Blues

Howlin' Wolf ‎– The Rough Guide to Blues Legends: Howlin' Wolf (2014)

2018-09-28T13:19:40Z

Howlin' Wolf ‎– The Rough Guide to Blues Legends: Howlin' Wolf (2014)

Disc 1

1    Smokestack Lightning (3:07)	
2    Moanin’ At Midnight (2:57)	
3    I Asked For Water And She Gave Me Gasoline (2:52)	
4    Spoonful (2:47)	
5    How Many More Years (2:42)	
6    Evil (Is Going On) (2:55)	
7    Back Door Man (2:51)	
8    My Baby Walked Off (3:01)	
9    Riding In The Moonlight (3:05)	
10    You Gonna Wreck My Life (2:36)	
11    Don’t Mess With My Baby (2:41)	
12    The Wolf Is At Your Door (3:00)	
13    My Troubles And Me (3:16)	
14    Baby How Long (2:54)	
15    Crying At Daybreak (3:53)	
16    Worried All The Time (3:10)	
17    Rockin’ Daddy (3:03)	
18    No Place To Go (2:54)	
19    Well That’s All Right (2:58)	
20    Forty Four (2:52)	
21    Saddle My Pony (2:32)	

Disc 2 — Featuring bonus CD of Wolf's Inspiration

22    Blind Willie Johnson: It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (3:11)	
23    Billy Boy Arnold: I Wish You Would (2:42)	
24    Robert Johnson: Travelling Riverside (2:46)	
25    Muddy Waters: I’m Ready (3:02)	
26    Big Joe Williams: P Vine Blues (3:11)	
27    Robert Nighthawk: Black Angel Blues (3:04)	
28    Willie Dixon: 29 Ways (2:10)	
29    Sonny Boy Williamson: Little Low Woman Blues (2:49)	
30    B. Lenoir: Let’s Roll (2:56)	
31    Baby Face Leroy: Rollin’ & Tumblin’ (Part 1) (2:52)	
32    Baby Face Leroy: Rollin’ & Tumblin’ (Part 2) (3:16)	
33    Little Walter: I Just Keep Lovin’ Her (2:56)	
34    Elmore James: Knocking At Your Door (2:37)

What kind of a man gets a nickname like ‘Howlin' Wolf’? Well, a three hundred pound giant with a voice so powerful it sounds as if it could knock down buildings fits the brief! Wolf dominated the post-war Chicago blues scene in every way. Enjoy some of his most ferocious and emotionally intense work on this outstanding Rough Guide, which has been painstakingly re-mastered and restored to world class sound quality.

This Rough Guide features Howlin’ Wolf’s best and baddest electric blues. The sound quality is premium, and each track has been carefully re-mastered to illuminate Wolf’s growling voice, hollering harmonica and gutsy guitar in never before heard definition.

The main disc traverses the Wolf’s biggest hits from ‘Smokestack Lightning’ to ‘How Many More Years’ and a lot more in between. After excavating the Wolf story, listeners can move on to the exclusive bonus disc, ‘The Rough Guide to Wolf’s Inspiration’. This full-length CD celebrates the original blues masters who inspired him and his contemporaries in the world of Chicago electric blues who were influenced by him. The track list slots Sonny Boy Williamson alongside Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Willie Dixon and more.

Esteemed blues expert Nigel Williamson compiled the collection, and has crafted an original Rough Guide that, unlike other compilation formats, delves deep into the history and wider context of the Wolf story.

The first man ever to record Howlin’ Wolf recalled his captivating style: ‘His eyes would light up and you'd see the veins on his neck, and buddy, there was nothing on his mind but that song. He sang with his damn soul.’ This Rough Guide presents the best sound quality, and is the closest we can now get to hearing how the wild ‘Wolf’ sounded. Time to open up, and hear his blues, after all and as the great man himself suggests, ‘The Wolf Is At Your Door’! ---worldmusic.net

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Blind Willie Johnson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Willie Johnson (2013)

2018-09-13T12:11:58Z

Blind Willie Johnson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Willie Johnson (2013)

CD1: The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Willie Johnson
1-1 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	God Moves On The Water 	3:03
1-2 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground 	3:24
1-3 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning 	3:07
1-4 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed 	3:16
1-5 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	John The Revelator 	3:21
1-6 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	It's Nobody's Fault But Mine 	3:13
1-7 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole 	3:07
1-8 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Let Your Light Shine On Me 	3:13
1-9 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Mother's Children Have Hard Time 	3:26
1-10 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	You're Gonna Need Somebody On Your Bond 	3:12
1-11 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refugee 	3:27
1-12 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying 	3:05
1-13 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	God Don't Never Change 	3:01
1-14 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Bye And Bye I'm Going To See The King 	2:56
1-15 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Sweeter As The Years Roll By 	2:49
1-16 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	The Rain Don't Fall On Me 	3:23
1-17 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	When The War Was On 	3:06
1-18 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	The Soul Of A Man 	3:18
1-19 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Can't Nobody Hide From God 	3:25
1-20 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Trouble Soon Be Over 	3:11
1-21 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down 	3:12
1-22 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Jesus Is Coming Soon 	3:13

Bonus CD: The Rough Guide To Gospel Blues Legends
2-1 	–Reverend Gary Davis 	The Angels Message To Me 	3:06
2-2 	–Bukka White 	I Am In The Heavenly Way 	3:07
2-3 	–Skip James 	Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader 	3:04
2-4 	–Roosevelt Graves And Brother 	Woke Up This Morning With My Mind On Jesus 	2:55
2-5 	–Blind Willie And Kate McTell 	God Don't Like It 	2:51
2-6 	–Mississippi John Hurt 	Blessed Be The Name 	2:58
2-7 	–Blind Joe Taggart 	God Gonna Separate The Wheat From The Tares 	2:47
2-8 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	He Arose From The Dead 	2:47
2-9 	–Rev Edward Clayborn (The Guitar Evangelist) 	This Time Another Year You May Be Gone 	2:55
2-10 	–Bull City Red 	I Saw The Light 	3:10
2-11 	–Charley Patton And Bertha Lee 	Oh Death 	2:54
2-12 	–Josh White 	Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed 	3:09
2-13 	–Blind Mamie Forehand 	Honey In The Rock 	2:47
2-14 	–Barbecue Bob 	Jesus Blood Can Make Me Whole 	3:08
2-15 	–Blind Willie Davis 	I Believe I'll Go Back Home 	3:08
2-16 	–Mother McCollum 	You Can't Hide 	2:36
2-17 	–Jaybird Coleman 	I'm Gonna Cross The River Of Jordan Some O' These Days 	3:07
2-18 	–Blind Gussie Nesbit 	Pure Religion 	3:25
2-19 	–Washington Phillips 	Denomination Blues 	5:36

Blind Willie Johnson was a fire-and-brimstone guitar evangelist who played sacred songs so mean that his legacy has gone down in blues history. Revel in the mesmerizing bottleneck guitar playing of the Texas blues preacher on remastered classics as ‘Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground’, and ‘God Moves On The Water’.

In early 1920s Texas, on the streets of Marlin, Blind Willie Johnson used to sit busking, his low moaning voice and gutsy guitar penetrating the daily humdrum of life. Although this same street-side musician went on to record thirty sides for Columbia, Johnson never thirsted to be a musician and was instead intent on preaching the gospel.

His deep-held dedication to his faith is heard in his compositional style and song choices, many of which were adapted from old hymns. ‘Let Your Light Shine On Me’ was a popular hymn published by the evangelist Homer Rodeheaver in the early 1920s and ‘Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground’ is a lyric taken direct from a hymn titled ‘Gethsemane’, written by English clergyman Thomas Haweis in 1792.

Another gospel inflected number, ‘If I Had My Way I’d Tear The Building Down’ references the biblical narrative of Samson and Delilah, drawing on themes of deceit and corruption. Legend has it that Johnson was nearly arrested for attempting to incite a riot by singing this song outside a New Orleans Custom House. To elicit such a strong reaction from the authorities, Johnson sure must have been playing up a storm and enticing the crowds.

World Music Network have painstakingly remastered the warped and hissing recordings that exist of Johnson, and on this Rough Guide his slide guitar technique sparkles and fizzes out across the texture like never before. As testament to his earth-shaking and historically significant style, Johnson’s recording of ‘Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground’ was included on the Voyager space probe, a rocket that was sent on a mission to seek out other life forms in the universe.

After you have devoured the main disc, enjoy the bonus disc and raise the roof with more of the best gospel from the likes of Reverend Gary Davis, Bukka White, Edward Clayborn, Jaybird Coleman and more. Like Blind Willie Johnson, these artists straddled the line between the Lord’s song and that of the old blues style. ---worldmusic.net

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Blind Lemon Jefferson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Lemon Jefferson (2013)

2018-09-04T13:47:53Z

Blind Lemon Jefferson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Lemon Jefferson (2013)


1-1 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	One Dime Blues 	2:48
1-2 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Easy Rider Blues 	2:56
1-3 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Jack O'Diamonds (Take 2) 	2:47
1-4 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Match Box Blues 	2:54
1-5 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Beggin' Back 	2:52
1-6 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Bad Luck Blues 	2:51
1-7 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	He Arose From The Dead 	2:26
1-8 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Rambler Blues 	2:48
1-9 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	See That My Grave Is Kept Clean 	2:53
1-10 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	That Crawlin' Baby Blues 	2:40
1-11 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Hot Dogs 	2:57
1-12 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	All I Want Is That Pure Religion 	3:13
1-13 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Corinna Blues (Take 2) 	3:08
1-14 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Black Snake Moan 	3:02
1-15 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Where Shall I Be 	2:33
1-16 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Mosquito Moan 	3:08
1-17 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Black Horse Blues 	2:57
1-18 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Wartime Blues 	3:03
1-19 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Rabbit Foot Blues 	2:57
1-20 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Rising High Water Blues 	2:31
1-21 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Prison Cell Blues 	2:48
1-22 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart 	3:05
1-23 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Dry Southern Blues 	2:51
1-24 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues 	2:47
1-25 	–Blind Lemon Jefferson 	Broke And Hungry 	3:00
+
Bonus CD: The Rough Guide To Country Blues Pioneers
2-1 	–Big Bill Broonzy 	Long Tall Mama 	2:49
2-2 	–Blind Blake 	He's In The Jailhouse Now 	2:47
2-3 	–Skip James 	Hard Time Killin' Floor 	2:50
2-4 	–Blind Willie Johnson 	Mother's Children Have A Hard Time 	3:23
2-5 	–Tommy Johnson 	Cool Drink Of Water Blues 	3:25
2-6 	–Frank Stokes 	I Got Mine 	3:06
2-7 	–Robert Wilkins 	That's No Way To Get Along 	2:54
2-8 	–Blind Willie McTell 	Southern Can Is Mine 	3:14
2-9 	–Bukka White 	District Attorney Blues 	2:42
2-10 	–Reverend Gary Davis* 	You Can Go Home 	3:08
2-11 	–Willie Brown (2) 	Future Blues 	3:01
2-12 	–Mississippi John Hurt 	Nobody's Dirty Business 	2:53
2-13 	–Furry Lewis 	Falling Down Blues 	2:52
2-14 	–Teddy Darby 	Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues 	3:06
2-15 	–Son House 	Country Farm Blues 	2:12
2-16 	–Mississippi Sheiks 	The World Is Going Wrong 	3:24
2-17 	–Leadbelly 	Blind Lemon Jefferson (My Friend Blind Lemon)) 	3:06
2-18 	–Mississippi Bracey 	Stered Gal 	3:11
2-19 	–Robert Johnson 	Preachin' Blues 	2:51
2-20 	–Charley Patton 	Some Of These Days I'll Be Gone (Take 2) 	3:09
2-21 	–Barbecue Bob 	Atlanta Moan 	3:06
2-22 	–The Memphis Jug Band* 	On The Road Again 	2:50
2-23 	–Memphis Minnie 	Weary Woman's Blues 	2:57
2-24 	–Sam Collins 	My Road Is Rough And Rocky 	2:54

Dubbed the ‘Father of the Texas Blues’, Blind Lemon Jefferson had a mesmerizing guitar-picking style and an impressive vocal range. A true blues legend, his approach influenced the likes of Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Son House. This Rough Guide presents a lovingly remastered selection of his varied repertoire, from deepest blues to raucous ragtime and God-fearing gospel.

Blind Lemon Jefferson sang his own epitaph throughout this life, a grizzly anecdote that forms the refrain of his most well-known and most-covered song, ‘See That My Grave Is Kept Clean’. Characteristic of his style, the lyrics to the song are laced through with sour notes of irony that are underpinned by his brooding bluesy guitar.

Blind Lemon Jefferson’s life is a riddle of ironies and inconsistencies to the modern-day investigator. Even the extent of his sight impairment is contestable. What can be known for certain is the far-reaching arm of his lasting influence. His style formed the basis of the blues paradigm echoed by the likes of Charley Patton, Furry Lewis and Barbecue Bob. His classic recordings also influenced such legends as Robert Johnson, Son House, B.B. King and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Stretching even further, folk and rock musicians such as Bob Dylan and Carl Perkins later reflected his influence, too.

Jefferson’s songs have varying inspirations: ‘Jack O’Diamonds’ is a Texan folk ballad sung by railroad men gambling in hot and dusty bars, while ‘Corinna Blues’ was inspired by the popular American song ‘See See Rider Blues’, first recorded by Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey in 1924. His songs also give differing impressions of the man: ‘Black Snake Moan’ paints him out as a womanizer, while ‘All I Want Is Pure Religion’ regarded in connection with stories of his refusal to play on a Sunday for any amount, suggests an altogether different image. Marvel at the mystery and drown in Jefferson’s heady bluesy brew on this lovingly remastered Rough Guide.

The bumper bonus album explores the artists that Jefferson inspired. His sound resonated with the likes of Skip James, Leadbelly, Blind Willie McTell and Memphis Minnie, all heard here. ---worldmusic.net

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Blind Boy Fuller ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Boy Fuller (2015)

2018-08-25T11:07:25Z

Blind Boy Fuller ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Blind Boy Fuller (2015)


1 	Truckin' My Blues Away No. 2 (Take 2) 	
2 	Thousand Woman Blues 	
3 	Mama Let Me Lay It On You 	
4 	Corrine What Makes You Treat Me So 	
5 	Get Your Yas Yas Out 	
6 	Flyin' Airplane Blues 	
7 	Weeping Willow 	
8 	Jivin' Woman Blues 	
9 	Bulldog Blues 	
10 	Twelve Gates To The City 	
11 	Step It Up And Go 	
12 	Baby Quit Your Low Down Ways 	
13 	Piccolo Rag 	
14 	You Never Can Tell 	
15 	Lost Lover Blues 	
16 	Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind 	
17 	Screaming And Crying Blues 	
18 	Tom Cat Blues 	
19 	Rag, Mama, Rag (Take 2) 	
20 	Walking My Troubles Away (Take 2) 	
21 	Untrue Blues 	
22 	Jitterbug Rag 	
23 	Homesick And Lonesome Blues 	
24 	(I Got A Woman Crazy For Me) She's Funny That Way 	
25 	Bye Bye Baby Blues

During his short but prolific recording career, Blind Boy Fuller became one of the most influential and best-selling bluesmen of his time. With songs brimming with wit and soulfulness, his strikingly original and energetic guitar arrangements have been an inspiration to countless guitarists ever since.

Blind Boy Fuller was only 33 when he died, but during his short but prolific recording career he became one of the most influential and best-selling bluesmen of the pre-War period. Inspired by the legendary blues and evangelist guitarist Rev Gary Davis, Fuller developed a ragtime influenced fingerstyle guitar technique typical among East Coast bluesmen, which beautifully complimented his gritty and expressive voice. Armed with his steel National resonator guitar, Fuller had a huge repertoire of songs ranging from ragtime, hokum and traditional blues to gospel and other popular tunes of the time.

Born Fulton Allen in rural North Carolina on 10 July 1907, he was one of ten children and had a very poor and tough upbringing. As a boy learning to play the guitar, he was influenced by the region’s rich and varied musical traditions, and eventually started plying his trade on street corners and other hang-outs where the African-Americans in the area worked. The life of the street performer was forced upon him when during his mid-teens he began to lose his eyesight and playing the guitar and singing became the only way that he could make a decent living.

Whilst singing and playing outside a tobacco warehouse during the winter of 1934-1935, Fuller was approached by the white entrepreneur and record retailer J.B. Long, who asked him to come and see him at the local store. This turned out to be his big break, as it was Long who arranged for Fuller to travel to New York City to record in 1935 for the American Record Corporation (ARC), along with his fellow guitar mentor Gary Davis and the albino washboard player known by the name of Bull City Red. Fuller recorded twelve tunes, and the issued discs sold very well, establishing him as a distinctive musical voice, inheriting the Carolina blues tradition but doing it his way.

Fuller went on to record over 120 songs for a variety of labels ranging from his big selling up-tempo rag ‘Step It Up and Go’, and hokum classics ‘Get Your Yas Yas Out’ and ‘Truckin’ My Blues Away’, to soulful blues numbers like ‘Lost Lover Blues’, all of which are featured on this album.

Some may argue that Fuller didn’t possess the virtuosic flair of the likes of Blind Blake, Willie Walker or Gary Davis; however, the melodic combination of his vocal and guitar give a completeness that distinguishes him from his contemporaries. Fuller’s music is full of honesty and draws on his experience as a blind and underprivileged black person. Living the hard life of the bluesman (who also spent time in jail for shooting and wounding his wife in the leg), Fuller’s illness and early death in 1941 have been widely ascribed to excessive drinking.

When people say that blues singers in the 1930s sounded the same, they forget about the music of Blind Foy Fuller which is brimming with wit and soulfulness. The unique sound of his National steel guitar gave voice to his strikingly original and energetic guitar arrangements, which have been an inspiration to countless guitarists ever since. In a similar way to Robert Johnson in the Delta, Blind Boy Fuller was able to bring together the many different styles of the Piedmont region and serve them up in a way that encapsulates the essence of the East Coast blues. ---worldmusic.net

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Robert Johnson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Robert Johnson (2010)

2018-08-20T12:52:39Z

Robert Johnson ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends: Robert Johnson (2010)


1 	I Believe I'll Dust My Broom 	
2 	Love In Vain 	
3 	Cross Road Blues 	
4 	Me And The Devil Blues 	
5 	I'm A Steady Rollin' Man 	
6 	If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day 	
7 	Come On In My Kitchen 	
8 	Walking Blues 	
9 	Ramblin' On My Mind 	
10 	Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil) 	
11 	Sweet Home Chicago 	
12 	They're Red Hot 	
13 	Milkcow's Calf Blues 	
14 	Terraplane Blues 	
15 	Stop Breakin' Down Blues 	
16 	Little Queen Of Spades 	
17 	From Four Till Late 	
18 	Traveling Riverside Blues 	
19 	Hellhound On My Trail 	
20 	32-20 Blues
+
21	Elmore James - Dust My Broom
22	Kokomo arnold - How Long How Long
23	Skip James - I'm So Glad
24	Willie Brown - Future Blues
25	Son House - Walkin Blues
26	Roosevelt Sykes - Sweet Old Blues
27	Robert Lokwood Jr. - Take a Little Walk with Me
28	Robert Nighthawk - Black Angel Blues
29	Howlin Wolf - I Want Your Picture
30	Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
31	Sonny Boy Williamson - Eyesight To The Blind
32	Honeyboy Edwards - Wind Howlin Blues
33	Bukka White - Shake 'Em Down

A true original with cult status, Robert Johnson was arguably the most influential bluesman of them all. Lovingly remastered to give exceptional clarity, this Rough Guide breathes new life into the work of a legend, who defined the blues and planted the seed of rock and roll. ‘He seemed like a guy who could have sprung from the head of Zeus in full armour,’ Bob Dylan recalled of the moment he first heard the voice of the most exotic and mysterious bluesman of them all. Born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in 1911, Robert Johnson grew up in and around Memphis. In the mid 1920s he lived on a plantation and began to play the Jew’s harp, the harmonica, and eventually, the guitar, which he played with the harmonica, fixed around his neck on a rack made with baling wire. Local musicians Willie Brown and Ernest ‘Whiskey Red’ Brown gave him tuition, while he made his living sharecropping. He was only 17, when he married his first wife, who died in childbirth the following year. During the summer of 1930, Son House came to live in Robinsonville and Johnson became a disciple of his intense Delta blues style. He later hoboed his way 200 miles south to his town of birth, where he discovered a new mentor in bluesman Ike Zinnerman. When Johnson returned to Robinsonville in the mid-1930s after deserting his second wife, it was obvious to all that he had become a superlative bluesman, and Son House may have inadvertently started the diabolic rumours about him by joking that he must have signed a pact with the devil. He continued to play with such musicians as Robert Nighthawk and Elmore James. He also moved in with another woman, Estella Coleman, and taught her son Robert Lockwood Jr to play the blues. In 1936 he auditioned for the blues label ARC, which led to two recording sessions in Texas, producing among others ‘Terraplane Blues’, the bestselling release in his lifetime. The restless Johnson took to the road again, and only got back in Mississippi in the summer of 1938. One night he was playing at a juke joint in Greenwood, when he was poisoned by the club's jealous owner, whose wife he had been seeing. He died in a few weeks later, leaving a mysterious life and a total of 48 recordings behind. Following the release of the King Of The Delta Blues Singers LP in 1961, the Johnson cult went into overdrive and his songs were recorded by the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. The bonus disc highlights his influence on other blues performers who knew, worked, played and travelled with him, or simply followed in his giant footsteps, including Skip James, Howlin' Wolf, Bukka White, Kokomo Arnold and many more... ---worldmusic.net

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Barbecue Bob ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends Barbecue Bob (2015)

2018-08-15T14:53:53Z

Barbecue Bob ‎– The Rough Guide To Blues Legends Barbecue Bob (2015)


01 	Poor Boy A Long Ways From Home 	3:01
02 	Barbecue Blues 	3:09
03 	Honey Your Going Too Fast 	2:59
04 	Motherless Chile Blues 	3:12
05 	She Looks So Good 	2:58
06 	Thinkin' Funny Blues 	3:22
07 	Honey You Don't Know My Mind 	3:08
08 	Going Up The Country 	3:11
09 	Atlanta Moan 	3:03
10 	It Just Won't Hay 	3:05
11 	Chocolate To The Bone 	2:49
12 	When The Saints Go Marching In 	3:07
13 	She's Coming Back Some Cold Rainy Day 	3:01
14 	Spider And The Fly 	3:33
15 	It Just Won't Quit 	3:13
16 	Yo Yo Blues 	2:54
17 	Brown-Skin Gal 	3:03
18 	Jesus' Blood Can Make Me Whole 	3:03
19 	She Moves It Just Right 	2:55
20 	Midnight Weeping Blues 	2:55
21 	It Won't Be Long Now - Part 1 	3:29
22 	It's Just Too Bad 	3:12
23 	Doin' The Scraunch 	2:54
24 	How Long Pretty Mama 	3:21

Barbecue Bob was one of the best-selling and most innovative blues artists of the late 1920s before he died at the age of just 29. Undoubtedly some of the most engaging early blues that you are likely to hear, his original and witty compositions had a huge influence on many of the blues greats that followed.

Very few names in the history of the blues capture the imagination quite like that of Barbecue Bob. Don’t be fooled by the quirky pseudonym and gimmicky publicity photograph of him posing in his chef's whites with guitar in hand, as he was an incredibly influential figure whose records helped pave the way for many of the important bluesmen that followed.

One of the unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues style, Robert Hicks, aka Barbecue Bob recorded over sixty sides for Columbia Records and became one of the best-selling artists on their ‘race series’, outsold only by Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Blind Willie Johnson. With his original and witty compositions he was one of the real pioneers of the Atlanta blues scene of the time, but his career was tragically ended by his death from pneumonia at the age of just 29.

Born in Walnut Grove, Georgia to a family of sharecroppers, Hicks learned to play the guitar from his brother Charley and Savannah ‘Dip’ Weaver, the mother of his friend Curley Weaver. He teamed up with Charley, Curley and harmonica player Eddie Mapp to perform at dances, parties and picnics in the Atlanta area. After leaving the group in 1926, Hicks became a chef in a barbecue joint where he would cook, serve and sing to the customers. He soon became something of a local celebrity and was noticed by a talent scout from Columbia Records, who gave him the opportunity to record under the catchy title of Barbecue Bob.

Characterized by a heavy percussive guitar style, he often used a bottleneck and played with a frailing technique that is more often associated with the claw hammer banjo. His twelve string guitar gave a rich accompaniment to his warm nasal singing voice which, compared to the morbid and foreboding songs of the Delta blues, created a vibe which was jaunty and upbeat.

With a huge repertoire of songs ranging from hokum to slow blues and spirituals to traditional songster tunes, his music is imbued with a special warmth typical to the East Coast blues. Even from the opening few measures of his very first record ‘Barbecue Blues’, Hicks signature sound of a bright and trebly twelve string guitar combined with his expressive voice is instantly accessible and almost ‘pop’ sounding in comparison with other blues singers of the time. His debut song was a huge success and led to a prolific recording career over the next four years when, it is said, he lived fast and enjoyed the high life. Hicks frequently recorded with his brother Charley, who was known as Laughing Charley Lincoln, and would later record several sides in 1930 with Buddy Moss and Curley Weaver as the Georgia Cotton Pickers.

Largely due to his life being tragically cut short in 1931, his music has been sadly overlooked and has therefore not received the respect proffered to other East coast players such as Blind Willie McTell and Buddy Moss. He was however a true innovator in his time, and this compilation gives proof that his music is undoubtedly some of the most engaging early blues that you are likely to hear. ---worldmusic.net

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The Rough Guide To African Blues (2007)

2018-08-10T14:28:46Z

The Rough Guide To African Blues (2007)


1 	–Mariem Hassan 	La Tumchi Anni 	4:48
2 	–Nuru Kane 	Goree 	5:08
3 	–Corey Harris With Ali Farka Touré 	Special Rider Blues 	4:55
4 	–Boubacar Traoré 	Mariama Kaba 	5:37
5 	–Oumou Sangare 	Mogo Ti Diya Bee Ya 	4:10
6 	–Etran Finatawa 	Iriarer 	4:58
7 	–Afel Bocoum 	Jaman Moro 	4:17
8 	–Rokia Traoré 	Kèlè Mandi 	4:11
9 	–Ayaléw Mèsfin* & Black Lion Band 	Feqer Aydelem Wey 	4:09
10 	–Djelimady Tounkara 	Sigui 	5:04
11 	–Bob Brozman & Djeli Moussa Diawara 	Maloyan Devil 	6:00
12 	–Rasha 	Azara Al Hai 	6:30
13 	–Daby Balde 	Waino Blues 	4:21
14 	–Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck 	Bibbe Leydy 	6:27

In the twenty years since Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Touré won his first Grammy, a whole spectrum of African Blues has become hugely popular with a global audience. The shades of Blues on this Rough Guide range from the deep indigo of the Saharan nomads to a vivid Madagascan cobalt.

Africa is considered by many to be the home of the blues, both musically and spiritually. Musically the connection is particularly evident in the music of Ali Farka Touré and other artists from Mali and Saharan West Africa. Elsewhere, the link to the blues can be described as more spiritual – the intensity of the emotion comes across in the passion of the voices and the rawness of the music.

West Africa provides the first few songs on this Rough Guide. Ali Farka Touré himself said that he was ‘an absolute fool for the guitar’ in the 1970s when ‘Yer Mali Gakoyoyo’ was recorded for Mali’s national radio station, while ‘Dani Dou’ by his acolyte Samba Touré hints at the loping gait of a camel-train. Tamikrest and Bombino represent further variations of the blues of the Sahara.

Senegalese artists Nuru Kane and Amadou Diagne are joined by musicians from their adopted communities in France and the UK and it’s English guitarist Ramon Goose who provides the springy electric riff to accompany Modou Touré’s vocals in the West African Blues Project. Meanwhile, Zambian-born Dominic Kakolobango is joined by American Elijah Wald on the dual finger-picking guitars of ‘Gueza Tabiya’ (Change Your Habits) and an international band, including oud and piano, provides a lush backing for Amira Kheir’s jazzy exploration of her Sudanese heritage.

The complex traditional music of their native Madagascar influences the blues of both Nogabe Randriaharimalala and Lala Njava, while Menelik Wesnatchew’s ‘Teteza’ is a beautifully swaying version of ‘Ethiopia’s majestic hymn to the blues’.

Dilon Djindji, from Mozambique, made his first guitar from an oil can when he was twelve years old, 63 years before his first solo album was released. The final track on the album is a unique unaccompanied vocal piece by La Reunion’s greatest maloya artist, Danyèl Waro. ---worldmusic.net

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The Rough Guide To Delta Blues (2016)

2018-08-03T10:12:55Z

The Rough Guide To Delta Blues (2016)


1 	–Bukka White 	Special Streamline 	2:53
2 	–Tommy Johnson 	Bye Bye Blues 	3:00
3 	–Skip James 	Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues 	2:47
4 	–Robert Wilkins 	I'll Go With Her 	3:03
5 	–Son House 	Country Farm Blues 	2:08
6 	–Bo Carter 	Who's Been Here? 	2:34
7 	–Ishman Bracey 	Trouble Hearted Blues (Take 2) 	3:20
8 	–Mississippi Sheiks 	The World Is Going Wrong 	3:21
9 	–Arthur Petties* 	That Won't Do 	2:58
10 	–Willie Brown (2) 	M & O Blues 	3:07
11 	–The Mississippi Moaner 	It's Cold In China Blues 	2:46
12 	–Johnny Temple (2) 	The Evil Devil Blues 	3:04
13 	–Mississippi Bracey 	Stered Gal 	3:05
14 	–Garfield Akers 	Dough Roller Blues 	3:08
15 	–Mattie Delaney 	Tallahatchie River Blues 	2:45
16 	–Willie 'Poor Boy' Lofton* 	Dirty Mistreater 	2:46
17 	–Kid Bailey 	Rowdy Blues 	2:56
18 	–Geeshie Wiley 	Eagles On A Half 	3:01
19 	–Joe Callicott 	Traveling Mama Blues 	3:13
20 	–Jelly Jaw Short 	Barefoot Blues 	2:54
21 	–Rube Lacey* 	Mississippi Jailhouse Groan 	3:18
22 	–Charlie McCoy (2) 	Last Time Blues 	2:54
23 	–Sonny Boy Nelson 	Street Walkin' 	2:32
24 	–Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe 	I'm Talking About You 	2:38
25 	–Charley Patton 	Poor Me 	2:56

The most influential of all the blues forms, Delta blues laid the foundations for what was to become rock and roll. Born in the punishing and poverty-stricken environment of the Mississippi Delta, this Rough Guide traces its early origins with classic tracks by many Delta legends as well as lesser known artists shrouded in mystery.

There can be little doubt that the blues grew up in the Mississippi Delta as an elaboration on work chants, slave songs, and the lyrical and haunting field hollers. Developing around the turn of the nineteenth century into the twentieth, the Delta blues became the most influential of all the blues forms, rising out of the fertile agricultural triangle located between Vicksburg, Mississippi to the south and Memphis, Tennessee to the north, and bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Yazoo River to the east. The regular flooding of these rivers left the land incredibly flat and blessed with some of the most fertile soil on the planet – perfect conditions for growing cotton. It was here that black sharecroppers worked the land in one of the harshest systems of slavery ever known. Poverty was rife throughout the Delta and it was this punishing environment which gave birth to the blues.

Typically blues songs were handed down by word of mouth and artists would freely add new lyrics in order to make them their own. The guitar became the primary tool of the Delta bluesman due to the ease of carrying it around, and this spawned incredible instrumental virtuosity amongst performers. One such figure was Charley Patton who is widely considered to be the ‘Father of the Delta Blues’. An immensely gifted performer, Patton was amazingly prolific and served as a major influence on other legendary Delta bluesmen who followed including Robert Johnson, Son House and Howlin' Wolf. Tommy Johnson was a contemporary of Charley Patton and was also an incredibly gifted writer, singer and guitarist. Renowned for performing tricks with his guitar, playing it between his legs, behind his head and throwing it in the air while playing, Tommy Johnson unfortunately recorded very little – only 16 songs in three sessions between 1928 and 1929. Many of the original Delta bluesmen either died at a relatively early age or drifted into obscurity. Son House, however, was an exception and lived long enough to be re-discovered during the 1960s folk revival. Despite his tough life, House manged to beat the odds and along with a handful of other featured artists – including Skip James, Bukka White, Robert Wilkins and Joe Calicott – enjoyed a successful second phase of his musical career with young audiences thirsty for a taste of authentic Delta blues.

Memphis was the closest big city to the Mississippi Delta and this became a magnet for blues singers desperate to escape the hardships of the Delta country. Its epicentre was the lawless and rowdy Beale Street and it was here that many of the great Delta bluesmen were recorded as well as one of the few women to emerge from the Delta blues scene, Memphis Minnie. On the featured track ‘I’m Talking About You’, she is accompanied by Joe McCoy ‘Kansas Joe’, her second husband, who along with his brother Charlie McCoy were important instrumental sidemen appearing on a number of seminal blues recordings.

One of the pioneering musicians of the Delta, Willie Brown was a contemporary of Charley Patton and Son House and disappeared from the music scene during the 1940s. One of the great blues riddles is whether the featured Kid Bailey was a pseudonym for Willie Brown. Mystery pervades this collection with scant little known about many of these Delta pioneers, from the country blues divas Geechie Wiley and Mattie Delaney to the enigmatic Mississippi Bracey – was he related to his more illustrious namesake Ishman Bracey? What we do know is that the first Great Migration from the South to ‘the Promised Land’ of Chicago brought more African Americans from Mississippi than any other state. With the migrants came the Delta blues which became the foundation of the classic post-war Chicago blues style and in turn shaped the development of popular music around the world. ---worldmusic.net

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The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes Of Country Blues (Vol.2) [2015]

2018-07-21T14:08:25Z

The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes Of Country Blues (Vol.2) [2015]


1 	–Kansas Joe 	Bothering That Thing
2 	–Ed Bell 	She's A Fool Thing
3 	–Kid Cole 	Niagra Fall Blues
4 	–Papa Charlie Jackson 	The Cat's Got The Measles 	
5 	–George Torey 	Lonesome Man Blues
6 	–Memphis Jug Band 	This Will Bring You Back 	
7 	–Kid Bailey 	Mississippi Bottom Blues
8 	–Buddy Boy Hawkins 	Snatch It And Grab It
9 	–Sylvester Weaver 	Guitar Rag
10 	–Bobby Grant 	Lonesome Atlanta Blues 	
11 	–William (Bill) Moore 	Ragtime Millionaire 	
12 	–Jaybird Coleman 	Man Trouble Blues 	
13 	–Jelly Jaw Short 	Grand Daddy Blues
14 	–Blind Joe Taggart 	Religion Is Something Within You 	
15 	–Willie Baker 	Rag Baby 	
16 	–Jim Jackson 	Hey Mama - It's Nice Like That - Part 2 	
17 	–Ramblin' Thomas 	Poor Boy Blues 	
18 	–Pillie Bolling 	Shake Me Like A Dog
19 	–Mattie Delaney 	Down The Big Road Blues 	
20 	–Ishman Bracey 	Woman Woman Blues
21 	–Willie Walker 	Dupree Blues 	
22 	–Charley Lincoln 	Mama Don't Rush Me 	
23 	–Billy Bird 	Alabama Blues - Part 1 	
24 	–Little Hat Jones 	Bye Bye Baby Blues

This second volume digs that bit deeper into the early days of recorded country blues and sheds light on other mysterious figures, many of whose contribution to the blues is easily overlooked. None more so than Sylvester Weaver who was the first artist to record a blues instrumental and whose featured ‘Guitar Rag’ shows off his slide-guitar brilliance which was much imitated by other players. Likewise Ramblin’ Thomas from Louisiana was famed for his bottleneck guitar playing and truly makes his guitar weep on his homesick lament ‘Poor Boy Blues’.

By carefully selecting artists from across the different sub-genres this collection serves as a refreshing and alternative overview of country blues. The East Coast is well represented, being a real hotbed for guitar virtuosos. One such master was Willie Walker who was once described by Josh White as the best guitarist he had ever heard, even better than Blind Blake. Fellow East Coast bluesmen include the singing barber William Moore who, when not cutting hair, found time to cut several classic sides for Paramount, and Charley Lincoln, the brother of Barbecue Bob. The influence of these brother’s open-tuned, banjo-like guitar style can clearly be heard in the playing of the mysterious Willie Baker.

The laid back blues of the East Coast is a far cry from the raw intensity and emotion of the Delta Blues. Both Kid Bailey and Ishman Bracey were part of a circle of blues greats that included Tommy Johnson and Son House. One of the great blues mysteries is whether Kid Bailey was in actual fact the incredibly influential Willie Brown in disguise. The Delta blues diva Mattie Delaney’s variant of Tommy Johnson’s ‘Big Road Blues’ shows how she possessed one of the most remarkable voices in country blues. Aside from her two solitary recordings nothing more is really known of her life, which is a similar story to others on this compilation such as Bobby Grant and George Torey, both exceptionally gifted players who faded into total obscurity.

Although not related Papa Charlie Jackson and Jim Jackson both bridged the gap between the blues and the earlier songster traditions. Armed with huge repertoires of songs from different genres they performed in minstrel and medicine shows and knew how to play something for any occasion. The sublime harmonica player Jaybird Coleman was another who worked the minstrel shows and proved that country blues wasn’t just about the guitar. The same can be said of the Memphis Jug Band who were made up of all manner of instruments and provided a training ground for musicians including Memphis Minnie, who coincidentally accompanies her first husband Kansas Joe on the classic opener ‘Bothering That Thing’.

Blind Joe Taggart was one of the first guitar evangelists to record the gospel form of country blues, but also recorded "devil's” music under other pseudonyms. Ed Bell eventually turned his back on the blues for religion, and is joined in the track listing by his friend Pillie Bolling who’s raggy ‘Shake It Like A Dog’ is a real hidden gem. Many early country bluesmen had ragtime influenced songs in their repertoires not least Buddy Boy Hawkins whose sophisticated guitar playing can be heard to the full on ‘Snatch It And Grab It’.

Most of these artists are just a small footnote in the story of the blues, however their songs have in common a timeless quality and passion to rival that of any of their more famous peers, beautifully demonstrated by Little Hat Jones who’s signature tune ‘Bye Bye Baby Blues’ winds things down to a perfect conclusion. ---worldmusic.net

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