A nice album of old style electric Chicago blues featuring singer/mandolin player Rachell accompanied by Pete Crawford/ guitar, Floyd Jones/ bass and Odie Payne/ drums. Most songs are old favorites like
Roll me Over Baby/ Check Up On My Baby/ Early In the Morning, etc along with a couple of originals including the semi-topical
Depression Blues. Nice, if not earthshaking, music.
YANK RACHELL: Check Up On My Baby/ Depression Blues/ Diving Duck/ Early In
The Morning/ Going To St. Louis/ I Don't Believe You Love Me No More/ Let
Me Tangle In Your Vines/ Roll Me Over Baby/ Sugar Mama.
Reissue of 1963 album featuring Yank with Sleepy John Estes,
Big Joe Williams, Mike Bloomfield and Hammie Nixon. Includes 6 previously
unissued cuts. YANK RACHELL: Bye Bye Baby./ Do The Boogie Mama, Take 2/
Do The Boogie Mama, Take 3/ Doorbell Blues/ Get Your Morning Exercise/
Girl Of My Dreams/ I'm Gonna Get Up In The Morning/ Lonesome Blues/ Move
Your Hand/ Rocky Mountain Blues/ Shout Baby Shout/ Starvation In My
Kitchen/ Stop Knocking On My Door/ Texas Tony/ Up And Down The Line/ When
My Baby Comes Back Home
25 tracks, 70 mins, essential
Though not as well known as
some of their contemporaries the Radio Four were certainly among the
finest gospel groups to record in the 50s and these early sides are among
their very finest accomplishments. They were originally a family group
featuring five Babb brothers - Morgan, George, Ray, James & Claude.
Most of the leads are taken by Morgan whose singing is exquistly sweet,
soulful and utterly convincing - his performance on the two part Sending
Up This Prayer with its brief passages of sermonizing is nothing short
of ecstatic. Morgan also provides the distinctive guitar intro to most of
their songs and his playing together the slapped string bass playing of
Ernie Newton provides an irresistible propulsive rhythm on the up tempo
numbers that makes me think of rockabilly gospel! A couple of the leads
are taken by the more earnest sounding brother George and throughout the
rest of the group provide stunning four and five part harmony. This set
also includes the group accompanying the fine female gospel singers Mdm
Edna Gallmon Cook and Sister Lucille Barbee as well as two cuts from '52
by Morgan with two of his other brothers Paul & Sepheus. The twelve
page booklet includes extensive notes by Opal Louis Nations who compiled
this set. I've been waiting a long time for someone to reissue this
classic material and it's certainly my favorite gospel reissue of 1999.
(FS)
How about this for frustration - volume 1 in this series,
issued several years ago is only available on LP now here we have volume 2
on compact disc only, maybe volume 3 will be on DAT! However this is a
great collection by one of the finest of the early blues singers featuring
16 songs recorded between August 1924 and July 1925 plus 4 alternate takes
for a total of 20 performances. Most of the tracks feature accompanied by
her "Georgia Band" featuring either Howard Scott, Louis
Armstrong, Tommy Ladnier or Robert Taylor/ cornet, Don Redman, Buster
Bailey or Jimmy O'Bryant/ clarinet, Fletcher Henderson or Thomas Dorsey/
piano and others. There are some stunning performances on this collection
including the first recording of See See Rider plus Booze And
Blues/ Jelly Bean Blues/ Cell Bound Blues/ Explaining The Blues/ Goodbye
Daddy Blues/ Rough And Tumble Blues, etc. Except for a few tracks the
sound is generally very good, considering the age and condition of these
recordings, and there are informative notes by Chib Deffaa and full
discographical information. (FS)
23 tracks, 69 min., recommended
Rightfully known as The
Mother Of The Blues, Rainey's recording career began in '23 for Paramount.
These sides from '28 (still for Paramount) are the last she recorded;
after that she apparently went into theater promotion. Nine tracks are
with Her Tub Jug Washboard Band, which featured Georgia Tom Dorsey on
piano. The latter also appears with Ma on several other cuts with Tampa
Red's guitar assistance. The last 2 songs find Rainey in a duet with Papa
Charlie Jackson. This collection includes original and unissued versions
of Sleep Talking Blues/ Black Eye Blues. And while Ma was still in
top form, the going is sometimes slow here and the sound quality is
sometimes less than ideal. Includes the biographically interesting Prove
It On Me Blues, ostensibly about Ma's bisexuality. (JC)
5 CDs, 111 tracks, essential
An independent minded woman, brilliantly fashioning her own material from a
mixture of folk, vaudeville and blues sources, blessed with a magnificent
voice and supported by musicians of the quality of Louis Armstrong, Johnny
Dodds and Coleman Hawkins, Ma Rainey had no equivalent and arguably no equal
among the so called "classic" blues singers. This JSP box features the
complete works as issued by Document, including take two of Traveling
Blues which appeared on their "Too Late, Too Late Volume 2" (DOCD 5126).
Generally though for an artist of such stature Ma has had rather a thin time
of it from CD reissue companies, probably because of the difficulty of
remastering her Paramount recordings. About half were made in the acoustic
era (i.e. pre 1926), and all were subject to Paramount's usual poor quality
pressings. To make matters worse, the popularity of the discs was such that
today even best available copies are often in very worn condition. The task
of improving on the sound of the Document reissues is not therefore an easy
one.
Comparing the Document discs with this new set shows that on the first three
JSP discs, and on disc five, the character of the transfers is essentially
the same, with little difference in the sound of the better condition tracks
beyond a tidying up of occasional clicks etc by JSP. Compared to the more
noisy Document transfers however, JSP have usually managed some worthwhile
noise reduction which may not always be obvious on casual listening, but
which helps to highlight the vocals. Tracks benefiting from this treatment
include Bo-Weavil Blues/ Last Minute Blues/ Shave 'Em Dry Blues/ Cell
Bound Blues/ Levee Camp Moan/ Slave To The Blues/ Titanic Man Blues and
Screech Owl Blues. It is on the fourth JSP disc though that the
improvement is most marked. Even with on occasion a fair amount of
background hiss, the JSP sound is clearer, especially on tracks like Gone
Daddy Blues/ Misery Blues/ Dead Drunk Blues and Slow Driving Moan,
where the Document versions sound muffled. All of which means JSP have
achieved a significant improvement in presenting these treasures and chalked
up one of their most important reissues to date. Max Haymes' booklet notes
give some background but read like the product of desk research and fail to
engage with the music - a minus point but minor consideration when the music
speaks so eloquently for itself. A great set, and good value too. (DPR) MA RAINEY: Bad Luck Blues/ Barrel House Blues/ Big Feeling
Blues/ Black Dust Blues/ Black Eye Blues/ Black Eye Blues/ Blame It On The
Blues/ Bo-weavil Blues/ Bo-weavil Blues/ Daddy Goodbye Blues/ Don't Fish In
My Sea/ Dream Blues/ Farewell Daddy Blues/ Grievin' Hearted Blues/ Honey
Where You Been So Long/ Last Minute Blues/ Leaving This Morning/ Little Low
Mama Blues/ Lost Wondering Blues/ Lucky Rock Blues/ Ma And Pa Poorhouse
Blues/ Ma Rainey's Mystery Record/ Moonshine Blues/ Morning Hour Blues/
Mountain Jack Blues/ Mountain Jack Blues/ Runaway Blues/ Screech Owl Blues/
Shave 'em Dry Blues/ Sleep Talking Blues/ Sleep Talking Blues/ Southern
Blues/ Sweet Rough Man/ Those All Night Long Blues/ Those All Night Long
Blues/ Those Dogs Of Mine/ Tough Luck Blues/ Trust No Man/ Walking Blues/
Army Camp Harmony Blues/ Army Camp Harmony Blues/ Bessemer Bound Blues/
Bessemer Bound Blues/ Big Boy Blues/ Black Cat Hoot Owl Blues/ Blues Oh
Blues/ Blues The World Forgot/ Blues The World Forgot/ Booze And Blues/
Broken Hearted Blues/ Broken Soul Blues/ Cell Bound Blues/ Chain Gang Blues/
Countin' The Blues/ Countin' The Blues/ Damper Down Blues/ Dead Drunk Blues/
Deep Moaning Blues/ Deep Moaning Blues/ Down In The Basement/ Explaining The
Blues/ Explaining The Blues/ Four Day Honorary Scat/ Four Day Honorary Scat/
Georgia Cake Walk/ Gone Daddy Blues/ Goodbye Daddy Blues/ Hear Me Talking To
You/ Hustlin' Blues/ Jealous Hearted Blues/ Jealousy Blues/ Jelly Bean
Blues/ Lawd Send Me A Man Blues/ Levee Camp Moan/ Log Camp Blues/ Louisiana
Hoo-doo Blues/ Ma Rainey's Black Bottom/ Memphis Bound Blues/ Misery Blues/
Moonshine Blues/ New Bo Weavil Blues/ Night Time Blues/ Night Time Blues/ Oh
My Babe Blues/ Oh Papa Blues/ Prove It To Me Blues/ Rough And Tumble Blues/
See See Rider Blues/ See See Rider Blues/ Seeking Blues/ Seeking Blues/
Sissy Blues/ Slave To The Blues/ Slow Driving Moan/ Soon This Morning/ South
Bound Blues/ Stack O'lee Blues/ Stormy Sea Blues/ Titanic Man Blues/ Titanic
Man Blues/ Toad Frog Blues/ Traveling Blues/ Traveling Blues/ Victim Of The
Blues/ Weeping Woman Blues/ Wring And Twisting Blues/ Ya Da Do/ Ya Da Do/
Yonder Comes The Blues/ Hellish Rag/ Ice Bag Papa
This CD reissue of the Milestone 2-LP set (minus a few
tracks due to space considerations) collects 24 of Ma Rainey's finest
sides recorded for Paramount between 1924-'28. Born Gertrude Malissa
Pridgett in 1886, Rainey was often billed as "The Mother Of The
Blues", an eminently defensible claim. Her influence (direct and
indirect) on Bessie Smith was great; depending on who tells the story, she
and Smith worked together briefly in the early 1930's. The selections here
include the classic See See Rider/ Ma Rainey's Black Bottom/ Prove It
To Me/ Sleep Talking Blues/ New Boweavil Blues/ Jealous Hearted Blues/
Trust No Man. Ma is backed by various small jazz combos whose members
have names like Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Coleman Hawkins,
Blind Blake, Jimmy Blythe, "Georgia Tom" Dorsey, and Tampa Red,
to name several. Excellent sound quality, given the 78 rpm sources (the
Paramount label is renowned by collectors for preserving the best early
blues artists on the worst pressings ever!). Powerful music from a
powerful woman - essential for those interested in the development of the
blues. Duplicates collections on Yazoo, Black Swan, VJM and others. (JC)
Recommended. Fine "solo" CD by the current hot
guitarist from The Fabulous Thunderbirds on his 3rd CD, his 1st since
joining the T-birds in '95. Current 'Birds Kim Wilson (vocals) & Gene
Taylor (also ex-Blaster) on piano the high point is probably the 1st
reunion of the mid-80s James Harmon Band, with Harmon (vocal, hca), Ramos,
Taylor, Willie J. Campbell (bass) & Stephen Hodge (d), especially on
Harmon's lament of the cell phone, Walk-Around Telephone Blues.
Other high points include Howlin' Wolf's 300 Pounds Of Joy with Los
Lobos' Cesar Rosas on vocals, Ray Agee's Leave Me Alone with vocals
by Willie Chambers of The Chambers Bros., Jimmy Liggins' No More
Alcohol, even Dick Clark's old theme song Bandstand Boogie!!
(GM)
17 tracks, 59 minutes, highly recommended
The Kid Ramos
list of accomplishments has grown healthier and longer each year. From his
beginnings with James Harman, standing next to Hollywood Fats, to his tenure
with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, he's studied his craft and devoted himself
to being one of the finest guitar players in blues. This star-studded affair
pairs him with harp slingers Paul deLay, Johnny Dyer, Rick Estrin, James
Harman, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, and Lynwood Slim. From the crushing
original instrumental title track, to the disruptive Chicken Hearted
Woman, or Harman's blow-by-blow descriptions in Low Down Woman,
Ramos tackles guitar chores with respect, never overshadowing the
proceedings. The chromatic closer, Harmonica Hangover, finds Estrin
and Musselwhite aiming jabs at a crumpled and passed-out James Harman. (CR)
New recordings by popular Bay Area zydeco performer. Al is a
great performer (and a very nice guy too) who can really tear up a
dancefloor. After seeing him live I'd have to say these sides are a little
uneven, sometimes lapsing into overtly commercial and novelty cuts that
are bound to sound dated in a few years. But I wholeheartedly applaud the
straight ahead traditional tunes, which feature Al's mighty accordion
alongside the talents of David Nelson (of the New Riders), Mark Naftalin,
Tom Rigney, Leonard Gill and more. The singing of Roy Chantier is
particularly good, and Rapone is no slouch in the vocal department either.
A live recording would show the world what he can really do, so let's keep
our fingers crossed. 12 cuts. (MB)
14 tracks, 49 mins, recommended Fine new album from veteran
Chicago sax man and singer. Just about all original songs, often featuring
A.C.'s witty humor. He is accompanied by top Chicago musicians like
Maurice John Vaughn, Johnny B. Gayden, Casey Jones and others including a
very effective horn section on some cuts. As a bonus two of the tracks are
from A.C.'s private stash featuring him recorded live in 1981 in Tulsa, OK
with Albert Collins on guitar. (FS)
A.C. REED: 2 Women In A Pick Up/ Big Woman/ Broke Music/ Fed Up/ Florine/
Give It Up (smoking)/ I Got Mad/ Junk Food/ Last Time Around./ Lonely Man/
Party With Y'all/ President Plays/ Roadhouse Blues/ You're Going To Miss
Me
Nice set of Chicago blues recorded there in 1989 featuring 5
songs by singer/ tenor sax player Reed and 4 by singer and harmonica
player Big Wheeler. Both artists are accompanied by a solid band including
Luther Adams and John Primer/ guitars, Willie Kent/ bass and Timothy
Taylor/ drums. Reed's songs are particularly nice with good singing and
sax playing and some particularly nice guitar work. Wheeler is a less
interesting performer though his tracks have a good sound thanks to the
solid ensemble playing. A worthwhile selection. (FS)
3 CD set, 75 tracks, 3 hrs 25 mins, essential
The most
comprehensive available collection of the classic Vee-Jay recordings of
Jimmy Reed who was the most popular down home bluesman of the mid to late
50s and early 60s. His lazy voice, limited but effective harmonica playing
and hypnotic guitar beat have entranced generations of fans and fellow
musicians. Along with B.B. King, Reed is one of the most influential
bluesmen ever, and hit for hit, only King can beat him quantity-wise. His
early sides for Vee Jay are wonderful; full of the relaxed guitar work, harp
fills, and laid-back vocals that made him popular even among white
audiences. Much credit must go to longtime guitarist Eddie Taylor and Reed's
wife, Mary "Mama" Reed who whispered the lyrics into his ear. The selection
here, which comprises almost two-thirds of his entire Vee-Jay output, ranges
from his first session for Chance in June 1953 where he cut the superb
High & Lonesome, which subsequently became Vee-Jay's first ever release,
through to Knocking At My Door recorded in May 1966 and released on
the Exodus label after the collapse of Vee-Jay and was Jimmy's last hit. It
includes all his R&B hits including You Don't have To Go/ Ain't That
Lovin' You Baby/ I Love You Baby/ Honey Where's You Going/ Honest I Do/ I
Told You Baby/ baby What You Want Me To Do/ Hush Hush/ Big Boss Man and
all the rest along with fine lesser known titles like his great cover of
Billy Boy Arnold's I Ain't Got You, the wonderful instrumental
Odds & Ends with Jimmy's harmonica accentuated by the very effective
blues violin of Remo Biondi, the much covered Take Out Some Insurance
and others. In addition to his right hand man Eddie Taylor's, many of
Jimmie's records benefited from the spot on flexible drumming of Earl
Phillips. This set includes 24 page illustrated booklet with detailed notes
by Les Fancourt and full discographical details. (FS)
2 CDs, 36 tracks, highly recommended
Excellent, inexpensive
introduction to the classic Vee-Jay recordings of Jimmy Reed who was the
most popular down home bluesman of the mid to late 50s and early 60s. Along
with B.B. King, Reed is one of the most influential bluesmen ever, and hit
for hit, only King can beat him quantity-wise. His early sides for Vee Jay
are wonderful; full of the relaxed guitar work, harp fills, and laid-back
vocals that made him popular even among white audiences. Much credit must go
to longtime guitarist Eddie Taylor and Reed's wife, Mary "Mama" Reed. The
selection here ranges from 1955 through 1964 and includes most of of his R&B
hits like You Don't Have To Go/ Ain't That Lovin' You Baby/ You Got Me
Dizzy/ Little Rain/ Honest I Do/ I'm Gonna Get My Baby/ Hush-Hush/ Bright
Light, Big City, etc as well as choice non-hits like his first
recording, the wonderful High & Lonesome, the great instrumental
Ends And Odds which includes blues violin by Remo Biondi the fine and
frequently covered Take Out Some Insurance and more. Sound quality is
excellent and some tracks are in stereo. Includes informative notes bu Neil
Slaven but no discographical info. (FS) JIMMY REED: Ain't No Big Deal/ Ain't That Lovin You Baby/ Aw Shucks, Hush
Your Mouth/ Baby What You Want Me To Do/ Big Boss Man/ Boogie In The Dark/
Bright Lights, Big City/ Close Together/ Come On Baby/ Devil's Shoestring,
The Pt 2/ Down In Mississippi/ Down In Virginia/ Found Love/ Going To New
York/ Help Yourself/ High And Lonesome/ Honest I Do/ Hush Hush/ I Ain't Got
You/ I'm A Love You/ I'm Going Upside Your Head/ I'm Gonna Get My Baby/ I'm
The Man Down There/ Left Handed Woman/ Let's Get Together/ Little Rain/ My
First Plea/ Odds And Ends/ Oh John/ Sun Is Shining, The/ Take Out Some
Insurance/ When Girls Do It/ You Don't Have To Go/ You Got Me Dizzy/ You
Upset My Mind/ You're Something Else
