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Inspired by 1992's 'Til Their Eyes Shine: The Lullaby Album, an all-female collection of sleepy-time songs for children, Daddies Sing Good Night proves that men are no less tender in nurturing their wee ones. Or at least that's true of these men--including Jesse Winchester, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan, and the late Townes Van Zandt--who wrote the songs for their own offspring, and, in their day jobs, rank among the finest practitioners of folk, country, and bluegrass. In guiding their young charges to dreamworld, these fathers visit exotic lands, lonesome prairies, and even the wide heavens on the gossamer wings of horses. Parental listeners will likely detour into the recesses of their own hearts, in exploring the special bond and soothing strength of fatherhood. --Alanna Nash ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Faithfully puts my son to sleep
Though I'm not a country music fan, I enjoy listening to this CD, too. It's very soothing, and the songs are hearfelt with some truly precious lines. "Green-pea toes" comes to mind, along with "today you have the hands of a baby, tomorrow the hands of a lady."

Tender Fathers Sweetly Sing
Such a wonderful collection of loving songs, sung mostly by bluegrass and folk singers inspired by their own children. The words and melodies are both soothing to our baby and also so moving to her parents. Truly our favorite lullaby cd-- I would buy it for any parents who like good, folksy music and who have tender hearts.

Our *favorite* lullaby CD!
This is absolutely our favorite lullaby CD. Adults can enjoy the music as much as children can! We played this CD on the way home from the hospital with our son, and love it as much now that he is 6 months old as we did then. Some of the songs, such as "Little One," bring tears to my eyes, while my husband has a great time singing "My Little Buckaroo," to our son. A fantastic collection of songs!

My all-time favorite
The baby might be tired of this one, but, I can't stop listening to it. A must own for babies and parents who hate banal "baby" music.

I never get tired of this CD!
I love, love, love this CD! I don't care for those typical, sappy lullaby CDs, but this CD is different. It has a wonderfully earthy, bluegrass feel to it. I get teary-eyed every single time I hear "Little One," and songs like "My Little Buckaroo" are so much fun! Mommies and Daddies both will love this CD. ... Read more

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Thank Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural and his group Buckwheat Zydeco for the many contemporary zydeco releases now available. It was Buckwheat's major-label breakthrough record, On a Night Like This, that brought this rural Louisiana dance music into the mainstream, at least for a time, and his zesty repertoire that won new legions of fans. His accordion prowess also liberated the instrument from its polka-band image. This excellent collection traces Buckwheat's trajectory from 1979 to 1988, peaking with his rollicking accordion-powered party poppers "Ma 'Tit Fille" and "Zydeco Honky Tonk." His roots are covered, too, with zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier's "Hot Tamale Baby" and rural-themed numbers like "I Bought a New Raccoon." There's also his collaboration with Eric Clapton--E.C. reprising the ripping solo of his "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad." But with Buckwheat, love's rarely sad. His deliciously uptempo, two-stepping blend of swamp-funk, rock, and R&B is a tonic for misery of any kind. --Ted Drozdowski ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This Is It
While I'm more of a traditionalist-a la BeauSoleil-I can't get enough of the Zydeco fusion sound of Buckwheat. This man and his band just keep bringing it on and bringing people to their feet.

I've seen Buckwheat live twice-once in New Orleans and once in Lafayette-and the atmosphere is classic Cajun with a great mix of Zydeco.

Buckwheat is the undisputed King of Zydeco hands down and I know you'll enjoy this compilation if you have any love of Louisiana music.

Buckwheat Zydeco
Blues and zydeco hybred if you like both you can't loose with old Buckwheat! He really has his own sound, if you heard him before you already know that. This is a best of and you will have to decide if this blend is for you. Every album is fairly consistant, you might tire of this but you don't have to worry about big let downs when some wild notion results in something you would never buy!

excellant!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND - IF NOT FAMILIAR W/ZYDECO OR BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO IN PARTICULAR - THIS IS A WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION! IF YOU'RE NOT NEW BUT WOULD LIKE TO COMPLETE OR ADD TO COLLECTION - THIS ALBUM WILL DEFINETLY COMPLIMENT! WILL DEFINETLY ROUNDOUT ANY COLLECTORS NEEDS FOR ZYDECO!

I DARE YOU TO SIT STILL LISTENING TO THIS MUSIC! ... Read more

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Sonny Landreth's 10-year career as a leader has always seemed tenuous, because he's a one-dimensional singer and only an adequate songwriter. But these 12 numbers run deeper than his previous recordings. Like much of his catalog, they straddle the worlds of blues, Cajun and zydeco, and New Orleans party music, but the blues dominates. And that gives the conflagrant Mississippi-born and Louisiana-raised slide guitarist plenty of fuel. So he burns liberally at every turn, from the acoustic resonator guitar that opens and closes the disc to the percolating funk of "Hell at Home" and the Allmans-like, riff-driven intensity of "Fallin' for You." "A World Away" is this album's tour de force, with Landreth summoning soul from the seldom-used soft side of his voice and slow, moaning guitar lines, whose steel-on-steel cries echo the resigned heartbreak of the lyrics. The CD's sterling production puts Landreth's guitar front and center, which reaffirms the former John Hiatt and Clifton Chenier sideman's instrumental mastery. --Ted Drozdowski ... Read more

Reviews (17)

What a surprise!
I have always recognised that Sonny Landreth is one of the best slide guitarists around. However I have never been a "great" fan of him because I am not too much in "tune" with zydeco or cajun kind of music. I like it but it is not my passion, I prefer to listening to other genders, and the one that I like the best is the "blues". I bought his new CD because I read the above editorial review and apparently it would have been more focused on the "blues" rather than on other stiles. In his previous album "Levee Town" I found a song that from my point of view, or for my taste if you prefer, by it self worth the price of the entire CD: "Broken Hearted Road" a very solid traditional blues played with intensity and passion. As soon as I received the delivery from Amazon I put this record in my CD player with a lot of hope but also with a touch of scepticism. What a surprise! From start to finish this is a great blues collection! Other influences are still present of course, however blues rules this time. The opening track "True Blue" is a masterpiece and it gives you an immediate flavour of what is about to follow. Not bad songs on this CD, no a single one. Sonny shows his ability in playing slide but also "traditional" stile guitar as in the blues-rock oriented title track. Excellent guitar work throughout the entire album, excellent singing, excellent band, excellent mix and production. I can't possibly find a weakness on this CD. I just love it from start to finish. As far as I am aware this is one of the best blues release of at least the last 12 months (and maybe more). I think that we already have, so early in the year, a very serious contender for the "best traditional blues album" award when time will come. I hope that Sonny Landreth will continue following the "road he's on" and that with his next one he will be digging even deeper into the "Blues". I can't rate this CD less than five stars!

SONNY IS AWESOME!
We just returned from the Fort Smith Blues Festival after witnessing Sonny Landreth perform. We purchased the Road We're On directly from him. Buy it, buy the others too! If you are a guitar fan, you'll no doubt admire the incredible, magical talent of Sonny Landreth.

He combines blues, cajun zydeco and rock and roll to his OWN unique style.

I've seen many slide guitar players in my life, but Sonny IS the MASTER!

Heaven To My Ears
From the first notes of "True Blue" to the last chords of "Juke Box Mama," this release is heaven to my ears. Landreth has always been applauded for his musicianship, but often knocked for his lyrics. He gets them both right this time around.

From up-tempo rockers to slow burning blues, a lot of territory gets covered expertly on these tracks. As always, Landreth displays his chops as one of the best slide guitar players in the business. These tunes are more than guitar theatrics, though. There is more of an emphasis on the big picture. This music is a result of the fine art of song craft.

Lyrically, the mood of each song is enhanced with great metaphors and story telling. On "True Blue" you feel the pain as Landreth sings, "The hurt is pourin' down on you / You got to dig down deep to find / Strength to shelter you through." It is a tale about suffering and finding the strength to move on. "Hell at Home" conveys a little ditty about a domestic disturbance and global warming seems to be the topic of "The Natural World." Of course, there are a few tracks that you just want to crank up and who cares what he is saying! A well-rounded release from this incredible fret burner.

Astonishing!
It gets better and better.

Astonishing!
Sonny has kicked into high gear with his new release. Remarkable in every way musically. Recording is a little weak...too much overhead mic on the drums and then turned to mush in mastering by listening on a small Genelec monitoring system...Goddess forgive them for they know not what they do. None the less, get this CD and go to Guitar Player Heaven. ... Read more

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Ry Cooder has long had an interest in other people's music, from the blues and gospel of black America through classic jazz and the music of Cuba. Even by this standard, his meeting with Mohan Vishwa Bhatt is certainly a departure. He is neither a serious student of Indian music nor in any way a master of its intricacies. Yet on his improvised session (this album was recorded without rehearsal in one evening), he and Bhatt truly collided musically and created moments worthy of the world-music Grammy they received for it. Bhatt is an iconoclastic character himself. He plays a modified box he calls the mohan vina that is a hybrid of a classical Indian instrument and slide guitar. He is long trained in the arduous classical style, yet his work has always demanded a lot of freedom. His duets here with Cooder are completely unique, liberating both artists from the usual constraints and creating a new musical style that is unlikely to be repeated or imitated. --Louis Gibson ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Toure collaboration is better
I accidently bought this album thinking it was the Ali Farka Toure collaboration, which I had heard before and loved. This one was a little bit of a let-down. There are only four songs, and only one of them could I really distinguish from the others, Ganges Delta Blues. The album is a little short in play time, and a little short on imagination. Ry is a master of understatement with the guitar, and his playing just can't be heard or affect in any way Bhatt's music. It's a "Meeting by the River" alright, but these two fellas jumped in together for a swim and I'm afraid poor Ry drowned.

Subtle beauty is inspiring, also imparts tranquility.
This album contains a particular mix of Western and Asian instrumental styles that I had not heard elsewhere. The playing is lyrical, sensitive, and subtle. While there is a strong, moving rhythmic line underneath the melodies, that is very engaging, the album has a meditative feeling. It restores a sense of peace and optimism after I have had a hard day. Since purchasing this album, I purchased another by Ry Cooder, and listened to other albums by V.M. Bhatt. This effort by V.M. Bhatt is more successful than some of his other ones. I am also keeping an eye out for other offerings on this label. This album exemplifies some of the best qualities of World Music. The artists blend different musical cultures very deftly. There is a keen sense that they are conversing with one another. They reassure me that personal and cultural boundaries can be transcended.

good slide work
It helps to have listened to Indian music before. You can easily get fatigued by it, if you've never heard Indian music.

Cooder's slide work is really nice. You'l hear the typical blues music in the back ground and it somehow blends with Bhatt's raagas. Bhatt is pretty good as usual.

Isa Lei
"Isa Lei" is my favourite piece on this cd. It is a FIJIAN farewell song, not Hawaiian like most people tend to think. Being a Fijian myself, I couldn't help but cry when I first heard Ry Cooder and Bhatt's rendition.

a Great Fusion
The blending of Ry Cooder's guitar with Bhatt's instrument is an
exquisite exercise in world music fusion. Tasteful delta sounding passages intertwined with Raga like statements are built into four very listenable pieces that had this listener returning again and again. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

My Favorite So Far
I'm just now delving more in to the blues and this is an excellent cd. Great guitar, bass, throaty singing, blues personified. Excellent remastered sound as well. Get it.

Big Sound!
This is really great. I have the original vinyl and subsequent release on CD. I put both CDs in my player and without altering the amp settings toggled between two discs; the new "remastered" cd is much fuller in sound and volume. Anyone who enjoys Johnny Winter should purchase this amazing album.

The Texas Bluesman's First Release Remastered!
Released in 1969 on Liberty Records, "Progressive Blues Experiment" was Johnny Winter's first album. This was, in my opinion, one of Johnny's best albums featuring straight ahead blues with fast guitar licks and amazing slide work. The ferocious "Rollin' And Tumblin'" a Winter classic showcases the bluesman's guitar style and his gritty vocals. "Tribute To Muddy" is Winter's tribute to the great blues player Muddy Waters, this is pure blues at it's best.But, the best blues track on this disc is "It's My Own Fault" full of red hot blues licks that are equal to or better than anything Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton ever recorded. Another great song "Black Cat Bone" highlight's Johnny's slide guitar playing and is another standout track. Both "Broke Down Engine" and "Bad Luck And Trouble" are pure Delta blues, again featuring slide guitar. More excellent songs are "Help Me", and "Mean Town Blues". The 24 bit remastering is excellent with crisp highs, increased midrange and bass. There are no bonus tracks (as there were in Winter's self titled "Johnny Winter" cd and "Second Winter" Deluxe Edition, both on Columbia/Legacy). Also, there are no liner notes to speak of and the enclosed booklet could have included some pictures of Johnny (there's just one) and information about him. But apparently Capitol Records felt there was no need to put out a quality booklet. If you enjoy the blues (and rock) than you owe it to yourself to have this superb album in your collection. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

I'd give it five if...
...there were more tracks like the first one: Buddy's 'Man of Many Words'. Sure, it's a re-write of Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle', but it's a good re-write, and it has most of Derek and the Dominos,(Doctor John filling in on keyboards),-smoking- in support. Why not more Dominos?: Supposely there were many problems on these sessions, (mentioned, but not really explained in the notes), and they didn't even have enough material to release as an LP, until the two 'J. Geils Band' tracks were done quite a bit later.

Excellent
"Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues" is one of the duo's very best albums. Two tracks are Junior Wells-less, recorded by Buddy Guy with the J. Geils Band; the remaining eight songs feature a star-studded backing band which includes pianist Dr. John on several tracks, and some guy named Eric someting. Capton, something like that.

The song list is excellent, and so is the band, which sounds tight and supple, never threatening to overwhelm the two stars.
There are none of the erratic vocal performances or rambling solos that sometimes plagued the duo's live shows (this album is a studio recording). Junior Wells sizzles, laying down some great vocal performances. Buddy Guy's solos are controlled and disciplined, yet strikingly effective in up-tempo and ballad situations, and saxist A.C. Reed provides some soulful fills and gritty solos.

Among the highlights are a sizzling remake of T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Shuffle", and a swinging "My Baby She Left Me".
Guy does a fine "Bad Bad Whiskey" with an otherwise very discreet Eric Clapton playing slide guitar, and he is entirely credible in a grinding Otis Redding mode on the southern soul stomper "A Man Of Many Words", and the up-tempo "This Old Fool". Junior Wells does a great rendition of "Come On In This House" and his Vanguard classic "Messin' With The Kid"

This CD certainly deserves its place among the other tremendous items in the Rhino/Atlantic R&B Masters series. Definitely recommended.

leave out two tracks
Five stars for sure if not for tracks 7&10. So it gets four stars instead. ... Read more

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Blowing through 10 songs like a six-string hurricane, Albert Cummings arrives as perhaps the first serious contender to the blues-rock guitar throne vacated by the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His playing crackles with energy, spinning off stuttering bends and screaming sustained tones in every solo. And there are plenty of those, even in the two ballads: "Sleep," which displays his acoustic technique, and "Lonely Bed," a slow blues dappled with sensitive, probing melody lines. Like his hero Vaughan, Cummings often boosts his knottier phrases by stomping on a wah-wah pedal, kicking his Stratocaster into a throaty roar. He also shares Vaughan's last producer, blues-rock specialist Jim Gaines, and his bassist, Tommy Shannon. What Cummings lacks is Vaughan's range as a vocalist and songwriter. His singing is short on dynamics and his lyrics comprise fairly mundane love songs built on simple rhymes. Nonetheless, this disc makes a powerful calling card for a new, high-voltage talent. --Ted Drozdowski ... Read more

Amazon.com essential recording

Start with the Meters, whose hard funk is so efficient there's not a wasted note or out-of-sync beat. Add producer Allen Toussaint's wonderful vocal and horn arrangements. Top them off with seven Rebennack originals plus four well-chosen covers, and you have an album that seemed to arrive out of nowhere at the time of its original 1973 release. It still sounds garden-fresh today, not just the monster hits, "Right Place, Wrong Time" and "Such a Night," but also the chain-gang funk of "Same Old Same Old," the verbal insults of "Qualified," even the second-line soul of "Shoo Fly Marches On." The closest thing to a weak link is "Peace Brother Peace," in which Rebennack anoints himself the Dr. Feelgood of love and happiness. But the Meters sound as if they believe every word he's singing, so who are we to argue? --Keith Moerer ... Read more

Reviews (3)

dr. john's 'in the right place' for sure-in my top 10
dr. john's 'in the right place' for sure-in my top 10. i listened to this album when it first appeared and am still loving it like it is the first time. definitely a top 10 all time album pick. simply sophisticated without the trappings. no tricks, just great stuff.

Dr. John the Nighttripper in all his glory
This is a straight reissue of the 1973 album release. A scant 34 minutes and no bonus tracks. Not even any liner notes -- which might just be the way the disc was originally issued.

Backed by the Meters (Leo Nocentelli, Arthur Neville, George Porter and Joseph Modeliste), augmented by the multi-instrumentalism and production of Allen Toussaint, Dr. John stretches out in more funky and soulful directions than the previous year's reading of New Orleans classics, "Gumbo." Dr. John wrote or co-wrote 8 of the 11 tracks here, with three more Crescent City treats (James Waynes' "Traveling Mood", Allen Toussaint's "Life" and Alvin Robinson's "Cold Cold Cold").

The disc leads off with Dr. John' only top-40 hit, "Right Place Wrong Time" (#9 in June of '73). This is one of those great productions that at the time just slipped right into the stream of things, but looking back at it now it's a wonder to think it actually made it into the popular conscious. It's a similar feeling to realizing that Johnny Nash's "Hold Me Tight" or Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" brought ska and reggae sounds to the American top-40 without ever really saying so. There's a soulfulness to this, an r'n'b sound in the horns, organ and background vocals, that just defies the sort of prefabricated pieces that usually make the charts.

The rest of the disc continues in the soulful vein, feeling much like the Neville Brothers work at points. It moves from the upbeat and funky (the title track, "Qualified") through gospel-tinged pieces ("Peace Brother Peace") to quiet, more soulful ballads ("Just the Same") There's some interesting interplay between Dr. John's piano and Art Neville's organ. Nice horn playing throughout from the Bonaroo horn section.

Overall a great piece of funky early 70's New Orleans soul, all filtered through Dr. John's nighttripper persona.

Cool, funky, hip...................
This really is an excellent album. If you like a sophisicated, funky sound, then this is for you. I liken it to a New Orleans funk sound with soul. The stand-out track has got to be 'Right Place Wrong Time'.'Qualified', 'Peace Brother Peace', 'Such A Night' all hot on the heels. Check out the drumming too. ... Read more

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Karen Dalton was one of the ultimate free spirits. Arriving in New York from her native Oklahoma in 1960, she immediately became a part of the rising folk scene there, a hippie before they had a name, someone who lived life completely on her own terms. She was also, as this records shows, a superbly talented singer, eerily reminiscent of Billie Holliday. The only problem was that she disliked performing, and, in fact, had to be coaxed to make this album in the late '60s. Fortunately, the recording went very smoothly, with most of the vocals being first takes. Dalton (who died in the early '90s) had a natural feel for the blues. She could take songs by her contemporaries, even old folk songs, and find the blues inherent in them. It remains a mystery, really, why a record this good was lost among the releases of the time; its power might have been simple, but it was undeniable. Dalton did record again, making one other album. Now that we have the joy of It's So Hard to Tell, perhaps someone will see fit to issue that, too, and make our legacy complete. It's just a shame we've come to them so late. This is the real folk blues. --Chris Nickson ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Outstanding! Truly a gem of a recording!
I remembered Karen Dalton from her Woodstock years on an album from an obscure label like, "Just Sun", or "Sunshine Records" (?). That was a long time ago and in the interim she has proven (by this cd) just how unique and powerful a performer she really is! The choice of material, the personal and emotional nature of the vocals and the incredible mood each song evokes is a gift to the listener. Sounds like she sang them in the dark, on the bed, next to me! What more could I ask? This goes into my "Favorite Female" vocalist pile along with Madeline Peyroux, Joni Mitchell and a cherished handful of others! I want more!

The greatest "unknown singer" of all time?
I first heard about Karen through one of her biggest admirers, Lacy J. Dalton. Lacy compared her to Billie Holiday, and said she might even be BETTER than Billie Holiday. When I first read Lacys assesment, i was inclined to be skeptical. I love and trust Lacy J., but thought she might be blinded by nostalgia and sentimentality.This theory was reinfoirced by the fact that I couldnt find any matererial on Karen. However, little bits of data began to seep in., and almost every evaluation echoed Lacy J. Here was a tstupendous talent few people had ever heard of. However, the few who had heard her--ranging from Lucinda Williams to Peter Stampfel--loved her. after listening to this amazing album, and reading Stampfels eloquent, honest liner notes, I am compelled to conclude that Karen Dalton WAS the most underrated "popular" singer, in ANY genre of the whole twentieth century. This unique, almost weird, utterly uncanny voice is unforgettable.

Are You Going To the Country?
Yes, Karen Dalton had another album out with this title or this song on it. It also contained a song called, "Take me" which i've heard sung by George Jones. These two songs alone place Karen Dalton among the finest of the 60's folkies. Superb vocals that take you away to the country and her. Someone please rerelease that album if possible.don't remember the label name.

A Lost Masterpiece
This CD is quite simply beautiful and soulful.

to complete the picture
We know that this time,early '60s in NY was very productive,that everyone got their start there,some survived,some became famous,some comitted suicide etc etc. Karen Dalton was out there early and listening to her as she has songs speak through her you can hear the plaintive uncertainty of her life as it was unfolding....there she is on the back of the cd singing and playing with bob dylanand fred neil and then she fades from the radar while bob becomes bob and fred goes on.Her versions of fred neil and tim hardin songs sure take to a different place than the versions by the writers...much sadder,theres no joy here.I am glad that i bought this cd cuz it fills in some gaps in the history of that melting pot in ny.You cant help but feel sad for karen tho' ... Read more

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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. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Blues start here..
Which much anticipation and a little trepidation I decided to pick up "King of the Delta Blues Singers". It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was a nice surprise.

If you're a fan of the modern electric blues, you may be disappointed, as Johnson sang the blues with only his guitar. What he lacks in a backup band, he more than makes up for with a soulful voice, and great guitar playing. You can really hear the emotion pouring out of this man.

If you have an open mind and want to experience where the blues came from, you can't go wrong with this album. The two versions of "Traveling Riverside Blues" are worth the price alone.

On a side note, this could be on my copy only, but on some of the songs there may be a noticeable hissing sound, I guess it's understandable with these classic recordings being so old, and it shouldn't prevent you from enjoying them.

Top Influence
Robert Johnson is without doubt the most influential musician of the 20th century. Many of the greatest rock bands of the later century such as Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, The Beatles a more recent the White Stripes my personal favorite the Rolling Stones and many more paid there debt to him. You will still hear some of his lyrics in much of todays music. I recommend this to anyone who listens to rock and/or blues because of how important Robert Johnson is to our music society. The 29 songs on this album are all of the songs Robert Johnson recorded in his short life. I am grateful that this music continues to be produced and that it is appreciated by so many people. For many this could be a new discovery. It has intriuged me since the day i first heard of Robert Johnson in the 1980's movie Crossroads. I rate this album with five stars.

ALMOST TOO GOOD FOR ME
Please, pardon my unskilled grammar and punctuation (and possibly, spelling).

I bought the Robert Johnson Boxed set years ago, because I felt it was a recording that you were supposed to have, if you considered yourself a true music obsess - o - file, but I later sold it, because I "did not get it." I knew of Johnson's mystique and reputation, but I could not connect with the "genius" thing that surrounded his music. Well, just about a month ago, I thought I would give Robert Johnson another try, so I purchased this album. And this time, "i got it."

I can only describe the multi dimensionality of these songs, which had previously escaped me, as staggering. You feel you are listening to the very architecture of almost every popular music style we hear today. What I find most amazing about his songs, is that you are almost convinced that you are listening to 3 guitar players and 2 or 3 singers, harmonizing with unreal precision. His voice jumps between registers, in such a way as to suggest there is another singer between them, much like one watches "2 frames of a film," but sees the magic of the "1 moving picture."

The relationship between the cords he is playing and the finger picking, again, seem to connect and relate in such a way as to suggest there are more fingers and chords being played than can be played with only 2 hands, and with unbelievable ease. He plays like he doesn't even have to think about it. And it all sounds freakishly "time nonspecific", as if he were playing, in the past, while copying his own sounds, from the present, like they were actually being written and defined today, and he was prophesying. I guess that would be the dictionary definition of "timeless." I find myself stuck between studying his songs from an objective point of view, and listening to them from a music fan point of view.

And his lyrics have a sophistication that belie his level of education. As if you are hearing the equations of very high brow poetry, filled in with the figures and variables of Johnson's substantially more modest and bleak cultural experience. And there is a genuine joy in his voice. THAT, I did not expect. As if he is saying "I CAN PLAY AND I AM BEING RECORDED AND LOWDY, MAMA! I AM A SOMEBODY!"

I naturally have to recommend this recording, but I would advise the newbie to the Johnson sound to, not "force" him or her self to see the brilliance of his work. That was what I was doing the first time around, and I missed it. It was only when I gave it permission to reveal itself, that Johnson's genius came forth.

And in all honesty, I don't really "enjoy" all these songs, as much as I marvel at all these songs. I listen with a distant awe, rather than from the perspective of personal taste. But I hope that over time, I will begin to enjoy this recording as I enjoy many of my favorite modern artists, of today. So, do purchase this album and give Mr. Johnson a go at it, but don't get down on yourself if you don't immediately hear what all the accolades are about. It took me 2 tries and 10 years to "get it."

Amazing sound
This is the official 1998 CD edition of the first-ever Robert Johnson compilation, issued by Columbia in 1961.
It has been remastered off the best-quality original 78s available, and Johnson's guitar takes on a fullness never heard on previous reissues (the equalization on this disc is extreme to a degree where it even sports some minute turntable rumble in the low end).

I still say that there is no really good reason to buy this CD instead of Columbia's 1990 box set "The Complete Recordings", but if you are looking for a single-disc overview, this one has almost all of Johnson's best songs (with the notable exception of "Sweet Home Chicago" and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"), and the sound quality is truly amazing. I have the box set, but I also have this CD, actually. The remastering is that good.

superceded by the complete collection
This was the first of two single vinyl albums of Johnson's work reissued by Columbia in the 1960s that brought about the revival. However, for years this has been superceded by the complete collection of his work, the two volumes plus several outakes. Look for this here on Amazon. You will need the complete collection because, not only is it not much more, but once you hear even one track, you will want to hear it all, all of of it. ... Read more

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Mississippi John Hurt recorded 13 country-blues songs for the Okeh Electric Records company in 1928. Then he vanished. Actually, he never went anywhere. Indeed, he never strayed from his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi. He simply put the guitar down. It was the Great Depression, times were tough, money was scarce, and he needed to work. Nearly 30 years later, a blues enthusiast tracked him down, took him back to Washington, D.C., and suddenly Mississippi John's musical career resumed as quickly as it had finished. He recorded again, but these first songs from the late 1920s--with John's melancholy voice and hypnotic guitar playing at its most inspired--are his greatest musical accomplishments. --Percy Keegan ... Read more

Reviews (19)

A treasury of the music of the 20th century
Mississippi John Hurt (1893-1966) is a strange man in the blues history.In fact, he's not really a blues musician,but rather, like his elder, Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter,1889-1949), a songster.He was a small, gentle man, who recorded these 13 sides in the twenties, and waited until the early sixties to be rediscovered;during the last years of his life,he toured,playing at Newport and other festivals, and recorded several albums, mostly for Vanguard.I always found that Hurt's voice was one of the most fascinating I ever heard; a swinging,mild voice,that tells a lot about the graciousness of the man.His guitar picking,which looks like beeing simple,is in fact one of the most difficult and original I ever heard.I wish I had such a thumb to play the bass parts on my guitar ! John Hurt plays some tunes that were already old tunes in 1928 : the haunting "Louis Collins",the eternal "Stack o'Lee",the classic "Candy man"(you can listen to outstanding versions of this tune by Reverend Gary Davis),some sacred tunes,"blessed be the name","praying on the old camp ground",and some blues,"Avalon blues","big leg blues",or "spike driver blues".By the way, Hurt was rediscovered in the early sixties because he recorded that tune,"Avalon blues".Listening to it,some people went to this town,hoping that he still was living there.Mississippi John Hurt is a master in the music of the past century,reaching the same rank as Blind Willie Johnson,Charley Patton or Skip James.His 1928 sessions will allways remain some of the greatest masterpieces in the blues history.I personnaly enjoy his music for more than twenty years,and I hope you'll do the same.

Everlasting Blues
This cd, which represents the complete 1928 recordings of Mississippi John Hurt is truly blues everlasting. It is amazing to realize when listening to this that it was recorded that long ago. The quality of the songs, John Hurt's voice and his guitar playing skill are all superb.

As other's have mentioned John Hurt was born in 1892, and developed notoriety for his skills as a musician. He was recorded in 1928 and then vanished into the farmlands of Mississippi. With the resurgence of folk and blues music in the early 1960's many so-called lost artists were "rediscovered." Mississippi John Hurt was among these musicians. Rediscovered by a young blues enthusiast Tom Hoskins, who took a clue from a line in one of Hurt's songs "Avalon's my home, always on my mind" to track him down. From that time until his death in 1966 Hurt became a fixture on the folk circuit.

It really is not surprising that he was so well received in the 60's when one looks at this cd which represents Mississippi John's early work. It includes many truly classic songs, Frankie, Stack O'Lee, Candy Man, Spike Driver Blues and Nobody's Dirty Business. Lines such as "he was a bad man, cruel Stack o' Lee." "He was her man and he done her wrong" "angels laid him away," "You're so heavy make a good man change his mind" and "take this hammer, carry it to the captain" demonstrate the richness of both the folk tradition and Hurts music. Artists such as Jerry Garcia, Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal and Jesse Colin Young have felt compelled to perform his songs.

His voice is pure, sweet and pleasing. While it does not carry the angst of such early performers as Charley Patton and Robert Johnson, it's honesty is copied by others. His guitar playing is amazing and this alone could carry the cd. Artist who have been influenced by his style are Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Rory Block, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Sonny Landreth.

For those who are interested in folk, blues, the history of modern music or any of the artists mentioned this is a worthwhile cd to have.

Silky smooth vocals, gorgeous guitar, psychotic lyrics.
This truly is a treasure of early 20th century music. And the story of Mississippi John Hurt's "discovery" and renewed career at the end of his life in the 1960's is just wonderful. For his guitar playing skills the man is probably a virtuoso or a genius - or both. The syncopated fingerpicking is as delicate and intricate as a finely sewn needlework. And his voice is gentle and sweet. Musically it is easy to listen to and riveting at the same time. But - there is a catch here . . . in some of these songs, juxtaposed against the gentleness of the playing and singing, are lyrics that will make your jaw drop in shock at their sheer brutality. Some seem like they were written by a psychopath. He sings to a jaunty ragtime accompaniment in his sweet gentle voice: "one of these days I'm gonna wake up boozy, grab a gun and kill my Suzie". Regardless of where or when it was written - how on earth did this guy figure this was good subject matter for a song? And he isn't being metaphorical. Even weirder is that thrown into the mix are some "spiritual" songs. I mean - one minute the guy's gonna kill his baby (and thinks that no one else should be concerned about it) and the next - he's praisin' the lord. Lyrically, this is stuff Charles Manson would relate to. In any event, the music is superb and most of the songs have relatively "normal" lyrics. The fingerstyle guitar playing is amazing and it alone makes this an album worth getting. Just tune out the bizarre lyrics in some of the songs. Four and a half stars.

Gently rockin' blues...
This cd has a variety it is no doubt blues, however Hurt is more versitile then just a blues singer, he is a masterful guitar player, who picks ragtime melodies, and sings folksy style, while gently rocking both vocally and instrumentaly.

Hurt was ahead of his time by 30 years, before the folk music scene was huge in the 60's, also he was looking back 20 years to the 1910's and ragtime. An interesting mix 1n 1928 lookin to the past and the future ta make some great original and truly unique and from the heart warming blues.

An essential cd is the bottom line

Gentle and Timeless
Mississippi John Hurt possessed a gentle and timeless voice and guitar playing skill. His guitar work is considered to be some of the greatest, and most complicated, in all of American music, and his voice is immediately soothing to even the savage beast. Songs like "Frankie," "Ain't No Tellin'," and "Avalon Blues" will surely leave many students of guitar simply breathless. To those who do not play any musical instruments, his flowing guitar technique is still dazzling, and his voice is more "homey" and "likeable" than perhaps anyone else's, even the great Louis Armstrong's. As a darling of the Blues/Folk Revival of the 1960s, Hurt often played the Pre-War songs we hear on this disc, and almost just as well as he did back in the old days, one might add. This is a great disc for both the musician and the listener in us all. ... Read more

Amazon.com

With 20 originals from Louis Jordan's '40s and early '50s heyday at Decca Records, Best Of is the definitive collection of the blues-jazz bandleader-singer's work. Most of the cuts are up-tempo jumpers with lyrics that tell sly tales of the black experience in midcentury: the house-partiers in "Saturday Night Fish Fry" end up in the slam, while the institution of marriage occasions a warning in "Beware."Jordan also dabbled in Latin and Brazilian rhythms on "Run Joe" and "Early in the Morning," and even added a major ballad, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'," to the standard repertoire. A major influence on Ray Charles, James Brown, and Chuck Berry, Jordan is a must-hear. --Rickey Wright ... Read more

Reviews (16)

"Jump" for joy!
If you were trying to find the exact midpoint between the swing-jazz era and the rock 'n roll era, this is it. This is one of the kinds of music that made rock 'n roll possible. Jump blues is what it was called, and Louis Jordan - composer, singer, bandleader, saxophonist - was its most successful and important practitioner. As jazz veered into the less commercially appealing bebop style, and delta blues was brought north during the pre and post-World War II northward migration of southern blacks, this hybrid musical form was standard entertainment at nightclubs, particularly but not exclusively those with black audiences, during the late 40s and early 50s. At the time, Billboard called this "race music", yet Jordan had great crossover appeal without "whitening" his style, and had several pop chart-topping million-sellers to his credit. These recordings of Jordan's band, the Tympani Five, date from 1942-1954, but are mostly from the late 40s. They include several boogie-woogie piano-driven tracks (like the very successful "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie"), some non-jump blues ("Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out") and a few tracks that actually do sound like early rock 'n roll ("Saturday Night Fish Fry"). The band even throws in a calypso number ("Run Joe"). Jordan also created what might be considered the first music videos that served as introductory fare at movie theaters.

Make no mistake, Jordan was more than a musician - he was an entertainer, and specifically, a comedian. There is a strong lacing of humor through almost every song. For example, in "Saturday Night Fish Fry", you will learn of the events that caused him to warn in the last verse "If you ever want to get a fist in your eye, just mention a Saturday night fish fry." In "Beware, Brother, Beware", Jordan gives an appreciative audience of men hilarious advice for the dubious objective of avoiding marriage at all costs: "If she saves your dough and won't go to a show......Beware! If her sister calls you brotha, you better get furtha.....Beware! If she calls on the phone and says 'are you alone', you say 'no I got three girls with me!'" In "Caledonia", Jordan squeals out the last syllable of the lady's name in such a way that you will instantly know this is what inspired Little Richard to squeal "Lucille" a few years later. In "Beans and Cornbread", we learn of a fight that almost breaks up the marriage of these two foods. There's a nice call and response in this song, in "I Want You to Be My Baby", and in "Five Guys Named Moe".

You can't help but love this guy, so buy this CD! The only good reason you could possibly have for not buying it is that you are buying the Boxed Set instead.

Unbelievably Hot
Jump blues is the most criminally overlooked musical style of the 20th Century, and Louis Jordan is unquestionably the master of it. Jump blues is rooted in the blues of the 20s and 30s (as well as swing music of the 30s and 40s), but it's a more uptempo, good-time style--it was the dance music of the 40s for venues where full big bands were impractical. The biggest difference between jump blues and raw, early r&b and rock & roll (both of which evolved a few years later) is that the horn section dominates the sound, not the electric guitar.

Raucous songs like Caldonia, Saturday Night Fish Fry, and Five Guys Named Moe (featuring an incredible sax solo) really capture the energy of the music. Check this out, and then go track down other, even less well-known jump blues artists like Wynonie Harris and Big Joe Turner. After you've heard this music, you simply won't believe that it's dissappeared almost without a trace for half a century.

Jordan--an important and refreshing influence of rock & roll
Sandwiched inbetween the dying days of big band and early rock-and-roll were 1940's R&B singers whose swinging sounds laced with jazz and blues influences provided a transition to what later became rock-and-roll. Roy Brown, Wynonnie Harris, and blues saxophonist and singer Louis Jordan were among these artists, and it's fair to say that because both Bill Haley and Elvis Presley covered their songs and got more attention than they did.

Louis Jordan's heyday was in the 1940's, and his shuffling, swinging "jump" sound combined with his goofy and humorous man-about-town schtick and sax solos. The earliest hit on here is slow "Knock Me A Kiss", was done in 1941.

A full nine years before Bill Haley, Jordan did "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" with an engaging boogie-woogieing piano and bass. Yes, remember, "Take me right back to the track, jack."
"Let The Good Times Roll" has a sound similar to "Heartbreak Hotel", which means early rock.

The partying "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is one of two songs that go beyond the average 2:30 time. It clocks in 5:20 but its excess length doesn't diminish the song. Hearing "It was rockin'" and the electric guitar there, this would've been a great Haley song.

"Caldonia" was the song that made me realize Jordan's connection to rock and roll, as I learned in my music class. That boogieing sound and Haley style rock just blends here, and the way he shouts "Caldonia" like "CaldoNYAAA" A singsong type monologue is included here, which shows another influence to rock.

"School Days" is basically a series of old nursery rhymes set to a snazzy jazzy beat. I remember those rhymes, e.g. Humpty Dumpty, Little Jack Horner, from the past, and was amused to hear them like this. "Five Guys Named Moe" has a similar sound.

Then there were songs with goofy titles like "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" of chickens telling the farmer to let them get to sleep because chickens have work to do laying eggs. "Beans and Corn Bread" has some silly lyrics. "Beans and cornbread had a fight/beans knocked corn bread outta sight/cornbread said now that's all right." "Barnyard Boogie" is plain silly piano and sax jazz, with Jordan going "oink oink" "moo moo" at times, and is about the animals boogieing in the barnyard.

Jordan could do city blues as well, as evidenced by "Buzz Me Blues", and the slower-paced "What's The Use Of Getting Sober", and "Somebody Done Changed The Lock On My Door." And with the Calypso Boys, he combined the Caribbean sound in his music in "Run Joe".

Most of his biggest hits are here, although not "GI Jive" or "Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby." Better get the Five Guys Named Moe album for those songs.

Jordan is unjustly underrated when taking the history of rock and roll into consideration and is an artist requiring more evaluation and examination. His music anticipated rock and roll a decade before "Rock Around The Clock" and small wonder Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and Van Morrison acknowledged his influence.

Essential !!-- The Inventor of Rock and Roll
You can't live without this collection if you like Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, rockabilly, Diana Krall, or any of the current swing stuff.

You just can't!

Louis Jordan essentially invented rock and roll and Chuck Berry acknowledged Jordan's influence on his music. Listen to this disk and you will hear the original versions of classic tunes recorded by the great bluesmen and for the last 50 years! And some tunes recently repoularized by the current latter day swing bands. Asleep at the the Wheel has been doing Jordan tunes as part of their standard repetoire for 25 years. Check ut Early in the Morning for influences on guys like Nat King Cole as Well.

Like many an all time master, Jordan never really received a lot of credit in his day, but there aren't many who have had such a great influence. Check this disk out, you can't go wrong.

Great stuff!
This is an absolutely fun CD. The influence Louis Jordan had on artist that came years later is evident. ... Read more

Amazon.com

These 17 tunes come from King's most fertile period, his 1966-68 tenure at Memphis's Stax Records. Stax chief Jim Stewart had been reluctant to sign blues artists because he felt straight blues wouldn't mesh with Stax's patented Memphis soul. Ironically, the fusion of King's sharp guitar wails with the dynamic rhythms of Booker T. & the MGs--the Stax house band--was what set King apart from other bluesmen. The unique blend produced classic after classic: Booker T. Jones' rolling piano propels "Laundromat Blues." Al Jackson's drum shuffle supports "Crosscut Saw." The driving horns of Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson, and Joe Arnold accent "Born Under a Bad Sign." King's ripe and mellow vocals are a perfect match for the soul-drenched music while his dramatic string bends leap out. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Albert King's Atlantic Records Version of his Stax Work
This was my very first Albert King LP. It was released as the height of the 1960s Blues Mania and so did very well with white listeners. However, the album is really a re-release of several singles and additonal session material that was done at Stax during 1966-1968. The real story is that Atlantic stole the whole Stax catalogue under a clever distribution agreement. This lead evntually to Stax's total demise in the Mid-1970s.

The album is a great overview of King's early period with Stax. Actually, it is a double album- the seminal album "Born Under A Bad Sign", with additonal cuts. All bonus tracks are originally from that Stax classic album-the most influential Black Blues LP of the late sixties.

The tunes include his classics such as "Laundromat Blues" Albert's first Stax release with his soulful double string bends, "Overall Junction" a mono instrumental masterpiece, that unlike Albert Collins or Freedie King tunes has no primary melody "or head". He offers "Born Under A Bad Sign" a tune he recorded in one take as an overdub to the MG's backing track, "I Love Lucy" is a great example of his talking blues abilities (he was one of the best) and the guitar is super raw with superb bends! "Cold Feet" a tune written with drummer Al Jackson, Jr (who also helped him on "Night Stomp" and produced his famous "Live Wire" set) it is a great talking blues with a catalogue of King licks-it was his second highest charting single. "You Sure Drive A Hard Bargain and You're Gonna Need Me" are later cuts that were added on the release of the original LP. "Bargain" was a cover a another R&B tune with a great Memphis Horns chart and "Need Me" is a self-penned Albert Classic that became the basis for Otis Rush's "Right Place, Wrong Time".

"Crosscut Saw" is my personal favourite with "Personal Manager" second. Crosscut Saw was an old 1940s tune which was given a rumba beat and still was originally released even though the first tape had been damaged! "Manager" is a great showcase for KIng's soloing technique. It may even be too much for some people! "The Very Thought of You" and "I Almost Lost My Mind" are great examples of Albert's Big Band Blues roots and his great tenor vocal ability. Many people are thrown by these tunes as not being really blues, but they demonstrate the versatility of this genre.

"The Hunter" is a famous tune that was never a hit for Albert, but was on his Bad Sign LP. Ike and Tina Tuner later recorded it with much success. "Oh Pretty, Woman" is a powerful tune that has been covered many times (Gary Moore, John Mayall) but was never actually a hit for Albert. It was wrtitten by WDIA's A.C. Williams and demonstrates the close link Stax had to Black radio play (Rufus Thomas was also a DJ there!). "As the Years Go Passing By" is one of Albert's best slow blues numbers. The best take of this tunes is to be found on the "Hard Bargain" CD released after his death and has many outtakes from this period! No one really knows who wrote the song or where it originally came from. Dedric Malone, another DJ is credited with penning it.

Finally the thrilling instrumental, his first in stereo, "Funk-Shun" contains his famous stop break bending from his original tune "Won't Be Hanging 'Round" (Although this phrase is never actually sung in the tune, a charactersitic he must have learned when he played with Jimmy Reed!). It is great, but too short! This LP is a great overall introduction to the Albert King style of Blues. An essential part of any Blues collection!

Yes indeed!
This is an excellent overview of Albert King's beginning days with Stax Records and house band Booker T. & the MGs, along with The Memphis Horns. What this offers is the entire landmark Born Under a Bad Sign album which is considered by many to be the definitive urban Blues album. Atlantic packaged that album with some bonus material that is just as great.

King was without a doubt the most prolific Blues guitarist of his generation, and his sound spawned more imitators than even B.B. King. The remastered Rhino CD The Very Best of Albert King is the place to go to get the full effect of Albert's Blues power. His guitar doesn't stand out here near as much, but this is really a showcase for not only King's soulful string bending, but for the MGs' superior ensemble playing. It took the greatest Soul band in the world to be the most perfect band any Blues singer could ask for. Multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones will dazzle the listener with the most impressive technically and stylistically Blues piano work I've ever heard. And with King's producer and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. leading the way, these are some of the greatest records ever made - whatever the genre'.

Funk-Shun
This is a great collection for the blues fan, that really showcases Albert King's talents! My only wish would be that the songs were longer, but this is the way they were recorded and still worth their weight in the funk-shun of the blues! Magic!

Speechless!
Unbelievable! This album is awesome. If you like the electric blues guitar, Albert King is your man and this album is his best. Excellent guitar solos accompaniad by great deep vocals. Only one song i don't love. An attempt at a slow song, "I almost lost my mind". It is Albert King tryin to be what he is not. The rest of this album is the best collection of blues i have ever heard. Three words.....BUY THIS ALBUM!!

An unexpected treasure from an unexpected source.
This is an album I lifted from my parents record collection when I was a kid. They didn't miss it, it was a selection they got by mistake from their record club (they were more of the Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and Donovan ilk). I was hooked immediately. In fact, I think it was the first full blues album I ever listened to. This is the essential Albert King set, and it is pure blues magic from start to finish. Highly recommended for all blues fans, especially aspiring blues guitarists (like me). ... Read more

Reviews (53)

I Love Jazz 2000
I Love Jazz is a sampler that comes out every so often that tries to take the biggest jazz hits of its time and put them onto a single disc. This is kind of like that in a much larger and ambitious scope. Even at five discs, it still feels like a sampler! While I enjoyed this set immensely, I still have the feeling that something is missing.

Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington are well represented here, as they should be. It is a joy to listen to music I wasn't as familiar with such as Coleman Hawkins and many of the earlier cuts. The sound quality is pretty good, especially for recordings of the earlier eras.

After listening to this, I felt that the history of jazz ended at about 1970, when obviously it did not. Fusion, Latin, Cool, and Avant Garde did not receive enough attention. Probably due to contractual restrictions, some artists only receive either a mention or are missing entirely. Only one track for Art Tatum, Mingus, Weather Report, and Stan Getz, ECM artists missing entirely, no John McLaughlin (as leader), McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans (as leader), or Art Blakey (although he does get his own disc in this series).

Every jazz afficionado will have their own ideas of what should be on here. This set serves a great purpose in showing how jazz and history affected each other and a glimpse of the talented artists behind the music. This set is a generous sampling of a great and wonderful iceberg and should be used as a springboard for a lifetime of exploration into jazz. At least the likes of Kenny G, Dave Koz, and John Tesh are nowhere to be found on this set.

A very fine introduction to jazz
The box set is rather like the documentary film: toploaded with dixieland-swing-bop, then a futile effort to cram all the postbop period into too little space. If anyone tried to sum up the history of rock n' roll in 5 CDs, imagine him cramming everything since the Summer of Love onto the last disc. If the Doors and Pink Floyd got left out of such a set, or a label like Atlantic was virtually overlooked, people would be upset then, too. It's not snobby to complain that Bill Evans or a Rahsaan Roland Kirk are left out here, or that Burns practically ignored Blue Note Records in his history. Stakes are high here. It's important that certain figures are not forgotten in the history just because Ken Burns could not find space for them in his canon.

However, despite the limitations of the project, this box is still a darn good introduction to jazz music. The selections might have been broader if pre-bebop had its own 3-CD set, and postbop had its own 4-CD set; but, this way, someone who is beginning to get into the music might get a better picture of the total continuity running from early New Orleans through some of the postbop movements. When I was starting out, I had to piece things together from odd records found at the library, until I got to college and could take a Jazz History class. If this sort of set had been presented to me at the start, I would have been in heaven.

If you're just getting interested in jazz, buy the set. Read the notes, take note of the names of sidemen (who may have led great sessions of their own, not represented here), pick up an album guide or two, check out some musicians who aren't in this set, join the conversations on jazz bulletin boards, and, most of all, enjoy the music. Once you jump in, there's no end to the worlds you might discover in jazz.

Too much, too little
Contrary to what some reviewers have stated, this is not a good place for someone wanting to get into jazz. This is mainly because this set costs too much for that. Also, there's over-whelmingly too much Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Dizzie Gillespie tracks here and little else. You would think that with a 5 disc box set, that Ken Burns could have come up with even little known but great jazz artists to include in this collection aside from adding a few more of the wider known ones as well. I am not a "jazz snob" and I feel it's unfair to some of the newer, more contemporary artists to be ignored as well - the rock equivalent of that would be refusing to acknowledge the talent of Jack White simply because he doesn't play like Clapton or Hendrix.

A terrific value
The fact that this box set has so much music for the price makes this collection a must-have for beginners or makes for great driving music to keep in your car. Forget about how you felt about the documentary, just look at this collection of great jazz and ask yourself, "How many better anthologies are out there that aren't twice the price?"

I understand those who feel that there were too many omissions, but face it: jazz has been around for 100 years (or so). Mr. Burns would have required 10 disks, with each disk representing a decade of jazz. Once again, look over the playlist, look at the price, and realize what a value this is.

It smells a little funny here
There is a lot of great music/artists here, but a lot of great music is missing and a lot of artists are too heavily favored.
I don't like it when a group of writers try to shape the minds of a unknowing public. I think Kenny should stay away from the ARTS and stick with war and sports. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential recording

Covered in a variegated spray of New Orleans Mardi Gras feathers and shiny voodoo baubles, Mac Rebennack's highly personal mythology was finally made real on this 1968 album. This was his first appearance made under the new guise of Dr. John Creaux, the Night Tripper. Before then, he'd been a pivotal figure on the Crescent City R&B circuit. Afterward, he became one of its most significant blues ambassadors. This album is a classic of the admittedly specialized psychedelic swamp-gumbo genre, boasting at least four tracks that have become cult favorites. "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya-Ya," "Mama Roux," "Jump Sturdy," and "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" each delicately mix catchy choruses and weird spatial sound effects, with radical stereo separation, intensely croaking, close-quarter vocals from the doctor, pneumatic keyboard riffs, pinprick electric guitar, and booming Afro-Caribbean percussion. The album still stands at its original 33-minute length, with no bonus cuts unearthed, but its high density more than compensates for any brevity. --Martin Lonely ... Read more

Reviews (8)

'Ti Alberta
I've owned this album for many years now, I consider it to be one of the most raw & unique albums ever recorded. It makes you feel as if you're sitting in a run-down New Orleans shack watching a voodoo ritual. Tunes like Cris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya, Danse Fambeaux, Jump Sturdy & the ever so haunting I Walk On Guided Splinters makes this album a must have for any eclectic music fan.

If you ever have the chance to play it for some drugged friends, do it! And watch the expressions change as they steadily get more and more freaked out as the album progresses, ultimately climaxing on I Walk On Guided Splinters. The third "'Ti Alberta" seems to trip people out the most, ask them if they see any spirits too, it's a nice touch.

Anyway, go buy & enjoy the fun spookiness that is Dr. John's Gris Gris.

Kon kon, the kiddy kon kon
They call me Dr. John
Known as the Night Tripper
Got my satchel of gris gris in my hand
Tripping up, back down the bayou
I'm the last of the best
I'm known as a gris-gris man
Got many clients come from miles around
Running down my prescriptions
Got medicine cure all y'all's ills
Got remedies of every description..."

-*-*-*-

Some people think they jive me
But I know they must be crazy
Don't see dey misfortune
Guess they just too lazy

J'suis the Grand Zombie
My yellow belt of choison
Ain't afraid of no tom cat
Fill my brains with poison

Walk thru the fire
Fly thru the smoke
See my enemy
At the end of dey rope

Walk on pins and needles
See what they can do
Walk on gilded splinters
With the king of the Zulu

Kon kon, the kiddy kon kon
Walk on gilded splinters
Kon kon, the kiddy kon kon
Walk on gilded splinters

'Ti Alberta ('ti Alberta)
'Ti Alberta ('ti Alberta)
'Ti Alberta ('ti Alberta)
'Ti Alberta ('ti Alberta)

Roll outta my coffin

Drink poison in my chalice
Pride begins to fade
And y'all feel my malice

Put gris gris on your doorstep
Soon you'll be in the gutter
I can melt your heart like butter
A-a-and I can make you stutter

Kon kon, the kiddy kon kon
Walk on gilded splinters
Kon kon, the kiddy kon kon
Walk on gilded splinters

*-*-*-*-

This sure is Voodoo Music
The first time I heard this record, I thought: "This is awful: Poorly recorded, out-of-tune instruments and voices, uninspired and pretentious tracks..." I was looking for something like 'Gumbo' -one of my favourite records of all time- and found something completely different instead: No funk, little Blues and almost no piano.
However, after some time, I gave it another try -without any prejudice- and was gladly surprised. I had been mistaken... Next time I realized it, I was wanting to hear 'Walk On Guilded Splinters' and 'Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya-ya' again and again. I read a few things about the great Dr. John and found out that actually those songs (that are not traditional, but composed by himself) were used FOR REAL in vooodoo gatherings and even rites! They sure transmit a very 'haunting' mood, to say the least. Was I hoodooed? -Shivering-
To me, those tracks are worth the entire album, although 'Danse Fambeaux' and 'Mama Roux' are also interesting. The reason why, having such classic tracks, I do not give it the top mark is because I feel that the album is a little too short and uneven. Anyhow, it is still a landmark album for Dr. John that was a very risky bet at the time of its release (Ahmet Ertegun, boss of the record company, hated it).

I bet those sessions were conceived with some mixture of true spirituality and humour. These days, when I feel psychedelic, I play Jimi Hendrix's '1983' or 'Gris-Gris' if I want to shiver a little bit...

DARK, DIRTY, DENSE, AND DANCEABLE....
I have also reviewed Babylon, the companion cd to Gris-Gris, and have done a bit of editorializing. This cd deserves only the mention of the musics, Dr. John's "high concept" reaches musical fruition with a swirling array of avant-guard funk, down & Dirty swampy grooves,and Afro-Caraiba poli-ritmos ,performed on mostly organic/acustic instrumentation( outside of the obligatory electric guitar, & electric piano/organ)..... the 2 long "narcotic" tracks, Gris-gris" & "I walk...Splinters" lure you into a trance-like world, where the 2 "danses" evoke a Hoodoo whirling dervish....."WORLD musics " before the frase was coined! And the strictly New Orleans "Mama Roux" is a second line strut! No "blues -influenced" stuff here, Africa comes home on the drum, and not the "blue-note". Rough, ragged & poorly produced, the emotion of the musics shines through like the healing rays of a new day's sun! Dr. John's finest hour- he WAS inna right place at the right time, and gris-gris is the legacy!

Oh, Doctor, take me back to N'awlins
It has been over 30 years since I first heard this collection of music, and I believe it could go another 30 and not lose a beat. If Mac Rabenneck and cohorts were guilty of cashing in on the rage for psychedelia way back in 68, at least they came by it honest and with a fierce originality that was...and remains...all their own. I've slipped this CD on when young (20-30 somethings) friends are visiting, and they flip. They're not hearing retro-psychedelia, or gimmicky sound effects, as some reviewers might suggest. They're hearing something primal and hot, borne of a Louisianna bayou night with fireflies in the mangroves and barely-perceived forms flitting through the shadows.

Yeah, lower the lights, burn a few candles, and sit back with this one cranked. ... Read more