Reviews (6)

Blues Harp Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Various Artists
Crucial?
Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty good collection, but crucial? I don't think so. It should be re-named "A pretty good collection of blues harmonica from a diverse group of cats, ancient and modern", but of course, the name's too long.

Great for harp lovers and harp lovers to-be.
It is a great collection, that harmonica lovers will enjoy - BUT it's also a great CD to give someone not all that familiar with harmonica playing.There is enough variety on here for everone to find a style they love. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Chicago Blues    5. Harmonica Blues    6. Piedmont Blues    7. Pop    8. V/a Compilations    9. West Coast Blues   

Reviews (2)

Great compilation
Perfect compilation for anyone interested in 20s-30s rural blues. Every song is perfect.

Terrific Delta/Traditional Blues mix!
This albumn is one of the best compilations of Delta/Traditional/Country Blues I've ever listened to. It's easy to listen to from beginning to end. The albumn flows well, reaching back into the "old-timey" Blues with musicians like Charley Patton, Geechie Wiley & Elvie Thomas, Blind Joe Williams and others. From Mississippi John Hurt's soft playing and soothing singing to Robert Belfour's painful moans and rythmic plucking, this albumn is a trip back to jook joints, front porches, and planting fields. Definitely worth looking into for the buff and the beginner, alike. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop    3. Acoustic Blues    4. Blues Collections    5. Blues Music    6. Blues Revival    7. Country Blues    8. Delta Blues    9. Electric Delta Blues    10. Prewar Blues    11. Prewar Country Blues    12. Prewar Gospel Blues    13. Slide Guitar Blues   

Editorial Review

Edward Chmelewski just couldn't wait to sling the good blues slop around, so he's kicked off the quarter-century celebration of his label's founding a few months early with this blockbuster label overview: two audio discs and an all-video CD-ROM. Some longtime Pig followers will grouse because dependable old albums by Chicago blues gents like Otis Rush and Mighty Joe Young are slighted, and this reviewer will keep kosher rather than hear the songs of Bill Perry, John Mooney, and Chris Cain again, but there's much to enjoy here. Among the worthies representing the contemporary-blues camp are Deborah Coleman, Popa Chubby, Chris Thomas King, and Tommy Castro. The older generation is well represented well by Snooky Pryor, Magic Slim, George Harmonica Smith, and Muddy Waters.Read more

Reviews (3)

Hog heaven
I bought this as a sampler for potential purchases of the musicians on the discs. This is a very fine collection of foot stompin jumpin dancin blues. very enjoyable to listen to. Great sound quality as well. A bargain...with plenty of ideas for other purchases.

A Fantastic Compilation!
Five years after its last anniversary release, the pig is back and this year, its phat! This compilation features Blind Pig recording artists, mainly with an emphasis on releases over the last 5 years. The exception being some older material from the likes of Muddy Water--"Honey Bee", George "Harmonica" Smith's--"Last Chance", Pinetop Perkins--"Ida B" and a couple of other notable legends. These artists are blended nicely with some outstanding contemporary musicians like Muddy Waters guitarist--Bob Margolin,Steve Miller's harpman--Norton Buffalo, Tommy Castro, former Nighthawk guitarist--Jimmy Thackery, O'Brother Were Art Thou's--Chris Thomas King, The son of Muddy Waters--Big Bill Morganfield and scores of others.Too many stanout tracks to list but check out the duet by Tommy Castro and Delbert McClinton "Don't Turn Your Heater Down" or John Mooney's "Gone To Hell" to get a taste of what this CD is about.As if this allstar cast were not enough, the Pig has included a CD-ROM that contains some very interesting material including off the cuff interviews with Muddy Water'sand Snooky Pryor as well as gritty performance by Popa Chubby.I have not come across a finer compilation.I wonder what the Pig has in store for it's 30th anniversary?

Incredible collection at a superb price!
The history of Blind Pig really comes out on this collection.You can tell where the blues has been -- and where it's headed!Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Blues-Rock    5. Chicago Blues    6. Contemporary Blues    7. Electric Chicago Blues    8. Harmonica Blues    9. Modern Electric Blues    10. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    11. Pop    12. Soul-Blues    13. V/a Compilations   

Reviews (6)

Well worth buying
I bought this cd on the spur of the moment because it was cheap.All I can say now is that it's the best cd purchase I've made this year!When I first listened to it, I was a bit bothered by the tinny guitar accompaniment, but after repeated listens I grew accustomed to it, and I now love this music. awsome
I foud this CD to be absolutely awesome. It is truly a classic and Yes, thats what you call "Blues"

Portugal's Soul for your Listening Pleasure
Great CD--A great selection of male and female fadistas... Berta Cardoso, Max, Amalia Rodrigues, and Antonio M...truly wonderful. Pure enjoyment. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fado    2. Int'l & World Music    3. Pop    4. Portugal    5. Portuguese    6. V/a Compilations    7. World Music   

Features

• Import

Subjects:  1. 60's    2. Blues Collections    3. Deep Soul    4. Instrumental Rock    5. Memphis Soul    6. Pop    7. R&B    8. R&B/Soul    9. Soul    10. Southern Soul    11. V/a Compilations   

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Pop    4. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

We've called them torch singers, divas, chanteuses, and the First Ladies of American Song. And as the contemporary, Grammy-bedecked ascent of Norah Jones (who appears here with Charlie Hunter) attests, these ladies who sing the blues continue to reinterpret a tradition rooted in the blues, yet steeped in songcraft that spans jazz, pop, and even rock. This double-disc, 26-track collection spans a half-century-plus and offers up not only a tantalizing introduction to legends and pioneers (including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Della Reese, Etta James, Lena Horne) and an equally rich body of song standards, but also chronicles how an originally largely black heritage in effect became the pop mainstream in the '40s and '50s (and beyond) via the work of singers like Dinah Shore, Kay Starr, June Christy, Peggy Lee and Julie London. It's also a testament to how vital that legacy remains, with Jones' own Brazilian-inflected cover of Bryan Ferry's "More Than This" and Patricia Barber's spare, sultry '90s read of "The Thrill Is Gone" but two strong examples of the set's expansive scope. It's a compelling sampler and the best kind of musical appetizer: One that leaves you craving more. Read more

Reviews (6)

The Same Lady Sings the Blues
Altho the disk spans 50 years of torch singing, it amazed me how all these ladies sound the same.Only Etta James stands out with some life in her voice, everyone else is so so smooth I lose track of who is singing.

Relax with the Ladies!
This is a very nice cd.The contributions by Norah Jones and Patricia Barber alone are well worth the price.Where is Tierney Sutton?!

nice
Wow these womens voice can sound as deep as the ocean to as high as the everlasting sky. Each song & singer is fantastic! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Blues    3. Blues Collections    4. Pop    5. Popular Music    6. Standards    7. Torch Songs    8. Traditional Pop    9. V/A Compilations    10. Vocal Jazz   

Reviews (2)

Fat Possum Primer
Outstanding sampler from Nortern Mississippi Hill Country Blues label Fat Possum. Much prefer this sampler to the first one. This has that gritty country blues feel with many songs feeling like they were recorded in a leaky basement(and many were). Standouts are the two RL Burnside tracks: "Goin down South" is a staple of his music and the version included of "Walkin Blues" is top notch. The previously unreleased "I Feel Good Again" by Junior Kimbrough and Charlie Feathers is worth more than the low 4.99 price to buy this. The Asie Payton tracks are both stunners and Paul Wine Jones and Super Chikan add some diversity in style with there numbers.

good stuff, lousy title (it's dirt cheap, too)
Actually, this is the same old blues...; the "purists" who run the label either don't know it or won't admit it.This sort of purist nonsense is as old as the music but whenever another generation comes along there's another spasm of it.As for the selections, this is really fine music, as varied as you could possibly want.Even some greasy old soul that somebody probably smokes cigars to while they're swilling beer (just to mention a couple seemingly proscribed activities mentioned in the liner notes).But this label records stuff Alligator never did, right?Way wrong; Hound Dog Taylor was as funky as any of this.Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Country Blues    6. Electric Delta Blues    7. Juke Joint Blues    8. Modern Delta Blues    9. Modern Electric Blues    10. Pop   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (3)

Disappointing
After reading the other reviews, I was really looking forward to this collection. I am very disappointed. The sound quality is terrible. These are very old recordings and have not been treated well. Even with the restoration mastery of JSP, at least 50% of the tracks on this collection are painful to listen to.

Much More than I Expected
Of all these JSP box-sets I own, none has been a bigger surprise to me than this one. I bought this one as a curiosity but it is much more. Going by the tracklist there were a handful of people I knew, but most were new to me. If this exact same box had been released by another label and was more along the lines of $40 to $60 I would have never purchased it. Knowing JSPs reputation for quality transfers and low prices I just decided to go for it, hoping along the way that there would at least be 2 discs worth of stuff I enjoyed. "At least" certainly came true!
5 stars - and a nobel prize
Wow! JSP certainly deserves some sort of award for making this historic collection available.If you're reading this, I assume you already know about the Paramount label, which recorded some of the greatest "race" (as they were called at the time) records ever.Superstars on Paramount included Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, and Blind Blake.The set collects many of the lesser known artists who recorded sides for the label.Someone more expert than me would have to verify this, but I imagine that some of these sides are being issued on CD for the first time ever.What's amazing is the consistency of quality and the originality and charisma of even the most obscure artists here.The variety makes this one of the most entertaining box sets I own.This is old-time blues of every kind: barrelhouse, delta, hokum, jazzy, gutbucket, you name it.I know it's saying a lot, but this belongs on your shelf not far from the immortal "Anthology of American Folk Muisc," and unlike that set you won't have to take out a loan to make the purchase.I have a very minor complaint that the notes jump from factoid to factoid and are somewhat confusedly written: a more well-written, thorough, and sequential history of the label and some of these artists would have been appreciated.But JSP did a great job with the music, and that's what counts. Superb! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Country    4. Country Blues    5. Delta Blues    6. Pop    7. Prewar Blues    8. Prewar Country Blues    9. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

The harmonica's not exactly an imposing instrument; who would guess that a pocket- sized hunk of metal could be capable of so much expression? Volume 16 of Rhino's Read more

Reviews (3)

Another fine sampler
You've heard that saying about a hundred monkeys clattering away at a hundred typewiters for a hundred years...I don't know excactly how it goes in English. Anyway, it seems that an ape called Jo Jo ended up writing a review rather than the collected works of William Shakespeare.
thrash punk at its worst
I thought sublime was good, but this cd proved me wrong. Instead if hard core reggae rock, i was disapointed to hear stupid, painful, harmonicas. I mean it REALLY SUCKED. I mean by the time it was over, i had put at least 5 pairs of ear plugs on.

A Must for hamonicists and harmonophiles
This power-packed CD is a must for both players and lovers of the harmonica, particularly of the blues-harp variety.Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Blues Revival    5. Blues-Rock    6. Chicago Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Electric Blues    9. Electric Chicago Blues    10. Electric Harmonica Blues    11. Electric Memphis Blues    12. Harmonica Blues    13. Modern Electric Blues    14. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    15. Pop    16. Prewar Country Blues    17. R&B    18. Rock & Roll   

Features

• Box set
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (1)

Memphis Picking & English Mastering
Pros:
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Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Acoustic Memphis Blues    3. Blues    4. Blues Collections    5. Early American Blues    6. Memphis Blues    7. Pop    8. V/a Compilations   

Features

• Box set
• Import

Subjects:  1. Blues Collections    2. Pop   

Reviews (8)

Great Music - not just for kids
This is great blues music!!My husband and I love it just as much as the kids and we play it even when they're not around.

If B.B. approves, so do I!
This is a GREAT cd.My 2 year old has never liked being in the car so I've been listening to elmo, bear & pooh for 2 years.That's fine, it's fun, but this is a wonderful change of pace - she loves it & so do I!Especially pancake man :-)Done in a blues style VERY much like blues music for adults, but with lyrics little ones can understand and enjoy.To the gentleman who didn't think it was authentic enough blues...I bet B.B. and the rest of the crew on this cd would beg to differ...as does my family.

GREAT CD!
This is a great CD!The music is more adult like but the lyrics are directed to kids.Fishin' Blues and Flying Lessons are excellent! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues-Rock    3. Children's    4. Children's Collections    5. Childrens    6. Contemporary Gospel    7. Folk-Blues    8. Folk-Rock    9. Jug Band    10. Modern Electric Blues    11. Pop    12. Pop/Rock    13. Singer/Songwriter    14. Zydeco   

Features

• Box set
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (1)

A Brilliant Truckload of Fuller
Pros:
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Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Collections    4. Country Blues    5. East Coast Blues    6. Piedmont Blues    7. Pop    8. Prewar Blues    9. United States of America   

Features

• Import

Subjects:  1. 60's    2. Blues Collections    3. Country-Soul    4. Deep Soul    5. Pop    6. Pop-Soul    7. R&B    8. R&B/Soul    9. Soul    10. Southern Soul    11. V/a Compilations   

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Blues-Rock    5. Contemporary Blues    6. Electric Harmonica Blues    7. Jazz Blues    8. Jump Blues    9. Modern Electric Blues    10. Pop    11. R&B    12. R&B/Soul    13. Rock & Roll    14. Soul-Blues    15. Soul-Jazz    16. West Coast Blues   

Features

• Live

Reviews (7)

Over 2 hours of great music
Recorded around the holidays in 1999 and produced by Warren Haynes, there's some fine jams here. Side 1 is highlighted by a lengthy set from Derek Trucks, his band, his future wife Susan Tedeschi and their work is excellent. Side 2 is highlighted by a Gov't Mule set and with Little Milton, Derek, Susan, Johnny Neel, Jimmy Herring and others all adding to the songs. The finale is a lengthy "Merry Christmas Baby" with Little Milton, Haynes, and Tedeschi sharing vocals and Haynes, Trucks, and Herring on guitars. If you are a fan of the Allman Brothers, may of these names will be familiar to you. There's alot of talent on display here.

warren haynes and some more
well, if you enjoyed gov't mule or haynes' solo recordings, you can put this double cd just beside them. so really there are lots of good musicians playing here, but when you here warren' s guitar, you can watch the sky becoming clear. a special mention should go to derek trucks, who is playing really good, but i prefer to listen to him playing with allman bros. band. a cd to mention to your friends loving rockblues.

wanna jam?
This cd starts out with some acoustic numbers from Edwin McCain. They hold up to repeated listening because of Warren Haynes' tasteful and impressive acoustic lead and slide playing. The Derek Trucks Band is as an exciting band that is working today and their set is a joy. But it gets even more thrilling as virtually each extended jam features one great artist after another. The Cry of Love set adds hard rock and is alittle weak.Then Gov't Mule takes over. It's set is more like, but maybe even beter than, disc one (as opposed to the stellar disc two) to "With a Little Help from Our Friends" and holds up well to repeated listening. "But" you may wonder, "isn't this just another one of those blues based extended jam albums that I already have in abundance in my collection?" No! Herring, Haynes and Trucks deliver (together no less) on song after song on this cd, plus, and I must say surprisingly, the sound quality here is outstanding. One last thing, Haynes, McKay and the various and asundry good friend/guest vocalists can belt it out -- not an embarrassing note among them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues Collections    2. Blues-Rock    3. Modern Electric Blues    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Singer/Songwriter    7. Southern Rock   

Reviews (1)

Blues History at it's best
Most of us have listened to some sort of Blues music at some time or another in our lives. You can't have listened to popular music in the last seventy to eighty years in North America without hearing something, that's got at least a hint of that sound to it.
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Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Pop    4. V/a Compilations   

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Acoustic Chicago Blues    3. Blues    4. Blues Collections    5. Chicago Blues    6. Electric Blues    7. Electric Chicago Blues    8. Modern Electric Blues    9. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    10. Pop    11. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

If you're going to throw a party, invite this CD first. Way back when jugs were added to juke and barrelhouse performances in 1910 or so and American dance music really got down for good, these dazzling new trance rhythms smashed Western culture's sound barrier at the previously unheard-of speed of 78 rpm. From Louisville to Memphis to Birmingham to Cincinnati, these popular party bands mixed fine musicianship with clever songwriting and an unblushing sense of burlesque. Whether it's the raw wailing of young Ashley Thompson with Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers' "Big Railroad Blues" or the jazz-inflected wizardry of Earl McDonald and Clifford Hayes on the Dixieland Jug Blowers' "Banjoreno" or the Memphis Jug Band's raucous ribaldry on "Cocaine Habit Blues" and "Ruckus Juice and Chittlins," this first of two inspired volumes of jug-band classics blows out the lights, stops time in its tracks, and Read more

Subjects:  1. 20's    2. 30's    3. Acoustic Memphis Blues    4. Blues Music    5. Folk & Traditional    6. Jazz Collections    7. Jug Band    8. Pop    9. Prewar Country Blues