Album Description

The Latest in Ace's series of reissues of original Moder/Flair/RPM repertopire turns the spotlights once again on the modern label's first lady, Ms Hadda Brooks. 2005. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good Collection
This collection of blues from relatively recent artists (50s to 70s) is worth the money. Of particular interest is to hear Otis Rush's original 'All your love' to see how Eric Clapton copied every note on the ground breaking John Mayall beano album. In addition there are so many other original tracks and guitar licks which artists have copied over the subsequent years.

A good introduction to the Blues.
If you are a blues guitarist wannabe you should own this album. Good recordings of a variety of blues styles and classic licks. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great find!!
What started out as a search for some Saunders King material in a used CD store ended as a great find with this album. Even though it only includes two excellent Saunder King cuts with his T-bone style of singing and playing, the rest of the album is also a must hear. Lots of early solid gold material here by artists like Little Johnny Taylor backed up by Arthur Wright on guitar, Charles Brown, Phillip Walker, Sonny Rhodes and Big Mama Thornton. There is even a couple of cuts by KC Douglas but not my favs since I prefer his solo country style blues rather than his band supported numbers here. This album is worth checking out if you interested in horn driven blues or just wishing to expand your blues horizons. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Its Like The Instruments are singing!
This is a great Hot Jazz, Bebop, Hot Jazz box set. I recommend this to anyone who loves music of the 1940s. This music will get you up dancing. A lot of the bands are forgotten, but they're remembered again through this box set. I wish they would make music like this today- Instrumental music. Its like the Instruments are singing. You'll enjoy this. If you don't I give your money back! Guaranteed=)

A Delightful Swingin' Surprise
This is an upbeat collection that really swings with energy (very few ballads over three CD's). Most live performances from this period are pretty low on sound quality, these CD's are an exception with surprising quality (fidelity), a really great collection at an unbeatable price. If you enjoy big band swing that rocks, check these out. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great jump blues cd
if you liek rockabilly and jump blues, uoi'll love thsi cd, Cleanhead sings liek a male version of Ruth Brown. great stuff. Essential ... Read more

Album Details

Digitally Remastered and Cleaned for Optimum Listening Quality. The Latest Volume in this Great Series Charting the Golden Era of R&B which Builds Into a Complete History of Early R&b. 22 Classic Tracks from the 40's Blues Archives (Many Tracks on Cdfor the First Time). Over One Hour of Classic Blues. Includes a 4-page Booklet that Includes Informative Liner Notes. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

GRIM FACTS
WARNING: 10 SECONDS OF ANY SOLO ON THIS CD MAY MAKE YOU DOWNRIGHT VIOLENT! HERE'S THE FACTS FOLKS: GUITAR WATSON IS A SLOPPY SHRED MASTER OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. HE CAN MAKE FOOLS LIKE JOE SATRIANI LOOK PLAIN SILLY! IN A 1992 RADIO INTERVIEW FRANK ZAPPA WAS ASKED TO LIST HIS DESERT ISLAND ALBUMS, THE VELOURS AND "Three Hours Past Midnight" WERE THE ONLY TWO NON-CLASSICAL TITLES ON A 16 ALBUM LIST. WHEN ASKED TO NARROW IT DOWN TO ONLY ONE ALBUM, HE SAID [WITHOUT HESITATION] " Three Hours Past Midnight " BY JOHNNY GUITAR WATSON. IF THAT AIN'T ENUFF FOR YA, THIS SUCKER HAS AN ENTIRE ALBUM'S WORTH OF EXTRA TRACKS SHUFFLED IN! CAN YOU DIG IT?

Frenzied R & B big band Blues!
Even though I have had this cd for some years it did not "click" with me until a while ago! After reading Wolfman Jack's autobiography and his suggestions of artists he played (like Johnny) I listened again and was able to appreciate it from a non strict Blues point of view. Some tunes are also rockin', add to that his fun way of singing, his raw guitar playing and you have a varied & jumpin' cd! Play him often on The Crazy Coyote Blues and Jazz Power Show 1490 KOTY in southcentral Wa. state.

Pure, Raw Fun
I heard the song "Love Me Baby" playing on the speakers at Tower Records in Greenwich Village a few years back and fell in love instantly.

Eveything about this CD is raw, but g-o-o-d raw: this is what you need to scrape the glib, overprocessed sounds of modern pop out of your earwax so you can actually *hear* again.

If you like pop blues, or soul, or rock and you have a sense of humor you'll love this.

If you're missing the aforementioned attributes, you need more than a CD to solve your problems anyway :)

Take a chance on this one. You won't regret it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Charles Brown Swings Hard
This recording of Charles is a bit harder swinging, a bit more up-tempo, than "All My Life", & "These Blues". All are fantastic recordings. If you can imagine a blend of Ray Charles, Nat King Cole and T-Bone Walker you have an idea of Charles' sound here. This is fantastic swinging blues. On the first couple of cuts especially the guitarist, Danny Caron I believe, pays mighty homage to T-Bone Walker. If you like that kind of blues, you'll love this.

the coolest musician in USA
if you like voice of jimmy scott, if you like idea of Tom waits, if you like "stranger than pradaice", if you like writings of Charles bukowski, if you like Lounge lizards, why don't you try to this album? it tells you what cool is. MUST BUY. ... Read more

Album Details

Three CD Box Set Celebrating Five Years of this Award Winning Blues Label. Blind Lemon Jefferson 'Matchbox Blues', Bessie Smith 'Nobody Knows', Robert Johnson 'i Believe I'll Dust My Broom' Dinah Washington 'my Lovin Papa' etc. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Somewhere between the urbane sophistication of Nat King Cole and the heartfelt soul of Ray Charles lies the realm of Charles Brown. Brown was in fact heavily influenced by Cole, and if you check out some of Charles's early cuts you'll hear a near-perfect clone of Brown. Although nearly 80, Brown continues to produce music as good as he did when he helped pioneer the rhythm and blues scene in the early '40s. This new album is, not surprisingly, superb. For the most part, Brown sticks to a winning formula of sparse backup, featuring Danny Caron's sultry guitar and Teddy Edwards's smooth sax work. --Lars Gandil ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Simply Beautiful, Great Blues Piano
Sadly, I discovered Charles Brown only after he died, in a rememberance piece on NPR on the occasion of his death, as a matter of fact. I would have loved to have seen him perform.

I have a few other of his albums, but this is my favorite, made shortly before his death. Every song is full of swing, soul, irony -- in short, the blues. The guy has a great voice and plays a mean piano. Tightly arranged but lots of room for improvization.

I was big into blues a decade ago, but I've collected less blues in recent years, turning more to jazz, both instrumental and vocal. This is just on the cusp of real blues and polished vocal jazz. Hearing it again as I write this review, it may be among my top 10 favorite albums (out of a collection or around 1,000). Every song is a winner.

COOOL Charles Brown. . . "So Goes Love" is a keeper!
I'm back for another one. This time I'm gonna try "Someone to Love"."So Goes Love" will always remain right up near the top of my CD collection. If "Someone to Love" is as good as"So Goes Love" I'll be back again.

Another Soul-Soothing Release from Charles Brown
Old and new fans alike should immediately drop everything and grab this latest polished gem of an album from Charles Brown and company, "So Goes Love" (Verve).Seamlessly pulled forward from a musical time long past, these 12 wonderfully intimate tunes from the West Coast blues master himself are without peer in today's musical arena.

No one else could pull this off.Who but Sir Charles could transport us directly to a smoky, 1940's-era LA jazz club and treat us to some of the finest West Coast blues, jazz and R&B around?Who else could lovingly present a 50-year old palette of performances that sound as fresh and new as the day they were written?Check out Charles' version of Billy Eckstine's 1942 hit "Stormy Monday," cozy up to his plaintive solo vocal and piano rendition of the 1946 Blazers' song "Blue Because Of You," tap your toes and heels to the classic remake of "Money's Gettin' Cheaper" (recorded by Brown during his Johnny Moore and the Three Blazers heyday in 1948).Listen carefully as Charles & Co. effortlessly craft their personal rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" into a timeless jazz/blues staple.

Got the candles lit yet?All the trademark intimacy and silky smooth "cool blues" of Charles Brown fill every nook and cranny of this marvelous new release.The treatments are as soft as a mouth-filling vintage red wine, the band and horn arrangements round and full-bodied, the musical timing always elegant and tasteful. And that voice-that husky, comforting, soulful voice-is simply a treat to hear as Charles weaves his 5th (6th?) decade of musical magic.

For the novices still wondering, "Charles who?"-well, it's truly a shame your parents never taught you anything.The ever-handsome Brown (76 this year!) began his recording career with guitarist Johnny Moore, forming the nucleus of the immensely-popular Three Blazers in the 40's.From the immediate post-war peri! od and extending well into the '50s, the Three Blazers (and then Charles in the solo mode) crafted numerous top R&B chart hits for Atlas, Modern, Exclusive, and Aladdin records.The enduring popularity of such songs as "Merry Christmas Baby," "Drifting Blues," "Black Night," "I Miss You So," "Fool's Paradise" and many others are living testament to the popularity and success of the Three Blazers-and especially that of their lead singer, pianist and composer, Charles Brown.Rescued from blues obscurity by none other than Bonnie Raitt, his popularity continues to soar to uncharted heights.Mr. Brown is the recipient of multiple Grammy nominations, a Rhythm and Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, numerous WC Handy awards and the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship Award (presented by Hillary Clinton this past year).

"So Goes Love" is unquestionably my choice for Blues CD-of-the-Month, and quite possibly my Disc-of-the-Year selection, as well.If this is your first Charles Brown outing, you're in for a treat-then be certain to add his 1992 Bullseye Blues release, "Someone To Love" and the earlier Alligator Records "One More For The Road" to your library.No blues or jazz collection is complete without these recordings from a living legend. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

He's done better
Lowell Fulson recorded this set in Vancouver in 1981 with the Canadian band Powder Blues.While its not a bad recording, it doesn't really add anything new to his discography.There are new versions of his old songs ("Reconsider Baby", "Blue Shadows", "Sinner's Prayer"), a few cover's (T-Bone Walker's "Mean Old World", Chick Willis' "Stoop Down Baby") and a few new songs that are not particularly great but still decent.The main reason to buy this disc is for the terrific interview at the end.
Overall, its the worth the price of the interview alone, and you get some decent (though not spectacular) music along with it.Start off with the earlier recordings if you want to hear prime Fulson ... Read more

Album Description

Full title - There Is Something On Your Mind. Tenor saxplayer Big Jay McNeely spearheaded the use of the sax as asolo instrument in the 1950s. A live version of 'Deacon'sHop', along with 'Roadhouse Boogie' and 'Oh No Daddy O'highlight this commanding collection. Collectables. 2002. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Bringing in a Brown New Year
Charles Brown is known for two classic Christmas hits, "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Please Come Home For Christmas". Both of those songs appear here, on this reissue of his first Christmas album, although these are rerecordings and not the original hit versions. Those are the best songs on this album, which is a pretty uneven album. To be sure, there are some other fine songs, like "Wrap Yourself in a Christmas Package" and "Christmas Questions", but some of the songs are rather forgetable. But the real problem with this CD is the sound quality. Whoever remastered it did a terrible job. It is labeled as being in stereo, but it is actually in very poor mono. The worst sounding song is "Merry Christmas Baby", which is very scratchy sounding, like an old 45 that has been played too many times. I wouldn't recommend this CD, buy one of Charles Brown's other Christmas CDs. I haven't heard them, but they have to sound better than this. ... Read more