lulled by "Over The Hill" and then crashed into with "Alice Mae". Also, check out the often overlooked gem on this collection - "Tribute To Fred". The range on this CD is about as big as the style allows. You'll reach for this whenever you don't want to hear the same old sounds.

2 comments about Live at Gaslight Cafe, 1965.

1. Eddie James "Son" House was born in 1902 and was one of the earliest blues musicians in the 1920's playing with Charlie Patton and even serving as an early mentor to Robert Johnson until Johnson left town and "sold his soul to the devil" for his amazing skills.
   
   It is amazing that with such a paucity of recordings, this Baptist bluesman's status could forever be forged in the annals of American music as legendary. Son House recorded a mere 7 Paramount sides in 1930, some field recordings by Alan Lomax in 1941 & 1942, and some sessions in 1965 after his "rediscovery." He put the guitar down around 1942 because, as he stated in an interview in the 1960's, all of his friends were dying, from Charlie Patton to Robert Johnson......he simply thought he would be next if he kept on playing. And so he put his guitar down for 20 plus years.
   
   Outside of the three times he officially recorded in the field or in studio sessions, there is not a lot of material for the avid fan of Son House. Luckily for us, we have recordings such as "Live at the Gaslight in 1965." He may not have the white-hot intensity of the 1930 Paramount sessions, but the intensity is there nonetheless. And we are witness to a soft spoken Son House as he talks very softly between songs.......for me, this is what I enjoy the most even though the music is fantastic. He doesn't say much, but his soft spoken words contrast starkly with his singing and presence. Listening to this album is like finding a treasure, a treasure to be savored and enjoyed partly because it is a testament to one of the all time great names in the genre of the blues. And partly because sadly, there is simply a dearth of recordings by Son House. When the audience applauds in gentle claps, you get the distinct impression that they do not know how great the figure in front of them will ultimately prove to be.
   
   Enjoy the songs on this album.....they were made by a master who to this very day is the epitome of delta blues.
   
   4 1/2 stars.



2. Even if he hadn't influenced anyone, even if historically he was a 19 year old kid from Shirley, Long Island, even if this recording at just been waxed last night, this is good, essential blues listening, you won't want to stop listening, you wont stop seeing the scenes of the blues that the songs make, you won't stop swaying at the power and swing of his guitar playing and singing. On here, my song is Preachin the Blues. I know you will have yours.

   Son House taught Robert Johnson the slide blues. Son House taught Muddy Waters. When Son House started performing at Blues festivals again in the mid 1960s, some of Muddy's younger band members would start to go off for a smoke or whatever when the old man came on stage. Muddy wouldn't let them. Muddy Waters would tell all his band members to be quiet and pay attention when the man played because even compared with Muddy, this was the real deal.

   Rediscovered in Rochester, New York, relearning to play the guitar, (how this country abuses the masters that come from its people, particularly its Black people), put back on the stage by the folk revival's blues section, House made recordings that reproduced his old masterpies, with a wrier sense of meaning than before.

   People outside of the blues life focus on the guitar playing or the rhythm of the singing, but where the power comes from is the feeling and the words that are put together, the life and the meaning of the blues. Son House in his youth and his old age, on this and his other sides, always gave it.

   So Like Muddy Waters, I would like you to know that
   Son House is the real deal.
   Listen and learn

3 comments about Shake Your Moneymaker: The Best of the Fire Sessions.

1. Why the reservations?
   Well, this collection only focuses on Elmore James' recordings for Bobby Robinson in the early 60s. He did remake many of his early hits for Robinson's Fire, Fury and Enjoy labels, and often in even better versions, but a few early-50s classics are missing, so "Shake Your Moneymaker" doesn't really work as a definitive Elmore James-compilation.
   
   But let's forget about what's not here for a moment, and look at what is:
   "Shake Your Moneymaker: The Best Of The Fire Sessions" gathers sixteen songs from the "King Of The Slide Guitar" box set, perfectly showcasing Elmore James' incredibly intense, slide guitar-driven electric blues. James was equally at home playing a smouldering slow blues like "The Sky Is Crying", and laying down raw, rollicking numbers like "Look On Yonder Wall" and his magnificent, fiery take on Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom". He always sang like he meant it, and he possessed a huge, emotional wail of a voice, imbuing everything from slow numbers and mid-tempo grinds to up-tempo ravers with passion and power.
   
   The track selection is not 100% perfect, but it's very good, and several of these songs rank among the very best of electric Chicago blues, right up there with the greatest of Muddy Waters' and Howlin' Wolf's songs: "Shake Your Moneymaker", "Sunnyland", "Dust My Broom", "The Sky Is Crying", "Standing At The Crossroads", and a great rendition of Robert Nighthawk's "Anna Lee". ("It Hurts Me Too" is missing, though, which is a crime.)
   
   "The Sky Is Crying: The History Of Elmore James" from Rhino Records remains the ultimate Elmore James-collection, featuring 21 songs and spanning his entire career, but this is a very good overview of his superb Fire, Fury and Enjoy recordings. Just remember that if you opt for this one, you need "The Best Of Elmore James - The Early Years" from Ace Records as well. That terrific 28-track compilation is the best place to go for all of James' gritty early-50s classics for the Meteor, Modern and Flair labels.



2. Elmore James is one of the most influential and imitated guitarists of all time. He is probably the most influential electric slide-guitarist of all time. His recordings have been covered many, many times throughout music history, including many on this CD. This is a collection of James' best recordings from his late-50's, early 60's stint with Fire Records. Many of his classics can be found here including Dust My Broom (one of the most covered blues songs of all time), The Sky is Crying, Done Somebody Wrong, Shake Your Money Maker, Anna Lee, I'm Worried, and Look On Yonder Wall. There are some classic songs missing from this CD, however, so this should not be your only Elmore James collection. There are informative liner notes, and the remastered sound is excellent.

   Some of the rock artists that were influenced by Elmore James are the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Canned Heat, George Thorogood, The Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix and Paul Butterfield. This is a great CD to introduce anyone to Elmore James. Just don't stop here.




3. Elmore James I could listen to every day; there's something very reassuring about him. This is his best stuff, recorded for Bobby Robinson around 1960. Blues don't get no better than "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "Look On Yonder Wall" and "Stranger Blues." For years I've owned various LPs, some of which sound as though they were mastered from records in Denmark...and it's great to have this collection, with excellent sound. My favorite Elmore James moment, though, isn't on this compilation, but you can find it on the Collectables LP "The Complete Fire and Enjoy Sessions, Part 4," something called "Back in Mississippi." Elmore discourses on where to find the best-looking women: "I'm gonna tell you one damn thing, Jack, Mississippi has got just the prettier women than there is any goddamn where in the United States...and brother, I've been around."

2 comments about Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy.

1. What an incredible performer! We first saw Samuel play last year in New Hampshire and he just blew us away. "Songs Famed for Sorrow and Joy" is a very exciting first album. Every song is his own. Buy the album and then check his schedule on his MySpace page and go see him!



2. Samuel James is a great, young Bluesman. He isn't quite at the level of Alvin Youngblood Hart and Corey Harris, the two greatest players alive today, but still has a lot to bring to the table. What he lacks in guitar-playing ability he makes for with his great story-telling quality and his voice. He is an extremely original lyricist. "Love & Mumbly Peg" and "Baby-Doll" are extremely enjoyable. James is a real throwback to the Country Bluesmen of yesteryear and is under thirty years of age, to the best of my knowledge. He can be easily contacted on MySpace. He's definitely an artist to watch; we'll be able to see him progress and become one of the true greats some day. "The Sad Ballad of Ol' Willie Chan" sounds like nothing else the Blues has ever produced. At his best, he is a mixture of Bob Dylan and Furry Lewis.

3 comments about Before The Blues: The Early American Black Music Scene, Vol. 1.

1. Love the music - had duplicates of some tracks from the Harry Smith set & elsewhere, but much was new to me, especially the non-blues string band tunes. Highlight might be 'Deep Blue Sea Blues,' which I'd of course always associated with Muddy's 'Catfish Blues' from later; terrific version included here.
   Only negative comment on the liner notes is the clear aim to present an argument that white music had a bigger influence on early black music than frequently allotted. Not that I disagree with the point, but the way it's brought home made me feel a bit like they were pointing out _every time_ a black performer sounded 'white,' but in the case of the white performers, their race is almost never mentioned.
   All in all though made me rethink my ideas on the origins of blues music, on how blues went from being a song form to a genre, on the influence of 'country' on blues, and the co-existence of blues along with various other less celebrated black traditions in the 1920s.



2. In their usual meticulous way, the good people at Yazoo have brought to light a (mostly) forgotten collection of old tunes that shine a light on where we've been.

   What we get is a generous, thought-provoking mosaic of our musical heritage. As has been stated before, in the early days, there wasn't much discernible difference between how blacks and whites presented their music. This three-volume set of CD's stuffed near to overflowing with carefully restored songs, takes us back to that time and in doing so reminds us that no matter how richly varied the branches may be our roots are the same. Musical variety is truly a spice of life, which can best be appreciated when the universal foundation of our brother- and sisterhood is kept squarely in sight. A very grateful thank you to Yazoo for tending the flame.




3. This collection is almost more folk than blues, or perhaps it is a collection of blues songs when the genre was defined differently; in either case, it's something that anyone really interested in the history and progression of blues music should check out. Maybe listen to old-school John Lee Hooker (The Complete 50's Chess Recordings, for example) or a Lead Belly album to get more of an idea what this is like, much more Delta-blues-sounding than Chicago. If for no other reason, pick this up for the great track buy Mississippi John Hurt, one of my personal favorites.

5 comments about Mississippi to Mali.

1. Corey Harris is a great bluesman. No doubt about that. He has a very eclectic style much like a younger version of Taj Mahal. My problem with this CD, as a previous reviewer mentioned, are the tracks recorded in Mali. Exactly what is that ping-pong sounding instrument anyway? These tracks get very distracting and I find my self skipping past these tracks now when I listen to this CD. Leave these tracks off and this is a much more solid set. If you're new to Corey's music this probably isn't the place to start. For a much more consistent CD of his check out "Greens From The Garden" which is excellent.



2. The CD insert has a great quote "the roots of a tree cast no shadow". It is attributed to no one, on the sleeve it simply says, "As they say". I don't know who "they" are but after listening to this CD, "they" are right. The roots are presented exquisitely from "Mississippi to Mali". One can hear it in the notes, the rhythms and the sounds of the instruments and it clearly speaks one word, "Blues".
   
   It starts right out with a beautiful acoustic solo song titled "Coahoma". The sweet guitar picking and slide work are just a peek into what is to come. Roots Blues at its best. The next song has a feel of a front porch somewhere in the south with "Corey" on vocals, guitar, "Bobby Rush" on harmonica and "Sam Carr" on drums performing the traditional "Big Road Blues".
   
   "The idea for this CD came about through my participation in Martin Scorsese"s PBS series, The Blues". "Corey Harris". The African connection begins to make it self known as Corey Harris plays vocals and guitar on the "Skip James" tune "Special Rider Blues" accompanied by "Ali Farka Toure" on njarka (a one string violin) and "Souleyman Kane on percussion. It is a haunting rendition of this classic. The rhythms of the njarka and "Souleyman's" percussion will make your hair stand on end.
   
   "Tamalah" the title of the next track introduces "Ali Magassa" on backup vocal. "Ali Farka Toure" wrote this song. The lyrics are African and the music is blues. There is a sad soulful quality to this track with a solid backbeat.
   
   "Back Atcha" by "Sharde Thomas" the granddaughter and protégé of fife and drum master Otha Turner. The CD is dedicated to him as he passed one week before he was to record for this project. It features "The Rising Star Fife and Drum band with Corey on vocals, guitar and "Sharde" on fife and vocals. This is Mississippi backcountry fife and drum at it's finest.
   
   With "Rokie" the next track we find ourselves back to Mali enjoying sweet rhythms under a tree shaded from the sun. To quote "Corey Harris" "I wanted to demonstrate the living links between African music and African-American music, specifically the blues and its offspring: jazz, funk, r&b and hip hop. The connection has been made and done beautifully.
   
   In the remaining tracks "Le Chanson Des Bozos" the living roots are clearly established. "Mr. Turner" is a slow blues featuring "Sam Carr" on drums and "Bobby Rush" on harmonica with "Corey Harris" on vocals and guitar. This has that old blues feel all the way through.
   
   The traditional "Station Blues" with the "Rising Star Fife and Drum Band" is sure to get your toes tapping with its solid rhythms. Your sure to be impressed with the Africanized version of "Skip James" "Cypress Grove'. The feel of this CD is one of a labor of love and it is clearly evident connection between Mississippi and Mali, more to the point between African and African American music. The roots are there for all to see, if you let the music in.
   
   The album ends with a moving rendition of "Blind Willie Johnson's" "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" which showcases Corey's acoustic slide skills. This is fine body of work from a most reverent player of the blues.
   
   Jack "Sulli" Sullivan



3. For this celebration of earthy acoustic music, scholar and bluesman extraordinaire Corey Harris trekked to Mississippi and Mali, West Africa, to make a series of modern field recordings. Stateside, Harris cut resonator slide tracks with fife-and-drum musicians; in Mali, his bandmates included the great Ali Farka Toure on guitar. The resulting performances -- a mix of traditional blues and African melodies, songs by Skip James and Blind Willie Johnson, and originals by Harris and Toure -- are as spontaneous and relaxed as a back porch pickin' session. Through his music, Harris reminds us of the rhythmic, melodic, and spiritual connection between traditional African sounds and early American blues. If you're bummed by the slick production values of contemporary blues guitar albums, the dry, present tones and relentless funk of these tracks will set you right.



4. I'm a huge music fan and love all kinds of music, especially The Blues, owning around 100 blues CDs, including a few others by Corey Harris; I've even seen him perform live, and would consider myself a fan.

   This CD is related to Corey's participation in Martin Scorsese's PBS documentary about The Blues, and attempts (rather successfully) to draw the links between American Blues and its African roots through collaboration with modern-day African musicians. There are new originals, a tribute to recently-passed Otha Turner (who was to have played on the album), and a number of excellent covers of classic blues tunes (Big Road Blues, Special Rider Blues, Station Blues, 44 Blues, Catfish Blues, Dark Was The Night...) that many blues fans will be familiar with, collaborations with African music star Ali Farka Toure (a superb guitarist/vocalist) and others, along with American blues artists like Bobby Rush.

   OK, so far so good -- a good concept for a blues journey, and quality music performed by quality musicians all converge towards excellent music and performances.

   But there is a MAJOR problem with this album -- about 1/2 of the songs (any songs that have Souleyman Kane playing percussion on them) were extremely poorly recorded. The problem is that the percussionist plays some very loud percussion instruments (I have no idea what exactly they are) that sound exactly like people playing ping-pong. And he plays them loudly and constantly throughout the entire song -- so much so that it sounds like someone is playing a ping-pong game in front of my stereo, obscuring the vocals, guitars, and whatever else is on the recording! Those songs should be labled as "Souleyman Kane featuring other musicians and vocalists far in the background". He is a talented and interesting percussionist, don't get me wrong, but he's not the reason I'm listening to this music.

   This sort of recording quality problem might be excused from a classic field recording made in the 1920's or 1930's, but there is absolutely no excuse for this sort of problem to be heard on a recording made in 2002 & 2003! OK, I realize that they made many of the recordings in remote Mali, but that is no excuse for the engineers not to listen back to the recordings and adjust the setup so that you can hear the instruments in proper balance (I've done a bit of recording engineering myself in the past, so I know a bit about the subject). I could even excuse this issue if it only existed for a song or 2 if they noticed and then corrected it, but it is really problematic throughout 8 of the 15 songs!

   You may think I'm just a stickler for a good recording, but I am not -- it REALLY detracts from enjoying the music -- after a while you'll find that the only thing you're hearing on the songs is the ping-pong sound. Check out some of the other reviews if you don't believe me -- I'm not the only one commenting on this.

   If you decide to buy this CD, you will probably find yourself listening to the whole thing once and then subsequently programming your CD player to play only the 7 songs on the disc without the percussionist. Then you'll have a 5-star (if short) CD. Otherwise I give this 5 stars for 7 of the songs, 2 stars for the other 8, averaging out to about 3 stars.




5. Mississippi to Mali was the second Corey Harris CD I have purchased after buying "Downhome Sophisticate", which was good, but not as influential as this one. His music combines African-American Delta Blues with that of the Traditional Folk of the Old World (Africa). Being an african-american myself the musical journey is most refreshing and permits me to look on life at a better perspective than I would off some crappy violent urban rap/hip-hop that pollutes America's airways along with pop culture of corporate America. The cd insert gives information on the background of the various pieces, but the album itself has heightened my interest in learning more about the international context. I recommend it most highly to anyone.

2 comments about Hoochie Coochie Man: Complete Chess Masters, Vol. 2: 1952-1958.

1. Imagine, it is 1931 and Robert Johnson comes home to Robert Lockwood Jr.'s home in Helena bringing a young man who calls himself "W. M." (actually, if you pushed him young Alex "Rice" Miller would have told you that he was "Willie Miller" actually his brother's name. Robert, Robert Jr. and Sonny Boy live on the Helena, Arkansas side of the Mississippi River. By the late 1930s W. M. now calling himself "Sonny Boy" and Robert Jr. are playing electric guitar and harmonica through car radios and juke boxes. Later they would call it "Chicago Blues." In 1941, Sonny Boy began a radio show on a new radio station KFFA in Helena and soon invited the now recording artist Robert Lockwood Jr. to join him. King Biscuit Time took the delta by storm as it was the only radio show in the area featuring a local black artist. Sonny Boy would play Muddy Waters' wedding and a few years later Muddy would move to Chicago because Sonny Boy had all the good gigs. Robert Jr. would follow him and in the 1940s remind him of Robert Johnson's repertoire which Muddy would rewrite and record. In the mid-1940s Muddy Waters would buy his first electric guitar long after "Chicago Electric Blues" was "invented".Sonny Boy would stay in the delta where he ruled the roost and Robert Jr. would end up heading the house band at Chess/Checker studios. Sonny Boy would not record until 1950 for Trumpet and 1955 for Checker where he would be reunited with Muddy Waters and Robert Jr.When Sonny Boy went to Europe for the American Folk Blues Festival in 1963, Muddy Waters had not had a hit in America in eight years. Sonny Boy was the inspiration for more English blues rockers than any one and more tributes to him were written than any other blues man including Muddy Waters. He just died in 1965 and Muddy was blues king by default. One was not better than the other; they were both equally brilliant and unique as was Little Walter (who drank too much) and Howlin' Wolf (who was sitting down to play by then). Explore the whole history which is much deeper than just Muddy Waters who had the best promoter at the right time and outlived most of them.Enjoy this and hope they do the same for Sonny Boy Williamson II.



2. I do have one complaint with this release from Hip-O Select, and it deals with the packaging. Although it LOOKS incredibly handsome on the surface, they have the discs fitting into these tight cardboard slots that are tailor-made to get the discs scratched up, and that's just ridiculous. In this day and age, these guys should really know better.
   
   Still, I say hunker down and grab a couple spare jewel cases to put the two discs of this set in. Because they are truly incredible discs. Muddy was playing with a rhythm section by the time where this set begins--he was in absolute peak form, and innovating in ways that may go underappreciated nowadays but shouldn't be dismissed.
   
   Due to the strict chronological sequencing and thoroughness of the set, there are cases where the same song appears twice in a row, but it's hardly a problem, because songs like the riffy "She's All Right" and the stomping "Baby Please Don't Go" are so great that you won't mind hearing them twice in a row, and the little differences between the two versions are intriguing.
   
   A case can be made that Muddy Waters paved the way for rock & roll more than any other performer. Beyond that though, his music is simply timeless, and resonates in a way those who followed in his footsteps (i.e. the Rolling Stones) have been woefully unable to duplicate. Yes, Muddy's vocals are obviously the REAL DEAL. But also a key 'secret weapon' was Little Walter's brilliant, utterly natural and earthy harmonica playing--just listen for his absolutely hair-raising solo on "I Just Want To Make Love To You" to cite one example.
   
   This wonderful two disc set piles up one soulful classic after another, whether it's the irresistibly swaggering "I'm Ready", "Don't Go No Farther", and "Rock Me", the mind-blowingly swinging-yet-gutsy "Trouble No More", or mournful slow blues numbers like "Standing Around Crying" or "Sad, Sad Day", just to name half a dozen more in addition to the ones mentioned previously.
   
   A couple songs, particularly "Hoochie Coochie Man", have absolutely been done to death, both by Muddy's own endless re-recordings, not to mention all the other artists' covers, but that's a minor gripe.
   Ultimately, this set is a treasure. Just buy it, it's beyond essential.

5 comments about Chess Blues Classics: 1957-1967.

1. I have recently done a few commentaries on the legendary Sun Records label that produced more than its share of both black blues and white rockabilly stars as well as a galaxy of early rock and roll idols and classic songs. If one were to ask what other record company might have had such influence in those days that natural response should be Chicago's Chess Records that caught many of the black blues artists as they headed North to reach their own stardom once the limits of what Memphis had to offer a black recording artist gave out. This album is a 50th Anniversary tribute to many of those who made stardom or, at least, were one-shot johnnies (and janes) on that label from 1957-67.
   
   No Chess Record tribute can be complete, can moreover even be considered as such, unless the name Howlin' Wolf is mentioned. He is represented here by one of the all time great blues songs (and maybe rock and roll as well) Little Red Rooster (as well as Sitting on Top of The World). I know I flipped out the first time I heard it covered by Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones in the early 1960's. When I heard the Wolf do it I went crazy. Others who stand out here are a litany of blues greats- Etta James, Koko Taylor, Elmore James and on and on. But here is the tip of the day. What you are getting this for is the Wolf's Little Red Rooster (okay, maybe also for Elmores's Madison Blues) and that is just fine.



2. A short and sweet review:
   
   If you like Chicago Blues but don't know a whole lot about them, this isn't a bad compilation. But if you prefer the accoustic sound of real Southern blues, especially Delta Blues, you're going to be very disappointed. This is NOT Robert Johnson's blues. This sounds loud...it sounds electric...it sounds BIG. Rock 'n' Roll evolved directly from the Chicago Blues sound in the mid-50s, and the music here actually demonstrates a backwards flow...in the late-50s and early-60s, Chicago Blues was being influenced by the Rock 'n' Roll it had spawned a few years earlier.
   
   There's nothing wrong with that...as long as you like that sound. This reviewer doesn't.



3. The Chess Blues Classics. Bellisimo, Baby. Great for an intro to the Chicago style post-Delta electric blues music--heck, this is great even if you're a longtime fan. This chronicles Chess Records move to their Michigan Ave. digs and the consolidating of some of their satellite small record companies into one big happy homestead. Bass man extraordinaire Willie Dixon becomes the Chess A & R man, and these Blues? They wail, Man, they wail! Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy, Howlin', Etta, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy!!!! When the Buddy Guy track comes on, you notice how much smoother the recording technology, hence, the Blues itself, becomes. A Little Milton cut has sessionmen Charles Stepney on piano and Maurice White on drums. Etta James house rocks a live audience in Nashville. Willie gives a tune to KoKo Taylor. And Hooker does the Last Call...will you love this? Do you have to ask?



4. Like its companion volume, "Chess Blues Classics 1947-1956", this CD offers some of the best tracks by some of the best blues musicians of Chicago's famed Chess label.
   One or two selections are debatable, and "Chess Blues Classics" is of no interest to the more experienced blues fan in that it doesn't include any rarities. But if you're a newcomer and would like to explore classic electric blues, this is a very fine place to start doing so.
   
   "Chess Blues Classics 1957-1967" includes two excellent cuts by harp legend Aleck 'Rice' Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II), namely "Help Me" and the magnificent "Fattening Frogs For Snakes", as well as fine selections by John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, and legendary bluesmen Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and slide guitarist Elmore James. And Otis Rush's too rarely heard "So Many Roads, So Many Trains", with its smouldering slow guitar solo, is here as well.
   
   Several of these tracks count among the greatest electric blues performances ever issued, including Howlin' Wolf's "Little Red Rooster" and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".
   4 1/2 stars. A great place to start.



5. I bought this CD 4 years ago, not knowing a whole lot about the blues, and it is now one of my favorite albums. An excellent anthology of the classic blues. Anyone who considers themselves a music fan should listen to this CD.