No comments about Blues Live.

5 comments about Live On Maxwell Street 1964.

1. This is the original CD version of the first unauthorized release of this music. Rounder--with unbelievable audacity--has just reissued this disc with bonus tracks that sound to this writer like they were lifted from Rooster's recent 3-CD release "And This Is Maxwell Street," which was the first and only authorized release of this music--and much, much more.

   My advice to anyone interested in Robert Nighthawk and in hearing the raw, unedited, electric blues of Chicago played by some of the masters that molded the style is to forget this and go get "And This Is Maxwell Street." "And This Is Maxwell Street" includes all the music on this disk but mastered from the original tapes made for Mike Shea's documentary film "And This Is Free," the original source of these recordnigs, plus all the band chatter and street ambience that was edited out of the compilation reviewed here. The new Rooster release also includes tracks by Johnny Young, Big John Wrencher, Carey Bell, James Brewer's gospel group, Arvella Grey, and Michael Bloomfield. The full Bloomfield interview of Robert Nighthawk (44 minutes!) appears on that three-CD deluxe set, which also has a 60-page booklet lavishly illustrated with new, rare photos, and includes a full explanation of how these recordings came to be.

   I personally see no need to bother with the CD reviewed here at all when the far superior "And This Is Maxwell Street" is available. It is no surprise that "And This Is Maxwell Street" was nominated for a W.C. Handy award. It is no surprise that it has won three Living Blues Awards--best historical blues recording in the critics poll, best historical blues recording in the readers poll, and best liner notes of ANY blues recording in its year of release.




2. High production values are great, but they have never made a great record. This is the real deal, noisy, recorded live, on the street, in what has to be, along with the gritty, hole-in-the-wall clubs that once dotted Chicago, one of the most natural venues for urban blues. A case of blues "vérité", I guess. The natural essence of the thing. The main ingredient is, for want of a better word, feel. Never mind that the playing is up there in terms of blues chops. What this is all about is believing that as long as you are playing and singing, or listening to someone else play and sing, the blues (which speaks of the frustration, hurt and yes, sometimes, despair of life, hard in and of itself, but made even harder by those who, in fact if not spirit, control you and your fate), you know you are still alive and that there is hope. Blues is sort of like exorcism: speak the name of what bedevils you, so that you may be set free. I have little to add as comments on the music on this record, which I would urge anyone to listen to, but what provides added insight is the interview to be found on it. I was intrigued by Robert Nighthawk's tone throughout this interview which, to my mind, is the tone of a man expressing both a desire to share across the divide of age and culture his experience of the blues and, maybe more tellingly, a certain reluctance at giving away too much, a certain modesty in not bearing without reservation his soul to what he may have perceived as an outsider, and a sort of world-weariness, if not outright scepticism, in the face of the interest afforded him. If the blues is a great spotlight on the human condition of a marginalized and abused people, Robert Nighthawk's music is as bright and cutting a light as any I have found. This music is as unadulterated as you can get: both in its form and its content. It is the truth, only as the real blues can be.



3. This is no studio album -- it was recorded on in about 1963 on Maxwell Street in Chicago, sort of a gathering place for blues musicians then, and you can hear the crowd that happened by, you can hear the screw-ups that always accompany a live performance, and you can hear some tough, gritty blues that puts you as close as you'll ever get to sitting there in the crowd and listening to these guys in their element. Nighthawk was a wandering man -- he travelled up adn down the Mississippi from teh Deep South to St. Louis and Chicago and back again over and over again. This album was recorded during a stop in Chicago, and it's a gem. If you were to buy this album and "Bricks in my pillow" from Delmark you would have in your hands two albums by Nighthawk that are among the best ever recorded. He hasn't been nearly as popular as some of his contemporaries, but that may have had as much to do with teh fact that he was quiet, pretty shy and itinerant as anything else. Listen to these albums and you'll have found a great artist.



4. This kind of blues is like the record of a lost civilization - gone so long that we've almost forgotten how much it accomplished in its prime. In the 36 years since this album was recorded, electric-guitar blues has been buffed and polished to a high shine but we've lost too much in the process. The rough edges that got sanded away took with them the very texture of the blues - leaving the listener with nothing to hold on to.

   If that strikes a chord with you, grab this CD - and let it grab you right back. It's rough, raw and gritty - a musical snapshot of the streets on which it was recorded. As I listen to it again and again, I find myself listening *through* it, hoping to to catch the sounds of the city and the very moment in which it was recorded. This is the blues stained with sweat, nicotine and cheap beer on a hot summer afternoon - and it's intoxicating.




5. Mr. Alcroft is exactly right this disc the double version is already avaible as a Japanise import its a little pricy but worth double or triple the asking price as I said before its down and dirty blues that you can feel down to your bones its sends shivers up your spine and transports you to a place called Maxwell street I give this 6 stars

5 comments about Hit the High Hard One.

1. This CD can be ordered brand new from the record company, fifty-fifty music for $13.99.



2. As with another reviewer, I stumbled upon Popa's Hit The High Hard One concert over at LiveConcerts.com and, like the other reviewer, played the show so many times I finally had to purchase the CD.

   I always find Popa's licks, phrasing and tone to be a total inspiration to my own playing. The guy really knows how to let it ALL hang out. Great player -- this is a must-have for any serious lover of rockin' blues.




3. As with another reviewer, I stumbled upon Popa's Hit The High Hard One concert over at LiveConcerts.com and, like the other reviewer, played the show so many times I finally had to purchase the CD.

   I always find Popa's licks, phrasing and tone to be a total inspiration to my own playing. The guy really knows how to let it ALL hang out. Great player -- this is a must-have for any serious lover of rockin' blues.




4. ... I played it so many times that I finally had to own a copy. Popa Chubby rocks!. There are so many memorable moments on this album. I subsequentially bought some studio albums that unfortunately do not come close to this album. 'Booty and the Beast' is disappointing in comparison.



5. This CD was one of my favorite popa chubby cds, he is one awsome guitarist and really great to listen to. If you like blues you will like popa chubby! GET THIS CD IT ROCKS!

2 comments about I'm Ready Live!.

1. I'm sitting here with a copy of this CD. Same title, same cover. Yet it's not a live album, and the track list is completely different.

   There is a live album out there titled "I'm Ready", released by Chess Records in 1978, but it's not the one pictured here. The cover shown above is Waters' Johnny Winter-produced 1978 album for CBS records, which is also called "I'm Ready".

   Confusing, eh?
   Well, if you're gonna order this album because you want a live recording, you had better make sure you get the right one.
   (Not much of a review here, I know, but I though someone ought to point out that there are two Muddy Waters-albums called "I'm Ready", and the one pictured here doesn't match the track list shown below.)




2. This CD is some of Muddy Waters Live Material from the mid/late70's. The Quality could be a little better but the CD is still veryenjoyable.

No comments about Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 18: Live on the Road.

5 comments about Live Alive.

1. Live Alive (1986) was originally released as a two-record set of live performances from 1985-86. There's a lot of music here and it's all great, but get this especially for the back-to-back versions of Texas Flood and Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). In the 6:30 minutes of Texas Flood, I have no doubt that Stevie felt the presence of God. I do just listening to it! Jimi Hendrix is channeled in the unbelievable 9:37 minutes of Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). Just these two songs are worth the price of the CD, but there is plenty more to love here. Fourteen songs that average around 5:00 minutes apiece, including Pride And Joy, Cold Shot, Willie The Wimp, Look At Little Sister, Love Struck Baby, Superstition, and more. Some of this was recorded at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1985. They booed Stevie there in 1982, but you won't hear any of that this time around. Only wildly enthusiastic positive cheering. Is this essential Stevie Ray Vaughan material? Absolutely. If anything, just get this for Texas Flood and Voodoo Chile (Slight Return). Stevie Ray Vaughan has never sounded better than he does on those two. Just ask God and Jimi.



2. This is an excellant SRV album. I had to buy several copies in cassette version because I played it so much I kept stretching it out! The only problem I have with the CD version is that the "powers that be" eliminated the "Life Without You" version that appears on the cassette. This is inexcusable, in my opinion, and I can only assume it happened because of pressure to be "politically correct"....Stevie makes very direct references to South Africa and Apartheid. Stevie "preaches" in the middle of the song and gives one of the all-time classic lines...."I may be White, but I ain't stupid!" I would really, really, REALLY like the studio to reconsider and re-release this album on CD in its original form. In any event, this is a "must have" CD for any serious SRV fan.



3. this is a really good live album. some of the songs he sings are first timers for him like Superstition or I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime). but all and all, a really great album.



4. Stevie's contract mandated that he produce another album. He was so strung out on drugs at the time that he was unable to produce new material. A live album was all he was able to come up with. The available material (mostly the Montreaux performances) evidently didn't meet the highest standards of quality so a lot of overdubbing was done. Stevie's drug induced monologue at the end of Life Without You was an embarrassment to many of his friends and colleagues.
   
   BUT IT'S STILL STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN AND THEREFORE FANTASTIC!!!!! The CD still rocks. It still has some great guitar work. As far as I'm concerned it's still a good piece of work. This was the first SRV tape I got, and I was not disappointed. SRV was a great guitarist. Period. This CD is also great.
   
   But his other stuff is much better.



5. The late Stevie Ray Vaughan rocked on stage. His rendition of Howlin' Wolf's "Commit A Crime" may lack the raw punch of Wolf's original, but that's a minor complaint...most of this album is simply excellent, filled with gems from Vaughan's first three albums.
   
   Stevie Ray's muscular and versatile guitar playing is sublime, with more grit than most of his studio orginals. His vocals are good, too, and the song list is magnificent, featuring the rare, non-LP track "Willie the Wimp" about the bizarre 1984 funeral of a Chicago "wiseguy".
   
   Other highlights include Vaughan's best song, the superbly groovy "Pride And Joy", as well as "Look At Little Sister", "Cold Shot", "Love Struck Baby" and the slow blues "Texas Flood" and "Ain't Gone 'N' Give Up On Love", but there are really no weak songs, and this album should appeal to fans of both blues and rock music.
   The sound is good, although not always crystal clear, and the band is excellent. Several songs actually sound better in this live setting than on the original studio albums, partly because of the blistering blues-rock arrangements which include keyboards (piano and organ).
   
   Apparently some people feel that Vaughan's playing wasn't up to his usual standards when this album was recorded, that he must have been having a bad night or something. I've heard a lot of live SRV, and I can't make any sense of that claim, especially since "Live Alive" wasn't recorded during just one show, but actually incorporates cuts from different concerts in both 1985 and 1986. He must have been having some bad years, then, and this myopic claim sounds particularly absurd when it is brought forward by people who then go on to praise Stevie's "Live At Montreux" album. Several of these performances are from, yes, you guessed it, the very same 1985 Montreux performance.
   
   Contrary to what some people have apparently heard and chosen to believe, this is a very enjoyable, soulful live album, and it is highly recommendable to anyone with an interest in Stevie Ray Vaughan, or contemporary blues and blues-rock in general.

5 comments about Live Snakes.

1. I have only been to one live performance of The Hoopsnakes, about a year ago, and this was the CD that fans said even their mothers would listen to. At this time of year, I like to hear something like this, and it is ironic for me that staying out late would be a key clue in the song "I Can Tell," which expresses the kind of epistomology that rock and roll has always been for me. The next song had Bruce McCabe singing about you lying and cheating and you used to laugh at him. Well, his piano plays out the resulting confusion and the electric guitars make the crowd want to rattle and shake better than any monster truck I ever saw.



2. I had this album as a cassette tape which was played so much, it eventually broke. So, I was happy to be able to find the CD online. I'd missed listening to it for a few years. It's a great album from a great band.



3. Beyond a shoadow of a doubt, this is my very favorite live recording bar none. No one could deliver a party on a CD like the Hoopsnakes. Infectious, rollicking, joyous and danceable, this CD may be the most fun you've never heard.



4. Definitely the best local band the Twin Cities has probably ever seen. I feel extremely fortunate over several years to have witnessed the enormous talent this band has. Most live albums don't seem to do a band justice, but this one does. With the "die hard" fans taking part in some of the songs and an occasional glass breaking in the background, you feel like you're right there - I was. If you never got the opportunity to hear these guys, do yourself a favor and pick up this CD. You won't regret it.



5. Bruce McCabe's vocals and piano drive this unforgettably fun blues band's live show recorded at The Cabooze Bar in Mpls. The beat will make you wanna dance in your living room. Charlie Bingham's guitar solos are the cleanest you'll ever hear. This CD will grow on you with every listen....be careful if you listen while driving down the freeway....'cause I know you'll be speeding before the first song is complete. This band was the #1 bar band in the Twin Cities from the late 80's until '96. They are currently sidelined by the fact that their leader Bruce McCabe is now the keyboardest and songwriter for young bluesman Jonny Lang. Jonny's latest album Wander This World features a few from Bruce, most notably Still Rainin' and First Impressions.

2 comments about Live 1971.

1. I'm writing this review while listening to this disk; I love it! If you're a fan of Lightnin' Hopkins electric blues style (i.e. The Herald Material 1954 Volume I and similar disks) this is a must have CD; raw blues at it's best. Good price, great music; a most excellent combination!



2. The second of these two stars is for this disc's historical value: live cuts from very late in his career; the ambience of hearing an old, probably drunk Lightnin' sweating it out with a mediocre rhythm section I'm sure he'd never met before; the (often rambling) give and take with the audience. Still, the music itself is not even remotely close to being top-grade or even average Lightnin' Hopkins. He's cruising on reputation and has nothing left to prove. Sound is mediocre at best. He plays OK, but there's little commitment, life or originality. Too many of the songs are instrumentals and the others seem unfinished. Buy ONLY if you want every Lightnin' Hopkins CD or if you wonder what he was like live at the end of his career.

5 comments about Beware of the Dog.

1. These guys epitomize everything I like about the blues. It's a very stripped down band, just a drummer and two guitarists, no bass. Hound Dog had a dirt cheap guitar and a Sears amplifier. Most of the songs are very simple rhythms. This is not art rock.
   
   And they played primarily just for the love of the music. For most of their careers they had day jobs. They played in local clubs in the evenings. They very seldom rehearsed if at all. They just liked playing blues.
   
   This CD is a live recording. The band didn't know at the time that their performance was being recorded for an album. This was just a selection of songs from a typical performance. As you listen to this, imagine the smell of cigarrette smoke, and imagine being surrounded by a couple dozen smiling, laughing, joking and jiving people.



2. This album features the wild and rambunctious Hound Dog Taylor, who is most definitely the Ramones of the Blues. In other words, while his guitar playing is sloppy, his lyrics are sometimes unintelligible, and his music is monotonous, he is a lot of fun to listen to and keeps you tapping your feet. To those who are approaching the Blues from a technical guitar-playing angle, I do not recommend this album at all; you'd be much better off with Earl Hooker's "The Moon Is Rising". For those who like Punk Rock or maybe Heavy Metal, you'd probably be very pleased with this release. For aspiring slide players, this is a great pick. Though this music certainly doesn't have the lyrical content that a J.T. "Funny Papa" Smith or Blind Willie McTell disc might have, it's fun to "rock out" to this stuff. I recommend buying this disc.



3. The most famous Hound Dog Taylor quote was: "When I die, they'll say: 'He couldn't play sh*t, but he sure made it sound good.'" This is a man who understands his appeal. Taylor played a beat-up guitar, and he cranked on the thing, playing distorted, screeching notes. But god, it DID sound good. And as the quote implies, he had the personality to go with the raucous, raw music that he played. Which is why this album is so good. It's live, so you can hear the sound imperfections, the screaming crowd, and Taylor's off-kilter banter and sense of humor. And that's probably the perfect way to listen to Taylor. To put it all another way: He plays a version of "She'll Be Coming 'round the Mountain" that makes you want to get up and dance.



4. Hound Dog's searing slide guitar and vocals tear you to the quick with a depth and passion unequalled nowadays. This rocks!!



5. This album is a masterpiece. The highlights of this album are "The Sun is Shining" and "Freddie's Blues" . The way he uses feedback in "Freddie's Blues" is truley amazing.It's like Hound Dogs Ghost. I bought this ablum and it was well worth the money. This album is a frequent in my CD player. Any blues fan will like this Album

2 comments about Live in Kansas City.

1. This cd captures B.B. King at the height of his tremendous powers.Both his singing and backing band are superb but it's"the man's"smoking guitar playing that sets this one a blaze.The sound quality is surprisingly good.If you dig the blues,get this.



2. B.B. King's live recordings generally are much more satisfying than his studio releases, and he's overdue for a concert disc. Despite the recent photo on the cover, however, this isn't it. "Live in Kansas City" -- recorded in 1972 -- catches King in roughly the same period as "Live at the Regal" and "Live at Cook County Jail."

   What distinguishes this CD from those, though, is the exceptional recording quality, especially impressive given that it's a nightclub performance captured 30 years ago. The mix is spot-on and instrument voicings are clear on up-tempo numbers (like the Introduction and King's Shuffle) as well as the numerous slow blues tracks.

   The selections, in fact, are mostly slow 12-bar tunes, which give King the opportunity to stretch out in his playing. Here you'll find beautiful fluid runs that for the most part have been missing in the last 10 years or so, as well as the jazz-influenced phrasing and extraordinary use of dynamics that make his playing instantly recognizable. The introduction to Sweet Little Angel is nothing short of inspirational.

   Other comments: As you might expect from an import CD, some room exists for improvement. Track 8 has been mis-titled; it's actually "All Over Again." And the fade out/fade in between songs breaks the live mood a bit. But those are minor complaints. This is a very good CD that captures one of the most influential artists in his prime.