Reviews (1)

too Cold
Johnny Guitar Watson had a Signature Sound on the Guitar along with his too cool vocals that always hit home. "a Real Mother for Ya" is stil a Monster Jam.He had a free flow style that worked. you can hear some Ray Charles Harmony in his overall delievery as well. the amazing thing about Johnny Guitar Watson is that he re-invented himself from the Blues&adapted to the Funk&brought along his own bag of the Funk. BrotherMan was doing it all as a Writer, Arranger, Producer&overall Multi Instrumentalist. He gave Social Commentary, always had Humor&a down home folk vibe that was timeless as his Guitar Playing.RIP ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Electric Texas Blues    3. Funk    4. Modern Electric Blues    5. Modern Electric Texas Blues    6. Pop    7. R&B    8. Soul    9. United States of America   

Reviews (11)

Very good swing collection
While there was a renaissance of interest in swing in the 1990s, and while much of this was among a relatively younger --late 20s, 30s, 40s-- audience, swing CDs are increasingly out of print.
Decent Collection
It's not quite what I'd call an Anthology, but it's certainly a good collection.Each track is an excellent song and most of the major artists are represented.Not every track is danceable, for you swing dancers out there, but there's plenty of danceable numbers, including a couple you can practice your Bal-Swing to.Enjoyable collection.

A Memorable Collection, But Not Really For the Casual Fan
Strictly speaking, "swing" designates a style of performance in which the emphasis falls on the offbeat.Even so the term "big band swing" is a flexible one, and if your ideas about it center on the style of The Glenn Miller Orchestra you will likely be disappointed with this double disk collection, which ranges in tone from the strict tempos of the Deco era to the bop-inflected sounds popular in post-World War II America.Read more

Subjects:  1. 30's    2. 40's    3. 50's    4. Big Band    5. Big Band Collections    6. Big Band/Swing    7. Bop    8. Classic Jazz    9. Cool    10. Dance Bands    11. Dixieland    12. East Coast Blues    13. Jazz    14. Jazz Music    15. Jump Blues    16. Mainstream Jazz    17. New Orleans Jazz    18. New York Blues    19. Orchestral Jazz    20. Piano Blues   

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (2)

My Kind of Blues as well
I had read that this was B.B. Kings' favorite album. After hearing I can see why. I don't know what year this was produced, but from the cover photo it seems to be early in his career.
The one, if one only
The material on this album is probably the most widely available B. B. King on the planet. Numerous inexpensive compilations include four or five of its tracks (often the most striking ones) along with tracks from other periods of King's career. Yet "My Kind of Blues" is the source, and it may be the purest expression of King's blues.
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Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Electric Blues    4. Memphis Blues    5. Modern Electric Blues    6. Pop    7. R&B    8. Soul-Blues   

Features

• Extra tracks
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (12)

Muddy Couldn't Be But You WILL Be Satisfied... Thrilled Actually
Elwood Blues calls this the greatest electric blues record ever made.Believe him even if he is a fictional character.Winter dragged Waters out of retirement and into the studio back in the mid 70's supported by a who's who of great blues side-men and this was the result.STUNNING.This is a must-have for even the most novice, junior, uninitiated blues enthusiast.Whoooooooooa yeah.Whooooooooa yeah.

Blues landmark.
This session serves as one of the biggest landmarks in Blues history. If you consider in hindsight it was a very bold venture for Johnny Winter to undertake at a time in 1977 when disco music ruled the airwaves. Interest in Blues music was at an all time low. Winter himself could've earned more money doing commercial rock but instead used his time to revive Muddys career.I, for one, was SO glad he did this album because it came as a breath of fresh air to cut through the hype.
EVERYTHING GONNA BE AWRIGHT THI' SMORNIN....

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Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Traditional    3. Chicago Blues    4. Delta Blues    5. Electric Blues    6. Electric Chicago Blues    7. Pop    8. Slide Guitar Blues   

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

Editorial Review

Some inspired music has arrived in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (mainly on New Orleans-themed benefit albums), but nothing as audaciously ambitious as this cross-generational collaboration between Crescent City mainstay Allen Toussaint and former British upstart turned adventurously eclectic veteran Elvis Costello.As a songwriter, producer, and arranger, Toussaint has been responsible for hits from artists ranging from Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, and Lee Dorsey to the Pointer Sisters and Labelle. Costello, long a huge fan of Toussaint's music, sings relatively familiar fare such as "On Your Way Down" and "Freedom for the Stallion" from Toussaint's extensive songbook along with obscurities mainly recorded by Dorsey. Toussaint supplies his distinctive piano and horn arrangements--as well as lead vocals on "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?"--with Costello's Imposters serving as the rhythm section. Yet the real revelation comes from the new material, including the title track (a searing Costello composition in the Toussaint soul-spiritual mode) and five new Costello/Toussaint compositions that spotlight Toussaint's signature sound without diminishing Costello's creative contributions.What could have been a curiosity is instead a hallmark in the catalog of each artist. Read more

Reviews (7)

Such a waste...
If you could find a way to remove Elvis Costello's voice track from the recording, this would be a very good disc.If you could replace him with a competent R&B or soul singer, it would be a fantastic one (especially if he slurred the lyrics).As it is, it's just unlistenable.EC never was much of a singer, but here he's way out of his depth -- off-key whitebread bombast is not what this kind of music calls for. His voice is fingernails on the blackboard bad, and it's relentless... there's not even a single instrumental track to relieve the pain.It kills me to toss any disc with Allen Toussaint on it, but this one's got to go.

Another Sharp Collaboration for Costello Who Gains Gravitas With the Soulfully Erudite Toussaint
Renaissance musician/troubadour Elvis Costello partners this time with legendary New Orleans R&B musician Allen Toussaint, and the results on this disc are quite fulfilling, often languorous and melancholy, all the more fitting given its context after the devastation of Katrina. Even without the relief aspect, the timing of this collaboration somehow feels right perhaps because Costello at this juncture of his career seems to be gaining more gravitas as a musical presence. Produced live and without overdubs by Joe Henry, the crisp-sounding recording effectively combines Costello's band, The Impostors, with Toussaint's guitarist Anthony "AB" Brown and the Crescent City Horns to produce frequently transcendent moments. Costello wrote the searing title tune, a biting sideswipe against the Bush administration's slow response in hurricane relief, and he performs it with his familiar angry-man vigor.
Soulful masterpiece
This is damn good stuff. It's the kind of album that you listen to while sitting on the edge of your bed, smoking one cigarette too many or maybe staring out your window while the sun sets. After all these years, Elvis Costello is still knocking them out of the park and with Allen Toussaint as a partner in crime on this recording, the result is an album that's so good that it almost hurts. The piano work is exquisite on this album as is Costello's singing.
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Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Blue-Eyed Soul    3. England    4. Modern Electric Blues    5. New Orleans Blues    6. New Orleans R&B    7. Pop    8. Pop/Rock    9. Retro-Soul    10. Rock    11. Rock/Pop    12. Singer/Songwriter    13. Soul   

Editorial Review

Atlantic Records has ridden musical trends since the late '40s; these seven CDs chronicle the first 28 years of the label's work in black pop, during which artists such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding oversaw the creation and flowering of soul music. Also included are classic tracks by the Drifters, Wilson Pickett, Ruth Brown, the Coasters, Sam & Dave, and many others who walk through the dreams of R&B and rock & roll fans. Read more

Features

• Box set

Reviews (37)

R&B review
music selections were great
Good album for the roots of rock and roll
Fantastic album, all the gualities are here and preseved very well to ensure quality listening for die hard doo wop and rhythm and blues music, Ray Charles, Arethra, Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MG's, just to name a few. I loved it, I got it, you should go out and buy it,it's worth it.

"Atlantic leads the field in rhythm & blues."
So it says on a 1950s-era paper sleeve for an Atlantic Records single. When you think about it from what you heard, what you saw, and what is in the stats, it's not just a simple promotional phrase. Rhythm and blues was increasingly making its mark on music at the close of the `40s and into the '50s. This kind of music was being marketed by small independent labels that
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Subjects:  1. 40's    2. 50's    3. 60's    4. 70's    5. Beach    6. Big Band    7. Black Gospel    8. Blues    9. Bop    10. Brill Building Pop    11. Chicago Soul    12. Classic Jazz    13. Cool    14. Country-Soul    15. Crossover Jazz    16. Deep Soul    17. Disco    18. Dixieland    19. Doo Wop    20. East Coast Blues   

Editorial Review

John Lennon once claimed that "the blues is a chair…the first chair," explaining the music's primacy in the grand scheme of things. That notion is richly underscored on this follow-up to late-blossoming North Mississippi bluesman R.L. Burnside's initial 1998 remix collection. While Kid Rock's rollicking duet Read more

Reviews (10)

Is there anything better?
I can only hope to see R.L. live in concert one day. This is one of the best Blues albums (or any type for that matter) to grace a CD. Inventive, unusual, hip, funky and smooth all rolled into one. Two words: "Buy It!"

Excellence
This is the best CD I have heard in a long time. Even some bums on the street heard me listening to it in my car and just had to ask what it was. R.L Burnside and Lyrics Born are a unique and fabulous collaboration.

Fennimore
As far as I'm concerned RL can do no wrong, this is a great CD. I love that he has these other artists it gives it another dimension ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Delta Blues    3. Electric Blues    4. Electric Delta Blues    5. Juke Joint Blues    6. Modern Delta Blues    7. Modern Electric Blues    8. Pop   

Editorial Review

The classic "Hound Dog" is usually associated with Elvis Presley, but blues fans know: Presley's recording wasn't the first. That honor belongs to singer Big Mama Thornton, whose own recording of "Hound Dog" was eclipsed by Presley's. Her version is on this collection in all its glory, opening a CD of 17 killer tracks. Thornton's voice, by turns growling and richly melodic, was indeed unusual, and the spare accompaniment on Read more

Reviews (13)

Elvis is still the "King!"
I will agree that "Big Mama's" version is good...But Elvis is still the "King."When I hear Elvis, I want to get up and move.His version may be an imitation, but it still kicks ass....Big Mama deserved more credit than she got...I mean the woman has soul and funk....Both versions should be appreciated for what they are- kick ass good music...But Elvis still rules in my book...

big mama could belt out a number!
Although Elvis Presley remains one of my all time favorite singers, I must admit that his version of Hound Dog never felt right to these ears--and now I know why: because Big Mama Thornton's version is right on target and makes sense. This was a song (originally) sung by a woman to a no-good bum of a man. Not only that, she does a better job of it than Elvis, etc.
Awesome swingin'n'wailin' jumpin' blues & R+B!!!
Big Mama has a big growlin' voice, I mean she could eat Big Maybelle for breakfast(though Maybelle is an equally versitile and great performer).Mama had a hit in Hound Dog way brfore Elvis, and she sings the heck out of it, making Presley's "hiccuped" version, pale in comparison.This cd is not really rock'n'roll as many people atste in the reviews it is pure 1950's R&B, with honking saxes, it qualifies as jump blues, and you can even jitterbug, lindy hop or jive for dancing purposes.It might be considered pre-rock'n;roll, or she may have been influential, but Mama's no more a rock'n'roller then Ruth Brown or Dinah Washington.Though rockabilly people such as myself like her rough style(think of Ruth Brown or Etta James, without the swettness), and you have Big Mama.My favorite is the straight lindy hopper jump blues "They Call Me Big Mama"(which has been covered very well by newer singer Vandeye Kane).The whole cd is worth repeated listenings, and it's good stuff to play while cruising East L.A. in your lowered 50's Chevy convertible. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music    3. Pop    4. R&B    5. Texas Blues    6. West Coast Blues   

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..
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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

Most live blues recordings have a feeling of intimacy, as if the concerts took place in some out-of-the-way venue for an audience who not only know all the lyrics, but know the performers personally as well. Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (31)

really good. good as any live album.
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.

Not His Best
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.
****1/2. Much underrated
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.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Blues-Rock    3. Electric Texas Blues    4. Guitar Virtuoso    5. Modern Electric Blues    6. Modern Electric Texas Blues    7. Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (9)

FINALLY THE RIGHT MIX
After Jimmy Vaughn's departure it seemed the T-Birds were quickly becoming Kim Wilson's vanity project.The cohesiveness was gone, band members coming and going from each album to the next.However there is a new stability to this once vital band.Kirk Fletcher and Nick Curran have brought the birds back to the forefront of contemporary blues on this sparkling disc.Time has done wonders to Wilson's vocals.No longer the derivitive shouter his voice, despite the great instrumental prowess is the driving force. He also keeps things at a lively pace co-producing with Steve Berlin of Blasters and Los Lobos fame.Let's hope the revolving door is closed and a new and exciting chapter in this groups rich history will be written.

New members give the Thunderbirds a new feel
This is a good FT album.The new guitar players add some unique style to the band.Kim Wilson sounds like the KW of old.

The T-Birds still have it goin' on.
Kim Wilson, once again, rolls a new model of T-Bird off the assembly line. Where does he find these guys? Of course, piano pounder Gene Taylor is the most recognizable of this new line-up of Birds, having achieved his own notiriety in the '80s with California's roots-rock heroes The Blasters. But every other player in this new line-up are as adept as Taylor in delivering the raw blues-rock punch that we have grown to expect from one of America's greatest bands of the past 25 years. Top it all off with Wilson's soulful vocals and incendiary harp and you have one great CD. The T-Birds style may not be part of America's mainstream music scene anymore, but their significance in the musical history of this country is reaffirmed and enhanced with Painted On. I am especially fond of the retro "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line". "Rock Candy" rocks in the same vein as "Rock This Place" and "Two Time Fool" is a hip shaker in the spirit of "I Believe I'm In Love". "Postman" delivers the solid blues groove that long ago established Kim Wilson as one of America's premier blues bosses. "Wild Cherry" features harp playing that would impress even the likes of James Cotton and Junior Wells. The only thing this CD lacks is a T-Birds classic like "Tuff Enough" or "Look At That Look At That". But if you love rock, blues, and soul, Painted On brings home the bacon in a way that few other bands can. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues-Rock    2. Electric Texas Blues    3. Modern Electric Texas Blues    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Rock/Pop   

Reviews (10)

oh my heavens I don't know what to say
Well, as a European traveler, as well as a visitor to Italy, and a lover of all things Italian, I was flabbergasted with this CD. My thoughts are that this CD was created in a backwoods bar, long after most of the patrons were three sheets to the wind. The singing is HORRIBLE and out of tune, and ten out of ten people polled agreed as to the unbelievable badness of this CD. It is screechy, and the tone is of poor quality. A good friend of mine says it sounds like an old toothless woman screeching from her bed, accompanied by crying dogs and cats. I will say, that I am tickled that the seller was good enough to refund 100% of my money. This was the best part of the entire transaction. Buyer beware.

Beautiful Music of a Bygone Era
Modern civilization is destroying traditional cultures around the world at an alarming rate; some call this progress, but listening to this remarkable CD from the Alan Lomax collection reminds one of just how much is lost when these ancient forms of musical expression are lost forever.I am not an ethnomusicologist, but I have always had a fascination for the indiginous and folk music idioms. This is one of the main reasons I purchased the recording, that and because I am Italian by heritage. Needless to say this music really spoke to me.In it I could here the echoes of my proud and noble ancestors.Like the people who produced it, the music is passionate, lively, energetic, and earthy.In short a must for anyone searching for a little piece of unspoiled Italian soul.

Excellent Introduction to Italian folk music!
I don't mind admitting that this collection is primarily an historical document, as the folk music and dance traditions that are captured on this CD have been greatly diminished since this recording was made in the mid-1950s.
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Subjects:  1. European Folk    2. Field Recordings    3. Folk Collections    4. Int'l & World Music    5. Italian Folk    6. Italy    7. Pop    8. Traditional Folk    9. Work Songs    10. World Music   

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   

Editorial Review

New Orleans' Henry Roeland Byrd wasn't the most polished of all the great R&B pianists of the '40s and '50s, but even Ray Charles and Otis Spann rarely matched his speed. This superb two-disc set repeats the Professor's signature style--a stomping left-hand bass and a right hand that flies all over the place--on classics such as "Tipitina," "Junco Partner," and "Ball the Wall." It begins in the early '50s, when 'Fess called his band Roy Byrd & His Blues Jumpers, and ends with an incredible, stretched-out live version of "Big Chief" (with Dr. John) and "Boogie Woogie" (with fellow New Orleans pianists Allen Toussaint and Tuts Washington).Read more

Reviews (6)

FESS !!
New Orleans veteran Professor Longhair and his music will live on forever in every ones mind !!

Many nights at Tip's
No air-conditioning then, and after awhile you didn't even care anymore. With the Professor banging out the musical equal of both sugar and whiskey, life at that moment was pretty damn good there at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas Street.
Rockin' Oldies for the Hardcore Fess' Fan
If you're lookin for a good mix of old school Jazz/Blues tunes, you've come to the right place.Fess' has a good list of classics ranging from hard-hitting Jazz to the soft Blues when you're in the mood.If you've ever wanted Fess' hits on one CD, here you are.Tipitina, Big Chief, Stag-O-Lee, it's all here. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Jazz Music    3. Jazz Traditional    4. New Orleans Blues    5. New Orleans R&B    6. Piano    7. Piano Blues    8. Pop   

Reviews (1)

great collection
So glad I bought this! Great music, fun to listen to and exercise with. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cajun    2. Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans    3. Cajun Collections    4. Pop    5. Traditional Cajun    6. World Music    7. Zydeco   

Editorial Review

If there is a recording that is required listening for every blues fan, it's this one. Robert Johnson wasn't just King of the Delta blues; he was one of its founding fathers, and these re-mastered tunes are as timeless and important today as they were all those years ago. The songs that passed into the blues canon, to be covered by countless guitarists over the years, are here: "Crossroad Blues," "Preaching Blues," "Come On In My Kitchen," "Walking Blues," and more. And on this particular version of this often-reissued recording, there's an additional treat: a previously unreleased version of "Traveling Riverside Blues." Absolutely essential. Read more

Reviews (28)

good stuff
The initial burst of lo-fi sound alienates everyone at first, but if you get past that the legend is there.Robert Johnson is as every bit as good as he gets credit for and songs are song with a full throated passion and the music features almost every great blues guitar lick ever recorded.Even if you never get past the crappy recording, this is a must listen just for the historical importance of Robert Johnson.

King of the blues!
Excellent transaction, this CD was in perfect condition. I've spent hours of amazing fun listening to this amazing artist. thanks so much for such a great transaction!

How to get the really complete "Complete Recordings"
As other reviewers have commented, this album is great (and is the compilation which in its original LP form triggered the whole British blues boom that lies at the foundation of much modern rock), but you should really get the Complete Recordings instead.However, you will also want the newly discovered alternate take of Traveling Riverside Blues, which is on this CD but missing from the "complete" set.The solution is to get Elijah Wald's book "Escaping the Delta", which gives a fascinating analysis of Johnson's work within the context of his time and environment.Apart from being essential reading for any Johnson fan, it comes with a bonus CD that includes the missing track.Problem solved! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Blues Music