1 comments about Etta: Red Hot 'n' Live.

1. First of all I there is nothing wrong with Etta's performance and vocal quality on this strange recording. This CD includes 9 songs(Respect yourself, I'd Rather Go Blind, Shake Yo' Bottie, Dust Your Broom, Summer Heat, Drown in my Own Tears, Can't Turn You loose, Rock Me Baby and Stormy Monday) clocking in at just about 40 minutes. Etta sounds great and I wish the liner notes would say when this album was recorded. Who ever put together this awful package must of thought that these songs were all too long, since every song fades out before it ends. Very weird and annoying. There is also very little of Etta talking, if that is something that matters. It is suspicius that this is on a small label called Quicksilver, this album does not seem to fit into her catalog. I am not aware of her ever recording this album, but I have not read her book so I could be wrong. So in conclusion only get this poor recording if you must have everything by Etta James, the songs are good and the price is right, just as long as you know what you are getting into.

No comments about Live Anthology.

No comments about Live in Boston.

No comments about Live (1958-1959).

No comments about You Gotta Reap.

No comments about The Sky Blues of Boston Live.

No comments about Swingin' from the Fabulous Satellite.

1 comments about Ain't Nothing But a Party.

1. Hard to belive my very dear old friend isn't still on this earth... This recording makes it seem as if we could still watch for the mighty Texas Tornado to blow through town on tour!

5 comments about Live "Now Appearing" at Ole Miss.

1. I thank the above reviewers for identifying the source of the extraneous cartoon sounds, which caused me to return the CD pressing way back when because I thought there was an engineering problem.
   Yes, these unwanted visitors come close to wrecking some classic renditions.
   The set is loaded with Soul, however, the kind that connects with the audience and jumps back to inspire the star and his band. Live at The Regal is probably the favorite King live set, but it has some curious tracking. This Ole Miss experience is apparently *the* complete show, and King displays his mastery of making music and making the people happy. The screams from the crowd are somewhat surprising, as they are the kind of sound you might expect to hear in a Teddy Pendergrass or Luther Vandross excursion.
   B. B. actually sounds a bit surprised, himself.
   As usual the material is first-rate, and done with care, although King's vocals sound a little tired and his playing a mite heavy at times - he makes Lucille work hard for the University attendees.
   Good versions throughout, the medley and "Guess Who?" being highlights, although personal favorite, the originally unreleased single side, "You Know I Love Me", has a very tough time getting off the ground. And it's not the wind chimes and boomerang noises to get in the way, this time.



2. If you like BB King, this album won't leave you wanting. It's got a lot of songs, and he is in his prime. Get it if you can find it. I had a hard time finding it. Since losing my original copy, it's been hard finding it in stock.



3. This was an album my dad happened to have in his large record collection--curious, I pulled it out & began listening to it. This was more than a few years ago. Of course I'd heard of B.B. King at the time, but it was with this album that I seriously gave his music--and the blues in general, for the matter--a listen for the first time. It wasn't long before I understood why this guy is considered the King of the Blues. This 2 CD live album, originally released as a double LP in 1980, conclusively demonstrates B.B.'s winning enthusiasm & charisma in a live setting.
   
   He weaves in highly entertaining spoken monologues into the "Blues Medley" on disc 1. They're filled with self-depreciating wit and humor, and they brilliantly complement the songs themselves. B.B. sounds completely natural and unforced and puts his winning humbleness on full display.
   
   B.B.'s got a wonderful, full & rich guitar tone going throughout the album, & his playing, though a tad stiff at times, is mostly terrific anyway. The instrumental "When I'm Wrong" is a perfect demonstration of the kind of soulfulness he captures with his guitar playing.
   
   He's also in incredible peak form vocally on here, singing with great power but without the overslick highness you occasionally encounter on earlier recordings, or the overly weatherbeaten vocals that begin to creep in another decade down the line.
   
   On "I Got Some Outside Help", a song about being cheated on, B.B. starts by delivering a terrific guitar performance, and then proceeds to unleash a riveting, perfectly phrased vocal, and the result is cathartic. "Never Make A Move Too Soon" is given a great, crisp, driving uptempo treatment that contrasts with the slyly laidback studio version from his 1978 "Midnight Believer" album. The feel-good "Rock Me Baby" and the swinging, uptempo, upbeat "Caldonia" are irresistible. The tender "Darlin' You Know I Love You" with its strong vocal and soulful song-ending guitar solo, is undeniably charming, as is the brief version of "Guess Who" which B.B. uses as a tribute to his fans. The 10+ minute, mostly instrumental version of "The Thrill Is Gone" is great as well--his guitar work is so supremely enjoyable, & the backing musicians are so solid & sympathetic to the material that it's arresting even as it runs on for over 10 minutes.
   
   Despite all the great performances, there is some bad news with this album that mars it considerably. The album credits include the 'Sweetenings Percussion & Rhythm' of Nana Vasconcelos on percussions & Jon Jones on rhythm guitar, and presumably, between the two of them, they're responsible for subsequently overdubbing all kinds of ridiculous noises onto the album, including the 'boing'-y sound on "Darlin' You Know I Love You", the "woo"s that run throughout "Rock Me Baby", and the aimless, rambling, shockingly tasteless guitar on the verses of a drastically flawed version of "Hold On" (it appears on his 1978 "Midnight Believer" album in a strong studio version). In addition to this, on the opening & closing tracks, you get a hilariously obnoxious announcer who does a forced-sounding B.B. imitation near the beginning of the album. There is also some distracting noise that crops up on the "Blues Medley" and "Three O'Clock In The Morning" as if they were having some technical difficulties during the performance.
   
   The ridiculously inappropriate noises that plague "'Now Appearing' at Ole Miss" are indeed a crime. If you took out the 4 or 5 weakest tracks here, subtracted the ridiculous overdubbed annoyances, polished up the recording quality just a hair, and slapped it all onto 1 CD, it'd make this one of the best CDs of all time. As it is, I still treasure the album dearly and have an undeniable soft spot for it--B.B. King is frequently spotlighted at his absolute best here, which is saying a LOT. Try to snap this up at a reasonable price.



4. I've seen BB in concert four times (twice near the time of this recording), and he is always a lot better in concert than on his studio recordings. This is a recording of a concert, however later they "sweetened" it in the studio, adding a bunch of junk that seriously detracts from the performance. If you can listen past the "sweetener", it is great. If it weren't for the "sweetener" that was added, this would be at least a 4 star CD.



5. I've had the fortunate pleasure of getting to see Mr. King twice in concert. Once in Houston, Tx and the other at BB King's Blues Club on Beale Street in Memphis, TN. He is standard that all other modern blues musicians are judged by. "Live at Ole Miss" is one of my favorite BB King CD's. Listening to this CD makes you feel like you are at a live BB King concert. Buy this CD; You'l listen to it again and again.

3 comments about Tops.

1. Otis Rush shines whenever he digs into a slow, gritty 12 bar blues more so than on faster tempo songs. The slow tempo enables him to put his wonderful finger vibrato and four fret bending techniques to work.
   No more so than here on BB Kings song "Gamblers Blues". It's a killer version and worth getting inspite of the slightly mediocre other tracks. I'm glad to say his solo is long on this song as well.



2. Otis Rush is captured live on this 1988 release to marvelous effect. Recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1985, this album presents virtually his entire set. [Note: The album is a bit short at 39:16.] Rush's soulful vocals and stinging guitar leads are featured throughout, especially on the instrumental "Tops," one of three originals ("Right Place, Wrong Time" and "Keep On Lovin' Me Baby" are the other two). Rush also does some extended soloing on the nearly 9-minute cover of B.B. King's "Gambler's Blues." The nearly 8-minute instrumental "I Wonder Why" is a highlight. Rush is ably backed by a six-piece band, including a horn section. RECOMMENDED



3. Not a bad record-just not particularly inspired or inspiring. If you don't already have it, get "Right Place, Wrong Time", Otis Rush's undisputed masterpiece.