5 comments about What's the Word.

1. In Stevie Ray's biography, it mentions that, early on, Jimmie used to crack on Stevie for sounding like Robin Trower. Now, if I had a hairdo like the one Jimmie's sportin' here, I wouldn't be crackin' on ANYbody about ANYthing! I give this CD five stars for having the balls to use this photo on the cover! Look at the head on THAT!



2. they definitely live up to their name, especially the fabulous part, with this cd. dynamite!



3. The first few albums of this band are really classic rocking blues and this is one of their best.Thoroughly recomended to anyone who may be just looking at the band and thier music.



4. When a band plays the blues as well as these guys did, it's hard to find the right words to describe their achievement. Suffice to say, Jimmie Vaughan is the master of understatement on guitar; Kim Wilson's voice is rich and soulful, and his harp playing is incendiary; "in the pocket" barely begins to describe Keith Fergusen's bass playing; and both Mike Buck and Fran Christina (who each play on about half the tunes) lay down a backbeat that is impossible to resist.
   
   All the early T-birds albums are worth owning, but this one is my favorite, for its sheer consistency. "Runnin' Shoes" is band's take on an old blues standard called "Meet Me At The Bottom" which highlights Kim's perfect control of his voice. "Low Down Woman," a straightforward mid-tempo blues, has some of his most amusing lyrics. "Extra Jimmies" and "Jumpin' Bad" display the prodigious talents of Vaughan and Wilson, respectively (not to mention the fluid bass of Fergusen), and "The Crawl" should be on every jukebox in the country!
   
   Enhancing an already perfect album, the CD reissue adds two bonus live cuts, one of which ("Bad Boy") is not on any other T-birds album. It's no surprise these guys sound just as good live as in the studio.
   
   If you are looking for an example of how electric blues/boogie should be played, look no further.



5. On the Fabulous Thunderbirds second CD, Kim Wilson and Co. consolidate the (yes) fabulous sound that made the first CD Girls Go Wild such a classic. "Jumpin' Bad," a high-octane, harmonica-fueled instrumental, was their concert opener for years and gives Kim perhaps his best showcase as a harpist. "You Ain't Nothin' But Fine," another high-speed romp, is indeed so fine that short-lived supergroup Rockpile covered it on their Seconds of Pleasure album. (This was truly high praise; Rockpile included New-Wave luminaries Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe in it's lineup while the T-Birds were totally unknown at the time.) And if you love great guitar, check out Jimmie Vaughan's hot licks in "Extra Jimmies" and listen to him really tear up the dance floor in "The Crawl". Great solos! "Runnin' Shoes" is actually the retitled blues standard "Meet Me at the Bottom," which was covered by everyone from The Rolling Stones to Savoy Brown; Kim's singing here is at his most funky and authoritative. There are also two bonus songs here (not three; one is merely an introduction to the live cuts) and they cook; Kim especially fine on "Scratch My Back" (a number they would later sing live on CBS This Morning). Finally, "Los Fabulosos Thunderbirds" is a wonderful little band ditty with authentic-sounding Mexican DJ El Mero Guero (really bassist Keith Ferguson) giving a sample of how the T-Birds would sound broadcast over 1960's Mexican radio. Priceless! So, if you want to know What's The Word?.....in a word, fabulous!

5 comments about Live in Chicago.

1. Plays the Blues like its life or death a very intense style that seems to be from this age player that came along after the big names psssed the tourch



2. i bought this cd on amazon a week or so ago and could not be happier.i originally heard his song "cherry red wine"on a compilation blues cd and was blown away.every song is excellent.you can hear allison having a lot of fun during this concert.searing guitar blues at it's best.buy this cd...you will not be disappointed.



3. I've got to say this right up front...if "Live In Chicago" doesn't send you a powerful message about your commitment to your own life and the degree to which you're doing what you were put here to do, stop reading the review right here. This is not the CD for you.
   
   Luther was...and is...a bluesman. He wasn't born BB or Freddie or Albert of John Lee or Buddy, so he went to Paris and elsewhere to seek his fortunes. In 1984, blues visionary Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records gave Luther a chance at his New Renaissance. The resulting albums...Soul Fixin' Man, Blue Streak, and Reckless...will peel the paint right off of your walls if you have the courage to listen to them.
   
   Luther wasn't BB. He wasn't Freddie. He wasn't Albert. He wasn't John Lee. He wasn't Buddy. But he deserves to stand next to them when the list of blues legends is read aloud.
   
   Luther Allison journeyed to the next world on August 12, 1997.
   
   "Live In Chicago" comes from performances at Buddy Guy's Legends (November 4th, 1995) and The Zoo Bar (Lincoln, NE, May 7, 1997).
   
   "Live In Chicago" doesn't sound like the work of a dying man. It sounds like the work of a man on FIRE...an eternal flame that still burns on the day I'm writing this review, November 2nd, 2007...8 years after the CD's release.
   
   There are no highlights on this CD. Disc 1 and Disc 2, from beginning to end, are the highlights. My all-time personal favorite song from Luther, "Cherry Red Wine" (from 1995's Blue Streak), becomes a terrifying eight-minute roller coaster ride. Luther's joined by Otis Rush on the medley of "Gambler's Blues/Sweet Little Angel." They're worth mentioning but they're only sparks in a much bigger fire.
   
   You were put on this earth to accomplish something. Listen to "Live In Chicago" and get busy accomplishing it. Luther did. There are no unwritten chapters in the book of his life. He came, he saw, he CONQUERED. "Live In Chicago" is the proof. R.I.P., Bluesman...R.I.P.



4. It's unfortunate that Luther had to leave America and go to Europe to make a living, due to lack of interest in America. When he was invited to come home to Chicago for the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival, he came back with a vengeance! This DOUBLE CD, YES DOUBLE! Is a gem and a bargain. There is not one weak song on these CD's. Part of the performances take place at Buddy Guy's, Legend's nightclub. In addition, to the above, he teams up with his idol OTIS RUSH, ON A 10 MINUTE AND 25 SECOND tour de force of "GAMBLER'S BLUES/SWEET LITTLE ANGEL"! This CD (S) is on my 20 greatest electric blues guitar CD list.



5. Luther Allison died just as he was on the verge of gaining the recognition in America that he so greatly wanted and richly deserved.
   
   Live in Chicago features a broad range of guitar playing, from the straight-ahead blues playing on Soul Fixing Man and Cherry Red Wine, to great slide playing on Give Me Back My Wig, to plaintive singing and playing on Big City and You're Going To Make Me Cry.
   
   Luther Allison is more than another tragic story of great talent lost too soon. On Live In Chicago, he proves that he has achieved music immortality with the skill, heart, and talent of someone whose music will be celebrated forever.

5 comments about The Best of Delbert McClinton.

1. Very true to style. Great timing and lyrics. Every song is a classic Delbert.



2. If you like Texas Twang this one is for you. Great music with rockin' sound. Delberts history with other musicians thru the years is unbelievable but after you hear his music you can believe. The guy the taught John Lennon to play harmonica.Country rock at its best



3. mr.mcclinton's rendition of al green's "take me to the river" left me bug-eyed,drop-jawed andsoaking wet.i thank heaven itself for this man's presence on our planet.



4. I find his music captivating. His voice is special. He has the ability to surround himself with the best in the business. What a rock!



5. There are a number of great songs on this album. The production values are not up to current standards in terms of sound quality and clarity, but the goods are there. Delbert's one of the best singers of blues-based rockers and soulful ballads there is. His husky voice worn raspy after twenty five plus years in the business, his southern twang and his phrasing combine to produce a powerful, tasteful, captivating interpretation of well chosen songs that tell moving, funny and fun stories. My favorites on this album are Otis Redding's "I've Got Dreams to Remember" a sadder-but-wiser ballad, Al Green's "Take Me To The River" which has been widely covered but nowhere better,and three rockers with stories "Giving It Up For Your Love", "Real Thing" and "Heartbreak Radio". If you like blues and soul, you'll like Delbert.

5 comments about His Best: 1947 to 1955.

1. There may be slightly (and I do mean slightly) better produced Muddy Waters CDs, but this stands out as my favorite. It has an intimate, yet at the same time outstanding, archival feel. Without R+B musicians like Muddy Waters its hard to imagine the evolution of mainstream Rock.
   
   This CD has got to be in any music anthology, and certainly in any R&B collection.
   
   It is a cultural treasure.
   
   Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Muddy Waters
   At Newport
   Let's Roll
   Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday
   The Ultimate Collection
   The Essential Bessie Smith
   The Definitive Soul Collection



2. If it weren't for Muddy Waters, hard rock might look totally different...if it would have even come about. So many classic bands took inspiration from Muddy or covered his songs. Just look at the Rolling Stones (who took their name from one of his songs and covered "I Just Wanna Make Love to You"), the Allman Brothers ("Trouble No More"), Aerosmith (who covered two songs on their recent HONKIN' ON BOBO), Ted Nugent ("Baby Please Don't Go"), Eric Clapton ("I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man") and many others.
   
   But, that statement ignores the quality of this music, which is great. The early tracks like "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "Rollin' and Tumblin' (Pt. 1)" are raw and intimate, just Muddy backed with acoustic guitar and stand-up bass. But the later electric tracks are even better. "I'm Ready," "Mannish Boy," "I Want You to Love Me," and more are stone cold blues classics. Muddy's backing band of the time included Willie Dixon and Little Walter and their great ensemble playing on these tracks contribute to their greatness.
   
   This is a mandatory CD for fans of blues and rock. Get it now.



3. Anyone besides me love this line? Anyway...
   Though it's hard to say who invented rock, bluesmen can be given much credit for it. I really find it surprising that my friends who are, like me, rock fans aren't into the blues, since blues pretty much shaped rock.
   Okay, onto the album itself. It's a damned good one, if you're a fan of the blues and this isn't in your collection, the Ghost of Muddy Waters will be coming for you, and he'll be pissed... especially if it's after a long night of him drinkin' T.N.T and smokin' dynamite. Believe me. You need classics like I Can't Be Satisfied, Rollin' and Tumblin', Rollin' Stone, Baby Please Don't Go, I Just Want to Make Love to You, Hoochie Coochie Man, I'm Ready, Mannish Boy and Trouble No More in your collection. And though some rock bands covered these songs excellently, Muddy's versions win out nine times of ten. Oh, and did I mention Willie Dixon plays bass on, and writes, most of these songs?



4. I don't see how anyone could improve. In a talent competition he'd obliterate the competitors on his first note.



5. If you are a blues fan you have to have at least one Muddy Waters CD and this would be the one. "Mannish Boy" is probably my favorite. This is the first Muddy Waters song I ever heard although I had heard plenty of his songs done by other artists. It was used in a beer commercial (Budweiser I believe)back in the early '90's and I had to find out who it was. His version of the often recored "Baby Please Don't Go" is my favorite version of this song. This is an essential CD if you are just getting into blues. Also see Howling Wolf's "Rocking Chair album" and "Moaning at Midnight." And for Delta Blues, Robert Johnson's complete recordings since it is only two CDs and Son House's "Father of the Delta Blues."

5 comments about The Real Thing.

1. Back in 1971 I was already a fan...based on the LP, "Natch'l Blues"...this LP saw Taj take a slightly different path albeit to the same destination...But what I remember most was the naturalness and ease of his performance, the haunting horns of Howard Johnson...and the lilting guitar work of John Hall (of the band, Orleans)...his solo on the tune "Ain't Gwine To Whistle Dixie No More"...stays with me still...I can still see them up there on the old Fillmore East stage...a temple to me and others like me from my generation....a brilliant set, by a brilliant artist and a pack of excellent musicians. I was there with my bud, Steve and we both were captivated by the sounds and the spirit of the night...I was also there when John Mayall recorded the genre-defining lp, the "Turning Point"...and both of these concerts remain to be highpoints of my musical youth. Buy it....you will not be disappointed...unless you are soul-less.
   Vince DeLucia



2. An epic, sprawling, roots music masterpiece. This is an artistic statement on the level of Tom Sawyer or The Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison). The power in this music is the way it captures the chaos and tenderness of life in an utterly transcendent and inexplicable way. May sound strange to modern ears, so used to the polished and predictable tropes of the likes of *ahem* lyle lovett, or lucinda williams. This ain't no lucinda williams. This is one of the most slept on albums of all time (IMHO)- if you're one of the millions who bought the Oh Brother soundtrack (not knocking it, I happen to like the album) take it to the next level and check out this wonderful album.
   
   Favorite track: You Ain't No Streetwalker Mama, But I Sure Do Love the Way You Strut Your Stuff.
   
   Epic



3. Look-
   Live albums are raw- there are mistakes/missed notes- but at their best- there's a fire/spirit that takes tunes you know to a whole new level.
   This is such an album/experience.
   Couple that with the brilliant TUBA section- a stellar rhythm section and (Congressman) John Hall on guitar- as well as the legendary John Simon on piano- and this is well worth your time and money.....



4. Taj Mahal is an excellent musician.I've seen him in concert, by himself and with his band.This is I think one of his best.If you need a pick me up,or you're feeling blue listen to "Ain't Gwine To Whistle Dixie(Any Mo")
   Excellent choice



5. Yeah, man, the "official" reviewer just doesn't get it AT ALL. This is one of the best ROOTS recordings EVER - and I don't say that lightly. Remember...this is 1971...LIVE, a 2 LP recording, at the Fillmore...I mean, the Allman Brothers - WITH DUANE - did their recording that same year. Now, how many acts could have gotten away with playing a tune with nothing but a banjo and a TUBA, for cryin' out loud! ("Tom And Sally Drake")? Taj Mahal, that's who. Taj engages the audience as well as anyone ("Gimme some help...GIMME SOME! - You can do it...if you're jacked up to it...) and standouts here are the norm. "You're Goin' To Need Somebody On Your Bond" is the groover, with Taj 'gettin spiritual' with the blues, and doing the back and forth with the crowd. Also a highlight is "Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie No Mo'", where every band member gets a piece of the action, and my spine tingles at the thought of John Simon groovin' on the piano, and John Hall doing a GREAT guitar solo, and ending, with Taj whistling over the many horns. No, if you don't get it, you don't get it...but I was 15...and I got it. This is Taj's moment in Time, Live - History, I believe it's called - and he grabs on and holds tight. Any fan of blues, jazz, roots, gospel, or African-American music History has to consider this a MUST HAVE CD. Period.

5 comments about Otis Spann Is the Blues.

1. In addition to great blues, there is the extra bonus of there being 16 tracks rather than the 10 listed on Amazon and on the CD itself. There is no information on the other 6 tracks but more blues is more blues. This is a great record (sorry for dating myself). One song after another - just sublime. Who would think that a piano player/singer and a guitar player/singer could put so much potency into their music without the usual band make-up. Every song is a killer. Otis Spann is just the greatest blues pianist ever. No one is in his league. The songs that feature just him on piano or just him on piano and vocal show how great his is. The songs that have the guitar accompanying him show that Robert Lockwood Jr. is a tremendous guitar player. Low key and understated but adding a dimension to the songs that sends them into the stratosphere. All I can say is that if you love the blues or want to explore the blues, you will be glad you bought this record.



2. Too bad that Otis Spann died so young. He could have done so much more and been more of a legend. As it is, not too many people that are casual blues fans even know his name. I bought "Otis Spann Is The Blues" and listen to it over and over. He has an almost cosmic connection with his guitarist and there is one priceless cut on there where they talk all during the song...playing and never skipping a beat (!) just like old friends. It's charming and special. His songs about the hardship that he had gone through growing up brought tears to my eyes. He puts all of his heart and soul into the music. His piano style is powerful, clean, and with a driving bass beat. You couldn't ask for a better add to your blues collection.



3. I heard track 15 on Music Match. Had to buy the album. Was I suprised to get the CD and see only 10 songs listed. Put it in the CD player anyway, and there are 6 unlisted tracks on the CD.
   Track 15 is my favorite-- pulsing piano blues. Makes me wish I could play the piano.
   If you want good clean blues, with promiment soundstage and clarity for all instruments and vocals, I suggest this album.



4. Wow, I just got Otis Spann Is The Blues, and Walking The Blues, and I love em both. Otis and Lockwood together is pure blues heaven. Actually pure music heaven. Their playing transcends genre and falls in the category of sheer musical genius. I can't pick a favorite song on Is The Blues. Walking The Blues is almost as powerful a project.,HAving more of a variety of vocals is enjoyable. St. Louis Jimmy Oden was on e wonderful singer. All in all, both discs are a piece of history, blues at it's purest and finest. Reccomended to all blues lovers.



5. If you want blues piano this album is the best. The sound quality is excellent, very atypical for a 1960's album; you'll think you're in the studio with them. I bought the album in 2004 and it contains 6 additional tracks, all of which appear to be additional studio jams, but not necessarily from the same session. There is no information on the album or internet regarding these tracks, and the album doesn't even list the titles. Thus, the total album time is 73 min and well worth the price. If you want to hear absolutely great blues piano without a lot of accompanyment, this is the album to get.

2 comments about JUNIOR WELLS : BLUES LEGENDS.

1. THIS DVD IS A SAMPLING OF THE KIND OF BLUES CLUB WORK THAT MADE THESE GUYS LEGENDS.IT'S RAW NATURE IS CAUGHT HERE BUT WITH SOME DRAWBACKS.THE VIDEO AND AUDIO QUALITY ARE MARGINAL AT BEST.THE SOUND SOMETIMES FADES IN AND OUT WHICH IS ANNOYING FOR ME. THE VIDEO QUALITY IS AVERAGE AT BEST WITH SOMETIMES SHARP IMAGES THEN SOFT.TO REALLY ENJOY THIS SHOW, YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE BEEN THERE WITH THE ADDITION OF A FEW DRINKS TO SMOOTH OUT THE ROUGH SPOTS.THESE GUYS ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE BLUESMEN BUT THIS SHOW DOES NOT DO THEM JUSTICE. ONLY FOR THE HARDCORE BLUES LOVERS



2. This is the new offering from Blues Legends. Previously they have issued DVDs on Freddie King, Albert King and Memphis Slim with Sonny Boy Williamson. This concert is set at a place called Nightstage and they perform for 71 minutes. Footage of Buddy Guy as a younger player and concerts of Buddy with Junior Wells during their extended partnership are rather scarce. They have several snippets of material on other discs, the best being the now unavailable "Muddy Waters at Montreux" show. However, part of this show is on the Buddy Guy DVD with his Boxed Set released last year.
   
   The concert here is a video transfer as you would expect and the sound is excellent. It begins with Buddy Guy coming on and offering only part of his recorded performance. We have seen some of this set previously on the Buddy Guy DVD from the Boxed Set. Buddy does a part of "The Things I Used To Do", "Crazy About You", "Stormy Monday" and playing like T-Bone Walker. This is the only big flaw in this presentation. The entire show should have been reproduced. Anyway, what we have is rare and good. Buddy plays in his usual style and with his thinline Guild guitar.
   
   Buddy offers "Look Over Yonder Wall" a funky "Crazy About You" with him playing over the top of the guitar's neck and "I Just Want To Make Love To You" as a tribute to his mentor Muddy Waters. Junior is then introduced and comes out to play Little Walter's "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and a tribute to Muddy Waters as well ending with "Trouble No More", great classic Chicago Blues.
   
   When Junior joined Muddy Waters Band as a youngster he replaced Little Walter, what shoes to fill! Walter had recorded his masterpiece "Juke" and left the band. Junior offers us a version of "Juke" in this show. It, unfortunately, is a big disappointment. At this stage in their career, I feel, both Wells and Guy were well known and accepted. They were more intent on showmanship and not musicianship. However, the material on these people are so hard to get we have to give it 5 stars (like the Albert King program in this series-see my review)
   
   The boys then go on to Sonny Boy Williamson's "My Younger Days" and the Chicago classic "I Got My Mojo Working" which are fine performances. Junior ends the set with a James Brown tribute. This is something he always did. When I saw him in Sydney in 1991 he opened with "I Got You (I Feel Good) in a bright yellow suit looking and sounding and dancing like James Brown! Here Junior offers "Super Bad" and then right into "I Got You (I Feel Good)". A very sound ending to the show.
   
   The bonus features are good, but the interview is hard to hear due to the background noise in the club. And it goes on for a long time! The bonus performances however are excellent and include "Little By Little" (not the Rolling Stones tune) from the main performance (see there are extra tracks we did not get!) and then from a place called "The Channel" in Boston we hear "Better Than I Love Myself" which, to me, is one of the best tracks on the whole DVD. Note: The DVD cover is wrong "Little By Little" is not at the Channel Club, it's at the original concert venue Nightstage.
   
   OK this Blues Legends offering is great. We need as much material on these real innovators as we can possibly get. It would be so fantastic to see T-Bone Walker anywhere but he had a PBS concert with Shuggy Otis and his father in about 1975, Magic Sam at Ann Arbor, Albert King at the Fillmore, B.B. King at the Cafe Au Go Go, Little Walter, and so many more. I hope this series will continue! These people have also given us the excellent "American Folk Blues Festivals" series as well. Currently we are waiting eagerly for the Howlin' Wolf concert due to be released in October.

5 comments about The Healer.

1. This is a decent JLH disc. Great music, which is no surprise. But then I got to the song 'My Dream.' Blew me away. Just something about this one that makes me want to get a good stiff drink and drift away for a bit.



2. The first two cuts on this cd are spectacular. The duet with Bonnie Raitt won them a Grammy. This was my first, and still one of my most prized blues cd's. And if you dig this, you've got to listen to the soundtrack from The Hot Spot. One of my favorite movies, Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, and Charles Martin Smith. Very film noir, and Hooker's soundtrack kills!



3. When this album was released I heard that Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt rescued a no-longer-sought-after John Lee by making one of the first "collaboration" projects. Hooker was supposedly pretty down-and-out. But, having him collaborate with well-known younger artists (including Carlos and Bonnie) gave him a new twist to his music and a much broader audience. With a new foundation, John Lee went on to make 5 or 6 strong selling albums. He topped the blues charts for nearly a decade after this came out. The music on "The Healer" is great. The title song, "The Healer" is by itself worth the price of admission and earns my 5 stars for this cd, even before listening to another cut. On this song Carlos Santana proves his frequent assertion that all of the best modern music is derived from the blues. Carlos places John Lee into a stone cold Latin context and the two of them come out with, of course, amazing Latin Blues. Simultaneously intense and totally relaxed. It's one of those rare songs I can listen to at any time, love it and never tire of it. The rest of the cd is very, very good. More than worth having. The Hooker-Raitt song smolders - a singnature Raitt performance. The other cuts also stand tall. But, "The Healer" is just a classic song that trancends genres.
   
   Kharma? Well, sometime around the year 2000, Santana's own sales had become pretty meager and rather irrelevant in the record business. He was putting out very good cd's every year which went nowhere on the charts. So, guess what - he used the same collaboration idea that he used to rescue John Lee. That resulted in his "Supernatural" cd, a huge multi-million seller, one of the biggest sellers of the last decade!



4. Very bluesy, awesome listening. Soulful.
   My husband borrowed my original 2 years ago and never returned it. I had to buy another for myself it is so good.
   
   A real keeper for your music collection.



5. I am actually listening to this CD right now. It is awesome. This is the modern-age John Lee Hooker at his best. If you are looking for pure John Lee, though, this isn't your CD. In this CD, pretty much every song, with the exception of a couple, is a collaboration with someone, whether it's Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Los Lobos, George Thorogood, or Charlie Musselwhite. This CD is very smooth, romantic, laid-back, classy, and has very good sound quality. I think this is a fine addition to your collection if you like either blues or rock or both. And as is true with most Hooker recordings, this is one is very energetic. Hooker's blues never really sound sad. Somehow he manages to perform even the saddest lyrics in the way that it would sound energetic rather than depressing, possibly because of his constant sense of rhythm (on other CDs, you can hear him stomp his foot in many, maybe most, songs he performs, especially in earlier work). The Healer marked re-birth of John Lee's activity in modern blues. He is a class act and aged like fine wine.

2 comments about Not The Same Old Blues Crap II.

1. Outstanding sampler from Nortern Mississippi Hill Country Blues label Fat Possum. Much prefer this sampler to the first one. This has that gritty country blues feel with many songs feeling like they were recorded in a leaky basement(and many were). Standouts are the two RL Burnside tracks: "Goin down South" is a staple of his music and the version included of "Walkin Blues" is top notch. The previously unreleased "I Feel Good Again" by Junior Kimbrough and Charlie Feathers is worth more than the low 4.99 price to buy this. The Asie Payton tracks are both stunners and Paul Wine Jones and Super Chikan add some diversity in style with there numbers.



2. Actually, this is the same old blues...; the "purists" who run the label either don't know it or won't admit it. This sort of purist nonsense is as old as the music but whenever another generation comes along there's another spasm of it. As for the selections, this is really fine music, as varied as you could possibly want. Even some greasy old soul that somebody probably smokes cigars to while they're swilling beer (just to mention a couple seemingly proscribed activities mentioned in the liner notes). But this label records stuff Alligator never did, right? Way wrong; Hound Dog Taylor was as funky as any of this.

   Filter out all the Fat Possum trademark noise and leave that to the college students to whom it matters. This is a very fine collection of blues that any blues fan will thoroughly enjoy. Maybe a slight lean toward the rural and the rocky but so what?

1 comments about Crucial Acoustic Blues.

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