15-08-2020 > BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1965-1959

Howlin' Wolf

15-08-2020 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1965-1959 # Howlin' Wolf, The Rolling Stones, Little Walter, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Reverend Gary Davis, Curtis Jones, Al Smith, Snooks Eaglin, Lonnie Donegan, Jack McDuff

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1965-1959

A primal, ferocious blues belter with a roster of classics rivaling anyone else, and a sandpaper growl of a voice that has been widely imitated. In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. 
Howlin' Wolf 
Killing Floor  (Chester Burnett)
Tail Dragger (Willie Dixon)
The Natchez Burnin' (Chester Burnett)
from The Real Folk Blues 1965
In the mid-'60s, Chess Records released a great series of compilations of '40s and '50s singles by some of its best blues artists, all of them called The Real Folk Blues. The Howlin' Wolf entry is possibly the best of the batch, and one of the best introductions to this mercurial electric bluesman. Opening with the savage "Killing Floor," the album doesn't let up in intensity, and it happily focuses on Wolf's less-anthologized sides, which gives the album a freshness a lot of blues compilations lack... every track is pure Chicago blues at its finest...

The premier British rock band for over half a century, creators of the sound and style imitated by countless groups. By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title.
The Rolling Stones
Confessin' the Blues  (Walter Brown / Jay McShann)
2120 South Michigan Avenue  (Mick Jagger / Nanker Phelge / Keith Richards)
from 12 x 5 1964
The evolution from blues to rock accelerated with the Rolling Stones' second American LP. They turned soul into guitar rock for the hits "It's All Over Now" and "Time Is on My Side" (the latter of which was their first American Top Ten single). "2120 South Michigan Avenue" is a great instrumental blues-rock jam; "Around and Around" is one of their best Chuck Berry covers; and "If You Need Me" reflects an increasing contemporary soul influence...

A major figure of post-war blues, brought the harmonica out of its rural setting into an urban context.
Little Walter
It Ain't Right (Little Walter)
Crazy Mixed Up World (Willie Dixon / Bruce Willis)
Confessin' the Blues (Walter Brown / Jay McShann)
from Confessin' the Blues 1953-1963 (1966)
...Still, for those who can't afford either of those pricey sets, this disc, coupled with the two best-of volumes, and the other Walter compilations, fills in some holes that are well worth filling. Made up of songs cut between 1953 and 1959 -- none of which had ever appeared on LP before the original 1974 release of this collection -- the selection features Walter in his prime, playing alongside Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Louis Myers or Luther Tucker on guitar (with Muddy Waters present on slide on one indispensable track, "Rock Bottom"), mostly Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on the drums, with Lafayette Leake or Otis Spann on piano...

05-06-2020 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1973-1964

FREE

05-06-2020 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1973-1964 # Free, Long John Baldry, Ten Years After, Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann with Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Canned Heat, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin' Wolf, The Rolling Stones

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1973-1964

Free helped lay the foundations for the rise of hard rock, stripping the earthy sound of British blues down to its raw, minimalist core to pioneer a brand of proto-metal later popularized by 1970s superstars like Foreigner, Foghat and Bad Company. 

Free 

Heartbreaker (Paul Rodgers) 6:13

Seven Angels (Paul Rodgers) 5:04

from Heartbreaker 1973

The final Free album, Heartbreaker was patched together from a variety of sessions -- and it often sounds like it. Aside from drummer Simon Kirke and singer-guitarist Paul Rodgers, the band was in fragments. Lead guitarist Paul Kosoff -- who was suffering from the drug demons that would eventually kill him -- appears on only half of the album, and it certainly takes away some of the communal vibe that Free was all about. There are some great moments... The rest of the record is by no means filler, but only proves what a great band Free was, even if their ranks had dwindled.

R&B-and-blues drenched British pop singer of the 1960s of imposing stature... As a historical figure, he has undeniable importance. When he began singing as a teenager in the 1950s, he was one of the first British vocalists to perform folk and blues music. 

Long John Baldry 

You Can't Judge a Book 4:21

Hambone 4:02

Jubilee Cloud 4:16

from Everything Stops For Tea 1972

Like its companion It Ain't Easy, the second half of Long John Baldry's early-'70s comeback Everything Stops for Tea initially attracted the most attention via its producers, former Baldry sidemen Elton John and Rod Stewart... With Baldry's musical tastes now drawing folkier textures into his blues (and eschewing the big ballad pop altogether), it's a varied and oft-times eclectic collection. But the strength of Baldry's performance smooths over any rough edges that might have tripped other singers and, though It Ain't Easy remains the superior of these two albums, this one really isn't that far behind it.

Hard-rocking British blues band led by virtuosic guitarist Alvin Lee... A storming blues and boogie band from the U.K., Ten Years After rocketed from modest success to worldwide fame in the wake of their performance at the Woodstock Rock Festival in 1969, where their nine-minute rendition of "I'm Going Home" showed off the lightning-fast guitar work and howling vocals of Alvin Lee, the unrelenting stomp of bassist Leo Lyons and drummer Ric Lee, and the soulful support of keyboard man Chick Churchill.

Ten Years After 

One of These Days (Alvin Lee) 5:58

Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'N' Roll You (Alvin Lee) 2:14

Let the Sky Fall (Alvin Lee) 4:20

Uncle Jam (Chick Churchill / Alvin Lee / Ric Lee / Leo Lyons) 2:00

from A Space in Time 1971

A Space in Time was Ten Years After's best-selling album...  TYA's first album for Columbia, A Space in Time has more of a pop-oriented feel than any of their previous releases had. The individual cuts are shorter, and Alvin Lee displays a broader instrumental palette than before. In fact, six of the disc's ten songs are built around acoustic guitar riffs. However, there are still a couple of barn-burning jams. The leadoff track, "One of These Days," is a particularly scorching workout, featuring extended harmonica and guitar solos... Many of the cuts make effective use of dynamic shifts, and the guitar solos are generally more understated than on previous outings. The production on A Space in Time is crisp and clean, a sound quite different from the denseness of its predecessors...

21-09-2018 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1969-1959

John Hammond Jr July 1964 Newport

21-09-2018 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1969-1959 # John Hammond, Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Champion Jack Dupree, Big Joe Williams, Curtis Amy & Paul Bryant, Brownie McGhee

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1969-1959

John Hammond, Jr. is one of a handful of white blues musicians who was on the scene at the beginning of the first blues renaissance of the mid-'60s. That revival, brought on by renewed interest in folk music around the U.S., brought about career boosts for many of the great classic blues players, including Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, and Skip James. Some critics have described Hammond as a white Robert Johnson, and Hammond does justice to classic blues by combining powerful guitar and harmonica playing with expressive vocals and a dignified stage presence.
John Hammond
Mystery Train (Junior Parker) 3:00
I'm Leavin' You (Chester Burnett) 3:21
from Southern Fried 1969
Southern Fried differed little from other early Hammond albums in its repertoire, consisting entirely of covers of blues and R&B songs. As usual, the Chicago sound came in for especially heavy tribute, with versions of songs by Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Chuck Berry, as well as a pass at "Mystery Train," though more vocal-oriented R&B got a nod with Chuck Willis' "It's Too Late" and some of the other tunes. Where this might have a leg up on some other early Hammond efforts -- and a leg up on blues cover albums in general -- is in the stellar band, featuring Muscle Shoals stalwarts like Eddie Hinton and Roger Hawkins. Allman Brothers fans, too, will want to keep an eye out for it as it features Duane Allman playing fine lead guitar on four tracks...

...As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta blues, he was superb, equal parts Charley Patton and Son House coming to the fore through his roughed-up vocals and slashing bottleneck style of guitar playing. McDowell knew he was the real deal, and while others were diluting and updating their sound to keep pace with the changing times and audiences, Mississippi Fred stood out from the rest of the pack simply by not changing his style one iota...
Fred McDowell
Levee Camp Blues (Mississippi Fred McDowell) 3:49
My Baby Don't Treat Me Like Humankind (Mississippi Fred McDowell) 2:21
from Levee Camp Blues / Rec. 1968 (1998)
When Mississippi Fred McDowell recorded these sides in March of 1968, producer Pete Welding encouraged McDowell to recall the earliest material he had learned when he first started playing. The result is a selection of tunes that simply don't show up on his other recordings, both stylistically and because of their previously unreleased status...

A primal, ferocious blues belter with a roster of classics rivaling anyone else, and a sandpaper growl of a voice that has been widely imitated.   In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits.
Howlin' Wolf
Just My Kind (Chester Burnett / Howlin' Wolf) 2:53
I'm the Wolf (Chester Burnett / Howlin' Wolf) 2:54
from More Real Folk Blues 1967
This companion volume to the Real Folk Blues album was issued in 1967 (after the Wolf had appeared on network television with the Rolling Stones, alluded to in the original liner notes) and couldn't be more dissimilar in content to the first one if you had planned it that way. Whereas the previous volume highlighted middle-period Wolf, this one goes all the way back to his earliest Chess sessions, many of which sound like leftover Memphis sides...

31-08-2018 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1975-1965

Johnny Shines

31-08-2018 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1975-1965 # Johnny Shines, Junior Wells, Maggie Bell,  The Allman Brothers Band, Albert King, John Mayall, Savoy Brown, John Hammond, Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon

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BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1975-1965

Delta bluesman, and one-time Robert Johnson cohort, whose career extended into the 1960s folk revival.  Best known as a traveling companion of Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines' own contributions to the blues have often been unfairly shortchanged, simply because Johnson's own legend casts such a long shadow. In his early days, Shines was one of the top slide guitarists in Delta blues, with his own distinctive, energized style; one that may have echoed Johnson's spirit and influence, but was never a mere imitation.
Johnny Shines
Red Sun (Kent Cooper / Louisiana Red / Johnny Shines) 4:46
Pay Day Woman (Johnny Shines) 5:10
from Too Wet To Plow 1975
Johnny Shines was far from predictable. Though he recorded his share of inspired electric dates, he had no problem turning around and delivering a stripped-down, all-acoustic Delta blues session like Too Wet to Plow. Recorded in Edmonton, Canada in 1975...  Too Wet to Plow finds Shines in excellent form. His solid accompaniment includes harmonica player Sugar Blue and bassist Ron Rault, as well as guitarist/singer Louisiana Red (a superb bluesman who isn't nearly as well known as he should be), and Shines clearly has a strong rapport with them... Highly recommended.

Regarded as the last of the great Chicago harmonica players, he was an impressive stylist and a leading practitioner of postwar blues harmonica.  He was one bad dude, strutting across the stage like a harp-toting gangster, mesmerizing the crowd with his tough-guy antics and rib-sticking Chicago blues attack. Amazingly, Junior Wells kept at precisely this sort of thing for over 40 years; he was an active performer from the dawn of the '50s until his death in the late '90s.
Junior Wells
What My Momma Told Me (Junior Wells) 4:07
The Train I Ride (Junior Wells) 5:06
from On Tap 1975
Underrated mid-'70s collection boasting a contemporary, funky edge driven by guitarists Phil Guy and Sammy Lawhorn, keyboardist Big Moose Walker, and saxman A.C. Reed...