Reviews (2)

wonderful, but for specialists only
I like the Lomax disks, I like real folk, country, and bluegrass music, and I usually like less polished music by early, uncommercial artists. Nevertheless, I don't listen to this disk much. The problem isn't the quality of the music, which is high. But it's not just less polished, it's totally unpolished. I think you really have to be searching for the roots of just this type of music to appreciate this disk.

A Treasure Of American Music
This Cd represents a treasure of american music and lets one know that what this music really is is a mixture of european and african influences. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A great place to begin
This was my first blues CD. I used to listed mainly to rock music, and it was the guitar-angle that caught me....about a hundred blues CDs ago.

If you are relatively new to classic 50s and 60s blues, "Chess Blues Guitar" is an excellent starting place. This double-disc set boasts lots of well-chosen songs by Robert Nighthawk ("Anna Lee", "Someday"), Elmore James ("I Can't Hold Out"), Howlin' Wolf ("Killing Floor", "Hidden Charms", "I've Got A Woman"), Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Little Milton Campbell, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley and many more.
The Muddy Waters songs aren't really among his best, and are obviously chosen for the guitar playing, but the Howlin' Wolf-tracks in particular are not only sublime examples of classic blues guitar playing, "Hidden Charms" and "Killing Floor" are also two of Wolf's best-ever songs, and the former features perhaps the greatest guitar solo ever comitted to tape.

And most of the lesser-known songs are excellent as well, even offering something for the more experienced blues fan:
Blue Smitty's "Date Bait", Danny Overbea's "Forty Cups Of Coffee", Morris Pejoe's "Tired Of Crying Over You", "Give Me One More Shot" by J.B. Lenoir, "One Sunny Day" by Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Burns' "Treat Me Like I Treat You", "Claim On You" by Lafayette Thomas, and Jody Williams' "What Kind Of Gal Is That" are all great songs, and not that easy to find on compact disc.

A fine purchase for novice and veteran alike. Highly recommended.

Killer Fretwork for guitar lovers
Chess was the home of most of the bigger blues legends of the 50's and 60's. This compilation is a must have for any blues guitar lover. Some of the early tracks (the first 10 or so) are country blues and are fairly mediocre, but the rest of the album is 5 stars. Lots of catchy instrumentals from Earl Hooker, Jody Williams, Chuck Berry(even his are good!), Buddy Guy(you can here where Stevie Ray was influenced from-check out Buddy's Boogie)as well as the great Hubert Sumlin on the Howlin Wolf tracks, Otis Rush, Little Milton, and Bo Diddley. This is true blues before the rock influence caught on, so be sure to include it in your collection. ... Read more

Album Description

If ever there was a definitive blues collection, this isthe one. A 2CD set, contains 45 tracks from a who's who ofblues music's most essential artists, including MuddyWaters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, AlbertKing and B.B. King to name but a few. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

No One Gets Outta Here Without Singin' The Blues!
Whether you love the blues or don't even know how to spell it, THE GREAT TOMATO BLUES PACKAGE is a must for any music collection! Muddy Waters! Leadbelly! John Lee Hooker! Howlin' Wolf! "Big Mama" Thornton! They're all here, along with many more! My only complaint is that each artist does only one song. I could have listened to a four disc set! Buy it immediately...

It's a good pick!
This is an excellent "beginners" blues album, lots of variety, has a good scope, from very early Mississippi Delta blues to more contemporary artists, so that the listener can see how the blues style changes, yet always remains the same. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton is the musical equivalent of a limited-edition, fine-press book, and it's easily one of the most beautiful collections of recorded music ever assembled. Exquisitely designed, this 78-album-inspired, seven-CD package contains a wealth of information and music, featuring not only the Delta blues pioneer's complete recorded works, but the music of peripheral players (including Son House, Howlin' Wolf, and Henry "Son" Sims), a disc of fascinating audio interviews with Patton associates, and hours of reading material on the enigmatic songster.

It's hard not to romanticize the music contained within this set as you open its retro-looking slipcase, but Patton (1887-1934) doesn't let you down. Under the haze of 78 rpm record hiss, his 50-odd preserved recordings spellbind with great guitar playing and moving lyrics about love, loss, and catastrophes. Who cares if his life lacked the mystique of Robert Johnson, or his low, growling voice wasn't the creepy falsetto of Skip James? Patton's repertoire was unparalleled; his guitar playing--punctuated by striking syncopated, percussive beats--is always in tune and precise; and his slide playing is full subtle whines and flourishes. These remastered tracks sound better than ever, but there's still plenty of hiss (for some tunes, just one abused and poorly pressed record has survived). Copious, scholarly (and, at times, a little arcane) liner notes debate and survey Patton's mysterious life and tunes; the complete lyrics to his songs are included, too--no small feat. But it's the music--utterly raw, striking, and influential blues--that steals the show here.

Revenant Records has outdone itself--this is a poignant dream project that label cofounder/guitar great John Fahey didn't live long enough to see completed--and it's well worth every penny. Only a handful of musical artists deserve this lavish a treatment; as evidenced here, Patton--the first great Delta blues musician on record--is certainly one of them. --Jason Verlinde ... Read more

Reviews (20)

This Has To Be Seen (and Heard) To Be Believed
"Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton" is without a doubt the most impressive box set I have ever seen. The astronomical cost is justifiable once you see the craftsmanhip, love and pride that has been put into this overwhelming set.
The attention to detail is so phenomenal that this will be the box set by which all others are judged (and believe me, they will come up short). Presented in reproduction of the original 78 rpms (the exterior covers, album sleeves and cardboard reproduction of the vinyl on which the CDs are mounted) helps to bring back the feel of a time long gone.
There are biographies, advertising poster reproductions, album label reproductions and the sound quality is perhaps the best I've heard for this sort of transfer. This set even has the music and reminiscences of Patton's contemporaries.
If I could find one thing wrong with it that would be that I am now disappointed with all my other "Complete Works of..." and other box sets. All other recording labels should look at this and hang their heads in shame.

Amazing music and package!
The music of Charley Patton has been issued before, but never like this. The packaging is absolutely amazing. We're talking Grammy potential. The amount of information included will provide you with several hours of reading. It's also presented in a very attractive way.

The discs themselves sound great, better than any other issues of this material. Each disc comes attached to a black disc that makes it the size of a 78. Each disc is then housed in a replica 78 sleeve, like the old 78 binders (which this package is a replica of).

If you're a fan of pre-war blues and look at box sets (Bear Family especially) as works of art, then this set is a must-have.

Best. Album. EVER.
This is the musical equivalent of a family Bible. You will pass it down from children to grandchildren. It cannot be likened to any other boxed set I have ever seen - not even the lavish and fantastic Bear Family country and rockabilly sets from Germany. The Folkways reissue of the Anthology of American Folk Music comes close in look and feel, but it's still 100 miles behind.

There are three points that I would make to a potential purchaser that may not be totally obvious:

1. These recordings sound really, really good for those on the old Paramount label - where the recordings were done poorly, no metal parts exist, and all extant CDs are dubbed from 78 RPM shellac pressings, some of which are in pretty bad shape (at one point the only existing copy of Willie Brown's "Future Blues" was broken in half!). I have not heard JSP's Patton boxed set, which would seem to be a great substitute at $25 for somebody who does not want to pay $150. However, I do have JSP's "Legends of the Country Blues," which has the 1930 Son House Paramount recordings that are on disc 4 of this set. This sounds much better. The JSP sounds more No-Noised to me, while this sounds more alive on the high end. I say that as someone who has bought a lot of the JSP sets, and who would have no hesitation recommending their work generally.

2. This is not 7 CDs of just Charley Patton. This is a really good introduction to pre-Robert Johnson Delta blues. You get all the Paramount recordings of Son House, Willie Brown and Louise Johnson, two of whom were seminal figures, and the last of whom was just fun. (Somebody ought to make a movie about the roadtrip Patton, House, Brown and Johnson took to Wisconsin to record these tracks. They could get Charles Dutton to play the guy from the Delta Big Four who drove them.) You get a CD of some pretty essential stuff by various artists, including Tommy Johnson. You get the Delta Big Four, Son Sims and some others. You get a CD of interviews.

3. It's bittersweet to say, but this set may get overtaken by future discoveries. It's criminally ironic that a full-body, first-generation photo of Charley Patton finally surfaced a year after this box came out. Also, it's known that there are other Patton recordings for which 78s have yet to be found; they may turn up if they haven't already.

You KNOW you want to buy it. Don't you?

big set big price
The previous reviews make some valid points about this stunning box set-it is really special, and like thing that are incremntally finer, it is geometrically more [money]- and i take my blues pretty seriously...
it is, as mentioned, like a fine rare book-and the essential music (the first 5 cds ) are available ... in the Complete Works of Charley Patton (the five cd set in a slip case-limited liner notes) also listed here, and affordable for 'us bluesmen'.

I am writing this to let all know that, aside from two additional cds, one containing interviews by others about Patton, and one of other artists who performed his work (thus the "worlds of CP" ), and some very cool posters and stickers and lovely packaging and other toys and eye candy, the essence is available for a fraction of the cost-same stuff from "masked marvel productions" the orignator of this lovely tome -made in the UK. Unless you really love CP and will listen to this lots, I recommend the [shorter] set-it is still the stirring blues of this great, complete.

Charlie Patton Delta Bluesman
From the reviews I know this is worth the money there is allot of rare stuff on here especially the Willie Brown song "Pallet on the Floor" this is my main reason for wanting to get this box set so bad. This is the only place you can get that Willie Brown song according to Yazoo2002 "Masters of the Delta Blues, Friends of Charlie Patton" he only recorded two songs in his life time "M&O blues" and "Jinx Blues" one of the most awesome Delta blues songs I have heard (Jinx Blues). Oh yeah one more thing I would have given this 5 stars but where in the world is the Ishmon Bracey recording I mean he was one of Charlie Patton's worlds also (lol) wasn't he not to mention one of the best Delta Bluesmen to strum a guitar it just seems incomplete to have Kid Bailey, Son House, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Bertha Lee and no Ishmon Bracey .... The poor guy is probally squirming in his grave right now leaving him out like that yall otta be ashamed of yourselves (Yazoo would have never done a thing like that). Just for that I'm giving this 3.5 stars now (but I'm still gonna save the money to buy this) p.s how in the hell is a Bluesman suppose to afford this boxset.... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

How Many Ways Can You Say It?
It sounds juvenile. Bo Carter here writes 14 metaphors for sex using potato diggers, pencils, and pincushions to stand for parts of the anatomy. But what starts off as funny mellows with age into something comforting and sly. You're in on the joke. And in his world, men and women enjoy themselves A LOT. I mean, when was the last time you heard that? In so much of today's music, sex either screws you up or makes you a status symbol. Here, the music (a lone guitar and temperate, folksy, semi-blues picking) and lyrics suggest we are taking it way too seriously. He makes Hokum Blue's finest statement. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Foot tapping, old timey music
I listen to this album often. It feels so fresh and authentic! The first song, "Sheep, Sheep, Don't You know the road" is inspirational: I'll be tapping the rhythms on the computer keyboard or table before the end, and it's a great song to sing with the little sheep in my life. And I have purchased two additional copies of this CD as Christmas presents for friends to share with them the sweetness and warmth of Vera Hall-Ward's "No Room in the Inn" as she tells the story of the birth of Jesus to her Sunday school children. The fiddling music is superb, as well: Neil Morris and the recording engineer briefly speak after "Corn Dodgers" and for that moment time vanishes. You are there. I could go on. Every one of the sixteen cuts has something to recommend it. This is a extraordinary collection for those of us who love American traditional music.

Beautiful
In this techno age where the music has about as much soul as a rake lying in the backyard,CD like this one help to remind us of a time before Brittaney and the top boy bands. I highly recommend it and think that anyone who wants real conviction and spirit in their music should give it a thousand listens. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Seminal
Aleck "Rice" Miller, Sonny Boy Williamson II, was around long enough to have played with Robert Johnson at one end of his career, and with Eric Clapton at the other.

More than ten years Johnson's senior, Miller was probably born at the tail end of the 19th century in Glendora, Mississippi. He taught the basics of blues harmonica to a young Howlin' Wolf, and he was present the night Robert Johnson was poisoned.
And even though he took his moniker from the much younger Tennessee bluesman John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Miller's style was nothing like Williamson's, and he was a much better singer and one of the best songwriters the blues has ever seen.

In fact, no-one really sounded like Rice Miller.
His raspy vocal delivery was sly, evil and world-weary, and his harp-playing was full of short, rhythmic bursts one minute and powerful, impassioned blowing the next. His songs were full of mordant wit, with (largely autobiographical) lyrics that hold up to the scrutiny of the printed page, and this CD collects his magnificent 1951 Trumpet sides, including the original, raw takes on several songs that whe would later record for Chess, "Cross My Heart", "Nine Below Zero", "Too Close Together", and the classic "Eyesight To The Blind" among them.
He is backed by drums, piano, bass and electric guitar, and slide guitar legend Elmore James is credited as one of the guitarists on several tracks, along with Willie Love and the "eternal sideman", Joe Willie Wilkins, who taught B.B. King guitar in the 40s, and recorded with Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Elmore James, Roosevelt Sykes and several others.

The fidelity here doesn't match his Chess sides, but there is so much power and grit in these 52 year old recordings, and several songs rank among Miller's very best. And this CD reissue includes Elmore James' first single, a rendition of Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom", which features Rice Miller on harp, and a thirteen-minute KFFA broadcast from 1965, the year Miller died. That one includes Miller's takes on "V-8 Ford", "Right Now", "Come Go With Me", and T-Bone Walker's "They Call It Stormy Monday".

This is a great document, and a must-have for serious fans of blues harmonica.
4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.

The REAL King of Rock 'n' Roll?
Sonny Boy somehow gets swept into a corner because he only had a few records that were "hits" in the 1950s, "Don't Start Me To Talkin'" and "Mighty Long Time," his masterpiece on this CD. However, when he died, artists including The Moody Blues, Jack Bruce, Jimmy Reed, Paul Jones of Manfred Mann, John Maysll, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and others recorded tributes to him. He recorded with the Animals and Yardbirds, Jimmy Page, jazzmen Chris Barber and Roland Kirk and others. The real story is that Sonny Boy II (not the same Sonny Boy Williamson who recorded "Good Morning Little School Girl"} was Alex Miller, a blues harp player, songwriter and singer who had been playing in the Mississippi delta since the late 1920s with people like Robert Johnson and Robert Lockwood Jr., Joe Willie Wilkins, Pinetop Perkins, Ike Turner and others. He was THE star of the Delta, so popular he didn't need to record until 1950 when he started to record these sides with Jackosn Mississippi's Trumpet Records. He was an escaped convict who became an international blues star using another man's name (John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson among others) and another's as his alias (his brother Willie Miller). He was truly hiding in the spotlight.

His Finishing School, Before He Made His Chess Legend
For hearing the man born as Alec (Rice) Miller as he had rounded into near-complete game shape, in the years immediately preceding the seminal sides he would cut for Chess beginning in the mid-to-late 1950s, there is no better package than this of Sonny Boy Williamson's incandescent, embryonic recordings for the ancient Trumpet label. Many of these songs would get the Sonny Boy makeover when he re-cut them during his Chess years, and it's intriguing to compare between the Trumpet originals and the Chess refineries of such signature songs as "Eyesight To The Blind," "Cross My Heart," "Nine Below Zero," "Mr. Down Child," and "Mighty Long Time." Then again, the tandem treat is to hear a good enough dollop of some of Sonny Boy's more personal material, particularly the slightly haunting "West Memphis Blues," which he wrote about the fire that actually burned down the house he had bought with his wife.

Then, there are the bonuses: one of the last broadcasts of the legendary "King Biscuit Time" on which Sonny Boy would appear before his death; and perhaps the earliest known version Elmore James would cut of his signature "Dust My Broom," this one with Sonny Boy (who was long reputed to have tricked him into cutting it for Trumpet) sliding in with some fills showing he was a deft an accompanist/partner as he was a harmonica virtuoso. Accompanying the cantankerously poetic Sonny Boy, mostly, are such legends of Memphis/Helena blues as guitarist Joe Willie Wilkins (Robert Jr. Lockwood he ain't, but for laying a sensible support and spitting out the occasional fill and run he acquits his own self very nicely), bassist Cliff Bivens, drummer Frock, and pianist Dave Campbell, and they deliver yeoman's work.

Traveling Harp Wizard Needs Home
Rice Miller was a man of many faces, tones, and zip codes. THis disc packs some of the fiercest, most downhome sounds that Mississippi had to offer. Includes a radio broadcast from the KING BICUIT FLOWER HOUR and definitve versions of such tunes as "She Brought Life Back To The Dead," "Cool Blues," and "Eyesight To The Blind." As well, "Mighty Long Time" is a marvel. Wonderful harp with Willie Love on piano, and Elmore James on guitar for most tracks. Some of the best Sonny Boy available in the States.

an angel plays harp
If you are picking up the harp buy this I have played for twenty years and this is one of the first albums I bought.Check out the AbWaaahs. A Mighty Long Time is the closest I have ever heard to heavenly music. I hope I get to hear him up there. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

best look into Juniors word that we'll probably ever get
Thia album was recorded in the last few months of his life. By this time Junior had been exposed to rock music, and his rythems had become harder edged as a result. This album is'nt as produced as some of his other CDs (not that any of them were over-produced), with three trackes taken live from his Juke joint. This CD is the probably the best window to Juniors world that we can get (that is Minus all the echo and Bad recording quality).

Makin' the best of these cold, rainy days...
The Charlotte area is gettin' over a four-year drought this year. That means that every other day we're gettin' soaked with rain' an' sufferin' from dark, gray clouds. An', yep, these're the days when I whip out this Junior Kimbrough CD 'Most Things Haven't Worked Out' an', well, try to figure things out I guess. There's nothin' like hearing 'Lonesome Road' an' 'I'm in Love' on a gray an' cloudy Saturday afternoon, while watchin' the rain beat against your window. But when you play 'Everywhere I Go' or 'Burn in Hell' in the middle of the night at the perfect volume an' sit outside on the porch, smokin' cigarettes an' drinkin' on some whiskey, ohhh, boy, now you're treadin' on some dangerous ground so you better be prepared. Junior has got the goods on that slide guitar an' has a knack for these ratchety n' rugged soundscapes. The guitar is usually my LEAST favorite instrument, but when is' givin' a bluesy twang an' used to express all your frustrations an' loathsome heartaches an' emotions, I honestly can't think of ANYTHING I feel more. This is jus' great music; good for the mind, the heart an' the soul.

crazy
as iggy pop is alleged to have said, "the first time i heard junior i just went crazy."

play it on bright sunny sunday afternoon in may and you'll still feel like you're half drunk on moonshine at 3am in northern mississippi in august. if you play it late at night god only knows where it might take you. unbelievably haunting stuff. by far my fav junior kimbrough cd, and one of my fav blues cds of all time (i've got somewhere between 100 and 200).

WORKED UP AND WORKED OUT!!
Mr. Kimbrough done come thru with the dirt on this one. This aint just blues music, it's soul music right in there with Isaac Hayes and nem. It's hard played and honest and that's the true pleasure of it.

Junior is watching you
If you only buy one Fat Possum CD this year, make it this one. Fans of Junior's trance and dance grooves will find this to be the meatiest of his recordings from the 90s. An essential purchase! ... Read more

Album Description

• This release in the Heroes of the Blues series is the only true cross-licensed best-of package for Skip James • A complete career retrospective, covering all periods of his career and various record labels • Digitally re-mastered• Original cover art by R. Crumb• Detailed liner notes and track information ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nice overview of Skip James' rediscovery period
Shout Factory continues its excellent "Heroes of the Blues" series with one of the most haunting voices in music - that of Bentonia, Mississippi's Skip James. The collection concentrates mainly on his reimergence in the mid-1960s, with the exception of the two opening tracks taken from his 1931 Paramount recording session. The bulk of the release is made up of recordings James made for Biograph in 1964, which were recorded just shortly after his rediscovery earlier that year. Equally impressive and distinctive on piano as he was on guitar, the set also highlights his unique piano style as demonstrated on "22-20 Blues" and "How Long Blues." Although not listed, those looking for a recording of his most popular piece, "The Devil Got My Woman," can find a stirring six-minute 1964 version on track 6, listed mistakenly as "How Long Blues," (which actually appears as track 5 but titled "61 Highway.") With an interest in Skip James at an all-time high thanks in part to James' high-profile inclusion in the Martin Scorsese PBS blues series, and to a lesser extent, the strong role his music played in the 2001 film "Ghost World," this set happily brings some of his fine postwar recordings to a whole new generation just discovering his genius.

error on the printed playlist on the back cover
Beautifully cleaned up tracks. On the copy I got the back cover doesn't list "Devil Got My Woman" . Instead a different track 5 called "61 Highway". Luckly the actual cd does have the playlist listed here with "Devil got My woman".

Superb overview of Skip's work
This CD is a fantastic overview of the work of Skip James, covering both his guitar work and his equally fine piano blues. It focuses on his 1960s comeback, after years of neglect. After he played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, he rerecorded many of his classics for a variety of folk and blues labels, and it is from these pristine-sounding sessions that this CD is compiles. Not only are the sound and performances first-rate, but the liner notes are detailed and informative. This is an excellent entry point to Skip's career for neophytes, and for die-hard blues fans it is a wonderful survey of his post-discovery period. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Avoid like the plague
The title of this CD may give you the false impression that there is some kind of collaboration between Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf going on.
Nope, no such thing.

This completely superflous album is simply a hap-hazard collection of tracks from Waters' "Fathers And Sons" sessions with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Otis Spann, and tracks by Howlin' Wolf from his London sessions with Eric Clapton and Ringo Starr. And it's not even the best tracks.'

There is absolutely nothing here which isn't available on much better albums (the original "Fathers & Sons" and "London Sessions" albums come to mind), with more attractive layout and better sound. Don't waste your money on this cheap attemp to present these songs as "new" material. Go get the real thing.

A Great Recording By Two Blues Giants!!
First and foremost Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf were the two kings of the Chicago Blues scene. The two of them dominated Chess Records from the 1950's until the label's demise in the 1970's. They competed for the best songs, musicians and attention from the Chess brothers. The competition between the two ultimately resulted in a style of Blues that the rest of the world stands in awe of.

This recording, actually a re-release of parts of two earlier albums is a great look into why Waters and Wolf were so great. The Muddy Waters recordings features the cream of Chicago's Blues scene. Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Sam Lay and Duck Dunn play on most of the tracks. The line-up for the Howlin' Wolf sessions is even more impressive. Made during his London Sessions, these cuts feature england's brrightest and best; Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and long-time Howlin' Wolf rhythm guitarist, Hubert Sumlin.

If you want to get a great sample of what made these two Blues giants the cornerstone of the Chicago Blues scene, then I strongly suggest that you get this album, then go out and get a bunch of their solo recordings as well. You can't go wrong.

Over the top
From vinal to CD, who can do better than this? This is where the two generations meet, and bring it all together. Anyone who loves the blues MUST have this in their collection. Order 10 copies for your blues pals, they will want it.

What blues invented for!
This is a magnificent live album that shows why these Chicago blues legends are still legends today. Both performances are engaging, witty, and raw. This includes classics such as All Aboard, I'm Ready, Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had, What a Woman!, and Red Rooster played in all their forceful glory.

So why does this loose a star? It is for casual fans only. Both performances are available in completion on Muddy's Fathers and Sons and the Wolf's The London Sessions, so this is of little use to anyone who has them. Therefore only casual fans would be interested. Otherwise this album is an excellent live blues album, with near perfect sound and appearances from legends Otis Spann, Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, and longtime Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart. So in conclusion if you want some great blues that fits neatly into your budget don't hesitate on Muddy and the Wolf!

blues IS king!
muddy and the wolf. The title says it all. two of the best blues artists ever on one excellant disc. i find myself drawn more towards the muddy tracks but the wolf is great just because hes howlin wolf and he rocks. very comforting, honest music. anything on chess usually is. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Kimbrough was easily the most arresting figure in "Deep Blues," the documentary movie and soundtrack album about the contemporary Delta blues scene. Music critic Robert Palmer, the movie's "guide," produced All Night Long, Kimbrough's first full length album after more than 40 years of music-making. While many of the other modern Delta musicians are mere imitators of their predecessors, Kimbrough is starkly original. He's backed by just a drummer and bassist who have learned, after years of weekend dance parties at Kimbrough's juke joint, how to anticipate his constant, subtle shifts of rhythmic emphasis. The results resemble John Lee Hooker's boogie but sound less fussy, more ancient, more elemental. --Geoffrey Himes ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not for beginners
If you're new to the blues genre, reading these high-toned reviews would lead you to believe that this is one of the greatest blues albums of all time. That would be taking it a bit too far. This is the kind of album that would be more enjoyed by people who have already heard all the Lightnin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Sonny Boy Williamson, and other greats to adnauseam. And now, are desperately searching for a fresh new sound.

Given the lackluster talent of the next generation of blues artists, Fat Possum reached into the depths of obscurity to try and resolve the issue. Enter Junior Kimbrough, who's gritty voice and edgy guitar come together quite nicely, and create a strange sonorous appeal. The sound of this album is decent, but it doesn't even rank when I consider the best blues albums to sit down and listen to. So, my advice is, if you are relatively new to the blues arena, check out this album only after you have visited the previously mentioned blues greats, and worn out all their material.

This album electrifies me!!!
Blues is really a genre of music that's in constantly actualization.The versatility of blues musicians to creates, inovates,is something that gives me all of the pleasure and this album is just like what i'm saying.
This is a fantastic album with great electric mix with the deeply
sounds from the birthplace of blues,the Mississipi Delta.This kind of sound is a new taste,something never did before,and we must recognize the efforts of Fat Possum Records staff to produces something so strong;so deep;so new,and old too!!!
This album is a treasure and Rolling Stones Magazine was right when rated this album among the 10 best blues albums of the decade,it's undobtedly true!!!
For me,specially a true bluesfan,we must say that blues will never die,and it's stronger than ever,the presence of new bluesbloods,mixing great rythms,creating something really new,all of this things renew my soul,and encourages me to follow my way to study and promotes this fantastic rythm,THE BLUES!!!!

Junior's Juke
Hypnotic? Yes.
Deep? Yes.
Blues? Of Course.
Philip Glass? If he made a blues album it would not even come close to the beauty and groove found on this record.

Junior was a truly origianal musician. I haven't heard an artist ever who was as unique as he was. His guitar playing and vocals are intense and soulful. Junior's sense of verses and choruses is all his own. It seems almost improvised because, of how natural he makes it all feel.

Praise must also go to the other musicians who play alongside Junior. Gary Burnside plays bass and Kenny Malone plays drums.They blend perfectly with Junior. The playing of these three musicians is perfect.This is probably the best dance music I have ever heard and that is exactly what it was used for.

If Phillip Glass Ever Made a Blues Album...
...It would probabaly sound like "All Night Long." Junior Kimbrough purveyed a style of blues unlike anything else in contemporary music. Traditional western notions of what constitutes music held little sway with Kimbrough; his art was non-linear. Based on subtle shifts in rhythm and dense, overlapping layers of sound, Kimbrough's music was devoid of conventional melody or chord structue. This is demanding stuff, and "All Night Long" may-at first listen-strike many as cryptic. However, given repeated exposure, tracks like "Meet Me in the City" and "Slow Lightning" sink their hooks in deep.

Junior Kimbrough is Deep
I've heard a lot of blues, but the late Junior Kimbrough's "All Night Long" has moved me more than anything I have heard in years. Three piece band, all single takes, and some of the purest, most honest blues I've ever heard. This music is haunting like Skip James maybe, and you won't soon forget it. My only regret is not having been able to see him live. You've gotta check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Italy isn't a bowl of pasta and O Sole Mio
This is a great CD. It's not a parody of Italy. It's not EPCOT center Italy nor is it The Olive Garden (which is about as Italian as boomerangs and enchiladas). Lomax has collected authentic FOLK music. Folk means PEOPLE and this is music made by real people for the sake of making music, not for selling mass quantities of CDs. It is very authentic. Unfortunately, most of contemporary Italy shuns the traditions of the past in the same way that hip Americans regard our roots music as passe', so I'm glad that these songs are being recorded for prosperity.
For those of you who want something to listen to while eating spaghetti covered in Kraft parmesian cheese there are plenty of cheesy collections of O Sole Mio and "tarantellas for the tourist" out there. But I would recommend checking out the Putumayo collection Italian Music Odyssey. It's a polished collection of good Italian songs by professional musicians, but it's not as gritty as this collection. I also recommend you watch the movie Big Night to understand the differences between real Italian culture and American characaturization of the country. For the real music lover and true italophile, I highly recommend Italian Treasury.

Ugly Americans
Jeez, so sorry that actual, authentic Italian folk music doesn't go with your "authentic" Olive Garden appetites!! The ignorance, the insular isolationism of the average American never ceases to amaze. For gosh sakes, are you disappointed that Alan Lomax's recordings of Appalachian folk songs and Delta field hollers don't sound more like Camptown Races??

Lomax was a musical anthropologist, whose avocation was recording the indigenous music of global cultures, of which this recording is an example par excellence. The reviewers on these pages might be more at home with a record by Jerry Vale or, perhaps, a monkey and an organ grinder. Apparently that is what passes for "authentic" Italian music in America's dubious world view.

authentic!
i come from italy and i must say it is very authentic. i love it. it sounds just like home. i do not knoww why anybody does not like it. if you want great italian music, i suggest this. it is very lively and happy. i love this cd. it remind me of home.

not what i expected
i bought this expecting songs like you'd hear while eating in Olive garden or lively Italian songs, you know, like what everyone thinks of when they think of Italian music, there are about one to three songs on it that sound similar to that kind of music, but the rest are elderly Italians chanting at high pitches that sound dark, strange, and not what you want if you want Italian music. I agree with the other review, maybe for an Italian teacher, but not for me, and if you want lively Italian music, not for you. [the price] is way too much, and I wasted it! errrrggggg! May I suggest the series of world music called Internatiol Passport. They are real folk songs and music from around the world. I've been pleased with each CD i've purchased from them. Just search under La Musica From Italy or Italy Folk Songs From Naples

Rough and tough tunes
Well, I don't know what I was expecting when I bought this; something along the lines of "classic Italian tunes," I believe. Well, if you're in search of something to listen to while sharing a bowl of pasta with friends, this isn't it! You'd loose your stomach! The singers are not professionals, the sound quality is very good - so you hear every straining note from the "artists." This would be a good album for an Italian language teacher, to explore dialectical differences within Italy, but beyond educational pursuits, I wouldn't reccommend this album. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The title of this 1966 collection is quite misleading: Shines was actually a first-generation Delta bluesman, having traveled with Robert Johnson in the mid-1930s. Shines is best known as a Johnson disciple, capable of riveting acoustic slide-guitar displays and expressive vocals. This set puts him in the company of noted Chicago electric bluesmen including Big Walter Horton on harmonica and Otis Spann on piano. Shines seems right at home with these modern masters, updating the classic Delta style and seamlessly fusing it with elements of the Chicago school. "Mr. Tom Green's Farm" and "So Cold in Vietnam" offer incredibly sharp and explosive electric-bottleneck work. Shines also tackles Johnson classics including "Walkin' Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago." This album brilliantly illustrates the direct connection between acoustic Delta blues and modern Chicago blues. --Marc Greilsamer ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another fine "Masters Of Modern Blues" album
Delta slide guitarist Johnny Shines was a pupil and travelling companion of the slightly older Robert Johnson.
Rarely recorded in his prime, Shines quit the music business for a time, but came back during the 60s blues boom, and recorded this fine album for producer Pete Weldings "Masters Of Modern Blues" series. He is backed by the great Walter Horton on harmonica, as well as veteran bluesmen Lee Jackson (bass) and Fred Below (drums), and Muddy Waters' sublime pianist Otis Spann sits in as well.

Johnny Shines was an excellent slide guitarist and a fine singer, very much inspired by Robert Johnson in his choice of material (he covers both Johnson and Charley Patton here, and the fine "Two Trains Runnin'" clearly utilizes the pattern from Delta legend Son House's "My Black Mama pr. II", AKA "Death Letter Blues").
And there are plenty of highlights on this consistently enjoayble record, particularly the swinging, up-tempo "What Kind Of Little Girl Are You", Johnny Shines' renditions of "Sweet Home Chicago" and "My Black Mare", and the excellent original "Trouble Is All I See", which features Shines' fluid electric slide guitar, Horton's harp and Spann's magnificent piano playing (and both Lee Jackson, who provides the sole backing on the slow, moody "Mr Tom Green's Farm", and the versatile Fred Below deserves praise as well...Below was one of the best and most influential blues drummers of the 50s and 60s).

If a blues record has the late, great Otis Spann rolling the 88s, it's probably a good one, and this one is no exception. "Masters Of Modern Blues" is a really fine album all the way through, well arranged and superbly played, and one of John Ned Shines' finest. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

This is Deep Blues, Bubba...
In his documentary "Deep Blues," eccentric producer Robert Palmer introduced us to a brand of blues that comes not from the Delta, but from the hill country region of northwest Mississippi. While it bears a vague resemblance to its lowlands cousin, Hill Country Blues is a whole 'nother critter altogether. It is, as Palmer describes in the liner notes of this CD, a "slashing, droning trance-blues," a "churning, jamming one-chord exercise in stamina and mass-hypnosis."

Too many recordings these days suffer from excessive post-production, processed until they've been homogenized, sterilized, or just plain castrated, but this ain't slicked-up big city blues, Bubba. Uh Uh. Robert Palmer is a blues bloodhound; he knows where the Real Blues live, and on this CD records them in their element as they happen. The results are, in a word, profound.

Burnside plays a wicked, ratty slide over the top of a hypnotic backbeat laid down by backup guitarist Kenny Brown, bassist Dwayne Burnside and drummer Calvin Jackson. Recorded live at a jukejoint owned by fellow bluesman Junior Kimbrough, "Too Bad Jim" is raw, nasty & compelling, coming through with all the fevered urgency of a jukejoint jam session.

".44 Pistol" is a raucous and swaggering counterstroke to the haunting cover of Lightnin' Hopkins "Death Bell Blues" which follows. Two other Hopkins tunes, "Short Haired Woman" and "Miss Glory B." get the Burnside treatment. "Fireman Ring The Bell" seems to borrow much from Bill Broonzy's "Rollin' & Tumblin'."

This is Deep Blues as it should be heard, bare and honest without any fancy production tricks to spoil it. Just buy it.

Good, but there's better...
This is a good CD but it weights in at only 41 minutes which is inexcusably short for a "live" CD; I mean, this guy probably jammed all night! And, though it was recorded live at Junior Kimbrough's Juke Joint, it was subsequently cleaned up at Fat Possum Studios which is why it doesn't have much of a "live" feel--there's hardly any audience or background noise which can add to the excitment of the recording.

A much better, and longer (53 minutes), Burnside CD is "Burnside On Burnside", which was also recorded live but has all of the electricity of a live peformance. If you can afford only one Burnside CD then "Burnside On Burnside" is the one to get.

Hypnotic - the Best
"Too Bad Jim" is old-fashioned. The rhythm is all - bulldozing everything in its inexorable drive to put you in a trance. And not some hippie, peace&love-type trance either. "Too Bad Jim" will inspire you to drink bad bourbon and curse around children. The comparisons to John Lee Hooker are apt; both drive the same way. But where Hooker's music has a liquid smoothness, Burnside is the sandpapery chin of tomorrow's hangover.

The Best?
It might be. I'd say it's R.L.'s best thus far. But I won't make a final judgement until he's finished.

Too Bad Jim is the album that should put Burnside along Hooker, Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, & co. as one of the greatest bluesmen of all time. Some might scoff or disagree, and to them I'd say, friend, you are mistaken. R.L. Burnside is a master, and this may be his greatest work.

You listen to this album and you can't help but tap and stomp along. And, you want some great driving music? Pop this [music] in and just see where Burnside takes you.

Pounding & Shaking All Over
If you think the blues is just depressing music, pick this disc up, pop it in your stereo and crank it. RL ROCKS!! This album is just one huge groove after another. It's hard, it's heavy, it's loud and it's the man's best work. If you have this you have the most essential music in his cannon. And you have something that will get your head bobbin' and your feets-a-stompin'! There is a reason this man is beloved by many young blues fans. The reason is this disc! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Every Cut Here is True Blues Gem!
That's All Right is the fourth volume of the 4-part CD series, When The Sun Goes Down. This disc is my personal favorite of the series, perhaps because the tracks here are the most recent chronologically. Or it could be simply because every cut here is a true Blues gem. From Doc Clayton's "Pearl Harbor Blues," which opens the disc, to "Get Rich Quick," a wonderful Jump Blues from a young Little Richard that wraps up the series, there are 25 more great tracks to enjoy.

Doc Clayton's two tracks illustrate why his strong, high tenor voice was such an influence on B.B. King. "My Buddy Blues," by The Five Breezes, features a smooth and melancholy-sounding vocal harmony ensemble that includes a 25-year-old Willie Dixon. There are more great harmonies on The Cats & A Fiddle's "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water."

There is the classic "Worried Life Blues" by Big Maceo, the man who took Otis Spann under his wing when he came to Chicago in the late '40s, becoming Spann's biggest influence on piano. There is a veritable bounty of more great piano from Memphis Slim, Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Boyd (doing a cool ode to the Windy City), Roosevelt Sykes and Piano Red.

There are three tracks from Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, including the original "That's All Right," the song that helped start all that Rockabilly business with Elvis. Add a classic from Robert Lockwood and a couple more from Tampa Red and you've already got quite the compilation. But two of my favorite selections here include the ultra-smooth and hip "Why Don't You Do Right" by Lil Green with Big Bill Broonzy on guitar, and "How Blue Can You Get (Downhearted)" by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers with Oscar Moore and featuring piano and vocal work from Billy Valentine. Exquisite stuff...

For the most raucous and jumpin' track in the whole series, though, you have the swinging, horn-driven "Get The Mop," by Henry "Red" Allen to get your pulse pumpin'. The pace of the piano and drums is absolutely hectic.

I highly recommend this disc to everyone wanting to search out the best in Blues from the '40s, with a few early '50s sides, also.

Don "T-Bone" Erickson for BluesWax.com. ... Read more