CD-Charts Position 141
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Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date October 12, 1999
This is an impressive collection-- a century's worth of great music. 26 discs, covering many different genres.

And while there is plenty of variety here, it is very much weighted to the modern era. Only eight of the 26 discs contain pre-1950 material, and of those eight, most contain only about half-a-disc's worth of pre-1950 material. It is certainly true that fewer recordings were made in the early days of the technology, but to call it a "Soundtrack for a Century" and ignore half the century seems very misguided.

What would have made a much more interesting collection would have been a set that looked at the most popular recordings of each era and genre. Since there are six discs of "pop" music here, why not ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 142
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Club Verboten

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date March 18, 1997
Everyone's bound to have quibbles with a collection such as this one. I would much prefer to have Mabel Mercer's version of "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," for instance (although Rod McKuen's is lovely), and I regret the absence of certain gay "standards" such as Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" and Dusty Springfield's "Quiet, Please, There's a Lady on Stage." But it's all fun, not mention educational, and I'm grateful to Marshall Blonstein and Richard Oliver for a magnificent effort, which is destined to take its place next to classics of the literature such as William J. Mann's "Behind the Screen" and "The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage"--not to mention the collected works of Barbara Streisand! To underscore their sense of history, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 143
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The Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury, Vol. 7 (1961)

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date July 01, 1991
Add this to your must have Dianh Washington list. Do not hesitate..it is brillant.

CD-Charts Position 144
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Whole Lotta Love

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Candye Kane

Release Date August 11, 2003
Candye Kane has a very strong voice. Although Whole Lotta Love is a Willie Dixon song, it is most equated with Led Zeppelin. Candye really belts the song out and could probably give Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin a run for his money. If you enjoy the blues, I recommend this one.

CD-Charts Position 145
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American Songbook Series: Jerome Kern

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date February 01, 1994
Candye Kane has a very strong voice. Although Whole Lotta Love is a Willie Dixon song, it is most equated with Led Zeppelin. Candye really belts the song out and could probably give Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin a run for his money. If you enjoy the blues, I recommend this one.

CD-Charts Position 146
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For Those in Love

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date November 17, 1992
When this album was being recorded Dinah and Quincy were "doin' a little housekeeping" (making good music can be like making good love).

My Aunt Mary was a big fan of Dinah. She used to come back from shows that Dinah did at Robert's Show Lounge on the Southside of Chicago and share what details she could with a kid not even close to being even a teenager. Dinah was an earthy,passionate woman with a "rich vocabulary", who liked to party. Thanks to Aunt Mary, I grew up on a steady diet of "the Queen". I drank from the Queen's well deeply and often. Still do...

One of the things I remember about Dinah from the 50's was that she had a reputation for being a "wild woman", but there was some kind a reverence people in the African American ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 147
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The Best of Dinah Washington

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date January 26, 1993
The Best of Dinah Washington is a solid assortment of Dinah's work on Roulette Records and wow, is Dinah's voice ever in great form! Sure, the musical arrangements are rather similar; but I'm not sure Dinah had complete power over that. The sound quality is very good and I like the artwork, too.

"You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" has a fine big band style arrangement; and when Dinah comes in this number really takes flight! Dinah swings brightly and her voice is like silk. Dinah's excellent diction and her fine sense of timing enhance her performance even further! "Call Me Irresponsible" features Dinah squarely front and center; she sings this ballad with panache. Dinah also injects a certain romantic quality into this number using her finely tuned voice. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 148
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What It Takes: The Chess Years

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Koko Taylor

Release Date September 10, 1991
THIS CD FEATURES KOKO TAYLOR RELEASES FROM THE CHESS LABEL IN THE 1960'S MOSTLY WRITTEN BY HER HUSBAND, THE GREAT WILLIE DIXON. KOKO'S EARLY SONGS ARE CLASIC CHICAGO BLUES, WITH HER GRAVELLY VOICE AND GUT BUCKET SOUND. I HAVE THREE ISSUES I ALWAYS DEAL WITH IN TERMS OF FAVORITE BLUES ARTISTS: KOKO TAYLOR VS. ETTA JAMES, MUDDY WATERS VS. HOWLIN' WOLF, AND BIG MAYBELLE, VS. BIG MAMA THORNTON, I WRESTLE WITH THESE ISSUES NIGHT AND DAY. ALL OF THESE ARTISTS ARE GREAT BUT THOSE THREE PAIRINGS MAKE ME TOSS AND TURN AT NIGHT DECIDING WHO IT IS I LIKE BETTER.

CD-Charts Position 149
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Supreme Jazz

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Ella Fitzgerald

Release Date March 30, 2006
This is a very nice compilation of material. It should be noted that while marketed for SACD, this is actually a hybrid disk. Meaning, there are two formats embedded here, and the disk plays fine on a standard CD player.

CD-Charts Position 150
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The Earthshaker

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Koko Taylor

Release Date October 25, 1990
Koko Taylor is a living legend! The blues has been so commercialized and copied that we often do not recognize it in its essential forms. Koko Taylor is an earth-shaking embodiment of the blues tradition. She is the real deal. Straight up without a chaser. Get this album wherever you can find it and listen to it over and over. Koko Taylor will heal your soul and give you a spiritual education in living in the world. When I listen to her version of "Let the Good Times Roll" I don't want to hear anybody else sing it again. You will travel to some pretty deep and scary places listening to her sing "Walking the Backstreet" but you will emerge emboldened to live and love life to the fullest!