5 comments about In Step.

1. This may be my all time favorite album, at least in the top 3. It's the one you'd chose to have it stranded on that desert island. It's perfect-what more can be said. Stevie was just hitting his peak-only the angels know what more outstanding stuff he could have blessed us with had he lived.
   Stevie's own words say it best-
   " Life without you....all the love you passed my way
   The angels have waited for so long....now they have their way
   Take your place...."



2. Though I had initially given the crown to Texas Flood, on second thought I think that In Step might, in fact, be the best studio release from the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan (and don't forget Double Trouble!).
   
   In Step is a non-stop, rockin' blues party, front to back, and is chock full of great tunes and greater guitar work. "The House is Rockin'," "Crossfire," and "Tightrope" are all favorites, of course, but the album really hits a great groove after the first three tracks that carries all the way through "Scratch-N-Sniff" and "Love Me Darlin'," before ending on a beautifully atmospheric blues note on "Riviera Paradise," which I've always felt is one of SRV's best tracks.
   
   Really an outstanding album!
   
   As for the bonus material, well, the album is great, by itself, so any bonus material is just that...a bonus!
   
   And on this album, the bonus tracks are really fantastic! SRV serves up live versions of three favorites, as well as a cover of Buddy Guy's "Let Me Love You Baby." All are top notch, and I particularly appreciate seeing one of my personal favorites, "Life Without You."
   
   Fantastic SRV! GET THIS!



3. I adore this album as I do all of his music. I only wish that he were still with us.



4. Okay, before you read this review, take a look at the ratio of other reviews regarding the number of stars given. At this moment, there were 57 5-Star reviews and 5 4-Star reviews. That says it all.
   
   The first few tracks on this album show why SRV is considered the best Blues guitarist ever. "The House is Rockin'", "Tightrope", and his best radio hit, "Crossfire", are symbolic of his trademark aggressiveness when the guitar is in his hands.
   
   One thing that a lot of people don't mention about SRV is his voice. The guitar is mesmerizing, but his voice a great compliment to his playing. Flat out, SRV shows his smoothness, not only in the album cuts, but also in the live cuts at the end.



5. Stevie Ray Vaughn's last cd shows his incredible creativiy and virtuosity. I highly recommend this cd as the ultimate SRV.

5 comments about The Definitive Collection.

1. There is a huge amount of Muddy Waters-compilations out there, and while MCA/Chess's two-disc, 50-track "Anthology 1947-1972" is certainly more definitive than this Geffen compilation, it does offer a very good overview of Muddy Waters' career.
   
   Opening with the classic 1948 single "I Can't Be Satisfied", this CD takes you through (most of) the highlights from the 1950s and 60s. "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", "Mannish Boy", and "Got My Mojo Working" are here, of course, and in the original versions, too, but it's a shame that some slightly lesser known (but equally fine) singles like "I Love The Life I Live, I Live The Life I Love", "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "I Want To Be Loved" are missing.
   
   But there is certainly enough great music here to satisfy the casual fan, and if you do want more, there is always the impressive "Chess Box" and the late-70s/early-80s albums produced by Johnny Winter (only one track out of these 24 is from those sessions).
   This album is not the definitive word on McKinley Morganfield, but it's a good introduction for the uninitiated.



2. I do not pretend to be an expert on Muddy Waters. I saw a TV biography and was motivated to get a "greatest hits" CD. There was a 2 disc option at Amazon, but then I saw this one. I checked it out with various reviewers, and it met the bill. All the songs are well done, and the whole CD seems like a great overview of the blues from this specific artist. From all I can tell, this would be an excellent highlight collection for anybody who wants just one CD of Muddy Waters.



3. Ever notice that you're seeing more and more of these "best of" collectons out there now? Now there is UMVD's "The Definitive Collection" of numerous artists from that same unforgettable era featuring 20 or more top tunes of the featured artist crammed onto one disc. Sometimes these single-disc collections fail to make the grade because of so much essential material that ends up being left off for reasons of space alone and the rest of it is the same predictable fare. An exception in this case would be this: Muddy Waters' Definitive Collection. This collection runs through Muddy's premiere years featuring his swampy, slide guitar sound and musical style then continues through the '50s and early '60s when he began to make his significant impact on blues music and eventually would be regarded as one of the most highly respected names in blues music. So many of his best tunes like "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I'm Ready", "Forty Days and Forty Nights" and "Got My Mojo Working" were covered by so many bands so many times that these tunes are really timeless and have becomes standards in blues. You really do get and stay interested for the entire length of the album. It is a little slow to start, but it picks up quickly and the bulk of the action happens with tracks 8-18. "Crosseyed Cat", recorded in 1976, is something you really got to hear. It is swampy, raw and tough. A 6 minute jam session, basically. This "Definitive Collection' lives up to its name overall, and is absolutely essential for the blues fan if the 2-disc anthology is a bit much.



4. You want to know about Muddy Waters? This is a wonderful introduction to his work. No single work, of course, can contain all the best songs of someone like Muddy Waters (nee McKinley Morganfield). But this CD is awfully satisfying.
   
   And the first cut is the classic "I Can't Be Satisfied" (later covered by The Rolling Stones). The instrumentation is remarkable simple--guitar and bass. But Waters' singing is primal and gives this cut life.
   
   The 1950 tune, "Rollin' Stone," gave the English rock and roll band their name. The music is raw, but compelling. One line: "I wish I was a catfish, swimming in the deep blue sea, I would have all you women's comin' after me." At another point, he sings that his mom says to his dad that I got a boy child comin', gonna be a Rollin' Stone. A must listen to piece.
   
   Willie Dixon wrote the words for another song, a Waters' classic, "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man." First, what a backing group! Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and Fred Below. This is a great blues tune topped off with Muddy Waters' great blues singing.
   
   Another Willie Dixon song, "I Just Want to Make Love to You." Also covered by the Rolling Stones. . . . Listen to this version. A wonderful blues song.
   
   And then there is "Mannish Boy" (talk about a greatest hit!). Again, great instrumental work and a terrific backing band. The song begins with him singing "Everything's gonna be all right this mornin.'" The insistent theme, "I'm a mannish boy," recurs throughout. One set of lines hearkens to other classic music:
   
   "I'm a man,
   I'm a Rolling Stone.
   I'm a man,
   A hoochie-coochie man."
   
   Then there is "Got My Mojo Working." An uptempo romp with a great backing band.
   
   So, do you want to know what Muddy Waters was all about? Try this CD. It will give you the introduction to his body of work.



5. No one has to say anything about a Muddy Water's collection. The music speaks for itself. There is a reason "the man" is rated as one of the best blues artists ever - his music speaks volumes. Enough said. ...April, 28 2007 - I can't believe anybody would even want to read a Muddy Waters review...man that cat needs no reviews...HE IS THE KING OF THE BLUES. The one neophyte who read my initial review and didn't think much of it must not know about the Mud Man so I will add some more commentary for those who evidently are new to the blues. My favorites on this cd were "Rollin & Tumblin: Part One." Those is the know that is the original black euphanism for "sex" or "rock-n-rollin" before Allan Freed made it popular. "Rollin Stone" makes me want to be at a club watchin the man perform live. Muddy gets cookin on "Turn Down Your Lamp (Please Don't Go)." He doesn't usually get so up tempo and bring in the harmonica so ENJOY THIS ONE - IT'S CLASSIC. What can I say about "Hoochie Coochie Man" it is so good that it has been covered so much even to George Thoroughgood. THIS IS A STANDARD IF THERE EVER WAS ONE. "Mannish Man" is so great ... it usually goes by "I Am A Man" oh Muddy gets down on this one. Oh man I got off on "Got My Mojo Working" and I still almost wear this one track out by playing it over and over. How can you not like a song like "My Home Is In The Delta." Muddy talks bout leavin Chicago for the Delta mud .... he is really singin the blues on this one. "Crosseyed Cat" is the closest Muddy get to Jimmy "Harmonica" Reed or Slim Harpo or even somebody like Howlin Wolf.....this is a class song that is not your typical soulful Muddy Waters. Now for all you cats who read this review ... quit readin and start buying. You need Water, Hooker and Wolf to get your collection goin then start addin some Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo, Hound Dog Taylor, Lightning Slim, Lightning Hopkins and don't ever stop ... but first listen to "Crosseyed Cat" and GET YOURSELF SOME WATER ESPECIALLY THIS DEFINITIVE COLLECTION....Joliet Jayke The Bluze Brother.

5 comments about The Sky Is Crying.

1. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's posthumous album, The Sky Is Crying, is a rarity in the fact that the outtakes here are of the same high quality of the rest of the band's albums. It's big on the blues cover tunes (all of their albums had a few) but the strong performances show an embracing of the blues rather than just a retread. The fact that no guitarist could play or sing quite like Stevie Ray certainly distinguished them as well. Everything here works as the band breathes even more fire into Lonnie Mack's "Wham", turns the Jimi Hendrix classic into a slow burner that gains in momentum until it reaches its end, and turns their own "Empty Arms", which sounded somewhat sluggish on Soul to Soul, into a joyous shuffle. Stevie Ray also shows his continued love of jazz on Kenny Burrell's "Chitlins Con Carne" and pays tribute to the Yardbirds on his own instrumental "So Excited." The tracks recorded during the In Step sessions are also great as Stevie Ray's wicked slide playing highlights "Boot Hill" and he gives a passionate vocal performance on "Life by the Drop." The remaining tracks, versions of "May I Have a Talk with You" and "Close To You", are also very good. All told, The Sky Is Crying is a great album, sounding much better than a collection of outtakes has a right to.



2. The Sky is Crying. It's the perfect title to this, the first posthumous release of Stevie Ray Vaughan's material.
   
   It's honestly hard to listen to this album without feeling the emptiness left behind with Vaughan's passing, knowing that this was all there was left. A recording, not an album exactly, of outtakes and seconds that, somehow, manages to be just as strong as any other release by SRV.
   
   Given that these are songs never really intended for release, it's amazing how powerfully they come together. Part of the appeal is in hearing SRV cover classics like "The Sky Is Crying" and "Little Wing," songs that, as many times and by as many artists as I've heard them, I never get tired of hearing, just to see how another guitarist combines the familiar with his or her own unique style. Of course, Vaughan does a fantastic job with them, here, as is to be expected, and they provide that appropriate note of sadness to an album that marks a sad moment.
   
   But it's not all sad tunes, as typically SRV bluesy rockers are found in plenty, as well ("Wham"; "Close to You"; "So Excited"). And there are other songs that are just so full of emotion that I'm amazed that they weren't included in other albums ("May I Have a Talk With You"; "Life by the Drop").
   
   In an album so clearly connected to the loss of Stevie Ray Vaughan, closer "Life by the Drop" seems a fitting finish. Simple, with lyrics that seem to fit the moment perfectly, and then the album is over. Just like that.
   
   I've heard some say that SRV is just white man's blues, and that it doesn't recall the true emotion of the blues. Well, this one does for a good many listeners.



3. The Sky Is Crying (1991) is an album of songs recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughan that weren't used on albums he officially released before his untimely death at 35 on August 27, 1990, in a helicoptor accident. Why, I don't know. There is some really great blues here. The best song on the album is the title track. Originally an Elmore James song, Stevie gives it the full-tilt, wild electric guitar, slow blues treatment (think Texas Flood), and it's as good as he's ever done. His instrumental take on Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing sounds really good, too, and a lot like Jimi. I wish Stevie would have sung on it, too. Boot Hill is excellant electric slide guitar boogie with trademark SRV vocals. May I Have A Talk With You is very good, and Stevie speeds things up with the lusty Close To You. One of the biggest treats on the album is the solo 12-string acoustic guitar Life By The Drop. Stevie sings of being left behind by his best guitar mate, who chose pursuing his dream over drinking his life away (living life by the drop). It's a moving performance of a poignant song. Lovingly put together by his brother, Jimmie Vaughan, The Sky Is Crying sounds as good as any of SRV's albums. While a couple of the instrumental songs are uneven and really nothing new, the album as a whole is very good, and it's essential for the fans of a great bluesman, Stevie Ray Vaughan.



4. Critics cite Texas Flood and In Step as SRV's bests albums, but this is easily my personal favorite. It's a nice sampling of his unbelievable and seemingly unattainable talents and abilities.
   
   Vaughan's deranged vocals and fiery slide guitar hit you like a freight train on "Boot Hill," the CD's first song. "Chitlins Con Carne" is a wonderful example of his jazz guitar--pure elegance--suitable as a backdrop to a formal dinner. In addition, SRV's "Life By The Drop" is a haunting ballad played on 12-string acoustic guitar--a fitting cap stone to a great retrospective CD and brilliant career.



5. This is easily on par with SRV's first three albums. It's, as you may know, a posthumous release of recordings made throughout his career. Many people rave about the "Little Wing" cover--and it is great--but I'm knocked out by the Kenny Burrell cover of "Chitlins con Carne." Every song is a keeper, not a throw-away in the bunch, just a slightly wider variety of SRV's playing than you'd get elsewhere.

5 comments about Delaney & Bonnie On Tour With Eric Clapton.

1. This was one of my favorite albums when I was in college. A great live performance with amazing talent. The combination of Jim Gordon and Carl Radle is almost perfect, however tragic.



2. This is the BEST live album ever recorded - not just one of the 50 in your Top Ten, not one of the 300 in your Top 100, but the absolute #1 live album ever! Delaney & Bonnie had a wonderful ability to gather talent around them. No wonder Joe Cocker stole this band and Lowell George took the heart of their next band.
   
   However, when this album came out in 1970, Eric Clapton was the only name in the band most folks recognized. Eric is at his best here as "just one of the boys." Don't expect flashy solos, just 3 guitars (or is it 4 - George Harrison was on this tour too?) picking you up and whisking you away.
   
   When "Things Get Better" starts, you'll say, "This is the hottest song I ever heard." Then it gets even better! By the time "Coming Home" has run over your brain, you'll just give in and hang on to the train barreling to rock 'n' roll nirvana. No rhythm section ever drove harder. I dare you to restrain yourself.



3. Unable to purchase this cd which seems so important to all Clapton-fans even in the best equipped music stores in Amsterdam I ordered it through Amazon received it swiftly by mail. Since then I have played it over and over. It captures the energetic performances of a band that knows how to combine musical drive and soulful bliss. As for Clapton: just listen to that solo in 'I don't want to discuss it': without any redundancy this stripped down minimalistic approach epitomizes power and tension in a superbly timed monochordic drone. This is truly stepping down to reach higher.



4. Have been wanting to buy this for sometime now.
   My question is, with new "complete concert" series.
   Will this ever be expanded to the complete show? Or is this the complete show?



5. Clapton's earlier adventures with Cream and Blind Faith may have covered the overhead for this album, but for the first time since he'd left the Bluesbreakers he was surrounded by musicians with a similar taste and capacity for precise, very subtle R&B. Again he's playing with heavyweights in popular music, but all the pretense of a Ginger Baker drum solo has been replaced by the sincere effusion of Delanie & Bonnie Bramlett's vocals and the economy of guitarist Dave Mason, who had already orchestrated the mainstream success of Traffic's first two albums. What is on show in the 42 1/2 minutes of this album is an ostensibly modest yet very rich and triumphant live performance, surprisingly so in that it was recorded well after Manson and Altamont had sullied 60's idealism. Perhaps this album reflects the more lyrical and traditional forms into which such idealism would have to be diverted in the new decade, but for all that there is yet in Croydon in 1969 no need to stop dancing and singing along. As the AMG review indicates, Clapton would take the core of Delanie & Bonnie's backing band into the studio to cut not only his first solo album but the equally precise and iconic blues-rock of Derek & the Dominoes.

5 comments about The Definitive Collection.

1. I just finished another review and this CD popped up as a product I recently purchased for me now to review.
   
   I don't even have anything to say.
   
   I took a look at the reviews below and can't add a single thing except just to express my heartfelt agreement with them and to recommend this CD to anybody that comes along. So read the reviews below and buy this amazing collection of legendary John Lee Hooker's music.



2. This is not everything you could ever want from John Lee Hooker, but if you are just looking for a single-disc compilation to get you going, you could do a lot worse than "The Definitive Collection".
   There are dozens of mediocre Hooker-compilations out there, many of which only cover his output for one particular label, but here you get almost all of the Hook's best and best-known songs, from his sparse 40s recording of "Boom Boom" to his modern-day collaborations with Santana and Bonnie Raitt.
   
   I wouldn't have chosen the stylistically challenged "The Healer" to represent the album of the same name, and a single CD can't quite hold all of John Lee Hooker's best songs, but this is still one of the finest compilations of its kind currently on the market. The sound is terrific, the liner notes are fine, and songs like "Dimples", "Boom Boom", "I'm Bad Like Jesse James", "It Serves You Right To Suffer", and "Think Twice Before You Go" are all part of the fabric of the blues.
   
   In time you'll want to hear John Lee Hooker's extraordinarily gritty live album from the Café au Go Go, and ALL of his magnificent 50s and 60s waxings for the Vee-Jay label - available on the Tomato albums "The Early Years" vol. I and II - but everybody's gotta start somewhere. And this collection is quite as good as the other five-star, single-disc Hooker-compilation out there, Rhino's "The Very Best of John Lee Hooker", and while the Rhino label's rather more pricey two-disc "Ultimate Collection (1948-1990)" is a bit closer to actually being definitive, this is still a very, very good place to start. Perhaps even the best.



3. A lot of times these single disc collections try so hard to offer as much as possible the best of a certain artist. Too many times so much essential material is left off, and the same predictable fare is churned out, that it seemed effortless and pointless for the most part. That isn't necessarily the case with someone like John Lee Hooker, whose career spanned some 40-50 years on a variety of more than 20 some labels like Modern, Chess, Impulse, Vee-Jay, ABC-BluesWay and so many others. That's where it becomes very problematic and debatable as to what counts and what doesn't. Every label in every tiny aspect of his career couldn't be represented, of course, so balance becomes an issue, too. Another thing is that a handful of these approach or are over 5 minutes in length. It may sound like this is very picky, but for a single CD, this is a rather noteworthy representation. Early classics like "Boogie Chillen" and "I'm in the Mood" are represented as well as timeless upbeat tunes like "Boom Boom" and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" which is blues at its very best. The latter part fo his career is represented with his collaborations with Canned Heat in 1970, and Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt in 1988. Other than those mentoned, "Dimples", "I'm Bad Like Jesse James", and "Think Twice Before You Go" are also definitely worth checking out as well as the three final tracks featuring the collaborations. "The Healer" is the most different of the three, and has a slicked, synthesized Latin-tinged groove. Overall, a fair enough representation is made proving how John Lee Hooker was successful with each generation he played for and encountered during his mammoth career, and is still appreciated with many new fans and bands today.



4. There is a reason that artists like Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Canned Heat team up with John Lee. There is a reason he shows up in the movie "The Blues Brothers." It is because John Lee Hooker is delta blues to full tilt boogie. The man is a legend and just knocks your socks off if you are really into blues. When you see him in person, his attire also sets off the mood. John Lee you are up there with Muddy and The Wolf. Maybe the best endorsement for any John Lee Hooker compilation comes from none other than George Thoroughgood and The Delaware Destroyers. In one of George's versions of "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer," just before George gets the boot from his land lady for not paying his rent he says "I gathered up my John Lee Hooker collection..." Now that is PAYING HOMAGE TO ONE OF THE THREE GREATEST BLUES ARTISTS OF THE MODERN ERA...i.e. Chicago Style Blues.



5. John Lee Hooker is by far one of the greatest blues player ever. He was smooth, soulful, even a little dangerous but always kept playing the blues. The Definitive Collection is a great CD to start with. The only draw back is it has a song from the '80s inspired by that bad Caribbean influence that everyone seemed to cling too. But its only one track so you can skip ahead. Chances are you have heard John's music before - only you didn't know it was John's. He's been covered by a lot of artists and while the covers were good - best example is George Thoroughgood's "One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer" - the originals are still the best.

5 comments about Grant Street.

1. It should be said that Sonny Landreth is blindingly fast on guitar. Yet, after trying to like this album for more than a week, I just do not. And the reason is that my ears detect no soul at all in his playing. I am reminded of several other virtuoso guitarists (Walter Trout and Johnny Winter most specifically) who make an awful lot of noise, but very little listenable music. I am also missing entirely the Blues aspect of this recording. It's rock-and-roll. A little more attention to melody and continuity, and less fret-finger acrobatics, would help a lot.



2. this is about as high energy as a trio could get. But it's a lot more than just noise: excellent guitar work, solid vocals. not dinner-time music. but if you want music that will blow the roof off your head, this could be it.



3. I caught Sonny on tour last year and thought he was great. Almost all the material from his performance is on this CD and it really showcases his music. I am really impressed with Sonny and his bandmates in concert and here on the CD. Sonny's voice has really improved over the years and is now a strength. Of course his guitar playing ranges from excellent to phenomenal as always. I think this CD really does catch Landreth at his best. Every fan should own this recording and it's a great place for any newcomers to Sonny's sound to start.



4. Sonny Landreth has been kicking around for years and I've seen him as a member of John Hiatt & the Goners. My first exposure to him solo was at this years "Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival" outside of Chicago. After I got home that night, I immediately went onto Amazon.com and order his live CD "Grant Street". From the opening instrumental "Native Stepson" through the closing trck "Congo Square" this CD is filled with outstanding blues guitar playing and slide guitar playing as well. Other than being from Louisiana, I'm nt sure why he's classified as a country artist. This is pure bare bones Amrican power Blues. I like Sonny's voice too it blends wel with this style of music. He is backed by just a bass player and a drummer but the sound is full and brilliant. I will be purchasing more Sonny Landreth Cd's in the not too distant future.



5. There's not a guy who's heard this CD on my stereo or iPod who hasn't asked, "Who is that playing the guitar?" Yeah, no kidding, Sonny Landreth is da bomb, and Grant Street is a fantastic CD. Buy it if you enjoy superb guitar playing, you could not possibly be disappointed.Grant Street

5 comments about Colorblind.

1. Robert Randolph and The Family Band caught my attention when I saw them perform on Eric Clapton's CROSSROADS II. The energy that Randolp plays with is the key. You know that the group has to be great just to be at CROSSROADS, but to then open for Clapton's '08 tour only adds credence to the group's combined abilities. "Ain't Nothing Wrong with That" adds the energy to The Discovery Channel's latest TV ads...providing further testimony to where these guys are headed.



2. I am always pleased with the prompt service that I always receive on all the order that I have made. Thank-you



3. 'Colorblind' is an intriguing album. However, fans that are looking for Randolph and Co. to jam out with the sound of previous albums won't find it here. The appearances of Eric Clapton, Leela James, Leroi Moore, and Dave Matthews show that Randolph is beginning to take off. However, some of the songs had a commercial feel, like he wrote them strictly for the radio. An example of this is shown in 'Ain't Nothin Wrong With That', which was a very popular song on VH1 and NFL Football in 2006 and 2007.
   
   Overall, it's Robert Randolph and it's worth buying. The cover of 'Jesus is Just Alright' is enough in itself to get the album.



4. I had never heard of this band until I saw it featured on So You Think You
   Can Dance program. So I decided to order it and hear the whole song and CD
   The CD isn't bad but the song Ain't Nothing Wrong With That is the reason I ordered the CD and I was not disappointed.



5. This guy amazes me! Wow! what a player! I love the catchy grooves and the heavy backbeat! If you've never listened to this guy, do yourself a favor and buy this CD. It will impress as well as astound ! I saw this guy on Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar festival and was impressed. Now, that I've bought one of his recordings, I'll be looking for more!!!

No comments about Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-1960.

5 comments about Live Johnny Winter And.

1. This is a true texas blues icon coming into his form live and loose. It is a must have. Although not the greatest sound quality - it was only 35 years ago or so... It is still better than a lot of stuff put out today if you can believe it. And the songs are all covers except mean town blues, but still anything Johnny Winter has ever done is great. Compare it with todays music. Could anyone ever come out and release a live album of with 6 covers and become a legend from it? I do not think so. BUT, if you have the talent and the guitar licks that make you stand out, yes, the cream does usually rise to the top. The "And" is all about a dude named RICK DERRINGER playing 2nd guitar in the band. Yes, nice right hand man to have on your side... Jumpin' Jack Flash is a classic that JW played live for a long time. And the blues licks he plays are just killer. Try Johnny Winter And LIVE - then pick up your fender firebird and plug into your bassman cranked up - and just play.



2. I heard this album almost 30 years ago on the 12 inch black vinyl medium and loved it then .I was reminded of my love for JW when i saw a track on Crossroads Festival(Eric CLapton).Hearing it again has revived the same feelings of facination with the stunning slide that has always facinated me.GLad to be back with Johnny Winter.



3. Bought this LP in the Fall of 1971 while in high school and took the thing home and practically fell out of my chair from the first few bars...this is the finest live album I may have ever heard period!The amazing combination of Derringer and Winter is outstanding...both guitarists at the peak of their powers! I strongly suggest that if you enjoy hard blues rock that this cd be in your regular rotation. Having seen Johnny in 1970 at the Capitol Theather standing in front of almost 20 Fender Twin Reverbs was a real rush and this cd captures what it was like to hear Johnny live at his peak! Buy it now and enjoy....also may I suggest "Johnny Winter And" as well as "Johnny Winter Second" and "Still Alive and Well" all are some of the finest bluesrock ever to have been laid down period!



4. I was looking for a CD version of a cassette tape of a Johnny and Edgar Winter live concert, which I've misplaced.
   There's a killer medly of old rock and roll hits I was particularly hoping to find. This CD isn't the one. I've since discovered the one I want is a collector's item and is priced out of my range. I'll keep looking in the attic for the cassette version.



5. This is one of the best live rock/blues preformances I have ever heard. Johnny was at the top of his game!!

5 comments about His Best : The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection.

1. Another legend was taken from us on June 2, 2008. One of the greatest and most influential bluesmen has left us at the age of 79. The breadth of his influence can hardly be described in a few words. It is best heard in the music he left behind for us to share and in the musicians who were inspired and influenced by it. The first big hit for the Rolling Stones, after all, was a Buddy Holly song revved up with that Bo Diddley beat. The song was "Not Fade Away." The Stones also covered some of Bo's originals like "Crackin' Up" and "Mona" and again, utilized that beat on their own "Please Go Home." George Thorogood has made a career out of "Who Do You Love" and what bar band in the world has not run through "Roadrunner" a half a million times? Creedence and Clapton covered "Before You Accuse Me" and The New York Dolls did "Pills." I guess my point is that Bo Diddley was a major musical giant in the world of blues and rock. These musicians as well as those I did not mention are indebted to him for life as well as the fans.
   
   Of course, to hear these songs in all their original glory is the best and most rewarding way to go. We have lost you, Bo, but not your music. That is what you gave to the world and the world is forever grateful for it. Time may have claimed your life, but you'll always be larger than life to me. You ARE the "Diddley Daddy."



2. Elvis had the charisma, Buddy Holly had the pop smarts, and Little Richard had the wildman persona, but Ellas Otha Bates "Bo Diddley" McDaniel had the greatest gift of all: Rhythm. Alongside Chuck Berry (who was simply in a league of his own), Bo was one of the most influential and exciting artists to make music for Chicago's Chess Records, and one of the label's premiere rock 'n' roll performers. And while Chuck excelled at combining blues with elements of pop, country, soul, and sheer genius, Bo's gift to mankind was his mesmerizing and totally unique vision of the Chicago sound. The man was a percussive genius, a musical hypnotist with an intuitive gift for blending African rhythms, lurching blues, tremolo laden guitars, and chant-along vocals into one churning, pulsating, hypnotic(not to mention totally wicked awesome) vision of rock 'n' roll. But there was more to it than just that: Diddley was also an inspired weirdo, with a knack for lyrical surrealism and offbeat humor that preempted Bob Dylan by about ten years. Even when he was singing about cheating girlfriends and sweet young things, he did it with his own unique, and absolutely delightful, gift for skewed storytelling.
   
   This collection is one of the best places to start listening to the man. It's also fairly safe to say that if you only want one Bo Diddley CD, this is the one to get. Of course, if you only want one Bo Diddley CD, then you're a moron. Just kidding. Anyway, this is a good purchase because it gives you a lot of his absolute classics. You'll get the trance-inducing masterpiece that is "Bo Diddley," the raw churn of "Bring It To Jerome," and the wonderfully inexplicable "Say Man." "Mona" is nothing but way cool pulsations, and "Ooh Baby" is nothing but way cool. There's also the surreal, rollicking boast of "Who Do you Love," the surreal, rollicking boast of "I'm A Man," and the surreal, rollicking boast of "Hey! Bo Diddley. It's the kind of thing you might wanna invest in, especially with a price as good of this. Trust me, you'll love it.



3. Otha Ellas Bates McDaniels, born December 30, 1928 in McComb, Mississippi, took the stage name Bo Diddley from the name of a one-string African guitar. He only registered eleven R&B hit singles from 1955 to 1967, all for the Checker subsidiary of Chess Records, and just five of those crossed over to the more lucrative Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 [one more "bubbled under"] - and yet, justifiably so, he was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1987 - the second year of its existence - and only in 2004 was he so recognized by the Blues Hall Of Fame - some 24 years after they began!
   
   The only mystery is why he was not among those honoured in their first first years since, to my mind anyway, he was every bit as influential as any of those who were brought in at that time, despite the comparative low hit totals. Indeed, almost all the original inductess in the R&R Hall Of Fame adapted a Bo Diddley tune in their repertoire at one time or another.
   
   His first - the double-sided Bo Diddley [# 1 R&B for two weeks] and I'm A Man [a "follow-along" # 1] - peaked on those charts in the early summer of 1955, but it was the driving rhythm of the A-side that captured everyone's attention at a time when the film Blackboard Jungle was re-introducing the world to Bill Haley's (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock. That had first come out a year before with little fanfare but now, coupled with Bo Diddley, the world was on notice. A new sound had arrived.
   
   But, whereas Haley's # 1 signature tune also did very well on the R&B charts [# 3], Bo Diddley made no impression on the Billboard Pop Top 100. The same held true for his follow-up Diddley Daddy which, with The Moonglows doing backing vocals, reached # 11 R&B in late July b/w She's Fine, She's Mine [not included], as well as his next immediate hit, Pretty Thing, # 4 R&B in January 1956 b/w Bring It To Jerome.
   
   He then experienced a 3-year gap before his fourth hit, I'm Sorry, which peaked at # 17 R&B in April 1959 with the vocal backing of The Carnations and Oh Yea on the flipside. Neither, for some reason known only to the producer, is included in this volume, but his next two from 1959 are here, beginning with Crackin' Up which became his first Pop Hot 100 crossover, reaching # 62 that August [and # 14 R&B] b/w The Great Grandfather [not here].
   
   That was followed in October by his best crossover, Say Man, in which he trades insults with maracas player Jerome Green. That topped out at # 3 R&B/# 20 Hot 100 b/w The Clock Strikes Twelve [another omission]. Also overlooked in this volume is the sequel hit Say Man, Back Again which reached # 23 R&B and # 106 Hot 100 "bubble under" in late December, and its flipside, She's Alright.
   
   In April 1960 one of my Diddley favourites, Road Runner, made it to # 20 R&B/# 75 Hot 100 featuring the great Otis Spann on piano, with the B-side shown as My Story [in here it's listed at track 15 as The Story Of Bo Diddley]. Another I especially liked was You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover which, in September 1962, became his second-best crossover, reaching # 48 [and # 21 R&B] b/w I Can Tell. There would then follow a 5-year gap before his eleventh and final hit single, Ooh Baby [# 17 R&B/# 88 Hot 100] b/w Back To School [not included].
   
   The digitally re-mastered sound is flawless, there is a complete discography of the contents, and the eight pages of liner notes by the noted music writer Don Snowden (who, with Willie Dixon, also co-authored the book I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story) are quite informative. But I still had to deduct one star for the omission of those two hit singles [which would have been better choices than tracks 7 and 13 which are obscure cuts] and SIX of the flipsides. A strange way to approach a 50th Year Anniversary compilation titled "His Best."



4. This is a nice introduction to the work of Bo Diddley. The liner notes say: ". . .you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can sure tell something about how important a musician is by the artists who do cover versions of his songs." And a lot of musicians covered his songs or were influenced by his work.
   
   Some of the songs on this album well exemplify his art:
   
   "Bo Diddley": This eponymous work lays out the classic Bo. What a romp! The rhythm is infectious and his guitar work is solid. He shows off a nice blues and rock voice. This is, of course, classic Bo Diddley. And it is one of the great blues/rock songs of the ages.
   
   "I'm a Man": The B side to "Bo Diddley" when 45s were the nature of the recording game. One of the best B sides of all time! Compare with Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy." Tough to choose between them! There is a wonderful basic instrumental tune with great blues vocals from Bo. Classic!
   
   "Hey Bo Diddley": A nicely done variation on "Bo Diddley." Good rhythm.
   
   Finally, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover": There are nice lyrics here, with Bo playing nice variations off of the title. Well done indeed. The rhythm and guitar work is wonderful. The beat is infectious.
   
   This is a wonderful introduction to the corpus of Bo Diddley, one of the major founding figures in rock and roll as well as a nice blues contributor.



5. Bo is to rock and roll, what Strauss is to the polka. Bo is to rock and roll, what Waylon is to country. Bo is to rock and roll, what BB is to the blues. Bo is without peer! The CD belongs in the library of everybody who has an ear for music. I'll bet you'll open it a second time!