No comments about Walk On.

2 comments about One Way Out.

1. Of all the blues greats of the 40s, 50s and 60s, Aleck "Rice" Miller's output was of the most consistently high quality, and if you're not completely satisfied by the double-disc MCA/Chess anthology, "The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson", his four LPs "Down And Out Blues", "Help Me", "One Way Out" and "Bummer Road" are all must-own purchases.
   
   On "One Way Out", Rice Miller is backed by an incredible number of superstar sidemen, including Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Fred Below, Odie Payne, Lafayette Leake, Robert "Jr." Lockwood, and Willie Dixon.
   It may not be as consistently sublime as "Bummer Road" or "Down And Out Blues", but there are certainly no clunkers either, and several of these songs rank among Miller's very best.
   The album opens with "Born Blind", a great re-take on his classic 1951 Trumpet single "Eyesight To The Blind" with some wonderful piano playing by Otis Spann. And other highlights include the shuffling "Too Close Together", the slow "Don't Lose Your Eye" with its lean arrangement, the fantastic title track (which boasts one of Miller's best lyrics), and the classic "Keep It To Yourself".
   
   Rice Miller's harp playing is superb all the way through, employing his usual barrage of powerful, riffing bursts and nuanced, even subtle, blowing. And his vocals on the song which bears the tounge-in-cheek title "Like Wolf" are indeed uncannily like Howlin' Wolf's.
   
   4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.



2. This collection by Sonny Boy Williamson is no longer a fashionable music style. However, his harmonica and vocals highlight a blues legacy that is worth remembering. Some of the backing features Muddy Walters and Otis Spann. My favourite Sonny Boy track, 'Help Me' is missing from the album but there are still enough highlights to keep you interested. All blues fans should have at least one album from Sonny Boy.

2 comments about Alan Lomax: Blues Songbook.

1. This is one of the best blues collections out there! And sound quality really is fine!! Get it!



2. I'm not sure what happened or if it is just my cd, but the sound quality isn't even close to that of some of my oldest records...really sad too because the collection is great.

No comments about Hooked On The Blues.

3 comments about That's My Story.

1. What to tell you about this legendary man Hooker what has not been told.
   ... a genius, who was incredibly chary with the blue note, always placed it at the right moment, similarly to a recitative however slightly modified.
   ... since 1948 the good father for many rock bands and movements with in the R'n'B scene
   ... the or one of the most successful blues musicians so far or for ever
   
   This DVD, well done as such, certainly can never really cover JLHs tremendous opus nor does it allow you to gain even an insight. But it turned out to be an exciting flash of or a wonderful first step carrying you along into the fascinating world of this straight and rough but lovable, amiable and most sensitive Hooker, a man full of rhythm all his life long.
   
   ... a wonderful disc for all fans and those who yet missed



2. This is fantastic. Not many reviews here so I can only assume this recording may have been forgotten. I've not been a massive John Lee Hooker fan, or even a massive blues fan but due to my appreciation of what I call "rural" music, I've been listening to guys like Blind Willie Johnson, Fred McDowell and [Missippi] John Hurt, as well as the wonderful Pops [Roebuck] Staples of that great family ensemble, the Staple Singers. TIMS fits right in there, sweetly among them. This is all-acoustic and a natural progression from his previous Country Blues solo recording. Here, he plays and sings along with a nice rythmic double base and drum arrangement, handled by a couple of jazz musicians (also ex-blues players), so no beefy rock manouvers here. This is spare and soulful, and probably one of John Lee's most personal recordings. It's not in the least bit heavy-handed, but lets the soul of the man speak, producing a most compelling listen.



3. John Lee Hooker creates something amazing when he plays the blues, even alone accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar... An incredible album.

No comments about The Prestige: Bluesville Sampler.

5 comments about Mama Says I'm Crazy.

1. If you listen to this trying to figure out if it's good, you've missed the point. I did that on my first couple listens and it sounded like a disjointed mess mixing equal parts repetition and uncoordination. Along with all that, though, is some of the best music I've ever heard.



2. This is music that from its first notes grabs your soul and shakes you. This is the ultimate expression of interplay between harmonica, guitar, and vocals. I find it amazing that Fred and Johnny didn't have to rehearse. I can think of no other album where two musicians exhibit such an understanding of eachother's playing. Everytime I listen to this album I'm sent into a blues-induced trance. Nothing in the world exists except for the wailing harmonica and slide, the rocking rhythm of the drone strings. If this music doesn't make you move your hips, then (in the words of Louis Jordan): Jack, you dead.



3. This session was recorded in 1965 at George Mitchell's house. Mitchell recorded over 70 hours of tapes during the 60's and 70 of Mississippi Fred and several others. Mama Says I'm Crazy marks the first of a series of sessions Fat Possum plans to release from the Mitchell Archive over the next several years. It's relaxed guitar-and-harmonica hill-country blues, which is part of a dying legacy of musicians. Now that the music is finally getting some attention, the king of Hill-country is finally getting the attention he deserved. He has greatly influenced artists such as T-Model Ford, R. L. Burnside, Solomon Burke, and Junior Kimbrough, and remains the forerunner for the genre. It's eleven soul-wrenching tracks of twelve-bar that will uncontrollably cause you to tap along with the beat. Johnny's harmonica never misses a beat, as he aggressively intertwines with Fred's sliding guitar licks. It's stripped-down and acoustic, and gives you the feeling that you're hitchhiking across the American south with a suitcase in your hand. Mississippi Fred McDowell is essential listening for any aficionado of the blues, and Fat Possum Records is making it possible for blues-lovers everywhere.



4. Woooow!!! Recorded 1967 in Como,Ms,here is a real "live" recording by the immense Mississippi Fred McDowell (Jan 12,1904-Jul 3,1972), a true giant of the country blues,and surely one of the best ones.The complicity between McDowell and harp player Johnny Woods is amazing,even if they didn't play together since 8 years at the time of this session.Of course,this record isn't for everybody's ears.If your favorite "blues" musicians are Duke Robillard,Poppa Chubby or Lucky Peterson,then you'll sure have some troubles listening to this music.Here is the real thing,a real,earthy,down home blues;an incredibely fascinating music,an even hypnotic one,recorded in some shack,down in Como, 37 years ago.McDowell is at his most ferocious playing here.He's an atypical blues artist:born at the beginning of the century,he waited until beeing over 60 to start a recording carreer.For some twenty years,he's one of my favorite blues players and singers,with Charley Patton,Bukka White,John Hurt,Jack Owens,Skip James,Henry Townsend and of course Robert Johnson;and,of course also,Robert Pete Williams.
   This "field" recording may be Fred McDowell's most authentic album;Johnny Woods' harp playing,which is very present,gives me the same feeling as Big Boy Spires' harp playing with Jack Owens;the empathy between these two legends of Mississippi blues is amazing.Of course,the music isn't sweet and polite;this is the devil's music,and some rough one.This is music at its most violent,urgent,and even vital;here is a very very great blues record,an essential one;it will drive you into McDowell's african,fascinating blues;McDowell's hard swinging,haunting rhythms are at their best.This guy had a magical right hand !!!
   As the next blues revival comes,with these movies by Wenders,Scorsese,Eastwood (and I guess his movie will be the best one)and others,I think the time is coming to forget Peterson,Chubby,and many others (including some Fat Possum so called "artists"),and to discover the real founders of the blues (and there are dozens of incredibely talented guys).
   Well,anyway,you can listen to what and who you want;but here is a really very important blues album,and it would be a terrible mistake to miss it.



5. I'm not sure what to make of the Fat Possum label -- Exploiters? Archivists? Precious signifiers? All of the above? -- but this release is full-throttle and full-throated. The high-octane interplay between McDowell and Woods has an almost primal ferocity; you can tell each note matters deeply, as if it were the musicians' last. A rousing listen, from start to finish.

1 comments about Somebody Loan Me a Dime.

1. Various Artists / Somebody Loan Me A Dime
   Track Title
   1. Tell Me How You Like It - Byther Smith
   2. Rode Myself Crazy -- The Paul Delay Band
   3. Ooh Wee - Billy Boy Arnold
   4. My Babe -- Mississippi Fred McDowell
   5. Hold On Baby -- U. P. Wilson
   6. Helpless Blues -- John Lee Hooker
   7. Your Gonna Need Me Baby -- Louisiana Red
   8. Ho Ho -- Ike Turner
   9. Somebody Loan Me A Dime -- Fenton Robinson
   10. I Got My Mojo Working -- Muddy Waters
   11. How Blue Can You Get -- Albert Collins
   12. Hey Woman -- Roosevelt Sykes
   13. Got Me A Louisiana Woman -- Lightnin' Hopkins
   14. I Don't Know Why - Eddie Clearwater
   15. She Used To Be Beautiful -- Charlie Musselwhite
   16. Ship Made Of Paper -- Magic Slim & The Teardrops

No comments about Heavy Timbre - Chicago Boogie Piano.

1 comments about The Complete Chess Masters (50th Anniversary Collection).

1. This is a great 2 disc set. I had no idea who Lowell Fulson was until I entered the Blues Mart in Chicago. As I shopped I continued to be impressed with the music that was playing. I bought the album right out of the CD player and was not disappointed. I found play this album as dinner music when we have company and people will frequently ask who is playing. The album has a classic timeless sound that is hard to categorize. It's blues with that kind of Stax soul sound if you know what I mean. Similiar to Albert King, more more focus on the vocals\songs then the guitar playing. Sometimes the unexpected can turn out the best experiences. Take a chance and buy this album.