Slide City

Amazon.com
Along with Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes is the hottest Dobro player in the biz. He has been the most striking component of Blue Highway's bluegrass success, and with his second solo album, Ickes pushes further into slippery zones of jazz and fusion. The structure of the opening original, "Dwight's Blues," is wholly bebop, Ickes trading solos with pianist John Burr and bassist Derek Jones. When approaching his musical roots, he transforms Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" into a minor-key bluegrass blues, with Tim O'Brien's intense vocal reach nearly outdistancing Ickes's playing. He's more than just skillful, and his tone is complex and full, lyrically haunting even on the speediest numbers. He plays his instrument with the control and nuances of the great jazz vocalists, and that makes Slide City worth exploring--whatever Ickes's bluegrass fans might think of the genre shifts. --Roy Kasten

Slide City,Rob Ickes,Rounder Select,Bluegrass,Contemporary Bluegrass,Country,Pop

Average customer rating: Papa Mali is still great, but misses the Instagators Freaking killer! Fell short, doesn't develop Swamp-funk at it's finest

Do Your Thing Papa Mali Manufacturer: Fog City Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music New Orleans Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Country Ghetto Thunder Chicken 10 Days Out (Blues from the Backroads)/ (CD/DVD) The Wheel Man Blackwater ASIN: B000IFRR1C Release Date: 2007-01-23

Tracks:

1. Do Your Thing
2. Honeybee
3. Early in the Morning
4. I Had The Dream
5. Little Moses
6. Coffee
7. I'm Gettin' Over It
8. Girls In Bossier City
9. Sugarland
10. True Religion
11. Hallelujah I'm A Dreamer
12. bonus video: 20 minutes of live and in-studio footage

Customer Reviews:

Papa Mali is still great, but misses the Instagators.......2007-07-19

Papa Mali and The Instagators last album, Thunder Chicken, is one of the funkiest in recent memory, blending hard grooving N'Awlins funk with nasty delta blues and soulful southern rock. While Papa Mali himself is brilliant - as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist - the album is clearly a band effort, with each member adding a peace to the intoxicating brew. What surprised me about Do Your Thing is that the Instagators are gone, leaving instead an album that, despite a few collaborations, is most definitely a solo project for Papa Mali.

Drummer Frosty Smith, who added his lose, effortlessly funky second-line style drumming to Thunder Chicken has been replaced by Rob Kidd. Kidd's drumming is oftten distractingly heavy handed, and his rock oriented "caveman" beats rob the album almost entirely of its funk. With the exception of Henry Butler's brilliant piano on "Honeybee," possibly the album's best track, keyboards have been removed from the mix. Its a major loss since the howling Fender Rhodes and sweet organ were so much a part of what made Thunder Chicken great. Lastly, the thumping bass guitar from the last album has largely been replaced by the sousaphone work of ledgendary Dirty Dozen founder, Kirk Joseph. Joseph's playing is brilliant as always, so this is not necessarily a criticism, but the change is dramatic.

Despite these changes, Do Your Thing is not a bad album, and its biggest redeeming feature is most definitely Papa Mali's songwriting, which has grown more singularly distinctive in the years since Thunder Chicken. "Honeybee" sounds as if it could be a New Orleans standard, full of the same timeless grace as many of the city's ancient tunes. "Little Moses" lopes along with surreal, biting imagery. The albums final four songs are all excellent, amply making up for clunkers like "I Had The Dream." From "Girls in Bossier City," a dark hallucinatory meditation that burns with energy throughout, to "Hallelujah, I'm a Dreamer," the albums touching folky closer, the mood and vibe of the album are enough to lull anyone into a trance.

Those looking for a funky, dancable swamp funk album should look elsewhere. But for anyone who loves Papa Mali's simple, but evocative lyricism and haunting spirituality, Do Your Thing is fascinating.

Freaking killer!.......2007-07-12

This is a stone cold sure shot! I'm new to Papa Mali but this is a GREAT record that's not afraid to fly its freak flag. Dark, mysterious, some great songs, and (as anyone who knows what's up in New Orleans can tell you) an amazing roster of musicians... what's not to love?

Fell short, doesn't develop.......2007-03-30

I agree the flavor is there. I agree the cast brought together on this effort are genu-wine! However, each song seems to be burdened by a redundancy and menotony that disappoints. Admittedly, after "Thunder Chicken," which I enjoy greatly, my expectations were perhaps too high. "Do Your Thing" does not get there for me, nor for my crew. Will continue to listen and hopefully that which has taken purchase with others will also be drawn upon me and mine. Keep trying, Papa Mail. Dig your style and art, but this offering has yet to compel.

Swamp-funk at it's finest.......2007-02-06

Papa Mali and crew return from the bayou like a big sweaty "swamp-thing" to instagate a riot for your senses. Oh not just your ears, but your nose will smell the gumbo, barbecued chicken and cornbread. Your eyes will see new, wonderful colors as the big Papa's stoned-soul mardi-gras comes marchin' through your stereo with Isaac Hayes out front as the Grand Marshall, then Henry Butler and his grand piano will come floatin' in to tickle your fancy, and ya' betta get up offa ya' feet as Robb Kidd gets the party rockin' like a one man drum section, opening it all up for the heavies in the middle of the parade; you'll see Wild Magnolia Indians, Dozens of Dirty sousaphone players, you'll see a Prophet claiming he knows the true religion, you might even see a Mofro they call JJ Grey in there grinnin' from ear to ear, and you will be too as your senses take it all in. And just like the Mardi-Gras, I wish this trip didn't have to end, but I think I see New Orleans' finest comin' down the line.....oh.....wait....it's on repeat, aaaahhhh the party never ends.

Average customer rating: Fine, stylish blues record Awesome

Johnny Shines with Big Walter Horton Johnny Shines With Big Walter Horton Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Memphis Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Memphis Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Bricks in My Pillow Hawk Squat Live on Maxwell Street Blues Hit Big Town Masters of Modern Blues ASIN: B000003OQZ Release Date: 1995-02-21

Tracks:

1. Hello Central
2. You Don't Have To Go
3. Sneakin' And Hidin'
4. Till I Made My Tonsils Sore
5. Fat Mama
6. G. B. Blues
7. Worried Life Blues
8. I Cry, I Cry
9. If It Ain't Me
10. I Want To Warn You
11. I Cry, I Cry (Alternate Take)
12. Sneakin' And Hidin', Part 2

Customer Reviews:

Fine, stylish blues record.......2004-01-10

If Big Walter Horton got mentioned in the title every time he played on an album, half of all major 50s, 60s and 70s blues records should be called "This-and-than-artist and Big Walter Horton".

Here he is again, blowing his harp behind Robert Johnson's one-time travelling companion Johnny Shines on a reissue of Testament 2217 with two bonus tracks added.
This is Shines' second band-backed, electric album for Testament, and it brings together material from two different sessions (Chicago 1966 and Los Angeles 1969). Otis Spann plays superb piano on the Chicago tracks, which features the same band that played with Shines on his "Masters Of Modern Blues" album, and Luther Allison plays second and occational lead guitar on the L.A. tracks.
And the music is excellent. There may not be very much here as instantly memorable as the best songs by men like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, or Elmore James, but the songs are of generally high quality, and this is an enjoyable slice of classic 60s blues, played by some of the finest musicians of the genre.

The tracks recorded in Chicago are the best, featuring both Spann and blues drummer par excellence Fred Below (Horton is on all of them), and they include a fine rendition of Big Maceo Merriweather's "Worried Life Blues" and the almost jazz-like "I Want To Warn You".
But the L.A. tracks are not far behind, with some great guitar playing from Luther Allison, a funky "Fat Mama", and a great "If It Ain't Me", which sees Johnny Shines doing a good impression of Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II).

A critic once called this the greatest Chicago blues record ever. It's not, but it is a pretty good one all the same.

Awesome.......2000-11-21

This a great CD!

Average customer rating: Great "lost" tunes

Island Beat Cha Cha Manufacturer: City Sound ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000B6H0VK

Product Description

TRACK LISTING: 1. Memories / Menage 2. Did It Feel Like Love? / Genuine Parts 3. Dancing In My Sleep / Secret Ties 4. Cha Cha Cha / Finzy Kontini 5. Under The Boardwalk / Tom Tom Club 6. Wake Up / Stop 7. Capital Tropical / Two Man Sound 8. Another Cha Cha / Santa Esmeralda 9. Lost In Emotion / Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam 10. Wind Beneath My Wings / Menage 11. Caribbean Disco Show Cha Cha Medley / Lobo 12. Let Me Take You To The Mountain / Krush 13. Clap Your Hands / Finzy Kontini 14. Electric Slide (Extended Remix) / Marcia Griffiths (Bonus Track) Playing Time: 79:54

Customer Reviews:

Great "lost" tunes.......2007-07-05

As a professional DJ I jumped at the chance to get this CD as it listed "Memories" as one of it's tracks. This song is almost impossible to get as it was only pressed to vinyl (records for you whippersnappers) long ago. The CD arrived in pristine condition and the songs are well worth the price as many of them were vinyl releases and have never before been available on CD. "Memories", "Wake Up" and "Capital Tropical" are all stand-out selections and will definitely get the dance floor jumping! Lastly, if you're looking for an extended version of the "Electric Slide" but cannot get the Project 122 version (Chicago), Marcia Griffiths version will get you by.

Average customer rating: incredible! boss cat! Awesome!! I've fallen into the slippery zone and I can't get out!

Slide City Rob Ickes Manufacturer: Rounder Select ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Bluegrass | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Hard Times What It Is Big Time The Best Kept Secret Great Dobro Sessions ASIN: B00000GWYJ Release Date: 1999-01-26

Tracks:

1. Dwight's Blues
2. Watermellon Man
3. Can't Find My Way Home
4. The Last Polar Bear
5. The Way We Was
6. California Blues
7. Central Park
8. Be Thou My Vision
9. New Blues
10. Don't Give It Up

Amazon.com

Along with Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes is the hottest Dobro player in the biz. He has been the most striking component of Blue Highway's bluegrass success, and with his second solo album, Ickes pushes further into slippery zones of jazz and fusion. The structure of the opening original, "Dwight's Blues," is wholly bebop, Ickes trading solos with pianist John Burr and bassist Derek Jones. When approaching his musical roots, he transforms Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" into a minor-key bluegrass blues, with Tim O'Brien's intense vocal reach nearly outdistancing Ickes's playing. He's more than just skillful, and his tone is complex and full, lyrically haunting even on the speediest numbers. He plays his instrument with the control and nuances of the great jazz vocalists, and that makes Slide City worth exploring--whatever Ickes's bluegrass fans might think of the genre shifts. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews:

incredible!.......2003-09-30

After having owned this CD for nearly a year and listening to it several times a week, I like it more than ever. Rob Ickes is phenomenal on dobro. And his "slide" into jazz WORKS! This recording has me tappin' and snappin' and scattin' every time I hear it. Some of my favorite cuts are #1 through #10!! Awesome pickin'!

boss cat!.......2000-12-24

Does it get any better? No, I don't think so!

Awesome!!.......1999-04-16

i had the opportunity to see Rob in Davis, CA recently where he performed many of the songs from this cd. It was well worth the 2 hour drive. Not only is Rob great, but the musicians who play with him are great also. A truly talented group of young men. The style of music is a change from the bluegrass that Rob is usually associated with, but no less enjoyable.

I've fallen into the slippery zone and I can't get out!.......1999-03-11

I was channel surfing in the car the other day and heard Ickes playing a bluegrass version of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" on NPR. I nearly cried - it was Dang Good! This bluegrass/jazz/fusion thing rocks!

Average customer rating: Surprising (and surprisingly obscure) Chicago street blues

The Singing Drifter Blind Arvella Gray Manufacturer: Conjuroo Recordings ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Similar Items: I've Got My Own Hell to Raise All Your Love I Miss Loving: Live at The Wise Fools Pub Chicago [Live] Buried Alive in the Blues (+ Bonus DVD) Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows 1926-1937 The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of ASIN: B0009ZE9V2 Release Date: 2005-08-02

Tracks:

1. Theres More Pretty Girls Than One
2. John Henry
3. Arvellas Work Song
4. Take Your Burden To The Lord
5. When The Saints Go Marching In
6. Standing By The Bedside of a Neighbor
7. Those Old Fashioned Alley Blues
8. Gander Dancing Song
9. Stand By Me
10. What Will Your Record Be
11. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again
12. Motherless Children Have A Hard Time
13. Take My Hand Precious Lord
14. Cryin Holy Unto the Lord

Album Description

The only album by Blind Arvella Gray, a nearly forgotten street singer who spent the latter part of his life performing folk, blues and gospel music at Chicago's Maxwell Street flea market and at rapid-transit depots, is receiving a deluxe reissue. The album, The Singing Drifter, was originally released in 1972 on vinyl and fewer than 1,000 copies were sold. Unavailable for more than 30 years, the album is being released as a CD with full liner notes, extensive photography and three bonus tracks.

The reissue kicks off the new Conjuroo Recordings label, an indie record company headed by Cary Baker, president of the music publicity company called conqueroo based in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Conjuroo is marketed by Emergent Music Marketing and distributed through RED Distribution.

As a teenager in Chicago in the '70s, Baker made several forays to Maxwell Street to watch Gray, and was even responsible for connecting the artist with the label that released Drifter, the Wilmette, Ill.-based Birch Records. Until it recorded Gray, Birch had specialized in traditional country artists of the WLS Barndance lineage including Doc Hopkins and Patsy Montana.

Birch Records only released a handful of vinyl LPs, and had gone dormant by the inception of the CD. The Blind Arvella Gray album became a hot item, on collectors' want lists for years. Finally, in 2004, Baker developed a strong desire to reissue the recording. It was not easy to find Birch Records founder David Wylie, who maintained no web site, nor even an email address.

To reissue the album, Baker set upon launching Conjuroo Records and enlisted the services of Grammy Award-winning art director Susan Archie of w0rld of aNarchie, who oversaw innovative packages for Revenant reissues by Charley Patton and Albert Ayler. Additionally, Wylie found three unreleased tracks, which have been added to the release.

Arvella Gray (real name James Dixon) was born in Texas in 1906 and was blinded in the `30s, possibly while holding up a bank, possibly in Peoria (he never told the story the same way twice). Arriving in Chicago in the `40s, he brought the music of the cotton fields and chain gangs to the industrial North, proving an unheralded missing link to the origins of American folk music, blues and gospel. His repertoire included many standards, such as the chain gang standard "John Henry" and the traditional country song "More Pretty Girls Than One," while touching on the gospel tradition with songs like "Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave it There." He accompanied himself on slide National Dobro--an instrument that was later sold on eBay. His fans included Bob Dylan, whose 1961 song "He Was a Friend of Mine" was said to have been borrowed from Gray.

Arvella Gray died in Chicago in 1981. "My father took me to the Maxwell Street flea market to show me where his Eastern European immigrant parents had shopped in the `30s and `40s," says Baker. "In the ensuing years, it had become a hotbed for blues artists including Muddy Waters and Big Walter Horton, whose music was heard under the din of CTA buses and flea market hawkers on bullhorns augmented by the aroma of Polish sausages and onions grilling nearby. By the time I visited, Gray was among a handful of surviving buskers who continued to hold forth on Sunday mornings. I was taken by the unique sound and authenticity of his music. In historical perspective, Gray's wailing slide Dobro stands in a category with Hound Dog Taylor, R.L. Burnside or Junior Kimborough -- wild, unruly and imperfect. This album quietly slipped between the cracks and it is my privilege and honor to turn a new generation on to this unforgettable street singer."

Customer Reviews:

Surprising (and surprisingly obscure) Chicago street blues.......2005-10-23

Given the rabid nature with which blues fanatics scour archives for rare material, it's surprising that this album has remained unreissued since its 1973 release. Gray's busking on the streets of Chicago, and his appearance at the first University of Chicago folk festival certainly made him known to roots scholars, but the limited pressing and distribution (a scant 1000 copies!) of his sole LP, and the limited range in which he toured relegated Gray and his superb recording to be known only by the most ardent blues hounds. Luckily, one of the album's original instigators woke up one morning with the notion to reissue it on CD, and together with the session's original producer they've returned this vital work to print.

Gray was among the many who migrated to Chicago in the early part of the 20th century, bringing along the blues, gospel, field hollers, and work songs of their native South - Texas, in this case. He learned to play National Steel guitar, employing a slide to make up for two missing fingers on his left hand. In both his playing and singing one can hear the craft of a street musician, performing with the sort of joyful abandon and resonant voice that ropes passersby into an impromptu listening circle. He wields his steel bodied guitar like a ten pound hammer for an epic 7-minute version of "John Henry," singing rarely heard verses augmented with an original about Gray's own Maxwell Street neighborhood.

A part of Gray's artistry was undoubtedly his physical presence on the street corners of Chicago, amid the urban buzz of the surrounding streets. But his guitar and voice convey the mesmerizing core of that experience - one that's still alive at street fairs and on subway platforms (albeit without Gray's firsthand migratory link to Southern origins). This CD reissue was remastered from vinyl, with a few minor pops and clicks that create the warmth of a transcription. Four listed bonus tracks (remastered from tape) are augmented by an untitled fifth selection. [©2005 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

Average customer rating: Classic blues sides Great album Excellent slide Guitar from Night Hawk!

Masters Of Modern Blues Robert Nighthawk & Houston Stackhouse Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Chicago Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Masters of Modern Blues Bricks in My Pillow Masters of Modern Blues Live on Maxwell Street Hawk Squat ASIN: B000003OQU Release Date: 1994-11-23

Tracks:

1. Black Angel Blues - Robert Nighthawk
2. Maggie Campbell - Robert Nighthawk
3. Crowning Rooster Blues - Robert Nighthawk
4. I'm Getting Tired - Robert Nighthawk
5. Bricks In My Pillow - Robert Nighthawk
6. Merry Christmas Baby - Robert Nighthawk
7. Crying Won't Help You - Robert Nighthawk
8. Kansas City - Robert Nighthawk
9. Kidman Blues - Johnny Young
10. Bricks In My Pillow (Alternate Take) - Robert Nighthawk
11. Big Road Blues - Houston Stackhouse
12. Cool Water Blues - Houston Stackhouse
13. Big Fat Mama Blues - Houston Stackhouse
14. Take A Little Walk With Me - Houston Stackhouse
15. Bye Bye Blues - Houston Stackhouse
16. Mean Old World - Houston Stackhouse
17. The Wrong Man - Houston Stackhouse
18. Kansas City Blues - Houston Stackhouse

Customer Reviews:

Classic blues sides.......2004-01-06

Split about equally between Robert Nighthawk and his former neighbor Houston Stackhouse, this is another fine entry in the "Blues Masters" series.

Nighthawk's sides, which include a take on his classic "Black Angel Blues", were cut in October 1964 (with the exception of one song, "Kansas City", which was committed to tape five months earlier, and features Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica). He is backed only by guitarist Johnny Young and harpist Big John Wrencher, but Young plays some fine slap-back acoustic rhythm guitar, keeping the beat going behind Robert Nighthawk's subtle picking and searing slide playing, and John Wrencher's fluid harmonica bolsters the sound nicely.

Nighthawk was a severely underrated performer, a brilliant slide guitarist who influenced men like Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, and supposedly even Elmore James, and who played some of the smoothest and most original slide guitar you'll ever hear.
His version of Lucille Bogan's "Black Angel Blues" is one of his best (and most frequently covered) songs, and that one, along with "Crying Won't Help You" and "I'm Gettin' Tired", show off his superb slide playing (he seemingly plays without the bottleneck on most or all of the remaining numbers, churning out some delightful single-string fills).

Johnny Young, a featured performer in his own right, takes a lead vocal on "Kidman blues", before the second half of the original LP is relinquished to the big, burly Houston Stackhouse and his August, 1967 session (which has Robert Nighthawk on electric guitar, his last recordings before his death little more than a month later).

If you own Arhoolie's 2000 reissue of Sonny Boy Williamson's album "King Biscuit Time", you can see the only picture I've ever come across of Houston Stackhouse - he is playing the guitar, standing to Rice Miller's right.
Obviously inspired by Delta legend Tommy Johnson (he even covers Johnson's "Cool Drink Of Water Blues"), Stackhouse lays down some fine slow blues tunes, backed by Nighthawk and drummer James Curtis. His style is classic Delta blues, somewhat down-home (which isn't a bad thing), and even though these songs aren't as instantly memorable as prime cuts by Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf or Elmore James, Houston Stackhouse's eight contributions are certainly worth a listen.

"Beginners" should start with Robert Nighthawks' fabulous "Live On Maxwell Street" album, but this one is a great purchase for blues fans who want a little more than just the bare-bones essentials.

Great album.......2003-10-01

Nighthawks recordings are hard to come by , and I really enjoyed this collection . He plays on all selections but is in the background on the Stackhouse tracks .Needless to say , the entire album is very good and Houston Stackhouse is far from overshadowed by his better known student . Also noteworthy(and an added bonus) is the tremendous harp playing of Big John Wrencher, A very good album deserving a look at.

Excellent slide Guitar from Night Hawk!.......1999-06-08

This is an excellent CD for anyone with any interest in the slide guitar. It features Robert Night Hawk (he himself spelled his name as two words) in some extraordinarily fine slide performances. Night Hawk was recorded doing Sweet Black Angel five times. This version, with the notes delicately shimmering off the strings, is perhaps his best, along with the classic Chess recording of 1949 and the live version, which is among the greatest of raw blues slide performances ever captured. The live performance has just seen its first authorized released (unedited for the first time!) on the new "And This Is Maxwell Street" 2CD set from P-Vine in Japan--PCD 5527/28 (and I hope soon on a U.S. Label). The CD reviewed here is also of interest for the Houston Stackhouse material. Stackhouse taught Night Hawk to play the guitar in 1931. They often performed together. Both come straight out of the tradition of Tommy Johnson and his brothers, which makes him of interest also as a link between Johnson's style and the style of later performers influenced by it. Johnson was known for his use of falsetto. Howling Wolf, of the same tradition, developed this into the howl that gave him his stage name. Stackhouse is an under-rated performer who deserves more attention. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

Down Home Slide Various Artists Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Contemporary Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music General | Compilations | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000006OUG Release Date: 1998-05-19

Tracks:

1. That's All Right - Robert Nighthawk
2. I Know She Didn't Love Me - John Henry Barbee
3. Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed - Fred & Annie McDowell
4. Roll Me Over Slow - Big Joe Williams
5. Everything Gonna Be Alright - Robert Nighthawk
6. John Henry - Elijah Brown
7. Jackson Town - Eddie Taylor
8. Mad & Evil - George Coleman
9. I'm On My Way To Canaan Land - Blind Connie Williams
10. Which Way My Baby Go - Big Joe Williams
11. Hoodoo Snake Doctor Blues - Johnnie Shines
12. Slidin' - John Littlejohn
13. Walk On Little Girl - Big Joe Williams
14. Poor Boy Long Way From Home - Arthur Weston
15. Anna Lee - Robert Nighthawk
16. Sweet Home Chicago - David 'Honeboy' Edwards
17. I'm So Glad I Got Good Religion - Fred McDowell
18. My Lonesome Bed - Big Joe Williams
19. Key To The Highway - Blind Connie Williams

Amazon.com

This best-of collection from Testament Records is of a very special type, featuring masters of slide guitar, that mainstay of blues music. The buried treasure on this album are several previously unreleased recordings from the legendary Robert Nighthawk, but this CD has plenty of other treats as well. Big Joe Williams contributes several tracks, including "Roll Me Over Slow" and "Walk On Little Girl". Eddie Taylor weighs in with an outstanding acoustic version of "Jackson Town", and there are contributions from Blind Connie Williams, Elijah Brown, and Fred McDowell. And of course, no collection like this could possibly be complete without "Sweet Home Chicago", performed here by Honeyboy Edwards. -- Genevieve Williams

Average customer rating:

Bottleneck Blues Various Artists Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music General | Compilations | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music 1950s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music 1940-1949 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music 1930-1939 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music 1950-1959 | Decades | Compilations | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: It Must Have Been the Devil The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments The Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album Mississippi Blues: Rare Cuts 19 ASIN: B000003OR5 Release Date: 1995-09-19

Tracks:

1. Key To The Bushes - Napoleon Strickland
2. Talking About Bottleneck - Big Joe Williams
3. Traveling Blues - Big Joe Williams
4. Crying Won't Help You - Robert Nighthawk
5. Six White Horses - Fred McDowll
6. Knife Instrumental - Mott Willis
7. Flora Blues - John Lee Ganderson
8. Wild, Wild Woman - J.B. Hutto & The Hawks
9. St. Louis Blues - Blind Connie Williams
10. Worryin' Woman Blues - David Edwards
11. I'm Coming, Lord, Please Don't Drive Me Away - Robert Johnson
12. Verna Lee Blues - The Chicago Blues Band
13. Wouldn't Mind Dying - Fred McDowell
14. Dust My Broom - Johnny Littlejohn
15. Trouble In Mind - Blind Connie Williams
16. How Do You Want Your Rollin' Done? - Big Joe Williams
17. M & O Blues - Mott Willis
18. Crucial Moment - Johnny Shines
19. Train Time - Jack Owens
20. I Don't Know When Death Is Gonna Call Me - Robert Johnson
21. Casey, You Can't Ride This Train - Herb Quinn
22. Shake 'Em Down - Napoleon Strickland

Average customer rating: Another fine "Masters Of Modern Blues" album

Masters of Modern Blues Johnny Shines Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Delta Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Masters of Modern Blues Bricks in My Pillow Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta Hawk Squat Sweet Home Chicago: The JOB Sessions 1950's ASIN: B000003OQM Release Date: 1994-07-26

Tracks:

1. Rollin' & Tumblin'
2. Trouble Is All I See
3. Mr. Tom Green's Farm
4. Mr. Black Mare
5. What Kind Of Little Girl Are You?
6. So Cold In Vietnam
7. Sweet Home Chicago
8. Walkin' Blues
9. Black Panther
10. Two Trains Runnin'

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

Customer Reviews:

Another fine "Masters Of Modern Blues" album.......2004-01-07

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.

Average customer rating: ****1/2 - one of Hutto's best A great roots blues record.

Masters of Modern Blues J.B. Hutto Manufacturer: Testament (City Hall ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chicago Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music Slide Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music Chicago Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000003OR4 Release Date: 1995-03-21

Tracks:

1. Dust My Broom
2. Mistake In Life
3. Goin' Down Slow
4. Lulubelle's Here
5. She's So Sweet
6. My Kind Of Woman
7. Pet Cream Man
8. Blues Stay Away From Me
9. The Girl I Love
10. Sloppy Drunk
11. Wild Wild Woman
12. Bluebird

Customer Reviews:

****1/2 - one of Hutto's best.......2003-10-01

In 1966, J.B. Hutto cut most of the tracks that were to become his magnificent "Hawk Squat" LP, but he also found time to lay down this fine set for producer Pete Welding's Testament Records.

"Masters Of Modern Blues" is credited to J.B. Hutto & The Hawks, yet these aren't the Hawks that worked with him on "Hawk Squat" (with the exception of bassist/guitarist Lee Jackson), but rather an all-star combo which includes guitarist Johnny Young, legendary harpist Walter Horton, and the great Fred Below, whose tough, cymbal-rattling drumming can be heard on recordings by Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and several others.
The shy and introvert Walter Horton's influence on blues harmonica is hugely underestimated, and he is a tremendous asset on this album. His unmistakable harp winds its way through the proceedings, lending an earthy, "traditional" blues flavour to the songs, yet it blends supremely well with Hutto's fiery, Elmore James-derived slash-and-burn guitar playing.

Many of these tunes are cover songs, including excellent, raw takes on Big Joe Williams' "Sloppy Drunk" and Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom" (a la Elmore James).
And Hutto and his All-Star Hawks also do a great rendition of Jimmy Oden's "Going Down Slow" (one of the best of many versions of this song I've heard), as well as a groovy take on Johnny Young's "Wild Wild Woman", and a funky "Mistake In Life" (originally by pianist Roosevelt Sykes).
But the originals are excellent as well, most notably Hutto's tribute to his wife, the powerful "Lulubelle's Here", the syncopated "My Kind Of Woman", the slow, intense "The Girl I Love", and the smouldering "Pet Cream Man".

This otherwise excellent installment in the "Masters Of Modern Blues" series suffers a little from mediocre fidelity, but that shouldn't deter anyone from picking it up. This is high-octane Chicago blues at its finest.
4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.

A great roots blues record........1999-08-19

One of the top blues records in my collection. I have been listening to the LP of this for several years and never get enough of it. The band is the cream of chicago blues, Willie Horton on harp, Fred Bellows on Drums, and Lee Jackson on Bass, with JB on slide& vocals, as well as Johnny Young on guitar. This record romps and stomps through standards like "dust my broom", as well as lesser known gems like "My kind of woman" and "sloppy drunk." There is a very earthy sound and the band is allowed plenty of room to move. this record is unique in postwar blues for it's feel and all around sound. The only one similar that come to mind is "Super Blues" with Muddy waters, Little Walter and Bo Diddley. It has a similar energy and drive. There is enough blues on this record to satisfy event the most die hard enthususiast. If you a re a fan of postwar chicago blues, BUY this record! I am very happy to see this record re-released on CD.

Music Album:

1. Snake Still Rockin After All These Years
2. Some Hearts
3. Songbook: A Collection of Hits [Extra tracks] [Import]
4. Soon
5. South of Muskogee Town
6. Speed of Sound
7. String Quartet Tribute to Shania Twain
8. Take Me Home Country Road
9. The Banjo Album
10. The Best Of Curtis Potter Volume 1

Music Album