A " KING-SIZE " blues classic LP.................
591825
I've always felt the song, "Woman Across the River" was my favorite Freddie King song. But after hearing "Ain't That I Don't Love You" on this LP, it now ranks right up there with the best !
272377
Killer!!!! Killer!!! Killer!!! Simply put this is one of the very best Blues albums EVER. The bottleneck guitar is unique and infectious and just gets you tapping your toes and snapping your fingers. "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" "Baby Please Don't Go"  are just in a another realm. This is an absolutely essential album for any blues lover and rockers who dig the Stones, Yardbirds, Cream etc will flip for this one. The bottleneck slide guitar technique of Mississippi Fred is inimitable and unparalleled; there is just no one else like him and man can he sing!! I have close to 1000 blues albums and if this isn't #1 in the collection it is certainly in the top 3. BUY IT!!!
1564018
First, I have to clarify (there were 17 reviews when I wrote this) THE BOSS OF THE BLUES - JOE TURNER - SINGS KANSAS CITY JAZZ sounds great for Any modern recording let alone one from 1956 (the original release date).  My Joe Turner cd was/is a 2002 release by Atlantic Recording and Rhino Entertainment as distributed by Collectibles Records.  Again, this sounds very clean and very good and is a surprising (for me) 5 star record (cd) that is entertaining on many classic blues-jazz and historical levels.
First, I actually had too good a time just trying to figure out which horn was the trombone or the trumpet just by the plain fact these musicians deserved mention and praise.  The trumpet player who seemed better (I guess- they were/are both good) was John Nottingham who played on 4 songs including the 7 minute "Wee Baby Blues" and a somewhat different version of "St. Louis Blues" that I had never heard before (this time with lyrics, of course, Joe's boisterous vocals a necessity).  The other trumpet player is Joe Newman and is obviously a pro in his own right.  Plus, I have never gone out of my way to mention the trombone player:  Lawrence Brown, so, that was a first: Fine, distinguishable and entertaining trombone play to boot.
If you have come this far don't let the thought this might not be a modern enough 'sound' because the jazz horn play all around is exceptional with just enough modern jazz-blues solos including alto saxophonist Pete Brown as well as tenor saxophonists Seldon Powell and Frank Wess taking turns on 4 and six songs, respectively.  I, also, find this 1956 release amazing because 10 songs cover 44 minutes with basically every song longer than that sometimes annoying 3 minute, short-sighted mind set producers had back in the 1950's.  Hey, man, this album-recording is about the blues ... Kansas City Jazz style.
Pete Johnson is, also, the 'other' star on THE BOSS OF THE BLUES - SINGS KANSAS CITY JAZZ co-writing 3 songs and playing 'lead' piano.  BIG JOE co-wrote with his piano playing compatriot.  They both added one lone song writing credit.
THE BOSS - SINGS KANSAS CITY is crisp shi...stuff with a wonderfully flat-out bluesy "How Long Blues" better (I said it, yes) than Eric Clapton's version on his blues album From The Cradle (1994).  And I like Clapton's From The Cradle too.
This Jazz-Blues record is so good it did/does not need the early rock-n-roll anthem "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" which by 1956 had just become a teen hit!  Singing and Playing these Kansas City style classics was meant to retain Joe's adult audience.
Historical Footnote:  THE BOSS OF THE BLUES - JOE TURNER - SINGS KANSAS CITY JAZZ was recorded in good old New York City.
Four pages of Liner notes also add informative history including a reference to Ledbelly and what he once said "about the blues..."  Nice touch to an album so authentic it 'feels' like a live recording.
3082721
Do yourself a favor. When you first listen to Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King, skip over the rather annoying first track. "Country Boy" is a little too, well, country sounding for most serious blues fans, and it's easy to see why it was unreleased until this compiliation. (For a much better example of how the Nashville and Chicago sounds can be mixed, listen to "Remington Ride," a wonderful tune cut with C & W steel guitar legend Herb Remington.) Also, on some of the early releases, King had not attained full command of his marvelous voice; most of his outstanding vocal tracks, such as "Someday After Awhile," "Palace of the King," and his towering signature number "Going Down" (covered splendidly by Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan) were recorded later in his career. Besides, as good as the vocal tracks sound, it's hard not to be carried away by his brilliant instrumentals, including "High Rise," "My Feeling For the Blues," and that early Eric Clapton showcase "Hideaway." These vocal-less tracks, with their clean lead lines and supple rhythm sections, still sound as fresh and contemporary today as when they were first recorded almost thirty years ago. Speaking of EC, the British bluesmeister has done much to keep Freddie's name and recorded legacy alive with his riveting covers of "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" (recorded while he was playing with the Dominos) and "I'm Tore Down," from the masterful From The Cradle disc released in '94. In short, whether your preference is vocal or instrumental King (or both: why limit yourself?), you should get Hide Away today. Trust me, it will be a very instrumental part of your blues collection. EC should know!!
2423509
(...)!  In an era where there are so many new guitar slingers that all sound alike, Mr Bonham actally uses the tradition (LOVE the sound of vintage tube amps!) and incorporates it into modern mainstream.  The blues has never been about how many notes you can cram into 12 bars but how much feeling and emotion you have and can share with the listener.  Mr Bonham does an excellent job of bringing the listener into his world.  No excessive flash, no technique for techique's sake, just the honest, down home gut wrenching blues!

That said, this CD isn't perfect.  As other reviewers have said, one should go listen to the man live and be blown away.  The same could be said of Muddy, Wolf, Junior, Walter, and many others.  Recording studios just don't capture the essence of real bluesmen.  But Mr Bonham can join the ranks of the very few living bluesmen that can make the venerable blues scale sing with such urgency and beauty.  There are a lot of punks and posers out there; welcome to the real thing!  Enjoy it and support it.
3153292
the blues is beatiful...
etta and eddie got that smokey, silky, low-lush soul flowin with this...
i've been lissenin to vol. one forever!!! and i could never find this one, but i lucked up into it one day a couple months ago and found it in the basement of some back-alley, burnt-down record shop and ever since then, i keep it with me wherever i go...
this is "instant blues" - jus add bourbon and heartache and you got yourself an event!
3916325
Does anyone  still listen to this type of music?  I sometimes wonder--with all the glitz and shiny-sounding, million-beats-a-minute music around now--is there still room for authentic, real music from the past?  I hope so.  So I thought I'd write something abut Fred McDowell, one of the best Delta/country/gospel blues singers/players  from that region.  Hopefully someone will come across this review and either take out their McDowell albums and give them a listen, or maybe someone new to the Delta blues will be inspired and curious enough to give his music a try.

This is a wonderful set of country blues by Fred McDowell and some of his neighbors, recorded on location by Alan Lomax in 1959,  McDowell is heard on Disc 1 and on one track on Disc 2, with some of his friends on the rest of  Disc 2.  The sound is typical for JSP--not great--but good/decent (especially for older recordings made under less than ideal conditions), and with an authentic, atmospheric feel to them.  Each disc is in a separate jewel case, each with a booklet with essays on McDowell, the other musicians, and the music in general.  Everything fits inside the usual JSP flimsy cardboard slip case--but the music is what's important here.

McDowell is heard accompanying himself on all but four tracks, where his accompaniment is another guitar and (for rhythm)  a comb.  The occasional female voice you hear ("Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning" for example) is McDowell's wife, Annie May McDowell who sung wit her husband on some wonderful gospel/blues sides that are well worth hearing even today. His steady, rhythmic chording or slide work accents and punctuates his rough and ready, unpretentious vocals.  Some of these tunes were recorded  in the evening after McDowell had been picking cotton in the hot sun all day, and his no nonsense, slightly weary approach to the music is evident--and adds  something real to his playing and singing.  His songs include older blues songs along with his own songs of equal quality.  In obscurity until recorded by Lomax, McDowell continued to make albums and play live at many concerts.  Songs like "Drop Down Mama", "Shake "Em On Down", "Goin' To The River", "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning",  "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" "Worried Mind", and other songs (basically all of them) show McDowell as a (then) modern day blues performer steeped in the traditions of earlier blues players from around the Mississippi Delta area,  carrying on in the Delta blues traditions.

Disc 2 has performances by the Young brothers--one brother playing a fife--a traditional Delta cane instrument that goes back to the Revolutionary War era of fife and cane bands.  Miles and Bob Pratcher are heard on three tunes, Boy Blue and his small band are here on three tunes, but the majority of this disc is by Forrest City Joe Pugh--both solo and with a small band.  All of these recordings are important (and make for great listening!) alongside McDowell's because they show the depth  of the Delta blues style of music.  From the relatively primitive sounding fife/snare drum band to more "modern" sounding songs by Pugh, these recordings--along with McDowell's--are authentic Delta blues.  This is music without affectations or anything fake or "gimmicky".  This music and these performances ring true and real.  And that's rare.
131967
This was MUDDY WATERS big comeback album in the seventies.. its pretty great. I like a lot of old blues music, and MUDDY WATERS is easily one of the best around. He started his career in the late forties, and is one of the most covered blues writers of all time.. he has hundreds of songs.. he plays some nasty blues guitar... and I hear he makes a pretty mean rack of ribs too!

In the seventies there was a huge demand for Muddy, after various rock bands started doing his tunes. People wanted some more from the legend, and so he put out a few discs. HARD AGAIN was the first. He teamed up with albino white blues great JOHNNY WINTERS and put out some of his hardest blues ever.

The best known tune here is MANNISH BOY. This song was originally recorded by MUDDY in the early fifties, but here, with a much more rockin band, and some heavy backing screams, comes the better version. Nice and loud, you will want to sing along.. "when I was a young boy....the age of five... mamma said I was gonna be... the greatest man alive..."

BUS DRIVER is nice lengthy jam out type of tune... basically the backing band does a lot of magic all over the disc... but MUDDY always seems to have the right backing band, to give him a raw, but rich blues sound. THE BLUES HAD A BABY AND ITS NAME WAS ROCK AND ROLL here is also a new rendition of an older song, I think they wanted to make it a little more like the seventies era rock and roll, rather than the fifties rockabilly sound that is evident in the original. The tunes all around are cool, and the feeling of the album is very natural. You can tell that Johnny Winters was thrilled to be involved with the record (he is billed as producer on this one, fine job) and the rest of the band too, just make this some good time, down and dirty blues.
2701572
Super Blues album  great musicianship , great stuff !!!! You won't be disappointed with this if you like Blues , crank it up !!
4216369
I have written by now seemingly countless reviews of old time acoustic and electric blues artists, male and female alike. I have "toured" the Delta, the Texas Panhandle, the streets of small town Southern cities, Memphis and the "Mecca", Chicago, to give my take on the blues story. I have "been" on the plantation Saturday night, the "juke joints", the blues clubs, Chicago's Maxwell Street and on any street corner where a blues artist could set up shop. My thumbs are sore from giving thumbs up and down to the various blue artists that I have known about since my teenage years a long time ago. All of the above is by way of saying if you want to do some one- stop shopping for what the blues was, is and will be this is your destination. A better primer, especially for the novice complete with some great blues riffs, done in a couple of hours would be hard to find.

All the traditional blues "hot spots" like Memphis and Chicago are given due time. All the blues greats get at least a passing nod from Charley Patton and Robert Johnson in the old days to Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and B.B. King in the modern age. In fact that is what is most impressive about this production. The producers have seemingly gathered, at the time of production, every still living blues artist who could still hold an instrument and speak a few words to talk about their work and those that they knew who "taught" them the blues. Why is this important?  The likes of Ruth Brown, Honeyboy Williams, Gatesmouth Moore, Gatesmouth Brown, Buddy Guy and a host of others showcased here are the transmission belt from the older tradition of Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Blake, Ma Rainey and the others who created the sounds of the blues. Ruth Brown said it best- the young (and here I think she was including me-thanks Ms. Brown) don't need to learn the blues; they need to learn about the blues. Yes, ma'am. So to answer one of the questions posed in and by the documentary; will the blues ever die? Never.
602641
And it is one of my all time favorites!!!!!!

I got it when Wherehouse music was going out of business-all the cassettes were 1/2 off.  I got it just because I had "heard of" Johnny Winter.  So I drove home with about 7 tapes and listened to this one and then the next........  A week later I was thinking of the songs on it and have been a fan since.  Its got that vibe that great records have.  I was floored by the slide work. I love this album.  It is unlike his other albums as he is avid blues player.  But on this album and another he lets go and rocks with the best.  Give this one a chance and see what you think.
2773994
This is another solid entry from a top notch team of blues musicians. There is a plethora of blues luminaries guest starring: Candy Kane and the queen of electric blues guitar laura chavez, Steve Freund among others and a welcome return of Kid Ramos. The album may have started out as a two disc enterprise because to my ears the disc changes mood perceptibly around the midway mark. It starts as a down home chicago style harmonica infused set. And then it turns into a west coast and texas oriented blues. These latter part songs feature interesting mix of rhythms drenched in moody B3 or a reverb laden guitars or stinging single line texas style guitar leads. The second half to my ears at any rate was more satisfying but that is likely due to my bias for this style of blues. Highlights are a scorching rendition of I Idolize You with Kane and Chavez (i am assuming) and Steve Fruend's The Blues has made me whole, a hip swaying version of she belongs to me and a very moving tribute to the late Mike Bloomfield which as you might guess is an 8 minute slow blues instrumental. Pity there is no liner notes available on the web for those of us who buy the digital version of the songs. I could hear two distinct lead guitarists playing but could not tell who these master players are. In conclusion this set of songs is a welcome addition to the band's recorded output and very satisfying for us fans of this great style of soul satisfying musical genre.
3236275
Oh come on!! This guy just rocks that guitar!! His voice keeps on getting better through the years. He is in his early 30s and I don't see how he could possibly get any better!! Truly a blues' genius... and will be a legend to the likes of B.B. King one day. It's his destiny.
376316
Years ago, when there was Roundup Records, this was featured in their newsletter. I bit, and am glad I did. This was a great find in 1983/4, and in these days where we are starving for GREAT blues it may be even better!

It's hard to know where to start . . . Gloria Hardiman sounds wonderful: gritty where needed, but always tasteful and never the ov er-the-top screaming shrillness affecting so many blues singers. She has it all - feel, tone, timing and that quality that truly speaks to you.

Steve Freund - what can you say? Thirty years ago he was already fully developed as great stylist (and remains a great unsung "star" of the blues world). His playing is fiery, yet totally traditional - no rock excess here. His tone and phrasing add to each song; each lead is right on. I would venture that at the time, Steve was more developed than Ronnie Earl (no insult at all - just an opinion based on 1982).

The rest of the band is super solid all the way. Bass, drums, keys, horns - such a great job!!! You even get bonus tracks.

Ok, the sound lacks bass, by today's standards. Personally I am glad that no one tried to boost frequencies at mastering - everything is there and in its place so why mess with it?

Delmark has reissued some fine session (the Queen Sylvia and John Embry is awesome!) but this may be my favorite. Fans of tasty guitar, strong vocals, tight bands and strong blues will find much to like. A joy from start to finish; highly recommended!
1362641
Lordy...this is SO outstanding!
For anyone who truly love the blues, this is a must.
Not only are the performances by King + Vaughan so excellent, the setting - the two of them on stools, casually talking, only make it better.
For myself, it made it much better than if those two had been on stage performing.
Stevie Ray's 'Texas Flood', and King's 'Stormy Monday' ALONE, make this worth buying.  Seriously
1265707
Este album llego a mi por simple curiosidad en el 2000. Nunca imagine que alguien pudiese juntar tal talento en sus manos y voz como lo hizo Muddy para este album. La seccion de musicos que le sirven de soporte son nada mas y nada menos que. Buddy Guy y Willie Dixon. No hay palabras que puedan describir la magia que emanan de estas grabaciones, tan solo blues en su mas puro estado... es como trasladarse al delta de los 1930. Sonido puro y llanamente acustico con un entramado de guitarras magistral entre Muddy y Buddy Guy que sirven de fondo a la ya famosa interpretacion vocal de Muddy y eso sin contar con el solido sonido de Willie Dixon al bajo. Recuerdo que en una vieja revista de blues apuntaba sobre la existencia de este disco como una muestra de musica folk interpretada por quien se supone fue, es y sera la mejor voz y guitarra del blues americano... pero aqui no hay nada de folk, es blues delta en su estado mas primitivo. Maravilloso y dotado de una sencillez total que asombran por el resultado; PURA MAGIA. Se agregan una serie de bonus tracks que no deslucen del contenido inicial de la edicion original...pero los temas grabados en acustico son y seran la parte central de esta obra unica en su genero. Las fotografias que se incluyen en el inserto y en  la propia caja del cd demuestran por su elegancia el disfrute de tres maestros del blues que nunca imaginaron que al juntarse para esta sencilla grabacion, crearian una de las mejores muestras del espiritu del blues delta. El album recoje algunos de los temas mas interesantes de la discografia del Mudddy;

Captain captain, Good morning little school girl, long distance callin'... ademas de otras gemas cargadas de sentimiento y la belleza del blues en un estilo unico donde predomina la improvisacion y la tecnica espontanea de dos de los grandes guitarristas bluseros de todos los tiempos.

Puede y debe catalogarse de grabacion escencial para todo amante de la musica y el blues... No dudes en obtenerla... nunca dejaras de escucharlo, de lo contrario no sabes de lo que te pierdes.

Saludos
340215
I agree with most of the reviews here without the emphasis on raw.  Raw to me is T-Model Ford. This is not a great raw blues album, this is a great blues album, rowdy and wild.  Recorded in two nights in the Spring of 1971 direct-to-two-track with no overdubs.

Hound Dog Taylor is the master of the slide guitar. And, when you listen to sideman Brewer Phillips play a smokin Telecaster instrumental on Phillips Theme youll hear the roots of hard rock still being played today. But, this was the music being played in the clubs of Chicago back in 71. . .Wow.  This is truly a seminal album that belongs in every blues/rock/guitar slinger collection.