Just sinking my teeth into a new Christmas acquisition, Jody Williams - In Session - The Diary of a Chicago Bluesman. I'm going to repost the review on Amazon written by Noomz-of-Earl as his writeup is better than anything I could ever do (thanks Mr. Earl): Jody Williams deserves a nomination for greatest Chicago blues session electric guitarist of all time for his exceptional work done from 1954 to 1962 for the Chess, Checker and Argo (divisions of Chess), Vee Jay, Cobra and other lesser known labels. On this stellar collection he is heard backing Howlin' Wolf (the Willie Dixon-penned classic "Evil" from 1954), Sonny Boy Williamson II ("Don't Start Me Talkin'" - with Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and Fred Below - best studio blues ensemble ever?), Billy Boy Arnold ("I Wish You Would" and "I Ain't Got You"), Bo Diddley ("Who Do You Love?"), Billy Stewart ("Billy's Blues"), Jimmy Witherspoon ("Ain't Nobody's Business" - Chess's 1956 revival of his 1949 all-time R&B ballad classic), Floyd Dixon ("Alarm Clock Blues" - oh those stinging fills!), Jimmy Rogers ("I Can't Believe" and "One Kiss"), Harold Burrage (the R&B rocker "Messed Up") and more. Jody Williams' solo on Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" is regarded as one of the most innovative and spectacular in rock and roll history, and the riff he created with Bo Diddley for "Billy's Blues" in 1956 (check out the hard-to-find all-instrumental B-side version here) is what inspired a young Jimi Hendrix to take up the electric guitar (albeit by way of Mickey Baker on Mickey & Sylvia's R&B and pop crossover "original" big hit version of Love Is Strange" from later that year, which blatantly appropriated the the "Billy's Blues" riff). Eleven of Williams' own tracks are included under the names Little Papa Joe, Little Joe Lee, and finally in 1962, his actual name Jody (diminutive for Joseph) Williams. All three of these sessions produced gems: as Little Papa Joe in December 1955, the originally unissued "Groaning My Blues Away" (on which he plays superb slide guitar) and the mournful "I Feel So All Alone" show him to be an all-around blues artist with a fine voice; and his 1962 all-instro single (as Jody Williams) "Hideout" b/w "Moanin' for Molasses" (great title!) had him in Freddy King territory and got national distribution on the Smash (Mercury pop subsidiary) label. But the ultimate Jody gems here are found on his 1957 single for Argo as Little Joe Lee: "You May" teams his affecting vocal with his outstanding blues guitar work, featuring a haunting descending riff and a phenomenal string-bending, stinging solo. The flip side is his fantastically innovative rhumba boogie instro "Lucky Lou" backed by Chess's all-stars at the time on keyboards, bass, tenor sax and drums. Williams mixes "talking" guitar effects in with his sensational stinging riffs. Jasmine Records' sound engineering is excellent, and the three pages of liner notes by Bob Fisher provide good information. [CD running time: 75:24] The ONLY downside is that Jasmine UK has taken to pressing titles on CD-R, including this title. Since the collection was cheap, a gift and contains a lot of hard to find stuff, I suppose I can forgive it, but I'm not happy about this trend to be sure.
Its that time again , my weekly Blues post... First off allow me to wish everyone a Happy & Prosperous 2019... Now to the Blues... This post will cover 3 recent Buddy Johnson Orchestra purchases I acquired... 1.Walkin (1957) 2.Wails (1958) 3.Go Ahead And Rock Rock Rock (1959) I chose to combine these LPs because BJO music basically stayed the same throughout his 20 yr ccareer (for more on BJ life & music see my previous BJO post) Where Freddie King rocked the Blues with his guitar more than his contemporaries , BJO did the same , only with a full orchestra... Make no mistake , this is the Blues , regardless of rock being in the title (like Dylan says "everyone has to scratch for their meat") Buddy himself said " All my music is based on Blues charts" & thats is good enough for me... Anyway being a BJO freak for many decades I own lots of his music... In my collection there are Decca 78s , NM mono & stereo orig 1st pressings on Mercury & Roulette labels along with numerous domestic & import comps & a couple CD comps as well... But in the mid - 80s a little known (to me) Danish label called Professional reissued all 5 of BJO 1950s LPs... Due to the lack of info on BJO , I foolishly passed on these for fear of digital transferring among other reasons... Man did I make a big mistake ! These 3 records when compared to my origs sound absolutely great ! Its obvious to me that the source used on the LPs are a early 2nd or 3rd generation transfer tape... I'm leaning more to 2nd because they sound so close to the origs in every way.... Wails & Walkin are in glorious monoraul & GARRR is in pure untouched full of breath stereo... All with stunning soundstage & SQ , again like my originals... These LPs look & play like they were virtually untouched... The wax is thick , flat & after a good cleaning dead quiet & all labels are dead center... Covers are sharp sturdy & beautifully done... Kurt Mohr friend of BJ wrote detailed track info & notes on back... Also provided the album size glossy B&W photos for each cover or sleeve if you prefer , a added touch is a 3x3 superimposed color repro of orig LP cover , placed in bottom right corner... The photos are circa 57-59 , staying completely aligned with the music & era....very nice indeed After my comparison to my other copies I can honestly say that this Danish label produced the 2nd best sounding BJO LPs I have yet experienced... Performance - 10 Sound - 10 Art - 10 Overall a beautiful addition to my BJO collection... There are 2 more in the series , I am now on a mission
"Sam Lay in Bluesland" is my favorite today, look up the rest of the album on YT. Never heard of it before, but it kicks a$$ up and down the street.
They need to reissue this on compact disc. I don't believe it has ever been reissued and Mike Bloomfield plays guitar on it.
Some days I think the best live blues album is Live at the Regal. This is not one of those days... Muddy Waters - Live At Newport (Speaker's Corner)
Albert King – Hard Bargain Label: Stax – SCD 8594-2 Format: CD, Compilation, Remastered Country: Germany Released: 1995 Genre: Blues Style: Electric Blues
Man I love this album. I just listened to it last night. Very crankable and great recording. One of my all time favorites.
Greetings Blues cats & chicks again... Time for a weekly Blues LP... Tonight I have selected my main man Ike " By God " Turner & the 1976 17 song compilation on Red Lightnin label Ike Turners King Of Rhythm - I'm Tore Up... Put the kids to bed , send your neighbors home , tell your woman to slip into to something more comfortable , break out the Chivas Royale Salute aged 50 yrs scotch & let it roll ! I own all 160+ of IT 1950s sides on 78 , 45 & LP also a few CDs , & I'm here to tell you that the 17 songs on this album are absolutely positively the cream of Ike's rocking Blues tracks... One listen to I'm Tore Up & it is evident IT is the rightful uncrowned King of RocknRoll... He is also the uncredited owner of the title Hardest Workin Man In Show Business... 1951 - 1957 ITKOR are tearing up The Chitlin Circuit & deeply involved in A&R for Modern , recording luminaries like Boyd Gilmore , The Wolf , BB King , Bobby Bland , Rosco Gordon , Johnny Ace etc & at the same running around scouting different talent & such for record companies , tuning pianos -- doing everything ! All years before the music world had ever heard of Chuck Berry , James Brown & ELVIS , hardest working man indeed ! All but 3 tracks were recorded in Cincinnati during Aug - Sept 1956 & Ike & band are determined to Blow The Roof Off during these sessions & they do exactly that... Ike's side 1 opening tremelo screams on Sad As A Man Can Be are the sounds it takes other pickers a few runs up & down the fret board to accomplish (& most never got there anyway) I'm Tore Up , She Made My Blood Run Cold , Do Right Baby & No Coming Back , come to think of it all of side 1 features Ikes screaming tremelo blasts of aggressive Blues licks & it ain't for the weak of heart so proceed with caution... Freddie King didn't have a thing on Ike Turner when it came to rocking the Blues... Not only did Ike shred like no other he also wrenched some of raunchiest greasiest boogie woogie piano sounds heard , this side of Buddy Johnson & Amos Milburn... The reformed mid - 50s KOR were hands down the mans greatest back up unit ever & they prove it on every track on ITU... Tough thumping up right bass & honking blasting sax with a rhythm that the all others would die for... Vocals are provided by long time drinkin & business cohorts The Sly Fox , Billy Gayles , Tommy Hodge & Jackie Brenston... The LP is all original early generation mono transfers & that causes the music to kick like a mule when turned up , which PLAY LOUD is very last words written at the bottom of cover... All this would stop in 1960 due to a new member , Annie Mae Bullock (I never liked her but I believe that's her maiden name) My copy is one of a few M copys I own ( its one of my desert island LPs & I don't intend to ever be without a M copy. Period. ) The music is best defined by its label, Red Lightnin... Alright then , I digress
Ike Turner is an extremely under appreciated & much maligned giant in the annals of music history. He is one of the central highly important figure in the formation of music that burst into the hearts & minds of middle americans. Samthesham, there is much to be admired in your continued, enthusiastic & thoughful posts on this era in music. Thank You. I look forward to your future digressions.
CC Coletti – Bring It On Home Label: Chesky Records – JD357 Series: Binaural+ Series – Format: CD, Album Country: US Released: 19 Apr 2013 Genre: Rock, Blues, Pop, Folk, World, & Country Style: Folk, Pop Rock, Blues Rock
Starting the day with some old LPs of Lightnin' Hopkins. No Stereo, of course - monaural pressings only....
I have 14 Lightnin' albums in my collection but only two of those titles (Lightnin' Strikes and Country Blues). Of course this guy pumped out so many albums and there have been so many more compilations it is hard to keep track without a scorecard.
´ Of the rather essential stuff I still don't have Mojo Hand . The original album was released in 1962 on Fire Records; hard to get and often expensive. My favorite Lightnin' Hopkins LP above is 'Nothing But The Blues' on Mount Vernon Music, containing takes from the mid-fifties recorded for the Herald Label. 'Nothing But The Blues' (from 1961/62) is only the second pressing. The original first press was released 1959/60 by Herald with a different cover and different title: 'Lightnin' and the Blues'. It's very rare too - and in Europe hard to find, especially in VG++ condition
There's some good stuff on Louisana's Excello label blues wise. Lightin' Slim, Slim Harpo (my fav), Lonesome Sundown, Lazy Lester...
