Reviews (2)

Solid Acoustic Compilation!
This is a good mix of contemporary acoustic blues which features several well known musicians.The cd features many standouts such as, Alvin Youngblood Hart's "Pony Blues" from his award winning cd "Big Mama's Door", Keb' Mo's "Love Blues" from the cd "Keb' Mo'", R.l. Burnsides "Long Haired Doney" from "Acoustic Stories", Guy Davis' "Georgia Jelly Roll" from "Call Down The Thunder" and John Hammonds "Riding in the Moonlight" from his "Mileage" cd as well as an acoustic version by Tab Benoit of "Rainy Day Blues" featuring vocals by Willie Nelson. All in all, the cd is an excellent primer and is recommended for individuals that want to sample country blues.The only substandard tunes on the disc are Steve James "Stack Lee Blues" and Woody Mann's "Little Brother".With those two exceptions, the cd is a keeper.

Great introduction to various artists
This CD features some of the best contemporary blues artists around.Highlights (besides the incredible Keb'Mo) include the Sue Foley tune and the Tab Benoit/Willie Nelson duet.Fantastic!A wide variety of artistsand song styles make this a must-have blues album. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Blues-Rock    5. Contemporary Blues    6. Contemporary Folk    7. Folk Revival    8. Folk-Blues    9. Modern Acoustic Blues    10. Modern Delta Blues    11. Modern Electric Blues    12. Piedmont Blues    13. Pop    14. R&B    15. Singer/Songwriter    16. Soul-Blues   

Editorial Review

A sideman here, Buddy Guy helps make Read more

Reviews (2)

Good enough, but you really ought to get the newer edition
Two great records, but get the 1998 "Beat Goes On" reissue instead of this one from '86 instead. Much better sound, on "Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill" in particular. (ASIN: B00000DB3J)

Lots of MUD for the BUCKS!
This CD contains 2 complete record albums: "Big Bill Broonzy" and the classic "Folk Singer."Mobile Fidelity made an "Ultradisc" of Folk Singer, which I heard being used at a hi-endstereo store to "demo" a $20K system.This recording soundsalmost as good.The late, great Joe Williams covered "Just a Dream(On My Mind)."A well-known guitar player from Texas may have beeninfluenced by one of the songs presented here... he named his band"Double Trouble."If you are a long-time Muddy fan, and aremissing either of these recordings, buy this CD.If you are new to Muddy,and want to get your feet wet (muddy), you can't go wrong with this CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arranger    2. Blues    3. Blues Music    4. Blues Revival    5. Chicago Blues    6. Delta Blues    7. Electric Blues    8. Electric Chicago Blues    9. Leader    10. Pop    11. Slide Guitar Blues   

Reviews (4)

Not the best ever...but still darn good
Although the title is totally hyperbole, this is an excellent collection of blues tunes of various eras and styles. Classic In Every Way! You will FEEL the Blues!
Calling your album the "best ever" takes balls, but this CD stands the test. From classics like Muddy Waters' 'Mannish Boy' or Little Walter's 'My Babe' to hot female singers like Etta James and the dynamic Koko Taylor to oldies radio station's staples like 'Reeling and Rockin'' by Chuck Berry and classic rock blues like Gary Moore's 'Still Got The Blues', this CD covers a lot of ground. The best ever?
Not even close to the best ever.The actual title should read: "The Best Blues Album For Which We Were Able To Get Rights To The Songs Quickly" or something like that.The fact is this double disc set is just a grab bag of songs with absolutely no thought put into it whatsoever.With a few exceptions, disc one is practically a throw away.Larry McCray, Kinsey Report, Gary Moore, and Terry Evans et. al. are all ok modern blues artists but hardly deserve to be on a blues album titled "The Best Ever" -especially one limited to only two discs.Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Collections    3. Blues Music    4. Blues-Rock    5. Chicago Blues    6. Contemporary Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Electric Blues    9. Electric Chicago Blues    10. Electric Texas Blues    11. Jump Blues    12. Modern Electric Blues    13. Pop    14. R&B    15. Slide Guitar Blues    16. Soul    17. Soul-Blues   

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Collections    4. Blues Music    5. Blues Revival    6. Country Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Field Recordings    9. Folk-Blues    10. Jug Band    11. Pop    12. Prewar Blues    13. Prewar Country Blues    14. Prewar Gospel Blues    15. Slide Guitar Blues   

Features

• Box set

Subjects:  1. 30's    2. 40's    3. 50's    4. 60's    5. 70's    6. Acoustic Blues    7. Album Rock    8. Big Band    9. Blues    10. Blues Music    11. Blues Revival    12. Blues-Rock    13. Bop    14. Box Sets (Audio Only)    15. Chicago Blues    16. Country Blues    17. Electric Blues    18. Electric Chicago Blues    19. Electric Delta Blues    20. Electric Harmonica Blues   

Features

• Box set
• Limited Edition
• Original recording remastered

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Collections    4. Classic Female Blues    5. Delta Blues    6. Electric Blues    7. Harmonica Blues    8. Piano Blues    9. Piedmont Blues    10. Pop    11. St. Louis Blues    12. Texas Blues    13. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

Singer-guitarist Fred McDowell was a giant of the blues who'd spent much of his life pumping gas. Johnny Woods was a scrapper who somehow cobbled out a living between gambling and drinking and playing harp. On these recordings, made in backwoods Mississippi shacks in 1967, the two bluesmen mix with primal authority. McDowell sings about love, hard times, and madness with unbridled passion as he pumps his slide 'n' drone acoustic guitar with rock & roll thrust, and Woods adds hand-muted cries and commentary that's raw as a skinned weasel. Picking out the African cadences of "Red Cross Store" or batting out their local juke-joint "hits" like McDowell's "Shake 'Em On Down," the duo blend the sloppy energy of pure feel with bursts of honed virtuosic precision. The result is blues music that not only cuts to the bone, but slices through it. Whether they're stomping out a powerhouse "John Henry" or slowly tugging every teardrop from a heartbreaker like "I Walked All Night Long," their playing here is as addictive as moonshine. Read more

Reviews (6)

Don't analyze it.
If you listen to this trying to figure out if it's good, you've missed the point.I did that on my first couple listens and it sounded like a disjointed mess mixing equal parts repetition and uncoordination.Along with all that, though, is some of the best music I've ever heard.

Hill Country Blues at its best
This is music that from its first notes grabs your soul and shakes you. This is the ultimate expression of interplay between harmonica, guitar, and vocals.I find it amazing that Fred and Johnny didn't have to rehearse. I can think of no other album where two musicians exhibit such an understanding of eachother's playing.Everytime I listen to this album I'm sent into a blues-induced trance.Nothing in the world exists except for the wailing harmonica and slide, the rocking rhythm of the drone strings.If this music doesn't make you move your hips, then (in the words of Louis Jordan): Jack, you dead.
The First Of The Great Mississippi Archives...
This session was recorded in 1965 at George Mitchell's house. Mitchell recorded over 70 hours of tapes during the 60's and 70 of Mississippi Fred and several others. Mama Says I'm Crazy marks the first of a series of sessions Fat Possum plans to release from the Mitchell Archive over the next several years. It's relaxed guitar-and-harmonica hill-country blues, which is part of a dying legacy of musicians. Now that the music is finally getting some attention, the king of Hill-country is finally getting the attention he deserved. He has greatly influenced artists such as T-Model Ford, R. L. Burnside, Solomon Burke, and Junior Kimbrough, and remains the forerunner for the genre. It's eleven soul-wrenching tracks of twelve-bar that will uncontrollably cause you to tap along with the beat. Johnny's harmonica never misses a beat, as he aggressively intertwines with Fred's sliding guitar licks. It's stripped-down and acoustic, and gives you the feeling that you're hitchhiking across the American south with a suitcase in your hand. Mississippi Fred McDowell is essential listening for any aficionado of the blues, and Fat Possum Records is making it possible for blues-lovers everywhere. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues Revival    4. Delta Blues    5. Pop   

Reviews (3)

Another Excellent Sony Retrospective
I heartily recommend this two disk set to enthusiasts and neophytes, alike. For some reason, the Amzn. site is showing only a partial list of the tracks. That's a shame, as it leaves out many of the real gems on the collection. Peruse the entire list below and you'll see what I mean: An absolute must for any true fan of American Blues and Folk
This album is so good it's unbelievable; It's such a great listening experience.I especially love the rendition of Another great entry in the series!
The entire series put out by Sony, "Soundtrack for a Century" is a wonderful enterprise, especially if you love historical curiosities as well as great hits.From the rare to the very popular, each volume bringsa wealth of great music.Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Acoustic Chicago Blues    3. Acoustic Memphis Blues    4. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    5. Album Rock    6. Alternative Pop/Rock    7. Arena Rock    8. Black Gospel    9. Blues    10. Blues Gospel    11. Blues Revival    12. Blues-Rock    13. Boogie Rock    14. Chicago Blues    15. Classic Female Blues    16. Classic Jazz    17. Contemporary Blues    18. Country Blues    19. Delta Blues    20. Electric Chicago Blues   

Editorial Review

This set of 1953 sessions consists of lesser-known John Lee Hooker material, but it's none the worse for that; Read more

Reviews (3)

This is real music
I don't care what kind of music you listen to, you need this album. It's so raw and emotional. This is one of the best albums Hooker recorded (trust me I have spent a lot of money on Hooker albums that were either cheap collections or of bad quality). This is the real deal. It is the album that relates blues to every other kind of music out there. I would hurry before this album is unavalible.

Boogie, baby !
Masterpiece. Such albums are very rare. You should have it, you blues lover.

Powerful
This was the first blues album I ever bought. I was hypnotized by his growling vocal style and his "too bummed out to tune my guitar" playing. This feels like the real thing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Music    4. Blues Revival    5. Blues Traditional    6. Country Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Detroit Blues    9. Electric Blues    10. Electric Delta Blues    11. Leader    12. Pop    13. Songwriter   

Editorial Review

Junior Kimbrough's ragged-but-right blues stylings are roots music with the down-home dirt still clinging to them, and they radiate honesty and authenticity with every note. This disc is an unofficial prequel to Kimbrough's classic 1992 release Read more

Reviews (3)

Well Okay, this may not be his best work .
Even though this album has been given some terrible reviews It still diserves at least 4 stars.If you have never heard Junior before than this Cd is probably not for you.But, if you are a hard-core Jonior fan than this will make an interesting adition to you collection.Okay, with the exeption of the title track the audio quality is terrible.But, I listen to guys like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House and Charly Patton so much that this doesn't bother me.Plus, if you hate the first 4 tracks, the live tracks will more than make-up for that.In the last four tracks have a lot of screaming fans and guitar feed back.On the last track you can hear Junior thanking his fans and unplugging his guitar.Plus it even has a small clip of Stevie Ray Vaunghn at the end. This May sound silly but if you close you Eyes and use your imagination, it is almost like you are at the concert.

The Bottom of the Barrel
I have all of Junior Kimbrough's CD's, and think each one is a five star recording--EXCEPT this one.Fat Possum has a bad habit of releasing anything they have in their vaults, particularly if the artist has died (witness the awful--and accurate--reviews of Asie Payton's final album "Worried".)"Meet Me In The City" is a CD of cuts recorded at home, live at blues festivals--[heck], even in the shower, it sounds like.The quality of the recordings is [poor], and a couple of the songs you've heard before if you own all the Kimbrough Fat Possum releases ("Done Got Old" and "All Night Long," for instance.)For all that, you can easily hear the great bluesman Kimbrough was underneath the fuzzy background noise, sloppy editing & repetition.For collectors and purists only.

Meet Him or Deprive Yourself
Junior Kimbrough was a far cry from the rock and roll-aspiring, showboating poseurs passing themselves off as bluesmen these days. No bluesman since Muddy Waters took such a sure sense of the Delta soil fromwhich roots the blues were born and drop-kicked it this acutely into hisown time and place. This "prequel" to his Fat Possum recordingcareer is about as raw as the primal blues gets and then some. The fourhomemade solo recordings which lead the album off are worth the price alone- maybe this isn't the most professional recording you'll ever hear, but ifyou think anyone else's blues stables will come within five nautical milesof this nudity of feeling - never mind to the most inspired deployment ofelectric guitar feedback the blues has ever known (imagine Charlie Pattonbeating the Velvet Underground at their own game) - you're dreaming evendeeper than they are. The live cuts with Kimbrough's trio? For him they'reabout the going rate - but for anyone else, it's rotsa ruck trying, andthey'd be damn fools not to. ... Read more

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

Reviews (1)

ZEPPELIN
For a band that expected to break up shortly after there 1st releasezeppelin became rock gods and this album takes a great road to show there inspriation and the greatness of zeppelin 20 awsome traks on a scale of 1-5 6 .... but this goes to 6 ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Memphis Blues    2. Chicago Blues    3. Country    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Chicago Blues    6. Popular Music    7. Prewar Country Blues    8. Rock/Pop    9. Slide Guitar Blues   

Editorial Review

Choosing the tracks for Read more

Reviews (2)

A great artist and a great man know him from his recordings
I've been a fan of Fred McDowell, who always pronounced his name MACK DowWELL, for more than 40 years. His music has inspired not only my guitar playing, but also my blues playing on the banjo which has gotten some reknown among old time music buffs and my fiddling. His personality shines through in his music and speech on his recordings. He was sharp, gritty, and real, very real.
A great sampler of Fred McDowell's best!
Ever wonder where Bonnie Raitt got that funky version of "Kokomo Blues"? Well, check out Fred McDowell's classic recordings from 1964, where he feels acoustic, but plays electric... A funky, slightly grungy electric style that is tremndously soulful. McDowell's slide work doesn't seem technically advanced, but it is charged with power, and completely arresting. Raitt took that power and smoothed it out a bit -- you might find you like the unburnished originals even more!Nice selection of some of McDowell's best recordings on the Arhoolie label. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Blues Revival    4. Delta Blues    5. Pop   

Reviews (5)

RL Burnside-The King of the Blues
I think that this is a great album.This was the first RL album that I bought, and it got me into the Fat Possum stuff.I was very impressed that RL was willing to try to work the blues into non-traditional ground, which many people are unwilling to do.Blues has to move past Jimmy Reed and Muddy, no matter how great they were.Anyway, I highly recommend this album, it has been an influence on my listening and guitar playing.The guitar has a heavy groove and the voice is that of a man that lived the blues.It is one of my favorites.

Eerie Swamp
From the opening track, the album establishes the mood that carries through to the remainder of the album.That mood is dark and still, like stagnant waters where things come to moan and slowly die.More impressive than the rare ability to hit such a finely distilled hue of despair, is the sparseness with which each track is laid.Each track is clean and seemingly simple, but Burnside uses dissonanse to enrich and to complicate what would otherwise be the limited use of a single guitar and a single voice.Overall, some of the best gloomy blues I've heard in a while.

A Stunning Display of Blues Power
I hadn't heard of R. L. Burnside until recently when a friend told me to check his stuff out.I bought this album due to that suggestion and all I can say is I can't believe what I've been missing!Every song is masterfully played, the vocals deep and reminiscent.The most powerful aspect of the Blues is that we, the audience, know that what we are hearing comes from experience.The truthfullness in Mr. Burnside's singing and playing is amazing.This album will get inside your head.For Blues fans this is one Bluesman to put on your list and this album deserves a place there as well.A word of note: If you like this album you might be thrown off by the stuff Burnside does for Fat Possum which is a hell of a lot different from what you hear here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Delta Blues    4. Juke Joint Blues    5. Modern Delta Blues    6. Pop   

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Acoustic Memphis Blues    3. Blues    4. Blues Collections    5. Blues Music    6. Country Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Early American Blues    9. Pop    10. Prewar Country Blues    11. Prewar Gospel Blues    12. V/A Compilations   

Editorial Review

This brooding lesson in the "Three D's" of the blues--despair, death, and desire--is a window into the melancholy soul of Hooker's art. Each of the two discs are separate sets from a '70s solo concert at New York City's Hunter College. And by the time Hooker asks "How deep and how low can you git?" near the performance's end, we already know. It's not merely the profound darkness of these tales--in which Hooker becomes a killer, a TB victim, an abandoned lover--but the pain with which he suffuses his pinched, red-clay voice. Then there's his guitar, constantly working idiosyncratic variations on his patented boogie; sliding and snapping out replies to the tense lyrics of "Jesse James" or his improvised lonesome wail "Tired of Being Your Doggie." Throughout, Hooker exercises his command of tension and drama. Read more

Features

• Live

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Music    4. Blues Revival    5. Blues Traditional    6. Country Blues    7. Delta Blues    8. Detroit Blues    9. Electric Blues    10. Electric Delta Blues    11. Leader    12. Pop    13. Songwriter   

Editorial Review

When it comes to deep, dirty, down-home blues, Son House is the man. One of the "big three" of Delta blues (the others being Charley Patton and Willie Brown), House was the spiritual father of Robert Johnson. Ironically, House's only commercial recordings were a handful made in 1930. Luckily, Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax found him in 1941 and, over the next year or so, recorded some of the most stunning blues ever to be waxed. The sessions were, to say the least, informal. For instance, a locomotive can be heard rolling by as Son performs "Shetland Pony Blues." He is joined on some of the sides by Willie Brown, as well as mandolinist Joe Martin and harp man Leroy Williams. However, it is his solo sides that really stand out. Two of the cuts, "American Defense" and "Am I Right or Wrong," are rare examples of House as sentimental balladeer. Son House didn't so much play a guitar as assault it. And as for his voice, it is no overstatement to say few, if any, have ever matched him for sheer emotional intensity. Read more

Reviews (6)

Historic recordings
These 1941-1942 recordings are the only ones ever made of Eddie "Son" House playing with a band.
Son House was indeed a Master of his Craft
This album is essential listening for any Blues fan.Hardcore Blues all the way.Son House's somber, yet light vocal style is the epitome of what the Blues ought to sound like.These are the solid, intact Library of Congress recordings (1941-1942) digitally remastered to allow the analog hiss to be merely background, bringing the music to the foreground where it belongs.Which makes this a great Blues experience.Purists might argue that the digital remastering constitutes tampering with the artist's intent.Clearly Son House intended for his music to be heard!Besides, the impurities of old time recordings are still apparent.It's just that you hear more music and less static. shake 'n chill
Son House is my favourite of the Missippi Delta Blues Singers, largely because of this recording.Mr. Eddie James House, Jr., (1902? Riverton, Mississipi - 1988 Detroit, Michigan) has a low gravelly voice which is full of pathos.He sings convincingly of life's hard times.I feel an eery connection as his songs awaken feelings of lost love and the frustration of hopeless poverty.And I have never even been to Mississippi ;D.To say that Mr House "did not play a guitar as much as assault it" is an unfair oversimplification of his rustic style.On this CD, he exhibits two different approaches.When playing with an ensemble (Levee Camp Blues, Government Fleet Blues, Walking Blues and Shetland Pony Blues, for example) he establishes the rhythm.He plays barred chords supporting Mr. Joe Martin on mandoline and Mr. Leroy Williams on harmonica.It would be silly and uncharacteristic of a Delta Blues format to expect a mandolin or harmonica to take on this reponsibility.On the songs which feature Mr House alone, he displays a great deal of melodic expertise.Low Down Dirty Dog Blues is a fine example.He maintains a standard Blues bass with turn around while augmenting his singing with fills played on the higher strings.But the strongest feature is his singing which is stunning, and his poignant lyrics. My favourite line is "if I don't go crazy, I believe I'll lose my mind." If you are interested in the Folk Blues of the Mississippi Delta, this is an important recording for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acoustic Blues    2. Blues    3. Blues Music    4. Blues Traditional    5. Country Blues    6. Delta Blues    7. Pop    8. Slide Guitar Blues   

Features

• Box set

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Revival    3. Electric Blues    4. Electric Delta Blues    5. Pop    6. Rock/Pop Collections    7. United States of America   

Reviews (1)

dirty lowdown stinkin
I always thought that the best blues/roots/americana should rumble around your ears much in the way that the smell of alcohol mingled with a hint of body odor should assault your olfactory system...not always pleasant but certainly human.Read more

Subjects:  1. Electric Delta Blues    2. Garage Punk    3. Indie Rock    4. Modern Electric Blues    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop Collections    8. V/A Compilations   

Editorial Review

While there's certainly a whole lot more to the music of Scotland, we all want to hear the bagpipes, so it's a nice touch that Alan Lomax's exploration of the Scottish tradition starts with a brief rant by the Glasgow Police Band. This is followed by a solo song by one of the great voices of the nation, Ewan McColl, who contributes a number of traditional songs to the collection. Other a cappella songs include "Glenlogie" by John Strachan, Blanche Wood's "Portnockie Girl," and some "diddling songs" by Hamish Henderson. More informal are a track by a community band and singing group recorded live in the streets of Selkirk, some remarkable singing from a group of women in Glasgow, and a church choir in Dormach. The album is divided pretty equally between songs from the Lowlands and the Highlands, 43 often-brief pieces that preserve the old music in time. Notes by Lomax have been updated (and toned down from Lomax's usual overly effusive style) by Hamish Henderson and Margaret Bennett, and include Gaelic text and English translations where necessary. --Read more

Reviews (2)

Bad Amazon Experience
I tried to purchase this and another cd using a gift card. I got an email saying that they would have to be shipped separately. A week later I got an email saying that they were "undeliverable"! Since I didnt think there was going to be a problem when I first placed the order I trashed the gift card code # so I lost the $ that I used for the purchase. So to sum up- No cds no gift card, thanks Amazon.

Powerful and historical
This CD is just about perfect.In fact, it's only defect is also an advantage.Alan Lomax attempted to cram every corner of Scotland's musical tradition onto a single CD. This is a monumental task, and only partly successful. Read more

Subjects:  1. Celtic    2. Celtic/Irish    3. Field Recordings    4. Int'l & World Music    5. Pop    6. Scotland    7. Traditional Folk    8. Work Songs    9. World Music   

Reviews (2)

A great place to begin
This was my first blues CD. I used to listed mainly to rock music, and it was the guitar-angle that caught me....a few hundred blues CDs ago.
Killer Fretwork for guitar lovers
Chess was the home of most of the bigger blues legends of the 50's and 60's. This compilation is a must have for any blues guitar lover. Some of the early tracks (the first 10 or so) are country blues and are fairlymediocre, but the rest of the album is 5 stars. Lots of catchyinstrumentals from Earl Hooker, Jody Williams, Chuck Berry(even his aregood!), Buddy Guy(you can here where Stevie Ray was influenced from-checkout Buddy's Boogie)as well as the great Hubert Sumlin on the Howlin Wolftracks, Otis Rush, Little Milton, and Bo Diddley. This is true blues beforethe rock influence caught on, so be sure to include it in your collection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 50's    2. 60's    3. Acoustic Blues    4. Blues    5. Blues Collections    6. Blues Music    7. Blues Revival    8. Chicago Blues    9. Delta Blues    10. Detroit Blues    11. Electric Blues    12. Electric Chicago Blues    13. Electric Delta Blues    14. Electric Memphis Blues    15. Electric Texas Blues    16. Jump Blues    17. Modern Electric Blues    18. Modern Electric Chicago Blues    19. Piano Blues    20. Pop