1 comments about Collector's Edition: Live.

1. You wont be disapointed with the material on this budget CD. The sound quality is very good, rich and full. Not whats found on most buget CDs. I have been a FATS fan for many years, and I would recomend this CD to anyone, novice or long time fan.

5 comments about The Authorized Bootleg.

1. Robben Ford, one of the best of the studio guitarists of his generation, shows that he has also mastered being a band leader and playing live. This set, taken from an acoustic set at the Bay Area jazz club Yoshi's, was originally recorded for broadcast by the San Francisco FM station KFOG, so it has nice sound. Don't be intimidated by the "authorized bootleg" subtitle, this is a professional recording of a 1995 date.
   
   Stylistically, this is a relaxed and tasteful ensemble album. Perhaps not as blues based as some of his excellent electric albums, like "Talk To Your Daughter", or my favorite of Robben's recordings, "Supernatural", but still in the same vein. He has a suprisingly soulful singing voice for a guitarist's guitarist, but it is his wonderful phrasing and guitar parts that really shine for me.
   
   Similar albums that I really enjoy are Nils Lofgren's "Acoustic Live", and the british instrumentalist Antonio Forcione's "Live" CD on the Naim label. If you get a chance, go and see Robben play live, he is one of the great unsung masters of the guitar.



2. Give me more, give me more. Clean and funky.



3. The rapport between Robben, Tom, Bill and Roscoe is very evident on this hot, and way too short set. Tom Brechtlein and Roscoe Beck deserve big, big kudos for their outstanding support of Robben. My favorites are Lovin' Cup (ultra funky guitar figure), Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin', and Start it Up. Absolutely some of the best blues playing you'll ever hear.



4. This is an overlooked masterpiece! Classy, understated in places, ferocious in others,"Authorized Bootleg" has it all. Ford's vocals are in fine form, but we're really here to hear the guitar, right? The rest of the band cooks as well, and the superb quality of the recording is delightful considering this is acoustic. All I can say is it is one of my all-time favorites.



5. I personally enjoyed many of the songs on this CD. Especially 'Cheverolet' and 'Tired of Talkin'. If you like this you should try an earlier CD entitled: "Firecracker."

1 comments about With His Funky Friends: Live.

1. If it is true that the measure of a man is who his friends are, then it should be true that the measure of a musician is who he plays with. That puts Merle at the top of the heap. This disc was recorded mainly in the early 90's with a whole new set of friends, but what a set of friends! His guests include: John Popper, Steve Kimock, Michael Warren, Murga Booker, Dr. John, Michael Hinton, Vince Littleton, Maria Muldaur, David Grisman, Trey Anastasio, and last but certainly not least Jerome Garcia. They do everything from Randy Newman, Willie Dixon, Garcia/Hunter, and Allen Toussaint to George Gershwin, and they do it all so well! I was a little skeptical myself. I loved Merle's 70's stuff with Garcia but was a little unsure what he would sound like over 20 years later with all new people. I wasn't disappointed and promise you won't be either. It's all here: blues, rock, funk, jazz, 'Nawlins creole, bluegrass, new age, and it's all done exactly like you would expect it to be. AWESOME AND FUNKY !!!!

No comments about Windy City Blues.

1 comments about Jimmy Witherspoon - Live at the Mint.

1. Were I to believe all the music reviews that one reads, I for one, would not have as many duds in my collection as I do, and I certainly would not have bought Witherspoons 'Live at the Mint'.

   I have, and it is one of the best CD's that I have.

   Witherspoon cut this CD after a bout with throat cancer, his voice has obviously lost its old power, and shows the ravages of that disease.

   Witherspoon remains great. Whenever his voice weakens (as it does)Fords guitar swoops in like a hawk, and is witness to the great sideman that he can be and the friendship that he shared with Witherspoon.

   To state that Fords partnership here with 'Spoon is 'noble and commendable' and that the CD is 'great inspite of' Witherspoon, is insensitive, ridiculous and spouts from the lips who do not understand the genre nor true friendship.

   The blues is not about beautiful voices, the blues is about life, and above all, pain, and the expresion of it. At least Witherspoon did not have to act the Blues, he lived it, and died it.

   Those who wish to listen to beautiful voices should limit themselves to boys choirs. 'Live at the Mint' is a great Blues CD, but buy it for what it is- a great Jimmy Witherspoon CD.

1 comments about Live at the D.C. Blues Society.

1. MOST of the Mapleshade CDs have the highest of recording-quality, though some of their CDs are not to my MUSICAL taste. But this particular CD could hardly be better. It's simply great--the best of all the Mapleshades, at least musically. Sunnyland Slim's voice sounds weak, if not utterly ruined, but that does not matter, because his piano playing is so remarkably good and fun. I have heard few CDs, of any genre, that I enjoy as thoroughly as I do this one. This is great music excellently recorded--in fact, I have never heard piano better recorded than this.

No comments about Blues on the High Seas, King Snake Live!.

1 comments about Blues Live from Mountain Stage.

1. Mountain stage is a terrific radio program that is seldom heard around these parts, yet these records document the strength and talent that the program has attracted over the years. Here, the focus is on the blues, and mountain stage has gathered a strong stable of artists. A welcome addition to any collection.

1 comments about Atlanta Blues Legend.

1. Songs like "It Was In The Weary Hour Night" (related to Blind Willie McTell and Curley Weaver's gorgeous "Wee Midnight Hours"), "Betty And Dupree" and "Every Day Seems Like Sunday" prove that Buddy Moss was one of the greatest acoustic Bluesmen to have ever lived. This material was recorded supposedly after his prime, however, in my opinion, his playing and singing is much better, and the variety of material is greater, on this disc than on his 1930s recordings. Buddy Moss is the only artist who recorded in the 20s and 30s who actually sounded better during the Country Blues revival than he did on his old 78 records. It took me a while to really appreciate this record. For some bizarre reason, I didn't enjoy it on first listen. A while later, I went back and listened to it, and truly appreciated it. At the time this record was recorded, Moss' contemporary, the great Blind Willie McTell, had passed away. Barbecue Bob had been dead for approximately thirty years. Therefore, in the 1960s, Moss was the representative of the Atlanta Blues scene of yesteryear. This is a fantastic record which I can't recommend enough. "How I Feel Today" is perhaps the darkest song on this record, in terms of mood, and is another stand-out performance.

No comments about Extended Versions.