Reviews (4)

Fat Update of the Chicago Blues Sound
This is a great, great blues album.Nick and his band have a fat blues sounds that is heavily influenced by the Chicago Blues masters, but is has a very modern and fresh sound to it.Nick paid his dues playing for Jimmy Rogers and in the Lendary Blues band.This album see Nick come of age and into his own.Album was nominated for Blues Album of the year by the Blues Foundation and when you hear it you will understand why.It should have won IMHO!. I have not been this excited about a new blues artist since Stevie Ray and Texas Flood.This is a great blues album with excellent guitar playing and very good supporting band. Album is solid throughout and title track sounds best played loud.Check out Nick - Start here - You will not be disappointed.

modern Chicago blues
If you like Chicago-style blues, you gotta get this CD.This one covers all the styles with modern, fresh, clever lyrics; a tight band with killer keyboards; killer harp; and killer guitar playing.And lots of music for the buck (there's 16 tracks!).This is the best CD yet from Nick Moss and the Flip Tops.Go get it!

Worth every penny and more
I listen to a lot of blues, and have been playing blues guitar for 10 years. My main influences are Warren Haynes, Muddy Waters, T-bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, Kenny "Blue" Ray, and Jimmy D. Lane among others. And now I can add Nick Moss to that list. In fact, he blows them all away if you ask me.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Electric Chicago Blues    3. Modern Electric Blues    4. Pop    5. Real and raw Chicago blues at its finest.   

Reviews (24)

Very Nice Collection
Nobody's a bigger Hendrix fan than I am, and I still think this is an excellent collection of updated arrangements. Purple Haze by the Cure and Bold as Love by the Pretenders are superb. In fact, the numbers that are closest to sounding like the original--Stone Free and Manic Depression--are the least interesting. The musicians did a great job on this recording, and I'd recommend it to anybody.

Some good, some bad, some generic
I agree with a lot of what has been written about this album. At 43 cents you are getting a bargain. Clapton does sound mailed in; Nigel Kennedy, well lets not get too personal; Buddy Guys, great guitar work but I have never been a fan of his vocals (that is just a personal feeling, if you like his vocals then you will like this song). With that being said, there are some versions which I love and for that go out and buy the album. Chrissie Hynde's version of Axis is fabulous, MACC adds soul to an already great song, Belly has taken a throwaway and has created something special. Overall it is 3 out of 5. The highs are great but the lows (EC you know you could have done better) are generic, which is probably the worst thing you can ever say about a classic artist - especially one that you revere.

Its a Hendrix Tribute, not a Hendrix record.
There are more Hendrix fans buying this almost expecting Jimi to be channelling his spirit from the other side through these musicians. This is not a seance, its a tribute album. If you're looking to hear Hendrix play, put in an Experience disc, or Band of Gypsies, or one of the hundreds of bootlegs that have been released by now..
Read more

Subjects:  1. 90's    2. Adult Contemporary    3. Album Rock    4. Alternative Pop/Rock    5. Blues-Rock    6. British Blues    7. Chicago Blues    8. Classical Pop    9. College Rock    10. Contemporary Jazz    11. Electric Blues    12. Electric Chicago Blues    13. Folk-Jazz    14. Fusion    15. Hard Rock    16. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    17. Pop    18. Pop/Rock    19. Post-Bop    20. Rock   

Editorial Review

He's celebrated for the syncopated beat bearing his name that has spanned rock & roll's entire history. Unfortunately, his namesake also gets him mislabeled as a one-trick pony. This two-disc set does much to remedy the situation, tracking 1955 through 1968 and featuring all the hits. However, Read more

Features

• Box set

Reviews (11)

OK but where's the rest??
Sterling track selection, with a greater emphasis on Bo's 55 to 63 tracks (which is a good thing, right?)
Discover what the radio program manager kept from you.
I listened to both CD's twice in one weekend.Not a bad cut to be found.I always knew in my gut there must be more to Bo Diddley than what I heard on the airwaves, and this set double confirms it!I regret I waited so long to enjoy much more of what Bo has given us.

If You Don't Know Diddley, You Don't Know Rock
If you're unfamiliar with the great Bo Diddley, this is not the place to start.However, if you know some of his classics, and you want to dig deeper into the trademark groove, you couldn't do any better.The packaging, booklet, and selection are all fantastic and it's a solid value.Because Bo Diddley is one of rock's Founding Fathers, people forget that he's great fun, possesses a sly and irreverent wit, and has diverse musical interests.He also doesn't get enough credit for being a terrific singer.All the essential tracks are here, and plenty of great surprises.Too many standouts to mention except for one, I Can Tell - it sneaks up on you and just won't let go.Anyone who wears a cobra snake for a necktie is all right with me.Go for it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues Music    2. Box Sets (Audio Only)    3. Electric Chicago Blues    4. Oldies    5. Pop    6. R&B    7. Rock & Roll    8. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

There is great historical significance to this 1960 record: not only was it the first solo album ever recorded by the great pianist Otis Spann, it was also the first album ever recorded for Nat Hentoff's short-lived but fruitful Candid label. However, the music within is anything but a mere footnote. Hentoff's philosophy was to let the artist's true musical nature come through in the studio, and his laissez-faire production style bore great results. For his debut, Spann employed only Robert Lockwood Jr. as his musical support, and the result is a pared-down, passionate, triumphant set that sheds light on Spann as a full-bodied vocalist as well as a pianist. The Mississippi-born Spann grew under the tutelage of Big Maceo and mastered the pounding barrelhouse piano style that Maceo brought with him to Chicago. Spann adapted this fierce, urgent style to the burgeoning electric small-band approach that was taking Chicago by storm, and he eventually became an integral element of Muddy Waters's peak ensemble. Here, with only Lockwood's guitar behind him, Spann is free to indulge in his florid runs and pulsing two-handed rhythmic attack, exploring the turf that connects the barrelhouse of his youth with the modern Chicago style. Read more

Reviews (8)

Best blues ever
I heard track 15 on Music Match. Had to buy the album. Was I suprised to get the CD and see only 10 songs listed. Put it in the CD player anyway, and there are 6 unlisted tracks on the CD.
WOW...
Wow, I just got Otis Spann Is The Blues, and Walking The Blues, and I love em both. Otis and Lockwood together is pure blues heaven. Actually pure music heaven. Their playing transcends genre and falls in the category of sheer musical genius. I can't pick a favorite song onIs The Blues. Walking The Blues is almost as powerful a project.,HAving more of a variety of vocals is enjoyable. St. Louis Jimmy Oden was on e wonderful singer. All in all, both discs are a piece of history, blues at it's purest and finest. Reccomended to all blues lovers.

Outstanding presence, plus bonus tracks
If you want blues piano this album is the best.The sound quality is excellent, very atypical for a 1960's album; you'll think you're in the studio with them.I bought the album in 2004 and it contains 6 additional tracks, all of which appear to be additional studio jams, but not necessarily from the same session.There is no information on the album or internet regarding these tracks, and the album doesn't even list the titles.Thus, the total album time is 73 min and well worth the price.If you want to hear absolutely great blues piano without a lot of accompanyment, this is the album to get. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Chicago Blues    3. Electric Chicago Blues    4. Piano Blues    5. Pop   

Reviews (20)

Worth Having
Probably more interesting for who he is, rather than the music itself.There isn't a song on this recording that isn't done better elsewhere - but Willie wrote 'em and adds his own style and emphasis to each one.The backing is by un-named session players who deliver stock riffs, for the most part.I agree with another reviewer that the harp playing is really good, though I disagree on the piano playing, which comes off as tinkly and pedestrian.Willie is best on "Back Door Man", on which he really rips and which fits his voice to a "T".It's worth the price for that tune alone.The best-balanced song might be "Seventh Son", with a really nice shuffle/swing to it.I was particularly disappointed in "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Little Red Rooster", but given recordings of the original artists (the tunes given to them BY Willie), the bar was pretty high.

The Ultimate Blues Masterpiece
You don't have to look very far to have proof this is a good album. In fact, just look at the tracklist of just about any rock album from the '60's and '70's. Chances are, you'll see a Willie Dixon song off this album. Out of the nine tracks, a good seven have been covered by famous rock bands, be they Jeff Beck (You Shook Me, I Ain't Superstitious), Led Zeppelin (You Shook Me, I Can't Quit You Baby), Cream (Spoonfull), the Doors (Backdoor Man), the Allmans (Hoochie Coochie Man) or the Stones (Little Red Rooster).
He Is The Blues...
Willie Dixon is one of the few that could name an album "I Am The Blues" and not have it be a brash overstatement. Where would the blues be without the songs on this collection, every one of which he wrote himself. The proof is the number of artists that have covered his songs over the years: The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Magic Sam, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Sam Cooke, just to name a few. Willie Dixon was an integral part of the Chess records label and the Chicago blues scene, but also could deliver as a performer. Unlike the Amazon reviewer, I found this collection to be worth getting. While Dixon may not be the greatest blues singer ever in terms of technique, he delivers with heart and feeling, which is what the blues is all about. The backing musicians are talented too; my only complaint is that the personnel and the recording dates are not listed in the liner notes. Aside from that though, this disc is a chance to hear a blues legend play some of his best known material, and if you are a fan of the blues (as I am), you will enjoy this one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues Traditional    4. Chicago Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop   

Reviews (4)

They've butchered his songs
Garbage, don't buy.They've chopped up songs and spliced pieces together.For example Fooled Around is about 1/2 the length of the original, they cut the openning riff in half, removed an ENTIRE stanza (if you can believe it).I was very dissapointed.Keep shopping, but don't waste your money like I did.
I GOT RIPPED!!!
The Elvin Bishop CD I received was not even Elvin Bishop.This CD case was right and even the CD looked right, but when played, it was something I had never heard!I am VERY unhappy about this.

fooled around and fell in love
I would like to get the song lyrics of "fooled around and fell in love". Where can i get them? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues-Rock    4. Modern Electric Blues    5. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. Southern Rock   

Editorial Review

Slim Harpo recorded really good rhythm and blues. He never got too fancy; he never forgot the importance of the groove. He died young in 1970, but his music reached the Rolling Stones (who covered his "I'm a King Bee"), the Kinks (who sang his "I Got Love If You Want It"), Van Morrison, and Them (whose first single was Harpo's "Don't Start Crying Now"). These songs and other greats--"Tip on In," "Baby, Scratch My Back"--are all included in this excellent collection ofHarpo's greatest sides. Read more

Reviews (8)

Quit teasin' me, baby.
This is an excellent compilation of some of Slim Harpo's best recordings. Slim played the blues in a way that was accesible to a mainstream audience. He actually had two crossover pop hits, with "Rainin' in My Heart" and "Baby Scratch My Back". His songs "I Got Love If You Want It" and "I'm a King Bee" are also recognized classics, although they are perhaps better known for their cover versions by British Invasion groups. Slim's songs are enjoyable, although he did tend to repeat himself. For example, both "Little Queen Bee" and "Buzz Me Babe" are rewrites of "I'm a King Bee". And he did rewrites of his other popular songs, too. But such a thing is common in the blues field, so he can't really be faulted for that. Blues fans should enjoy this CD.

A Bluesman To Remember
If you can say you knew Slim Harpo's work without an English group (The Rolling Stones) or individual musician (Eric Clapton) having had to bring it to your attention some years later, as has often been the case, then good for you.I remember going into this hardcore hillbilly bar (too young to be there) and hearing "Rainin' in My Heart" play often on the jukebox. It was 1961.Everybody seemed to know who it was.That was the first time I could put a name to a familiar singer on a "black only" radio station in Memphis, Tennessee.By the time "Baby, Scratch My Back" came along maybe 5 years later in the midst of British rock, protest songs and Nancy Sinatra, it sounded like a throwback to the 1950s.Slim Harpo was one of the few bluesmen who had a national audience (Motown was in full swing but that's a different thing).This package does in fact have the best of Slim Harpo as I remember his music from both before and after his breaking into the national mainstream.Unfortunately, just as it seems many of his fellow bluesmen did, Slim harpo died at an early age, he in 1970.He was 46 years old. Buy this thing.

A knockout R&B singer, that will bedazzle you...
A heavily rhythmic jump blues/R&B singer, who has a rough and rowdy style.This music will have you stompin' on your living room dance floor, you'll be uncontrolably jitterbugging across your dining room into the kitchen.Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Electric Blues    4. Electric Harmonica Blues    5. Harmonica Blues    6. Juke Joint Blues    7. Louisiana Blues    8. Pop    9. Swamp Blues   

Editorial Review

Cut during a period when Buddy Guy was rarely recorded, this blustery and breathtaking live set is full of idiosyncratic solos that dart after virtually any musical urge that strikes him. Such unpredictable improvisational impulses are more familiar to jazz than blues, but along with his whisper-to-scream singing, that's what makes Guy commanding onstage. His fevered take on the standard "Outskirts of Town" is outright incendiary. This album was originally released on Isabel, a French label named--at the singer-guitarist's insistence--after his late mother, who never had a chance to see her son perform. Read more

Reviews (17)

This is IT for Buddy Guy fans.
It is hard to compare this album with anything prior to or after. It stands alone in my Buddy Guy collection, and I have all that I can get my hands on.
A Public Service Announcement
If after one spin of "Stone Crazy", the listener still thinks Clapton is a blues guitar god, you now know that person is a no-taste clown."Me and Mr Johnson", my ass.
Blues with a blow torch
I'm not a blues expert. I'm a born and bred south Chicagoan, and a blues fan for over thirty years. Purists be damned, this IS a blues album.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Chicago Blues    4. Electric Blues    5. Electric Chicago Blues    6. Modern Electric Blues    7. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    8. Pop   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (7)

Look what Santa did!
Blues musicians don't record Christmas songs that often, but Rhino Records managed to find 18 Christmas blues songs for this CD.Charles Brown's definitive recording of "Merry Christmas Baby" is well known, but the rest of the tracks are pretty obscure.There are a lot of good songs here, with my personal favorites being the ones by Eddie C. Campbell and Canned Heat.If you have any interest in the blues, this is the Christmas CD to get.

More Blue Than Yule!!!
Well, let's see. As I write this review, the date is December 8th, 2004, and it's another two weeks and three days till Christmas finally arrives on the 25th. Since virtually every place in Creation started playing Christmas music on November 1st, you've had 38 days to become thoroughly SICK of the same dozen songs played over and over again from every radio station and retail establishment. Want some relief?How about an album chock-full of great Christmas BLUES music, that truly sounds more like blues that like standard, overplayed holiday ditties? Well, folks, get this CD!! It's nice and long (18 tracks) and only one or two numbers are overly familiar (and one of those, Charles Brown's immortal "Merry Christmas Baby," is usually considered the top Christmas blues recording of all time!) Standouts include Canned Heat (Their song is straightforward blues, not the novelty track they spun with ALvin and the Chipmunks), Detroit Junior with his hard-driving boogie "Christmas Day", the Pilgrim Travelers and their delightful, close-harmony doo-wop gospel classic, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and the always-irrepresible Louis Jordan with "Santa Claus, Santa Claus." There's not a bad number in the bunch, but the pick of this holiday litter must go to Edddie Campbell and his delicious take on the Junior Wells masterpiece, here titled "Santa's Messin' With the Kid". So don't delay! Order today, there's still time to get it rushed to you by Christmas. Do it, and the best yuletide blues and r and b will be home to you, if not by Christmas, then by New Years night.

One Of The Better Christmas Blues Compilations!
I tracked this down during this Christmas season after hearing Canned Heat's "Christmas Baby" on a Heineken commercial of all places.Immediately hooked, I sent off an e-mail asking Heineken for the name of the song and to my surprise, they responded. Searching on Amazon, I found it on this CD and purchased it.What was bought for one song soon became my favorite Christmas compilation complete with Big Jack Johnson, Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson.Even the lesser known Poppa Hop and The Pilgrim Travelers make notable contributions on this disc. Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues Revival    2. Blues-Rock    3. Boogie Rock    4. Christmas    5. Christmas / Chanukkah    6. Christmas Music    7. Country Blues    8. Electric Blues    9. Electric Delta Blues    10. Holiday    11. Jump Blues    12. Modern Electric Blues    13. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    14. Piano Blues    15. Pop    16. R&B    17. West Coast Blues    18. Xmas Vocal Collections   

Reviews (5)

Caution: Mistake
I got this CD specifically for the song "I'm Going Upside Your Head", which is listed as track #15 on CD 2.This song by Jimmy Reed is hard to find except on multi-disc boxes, which are generally more JR than anyone needs, since JR's sound and songs really do become quite repetitive from one track to another.Only problem is that track #15 on CD 2 is NOT "I'm Going Upside Your Head" -- it's something else, not very good.A major disappointment!The rest of the 2 CDs are as listed, and do include most of JR's best known numbers.So if you don't particularly mind not having "I'm Going Upside Your Head", this collection is really pretty good (4 stars).Again, if you don't mind not having the song mentioned here, the single disc collection on Rhino ("Blues Masters: The Very Best of Jimmy Reed") is really your best bet (5 stars).

Jimmy Reed "Boss Man"
Took my way back to a happier time.Jimmy Reed just as I remembered him.

Boss Man: Best of Jimmy Reed
I had tried for years to find a Jimmy Reed CD.He was one of my favorite blues artists in the 50's.My favorite was "Ain't That Lovin You Baby" which is on this album along with many other great songs.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Electric Blues    4. Electric Chicago Blues    5. Electric Harmonica Blues    6. Pop    7. R&B   

Editorial Review

With his meteoric run of hits from early 1955 through late 1961, Chicago's Jimmy Reed reigned as the most popular bluesman of his day, rivaled only by fellow Mississippi transplant B.B. King. By the mid-'60s Reed was playing New York's Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater and touring England as a star. Reed's sweet, Delta-inflected singing complemented the cool, walking bass shuffles of his cleverly crafted songs, the finest of which are to be found in this tasteful contribution to Rhino's Blues Masters series. Included here are chart toppers like "You Don't Have to Go," "Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby," "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," "Big Boss Man," and "Bright Lights, Big City," all durable standards that influenced a generation of rockers from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix and earned Reed his proper place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Read more

Reviews (11)

Highly Influential Bluesman On Fine Single Disc Overview
A budget price Blues Master series issue sounding great withbooklet from this loose down and out bluesman giant who so much influenced rock and roll and it's seniors such as the Stones,Dead,Them,Neil Young,The Yardbirds who covered these Reed originals as their own on their individual band cd's.
Hard-Hitting Song Selection
MCA's pitiful "20th Century Masters" series made me skeptical of the cursory and careless patch-work that constitutes the "greatest hits" collections of most Blues and Rock masters. But Rhino, as usual, proves to be the industry's most adept anthologizing entity here and has gone quite far to put the work of Rock 'N Roll's many geniuses into the kind of perspective that does proper justice to the artists. This Jimmy Reed collection, with its careful, dense and precise song selection, is no exception. Its 17-song track list reflects exactly the kind of generosity that the "20th Century Masters" series lacks. Not a single one of Reed's original classics eludes the radar here, from the particularly raw and aggressive early numbers, "High and Lonesome" and "Aint That Lovin' You Baby" to the smoother and more casual knockouts that stole crowds from Carnegie Hall to London in the late 50s, such as "Bright Lights Big City" and "Baby What You Want Me to Do," admirably covered by Neil Young (one of Reed's biggest fans) & Crazy Horse on their 1996 album, "Broken Arrow." That Reed would earn such a tribute from an artist whose roots are steeped in a tradition so dramatically distinct from his own testifies to the immensity of his influence. This is the document of a true American innovator whose work and talent made Rock 'N Roll possible.

Anything by Jimmy Reed is good
Haven't as yet listened to this cd but I don't really need to to know how good this man was in his time.Everybody in to the blues knows Jimmy Reed and his easy going soft flowing style.The man had it all with some of his arrangements having grown into some of the most recognizable blues licks anywhere on the planet.The Stones covered him earlier in their career as did many others, and it;s just a shame how Mr. Reed's own personal life must have been painfull to the point of him drinking himself to death at the early age of 50.What ghosts must have hauted this man to drive him to such an early grave?I suppose we'll never know and it's probably just as well?Jimmy Reed was a public performer it's true.But firstly he was a man deserving of the respect he's been given in death atleast if not in life, and we should leave him to rest peacefully and leave his old past ghosts alone.Sleep well Jimmy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Chicago Blues    4. Electric Blues    5. Electric Chicago Blues    6. Electric Harmonica Blues    7. Harmonica Blues    8. Pop    9. R&B   

Features

• Live
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (8)

****1/2. Better sound, better mixes
The original seven-track Muddy 'Mississippi' Waters Live" album was a nice, but ultimately inessential record.
and I thought I've heard it all
I guess I must have not read Muddys biography enough or didn't put two and two together. I thought with the Chess Box 3 CD set I have almost all of his recordings. Best Blues Vocalist
This is the best blues vocalist ever, and the 2nd disc with its more laid back atttiude is better. Excellent sound, excllent band. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues Traditional    4. Chicago Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop   

Editorial Review

This rocking trove of stylistic innovation spans Elmore James's peak recording years, from 1951 to 1963. In the charging fury of his slide guitar and his screaming voice one hears the echo of fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robert Johnson, whose local Delta performances in the mid-1930s first inspired young Elmore to play guitar. Johnson's "Dust My Broom"--which became James's signature song and the foundation of his recording career--kicks things off here with the slashing guitar work that helped define the electric-blues idiom, followed by his instrumental showpiece "Hawaiian Boogie." Drenched in Delta-driven emotion, his fiery vocals are well represented on "It Hurts Me, Too" and "The Sky Is Crying", and the classic "Shake Your Money Maker" is one of several dance numbers powered by the raw, driving intensity that marked James's recorded legacy and influenced every slide guitarist working in his wake. Read more

Reviews (5)

Excellent Retrospective.
I was a little kid when Elmore James cut most of these tunes and I heard them way back then from a variety of friends and family that picked up the 45 rpm singles.After a while, I moved on and only occasionally was reminded of what a great catalog of rockin' blues Elmore compiled.Then, in the late 60's, I kept hearing more and more bands covering Elmore's tunes. Jimi Hendrix on Bleeding Heart, for example.Then in the 70's the Allman Brothers on Done Somebody Wrong.A few years later, it was George Thorogood on It Hurts Me Too, then Stevie Ray on The Sky Is Crying.This is plenty of proof of just how enduring Elmore's influence is.Each time I heard a cover, it took me back to those old records.Now Rhino has this compilation with most but not all of my favorites and in pretty decent sound - excellent considering the vintage of these recordings.Great stuff.

****1/2. A fine Elmore compilation, but not quite the best
This Blues Masters release from Rhino Records is probably the second best available Elmore James compilation - at least if you want to stick to the single disc overviews.
One of the Founding Fathers of Rock & Roll & Boogie Music
This album is all the classic Elmore James cuts;starting with the ORIGINAL version of "Dust My Broom" with Sonny Boy Williamson on Harmonica. If you really want to hear one of the founding fathersof Rock & Roll & Boogie Music;you got to get this CD!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues Traditional    4. Electric Blues    5. Electric Chicago Blues    6. Pop    7. Slide Guitar Blues   

Editorial Review

This four-CD box set remains the absolutely definitive B.B. King collection, with 77 recordings and a biographical book that contains the great singer-guitarist's own remembrances of his decades-long career. It samples every stage of his development, from his days struggling to craft his music in the shadow of influences like T-Bone Walker and Lonnie Johnson to his latter-day pairings with rockers like Bonnie Raitt and Gary Moore. The one constant is his open-hearted singing and the soulful, contemplative solos he squeezes from his beloved guitar Lucille. These discs, of course, embrace all his essential hits, from his first--1951's "Three O'Clock Blues"--to his 1970 smash "The Thrill Is Gone," which took King to the pop charts and made him a household name. If this package is too lavish for the budget, try the excellent Read more

Features

• Box set

Reviews (16)

Bluez are lame!!!
I can't believe this got a 5 star rating. Especially when Good Charlotte's "The Young And Hopless," arguably the greatest album ever writeen, has an average of only 4 starz. Let me ask you BB King Fanz something: Doez Avril Lavigne or Lindsay Lohan listen to him? No. Obviously, he therefore suckz. If you were cultured and genius like me, you would already know that. If you want to hear great guitar, listen to Avril Lavigne, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, Simple Plan, or Good Charlotte. This iz garbage.

Ha!!I bet you weren't expecting that!!
You weren't expecting a guy who listens to Slayer, Suffocation, Nuclear Assault, and Death to give a BB King boxset five stars, weren't you?King is an understatement for old BB, he's a god among blues, he's up there with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Howlin' Wolf.I'm glad this has a five-star average, I hope those f**kers like MTV rocks and Fed Up don't come here and blather about how much Kurt Cobain and Avril Lavigne are better than BB King.
"King" is an understatement
BB King ranks at the top of blues music and belongs in company with some of the greatest blues artists of all time (i.e. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, etc). His contributions cannot be overstated. This boxed set, "King of The Blues", is a masterful collection of his best works whether obscure or well known. This is a must own for any fan of blues, jazz or music in general and covers King's contributions from 1949-1991. The thrill is definitely NOT gone. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Memphis Blues    4. Modern Electric Blues    5. Pop    6. R&B    7. Soul-Blues   

Editorial Review

B.B. King, probably the most celebrated living blues player, has come a long way from Itta Bena, Mississippi, and this CD illustrates just how far. A series of guest shots by such artists as Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman, Eric Clapton, Mick Hucknall, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Marty Stuart, the Rolling Stones, and Willie Nelson, Read more

Reviews (26)

A blues master having fun with some friends
A few years ago, before I moved to Minneapolis, I was in town visiting a friend and was having a hard time finding my way back to his house at night.Because I was trying to find the correct street that lead to the freeway I was having problems concentrating on the radio, so I gave up and left it the radio on the next station to come up on seek.It happened to be the local blues station playing "The Thrill is Gone" by B.B. King and Tracy Chapman (from this album), and a few seconds later the blues had a new fan. Tried to hate it, ended up loving it.
Okay folks . . . take it from me. Buy this album. But please promise me to buy another couple of albums if you like this one, okay? B.B. King performs some of his best with other greats
This is an outstanding CD. One of my all time favorites! "The Thrill is Gone" with Tracy Chapman...amazing. "Baby I Love You" with Bonny Rait...amazing. "If I Love You" with Van Morrison...amazing. If you like the King at all, check this one out. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Modern Electric Blues    4. Pop    5. Soul-Blues   

Reviews (8)

Great Album by a Great Musician and Songwriter
Amazingly, perhaps, Elvin Bishop continues to get better as a musician and as a songwriter as he gets older. Bishop's guitar never sounded better, and his vocals are soulful and refreshing. As a further treat, the backup musicians are probably the best band that Bishop has ever assembled. Overall, this is an album not to be missed.

In the Groove
One of Elvin's better efforts. It's great to see him still at it and continuing to display the same soulful groove mixed in with his own unique humor. I did not think he would ever top what I though was his best effort in recent years (Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down), but except for a couple of tracks this one is there. Only Elvin can sing a song about drinking and partying (Blues Train) and slip in a line about not being a drinker anymore. What a classic Bishop song. Being a Tulsa boy myself, I'm proud that Elvin's beginnings were in the red dirt of Oklahoma!

depends on the mood
Elvin Bishop's original claim to fame was as"the other guitar-player", (with Mike Bloomfield), in the Butterfield band. He made up for his "second-chair"status with some solid playing and by having the most good-natured attitude in the band, and he improved enough so that few cared when Bloomfield left. To the public at large, he's best known for "Fooled Around and Fell In Love",(sung by Mickey Thomas, who almost immediately afterwardsjoined the Jefferson Starship). This was the only real hitthat he, or -any- of old comrades, ever had. During this period, his band was actually a two-guitars-in-harmony Allman Brothers-influenced band. The poppiness of their hit confused potential fans of their live style, and losing Thomas confused their pop fans, so Bishop never got as popular as he might have -without- the hit. By maintaining a consistently humorous, rootsy style throughout the years, he's always been able to tour and record,but his "good-time-good-old-boy" persona only goes so far: When you've had a couple beers, and just want to relax, Elvin's ok; for closer listening, there's not all that much going on here. At that point, it's back to the Allmans for me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues-Rock    3. Modern Electric Blues    4. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    5. Pop    6. Rock/Pop    7. Southern Rock    8. United States of America   

Reviews (2)

Genuine houserocken christmas cd
this cd was given as a gift and it was a big hit!

the blues and nothing but the blues!
If you like the blues, look at this lineup of artists.There are no bad songs on this 59 minute CD."Genuine Houserockin' Christmas" is one of the best CD's I've heard for a long time.It's worth more than 5 stars, that's for sure.I know I'll play this one year around. Koko Taylor is awesome.For Zydeco fans, there is even "Zydeco Christmas".Lonnie Brooks is fantastic.I think my favorite is "A Bluesman's Christmas", a song about a bluesman who is on the road and can't be home.I would say a couple songs are not what you'd play for your fiance's parents when they came to visit.Great party music.Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Christmas / Chanukkah    3. Christmas Music    4. Contemporary Blues    5. Creole    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Modern Acoustic Blues    8. Modern Electric Blues    9. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    10. Piano Blues    11. Piedmont Blues    12. Pop    13. Prewar Country Blues    14. Retro-Soul    15. Slide Guitar Blues    16. Soul-Blues    17. Texas Blues    18. V/A Compilations    19. Xmas Vocal Collections   

Editorial Review

Hubert Sumlin's famed for the shimmying riffs he laid all over classic Howlin' Wolf songs like "Killing Floor" and "Shake for Me," yet this excellent disc--which teams the 73-year-old firebrand with pals Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, James Cotton, Bob Margolin, and a host of other veterans--is a rocking, soulful tribute to another of his employers, Muddy Waters. Clapton bites into the licks and lyrics of Waters's "I'm Ready" and "Long-Distance Call," joining Sumlin in a passionate séance that raises the great spirits of '50s Chicago blues. Richards and Sumlin have an insouciant rapport that makes the stark "Still a Fool" and "Little Girl, This Is the End" sound like late-night conversations between lost, lonely hearts. But the real star is Sumlin, whose string sliding, deep tone, dizzy vibrato, acrobatic note bending, and tense, wily phrasing still sound as entirely original and vigorous as they did nearly a half-century ago. Buy this album--now. Read more

Reviews (9)

Outstanding Blues
This CD is is great from start to finish. I bought this by giving it a listen at book store, and I was hooked ever since.

cant wait to hear more
very pleased with the new Hubert Sumlin CD, About Them Shoes. been a big fan of his due to his assn w/ Howlin Wolf and will be
hubert sumlin rehash
I don't know what I was expecting from Hubert Sumlin. Surely not a rehash of some old Muddy Waters' and Willie Dixon chestnuts that were done correctly the first time with Muddy's voice and band. This album was a big dud. Sumlin takes the songs and tries to sing them and tries to make his band sound as if they were recording in the same style and sound as Chess Studio in the 1940's and 50's. Unfortunatley Muddy had a better voice and so does Willie Dixon for that matter. All the session men sound like add-ons to the old band, not muscicians who can bring their own style and verve to this thing. Pretty weak effort by all, unless Sumlin is himself to blame, as a control freak who did not have the vision to see what he was creating,something that had already been created 50 years before.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Electric Chicago Blues    3. Modern Electric Blues    4. Pop   

Editorial Review

Houston-born blues showman Guitar Shorty, who once taught his young brother-in-law Jimi Hendrix a few stage tricks, has been on the scene since 1957, bla