1 	Shake My Hand 	2:26
2 	Work With Me Annie 	4:16
3 	Someday Baby 	3:04
4 	Tomorrow Night 	2:47
5 	Telephone Blues 	4:30
6 	In This Mess 	3:33
7 	Pistol Packin' Mama 	3:13
8 	My Babe 	4:26
9 	Headed South 	5:40
10 	Jump For Joy 	3:31
11 	Don't Like To Brag 	4:40

Bass – Robert Stroger
Drums – Jimmy Tilman
Guitar – Billy Flynn
Harmonica, Vocals – Snooky Pryor 

Veteran harp man Pryor (who claims to be the first to amplify his harmonica) was still capable of some potent blues when he released this album in early 1999. Kicking off with a solo version of Faye Adams' "Shake a Hand" (its lyrics reworked heavily into the title track) that owes a huge debt to idol Sonny Boy Williamson II, Pryor settles into a comfortable groove with a tight little trio behind him consisting of Bob Stroger on bass, Billy Flynn on guitar and Jimmy Tilman on drums. His version of Hank Ballard's "Annie Had a Baby" is so radically different that it almost qualifies as an original, while his covers of Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama" and Sleepy John Estes' "Someday Baby" stay closer to the originals. The rest of the set features Snooky's great originals, with the minor-keyed "Headed South," "In This Mess," "Jump for Joy" and a nice remake of his "Telephone Blues" being particular standouts. Simple, no-frills production makes this a modern-day blues album that delivers the wallop of the old singles. ---Cub Koda, AllMusic Review

Veteran harpist Snooky Pryor, a pioneer of the amplified harmonica in post-war Chicago, blows with rough authority on Shake My Hand (Blind Pig 5050; 42:38). The title track is a stark, powerfully affecting unaccompanied number that showcases Snooky testifying on vocals and harp. A no-nonsense, understated rhythm section joins him on Chicago style versions of Hank Ballard “Work With Me Annie,” “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and the boogie woogie “Tomorrow Night.” They reprise Pryor’s own slow blues classic “Telephone Blues” and his engaging “In This Mess Up To My Chest,” the title track of an earlier album on the Antone label. And on the instrumental “Jump for Joy” Snooky proves that, at age 77, he can still rock. Raggedy…in a good way. ---Bill Milkowski, jazztimes.com

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01. Ain’t That Just Like A Woman (4:04)
02. All My Money Gone (3:58)
03. Homesick And Snooky’s Boogie (3:41)
04. I’m Gonna Call Up My Baby (4:17)
05. Boogie Twist (4:57)
06. Blue Bird Blues (5:15)
07. Break It Up, Baby (3:40)
08. After You There Won’t Be Nobody Else (4:28)
09. Look What You Doin’ To Me (3:11)
10. Big Road Blues (4:19)
11. Snooky’s Off The Wall Blues (6:23)
12. Keep Your Arms Around Me (3:07)
13. Trouble In Mind (3:46)
14. Work With Me Annie (3:10)

Snooky Pryor created the amplified down home sound of post-war Chicago Blues. His singin´ and harp playing was influenced by John Lee Williamson (Sonny Boy I.) He recorded in the 50´s on the Labels J.O.B., Parrot & Vee Jay Records.In the 70´s and 80´s he toured again frequently and also recorded great CD´s (mostly on Electo-Fi Records and Blind Pig). In the 70´s he recorded the Wolf-CD “Sad and Lonesome” with Homesick James and also toured Austria. This CD is a mix of unreleased live and studio recordings!!!

Special guest is Homesick James, who is also singing two songs!! This CD is Blues history ! ---wolfrec.com

All My Money Gone is the latest addition to the late Snooky Pryor’s catalog. Released by Wolf Records, this album features previously unreleased studio and live material that was recorded in Austria in October 1979. Also included are unreleased songs that Snooky recorded at other sessions such as “Work With Me, Annie,” “Boogie Twist,” “Blue Bird Blues,” and “Telephone Blues”—titled “I’m Gonna Call Up My Baby” on this compilation. In short, this album contains tracks that will be familiar to Snooky fans, but all of the sessions and live performances themselves will be new to the listener.

Although Snooky Pryor does not always get the same level of notoriety as fellow Chicago harmonica great Little Walter, he was one of the first harp players to utilize the amplified harmonica sound. In fact, Pryor claimed to have been the one who pioneered this style. A little less than a decade younger than other Mississippi-born Chicago bluesmen such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, Snooky is one of the quintessential Chicago blues musicians even if his legacy tends to fly under the radar.

Though the name Snooky Pryor implies harmonica, Snooky is a strong vocalist too, and the tunes on this recording stand as evidence of this. There are different combinations of instrumentation represented on this album. “I’m Gonna Call Up My Baby” conveys the spartan feel present throughout, with Snooky joined solely by the electric guitar of Homesick James, who at times merely walks the bassline. Eight of the fourteen tracks feature this pairing of bluesmen, while “Trouble In Mind” features Snooky all by himself on vocals and harmonica. The duo of Snooky Pryor and Homesick James lends itself well to studying previously recorded tracks such as “Work With Me, Annie” in a more stripped-down fashion. Another great duo track is the instrumental “Snooky’s Off The Wall Blues,” which stands out as an example of excellent Chicago nightclub background music.

The title track “All My Money Gone” is a live cut on which Snooky and Homesick James are joined by another guitarist and a drummer. This is arguably the most noticeable track on the album since it’s the only song featuring a drummer, but this is by no means a jab at the other songs. If anything, comparing the other tracks to “All My Money Gone” with its fuller instrumentation, only proves that Snooky was able to sound powerful in any setting. As a testament to the quality of the musicianship on this record, “All My Money Gone” and the other live tracks, which comprise the majority of this release, sound excellent from both production and individual performance standpoints.

The album cover proclaims Snooky Pryor to be the “Pioneer of the Postwar Chicago Blues Harp Sound,” and this is a magnificent harmonica album, but there is more to this recording than merely harmonica. This album is Chicago Blues! It is also worth mentioning that the playing of Homesick James commands the attention of any aspiring guitar player who wishes to learn the art of being a sideman. All My Money Gone is obviously required listening for any Snooky Pryor fan, but anyone who loves Chicago Blues—or even one wanting to capture the excitement of experiencing electric blues in a bar late at night—should give All My Money Gone a test drive. There will not be any disappointment. ---Joel Roberts, blackgrooves.org

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1. Dirty Rat	 4:52	
2. Ruby Mae	4:56	
3. Early In The Morning	4:31	
4. Big Leg Woman	7:33	
5. Snooky And Mel Boogie	1:41	
6. Rock This House	4:06	
7. Let Your Hair Down, Woman	5:23	
8. So Fine	3:15	
9. That's All Right	6:51	
10. Do The Boogoloo	5:08	
11. Ease My Mind	5:29	
12. Work 'Til My Days Are Done	3:34

Personnel: 
Mel Brown (vocals, guitar); 
Snooky Pryor (vocals,harmonica); 
John Lee, Michael Fonfara (piano); 
Al Richardson (bass); 
Jim Boudreau (drums). 

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•  Snooky and Moody's Boogie (2:20) 
•  Telephone Blues (2:46) 
•  Boogy Fool (2:27) 
•  Raisin' Sand (2:43) 
•  Fine Boogie (3:08) 
•  I'm Getting Tired (2:36) 
•  Going Back On the Road (2:48) 
•  Hold Me in Your Arms (3:00) 
•  (Real) Fine Boogie (2:35) 
•  Harp Instrumental (2:38) 
•  Cryin' Shame (2:54) 
•  Eighty Nine Ten (2:39) 
•  Stop the Train Conductor [Take 1] (2:36) 
•  Walking Boogie (2:34) 
•  Stop the Train Conductor [Takes 2 + 3] (3:37) 
•  Uncle Sam Don't Take My Man (3:18) 
•  Big Guns (Uncle Same Don't Take My Man) [Undubbed Version] (2:59) 
•  I Can't Feel Good No More (3:25) 
•  I Can't Feel Good No More [Alternate Take] (2:56) 
•  Boogie Twist (2:48) 
•  Can't We Get This Straight (2:38) 
•  Rough Treatment (2:44) 
•  Why Should I Worry (2:51) 
•  Rough Treatment [Alternate Take] (2:49) 
•  Stockyard Blues (2:52) 
•  Keep What You Got (2:20) 
•  My Baby Walked Out (2:57) 
•  Let Me Ride Your Mule (2:41)

Only recently has Snooky Pryor finally begun to receive full credit for the mammoth role he played in shaping the amplified Chicago blues harp sound during the postwar era. He's long claimed he was the first harpist to run his sound through a public address system around the Windy City -- and since nobody's around to refute the claim at this point, we'll have to accept it! James Edward Pryor was playing harmonica at the age of eight in Mississippi. The two Sonny Boys were influential to Pryor's emerging style, as he played around the Delta. He hit Chicago for the first time in 1940, later serving in the Army at nearby Fort Sheridan. Playing his harp through powerful Army PA systems gave Pryor the idea to acquire his own portable rig once he left the service. Armed with a primitive amp, he dazzled the folks on Maxwell Street in late 1945 with his massively amplified harp. Pryor made some groundbreaking 78s during the immediate postwar Chicago blues era. Teaming with guitarist Moody Jones, he waxed "Telephone Blues" and "Boogie" for Planet Records in 1948, encoring the next year with "Boogy Fool"/"Raisin' Sand" for JOB with Jones on bass and guitarist Baby Face Leroy Foster in support. Pryor made more classic sides for JOB (1952-1953), Parrot (1953), and Vee-Jay ("Someone to Love Me"/"Judgment Day") in 1956, but commercial success never materialized. He wound down his blues-playing in the early '60s, finally chucking it all and moving to downstate Ullin, IL, in 1967. For a long while, Pryor's whereabouts were unknown. But the 1987 Blind Pig album Snooky, produced by guitarist Steve Freund, announced to the world that the veteran harpist was alive and well, his chops still honed. A pair of solid discs for Antone's, Too Cool to Move and In This Mess Up to My Chest, followed. Pryor stayed busy until his death in 2006. ---Bill Dahl, Rovi

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