CD-Charts Position 41
Average Rating:

Burnin' Down the House: Live at the House of Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date May 07, 2002
RECORDED AT L.A.'S HOUSE OF BLUES IN 2001, THIS IS A GREAT LIVE ETTA JAMES CD. SHE IS AT THE TOP OF HER GAME ON THIS ONE, AND WHEN SHE'S ON, NOBODY CAN TOUCH HER. HER BACKUP BAND, "THE ROOTS BAND", KICKS SOME SERIOUS YOU KNOW WHAT AS WELL, AND FEATURES A VERY, VERY FAT HORN SECTION. ETTA JAMES' SINGING REALLY TURNED BACK THE CLOCK ON THIS RECORDING. I LOVE THE SECOND CUT, "I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU" WHICH THEN SEGUES INTO "BORN TO BE WILD" (THE OLD STEPPENWOLF SONG). HER VERSION OF "ALL THE WAY DOWN" ON THIS CD HAS A "CURTIS MAYFIELD-SUPERFLY" KIND OF A SOUND TO IT, VERY FUNKY. AND HER RENDITION OF "AT LAST" COULD VERY EASILY BECOME MY ALLTIME FAVORITE SLOW DANCING SONG OF ALL TIME. "YOUR GOOD THING IS ABOUT TO END" IS A GREAT TORCH ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 42
Average Rating:

Glamoured

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Cassandra Wilson

Release Date October 07, 2003
Applies her now distinctive fusion-Delta steel, jazz, deep funkiness, and the voice-to a wide range of songs, making them all her own. Many reveal the originals only with close attention. Most coherent collection of her settings that I can recall-all as quiet but insistent and vital as the sound of your blood passing in your veins. The jazz-funk-country blues captures the calm of night in a swamp, but also the vague foreboding of a primordial presence there. Lyrics of tr 1 by Sting capture the mood of the cd as a whole: "Like rain from the stars, how fragile we are." That said, I repeatedly hear her voice as another instrument in the mix before I hear any words. [53:29]

CD-Charts Position 43
Average Rating:

The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date December 13, 2005
This review is not about the packaging (besides, it's not the worst even though whoever decided to glue the acordion like disc holder to the metal box wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and whoever designed the art work wasn't the brightest bulb in the lamp).

This is strictly on the music alone. If this was on the Verve & Cleff material only, this would be getting a 5 star rating. On the first 5 discs, she hadn't totally messed up her vocal chords on cigarettes and heroin yet. Unfortunately, Verve (originally owned by Polygram, now owned by UMG) also owned MGM, and to live up to the complete angle, they had to release the MGM (Ray Ellis conducted / arranged / produced) album simply titled Billie Holiday. This section got worst for ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 44
Average Rating:

Time After Time

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Etta James

Release Date May 09, 1995
I bought the CD for a friend but downloaded a copy - minus a few tracks - from iTunes. I first heard Etta's version of My Funny Valentine in the middle of a restless night. I've never heard anything quite like Etta's voice. I'm at a loss for words but Etta's interpretation of these jazz standards blow me away every time I listen to them.

It may not be for you if you're into her edgier blues style. I find this the flavor of this CD stands apart as unique in her discography with an after hours jazz club feel. Etta's interpretive skill and abilty to dig in and own a tune are amazing. Some voices suffer as they age. Etta's only getting better. A bucketload of soul.

CD-Charts Position 45
Average Rating:

Time Is on My Side

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Irma Thomas

Release Date December 27, 2004
I am from New Orleans, so Irma is like a household name to us. I sang along to her music as a teenager, have heard her perform, and even seen her in the grocery store. She's one of our local treasures, and a wonderful lady.

If you never heard her sing, you are in for a treat. This cd is not the best quality, but is a good example of her early years in the business. She's in her 60's now, and still going strong. She's always been a favorite of mine. Buy this, and treat yourelf to a dose of "The Soul Queen of New Orleans"

CD-Charts Position 46
Average Rating:

Mother of the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Ma Rainey

Release Date July 17, 2007
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the Mother of the Blues. She was simply the best at what she did. These recordings are not just another blues compulation, they are a complete historical document. The value more than outweighs the flaws.

Pros:
1. The album has ALL of her songs (alternate takes added). This is a first time that I've ever seen a COMPLETE set.
2. The price is right. For 5 discs, you pay around 5 or 6 dollars a disc.
3. The Restoration and Remastering is the best that is currently available.

Cons:
1. Ma Rainey worked for Paramount Records (man how I wish she would have worked for Victor or Columbia). Paramount had great blues (Charlie Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Skip James, etc.), but they had very sub ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 47
Average Rating:

Ella Fitzgerald - Live at Montreux 1969

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

Release Date March 22, 2005
I am Manuel De Sica, the composer of the song included in this DVD 2"A place for lovers"(lyrics by Norman Gimbel). Thanks God to receive this unique gift to be sung(I was twenty, that year)from the greatest female singer of all times.

CD-Charts Position 48
Average Rating:

Lady Sings the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date September 18, 2007
I am Manuel De Sica, the composer of the song included in this DVD 2"A place for lovers"(lyrics by Norman Gimbel). Thanks God to receive this unique gift to be sung(I was twenty, that year)from the greatest female singer of all times.

CD-Charts Position 49
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Greatest Hits

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Bessie Smith

Release Date June 21, 2005
Elsewhere in this space I have mentioned that in the early days of the blues, at least the recorded blues, women vocalists dominated the market. One thinks of Mabel Smith and Ma Rainey in that regard. But the queen of the hill, and the one still best remembered, for roaring out those barrel house blues is Bessie Smith. This little two-disc compilation gives a very nice beginner cross section of the kind of subjects that she sang about-mainly broken-hearted love, no good men and the trials and tribulations of being a black women on her own.

Bessie music also represents the place, as with Blind Willie McTell on the male side, where the blues go from the Saturday night juke joints of the farm, make that cotton, country to the more sophisticated Southern city locales. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 50
Average Rating:

Hoodoo Lady

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Vocal Blues
by: Memphis Minnie

Release Date April 29, 2008
One of the interesting facts about the development of the blues is that in the early days the recorded music and the bulk of the live performances were done by women, at least they were the most popular exponents of the genre. That time, the early 1920's to the 1930's was the classic age of women blues performers. Of course, when one thinks about that period the name that comes up is the legendary Bessie Smith. Beyond that, maybe some know Ethel Waters. And beyond that-a blank.

Yet the blues singer under review, Memphis Minnie, probably had as a productive career as either of the above-mentioned names. And here is the kicker. If you were to ask today's leading women blues singers like Bonnie Raitt or Maria Muldaur about influences they will, naturally, give the obligatory ... Read More: