No comments about Grits Ain't Groceries.

3 comments about Nothing but the Blues.

1. I am blues fan and Joanna Connor is one of my best favority guitar players, this record is awesome, I rate this CD on the same level as "Framptom Comes Alive" and the Stones "Ya, Ya's out", the sound is excellent and Joanna's singing and playing are the best. the rendition of 'Rock me Baby " is one the best or the best I heard on that song, I konw there are few copies of this available but it is priceless so if you want to own a top class blues live recording you must have this one.
   Ruben



2. THIS RECORDING IS SO FULL OF GREAT GUITAR PLAYING AND SINGING THAT I USUALLY CAN'T FINISH THE CD IN ONE SITTING. IT'S ALMOST OVERPOWERING AT TIMES. GREAT ROCK AND ROLL AND BLUES IN ONE CD. EACH SONG TAKES ON A LIFE OF IT'S OWN. I THINK THIS BY FAR HER BEST RECORDING, STUDIO OR OTHERWISE!!! TOO BAD ITS JUST ON IMPORT



3. This is a must have for any Joanna Connor or Blues fan! It is a chance to hear her wonderful voice and blazing guitar outside the studio and really see what pure talent she has. Joanna's guitar pyrotechnics are second to no one and she proves it on this album. The band is great behind her as they always are. For a live album there is an absence of between song banter but that just means it is 72 minutes of smokin' blues. I have been waiting for a live album and I was not disappointed.

2 comments about Live And On The Move.

1. Bought this 2nd hand on the fly, 3 years back. Stunning tight band driven by beautiful manic drummer and held togeher by rock steady gtr of Micky Baker . One of the best integrated small blues groups I have heard. Magnificent foil to James' "in your face" harp - his breaks and timing are staggering! Continual "high energy" road show worthy of a government health warning. Only downsides - slightly less than desirable balance for James' vocals and an over extended Flip Flop and Caledonia, the former having gob smacking first impact which wanes on repeated listening. But this is nit-picking! - listen to James playing the audience - lose yourself in the atmosphere of the night! BUY! - If anyone knows of a "higher energy" JC recording (live!) please let me know!



2. I'm usually not a big fan of live recordings, but these mid-70's recordings really catch the spirit of James Cotton "live & on the move", while still in his prime! Sure, there may be sentimental reasons for my liking this disc {often caught Cotton during this period at the club where these recordings were made} but putting all sentimentality aside, I've gained a whole new level of appreciation for these cuts. Listening to these tracks with fresh aged ears {the first time in 20 some years} I can't help but be impressed by Cotton and company's tightness as a unit. A tough act to follow, there weren't many shows rolling down the proverbial blues pike that packed as much punch as a James Cotton performance in it's heyday, and these cuts certainly can attest to that. Cotton's band, consisting of seasoned vets such as Matt "guitar" Murphy, know how to lay and hold down earthy funkified grooves, build energetic boogie's, shuffle and swing without ever losing so much as a beat. If I had to criticize one thing, it would be Cotton's choice of material. James Cotton had written some fine numbers while a recording artist for both the Sun and Vanguard labels, it's too bad that he doesn't showcase a few of them here. Instead, Cotton is content rekindling old chestnuts such as "Got My Mojo Working" and "Help Me". What would a review of a James Cotton disc be without mentioning his harmonica playing? James Cotton shows why he's earned the nickname "Mr. Superharp", especially on tunes such as, "One More Mile", "All Walks Of Life" and "Boogie Thang", where the deep tonal qualities and grittiness of his harp work can be heard to full effect. A nice slice of what a James Cotton live show sounded like back in the 70's, complimented by one of the tightest and hardest working bands in the blues biz, Recommended!

3 comments about Live at the Rynborn.

1. Something of an "elder statesman" of the blues, Luther Johnson played guitar in the Muddy Waters band for seven years, and his own band, the Magic Rockers, (almost) manages to produce the same tough, swinging groove that the great Chicago combos of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James laid down in their heyday.
   
   This is straight-ahead, unpretentious electric blues anchored by a good rhythm section and a great piano player, and if Luther's vocals lack the power of Muddy's, his rock-solid guitar playing goes a long way towards making up for it.
   The songs are somewhat crudely edited (probably an attempt to give the impression that they all came from the same set when they obviously didn't), and the back-to-back slow blues which finish off the set rob it of some of its intensity.
   Oh, and the liner notes are lousy, too.
   But the music is really good, occationally even great, like Luther's rendition of "You Don't Have To Go" and "What You've Been Putting Down" (great solo), a fun, swinging cover of Fats Domino's "Hello Josephine", and the one-time Bobby Bland single "It's My Life Baby".
   Not everything is equally remarkable, of course, but there is certainly no need to skip anything either, and even somewhat predictable numbers like "I Don't Know Why" and "Love Me Baby" sound great when set to a lively boogie beat and played by a band as competent as this. Love that piano!
   
   If you've been listening to "Muddy Waters At Newport" or "Howlin' Wolf Live At Alice's Revisited" all week, this album may disappoint you just a little bit at first, but give it a chance. It's a really enjoyable slide of Chicago blues played by one of the genre's most reliable performers.



2. I used to go and listen to Luther's every concert at Harper's Ferry in Boston. This CD captures the best of Luther's live performances. Listening to this CD is like bein' there, right in front of the stage, sipping JD straight up, moving to the rythm and the soul of Luther's deep blues. Luther for ever! I only wish he'd come to Hong Kong sometime... In the meantime, this CD will keep the Blues alive!!



3. Let us not take for granted the solid, no-frills, blues artistry of Chicago's Mr. Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson - he's the real thing in an era of teenage guitar "sensations." When Johnson (now the pride of New England) is "on," as he shows here, he's one of the tastiest guitar pickers around. Better still, he has developed into a top-flight singer. This is a welcome re-release of what had been a rarity put out by the club itself. It also marks his first solo live release. His studio work with Rooster, Bullseye and Telarc labels is probably the better place to start, but this is a decent live snapshot of a fine performer.

1 comments about Scrapper Blackwell, Vol. 3 (1959-1960).

1. Guitarist Scrapper Blackwell was, with his partner Leroy Carr, one of the most popular blues performers of the early 1930s. However, with the death of Carr, Blackwell's career faltered, and he lived quietly in Indianapolis until white blues enthusiasts located him in the late 1950s. The result was a handful of recordings, mainly on obscure labels, before he was murdered in 1962.

   Tracks 1 - 12 are previously unissued performances drawn from a concert Blackwell gave in September 1959, featuring him solo, singing, playing the piano and accompanying singer Brooks Berry. Tracks 13 - 22 are the re-issuing of the long unavailable "Blues Before Sunrise" album on the British "77" label.

   Both sessions find Blackwell in fine form. His guitar style is a complex one, swinging but blues drenched, and combining strong chordal work and single string runs. Perhaps more striking still is his vocal work: a gentle voice, slightly hoarse and immensely weary, combining beautifully with strongly poetic and original lyrics.

   Most of the songs are original blues, but "Down & Out" is given a poignant reading, while "Little Boy Blue" is a delightfully playful rendition of the nursery rhyme. Brooks Berry is eminently forgettable, but does not detract from a fine CD.

   Recommended for all lovers of acoustic guitar blues.

4 comments about Live at Paradiso.

1. If Wolfman Jack sang for CCR you would have Omar & The Howlers. This concert was recorded in 1991 in Amsterdam. It seems that Omar is much more popular in Europe then he is here. Too bad because this is great Texas style rock n roll. It's a solid concert and the strongest tracks are "Mississippi Hoo Doo" which sounds an awful lot like "Run through the Jungle", and they stay in the CCR mode with a cover of John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou". The rest of the concert is all original and includes their hit "Hard Times in the Land of Plenty" and some great blues guitar in a song called "Lee Anne".
   
   A bit of trivia I learned from this concert...Omar was born in McComb, Mississippi...the same little town as Bo Diddley.



2. In the mid-80's I caught Omar and his Howlers at the Paramount in Seattle. This was before we were assimilated by California and now the east coast. In those days it wasn't real easy to get us fired up at a show, no matter the artist. Well, to a four fifths house Omar and the boy's showed little or no mercy. About half way through I was aware that I hadn't even sat down yet, looked around and people were litterally standing in their chairs, pumping their fists and giving reasonable facsimile's of a rebel yell. He/they blew the roof off of the joint and had us screaming for more. I was lucky enough to be able to hang out with him afterwords and discuss the awsome Austin scene including Miss Luanne Barton and Eric Johnson. What a cool guy. He even invited us to dinner. I've been looking for a cd with some of his older songs for at least 10 yrs, and finally, thank God, I found it. If you have not heard Hard Times in The Land OF Plenty and some of the others on this jewel, buy it. Now. If you've never seen the great one live, do so. As soon as possible. He is the real thing, not a pretty boy poser.



3. In the mid-80's I caught Omar and his Howlers at the Paramount in Seattle. This was before we were assimilated by California and now the east coast. In those days it wasn't real easy to get us fired up at a show, no matter the artist. Well, to a four fifths house Omar and the boy's showed little or no mercy. About half way through I was aware that I hadn't even sat down yet, looked around and people were litterally standing in their chairs, pumping their fists and giving reasonable facsimile's of a rebel yell. He/they blew the roof off of the joint and had us screaming for more. I was lucky enough to be able to hang out with him afterwords and discuss the awsome Austin scene including Miss Luanne Barton and Eric Johnson. What a cool guy. He even invited us to dinner. I've been looking for a cd with some of his older songs for at least 10 yrs, and finally, thank God, I found it. If you have not heard Hard Times in The Land OF Plenty and some of the others on this jewel, buy it. Now. If you've never seen the great one live, do so. As soon as possible. He is the real thing, not a pretty boy poser.



4. I've seen Omar live in Chicago a number of times, and this album is the real deal. If you ever considered seeing him live, this is your primer. Not a bad performance in the bunch.

3 comments about Live in Europe.

1. This is a superbly played and recorded set. There is a generous amount of music (topping 60mins) here. The sound is crisp and clean and the tone that Specter coaxes from his Strat is to die for. Every track provides Specter ample opportunity to showcase his solid musical sense. He takes his time to play through his solos showing great taste and poise throughout. Tad Robinson's vocals and harp accompaniment complement Specter all the way. And the rhythm sections holds down the groove effortlessly. The bass is recorded cleanly and centered in the music. There is depth and body to the drums (listen to the brush work on Kidney Stew for example!). You can follow the changes with very little effort. Finally there is a good mix of beats and tempos to the tunes. Play it from beginning to end and then listen to it again and again!! Then go out and get Specter's other recordings by himself and his colloborations with Steve Freund, Jesse Fortune, Ronnie Earl for example. You will become a fan as I have. Why 5 stars? I have been listening to this cd for over 3 months and I have not tired of it. Can't think of any negatives here.



2. This is one of the best live blues albums i have herd in a long time. The guitar is so clean and smooth also, Tad Robinson is great his vocals and harp fit so well if you love good i mean great live blues you got to have this one, not a bad or weak song on this one.



3. BLUES IS ONE TYPE OF MUSIC THAT ALWAYS SOUNDS GREAT LIVE AND THIS IS NO EXCEPTION. DAVE SPECTOR IS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECT ARTISTS IN THE BIZ,DAVE HAS PLAYED WITH MANY GREAT PLAYS ARTISTS OVER THE YEARS. IF YOU ENJOY PLAYS WITH PASSION AND FEELING WITH THAT ROCK/BLUES SOUND THIS CD IS FOR YOU

1 comments about Live in Chicago.

1. This is a great live blues album. Dave Specter is one of the better current modern day artist keeping the Chicago Blues sound alive and well. Dave has a sound that is blues at its core, but a touch jazzy (check out the openning instrumental). While Dave doesn't sing he brings in lots of help with the likes of Tab Robinson, Jimmy Johnson and Sharon Lewis all providing vocal tracks. The mix of guest makes this a bit like The Last Waltz in terms of listening experience, which is a real treat. This album is great and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to update their blues collection.

No comments about Chicago 63.

No comments about Live & Awesome.