CD-Charts Position 131
Average Rating:

Shoutin' in Key: Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band Live

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band

Release Date June 20, 2000
This cleanly recorded, live set from Taj Mahal backed by the excellent, tight Phantom Blues Band, blends all sorts of musical flavors into a refined amalgam. The strain, stress, and anguish that make too many forays into contemporary blues a sure-fire ticket for a migraine are cast aside for grace, craft, and smoothness. On the other hand, there is enough edge here to add texture. In many ways, the energy, vibe, and diversity here remind me of the superb but obscure "Rust" by Kevin Brown, must more so than the largely sterile renderings from say Eric Clapton.

Everything comes together without sounding contrived or forced, and Taj Mahal, as always, marches to his own drum beat (well, actually some snappy percussion work from Tony ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 132
Average Rating:

Corky Siegel's Traveling Chamber Blues Show

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
from: Alligator Records

Release Date January 11, 2005
SEIGAL SCWHALL AS A TEAM, CREATED SOME OF THE MOST DIFFERNTIAL BLUES YOU WOULD EVER HEAR. SOME REALLY GREAT MUSIC.
THIS CD AND THE OTHER CDS WITH ORCHRESTERS (SPELLING)??
ARE QUITE DIFFERANT THEN WHAT I WAS ACUSTOMMED TO.
AS A TEAM SEIGAL/SCHWALL PRODUCED AN ALBULM WITH THE PHILLDELPHIA PHILHARMONIC ORCHRESTER IN THE 70'S THAT WAS PRIME. THESE WITH SCHWALL FALL SHORT. I ACTUALY PICTURED MUSELF WATCHING CARTOONS AS I LISTENED TO THEM

CD-Charts Position 133
Average Rating:

East-West Live

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Release Date November 14, 1996
The previous reviews cover a lot of ground, and show how individual Butterfield / Bloomfield fans might hear East-West Live in an entirely different way. My two cents: if poor recording technology interferes with your enjoyment of music, don't bother, but if it doesn't, and you love electric blues jams, E-WL may trigger multiple climaxes in your ears (can I say that?) Too bad nobody made a professional live recording of the PBBB with Bloomfield, but Elektra had problems getting them down right in the studio, so may not have tried. The greatest blues-jam band to ever walk the planet; only the Allmans with Duane can stand with them.

CD-Charts Position 134
Average Rating:

Live on Maxwell Street

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Robert Nighthawk

Release Date September 12, 2000
On this album, Robert Nighthawk makes his guitar almost sound human, it sounds as if it is crying. His voice is smooth as he effortlessly blends the music and his voice together.

I especially love how he blends Annie Lee Blues and Sweet Black Angel into one smooth song. You can't tell where one ends and the other one begins. This album shows why he should have made it big.

Juke Medley is one big jam session, the musicians played well together and make this album worth buying. Mama Talk to your Daughter with J.B. Lenoir on lead is very good.

The harmonica of Mr. Carey Bell is good too. This album is worth buying.

CD-Charts Position 135
Average Rating:

So Many Roads: Live in Concert

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Otis Rush

Release Date April 16, 1995
for live blues guitar, this album pretty much is right at the top. from superlative versions of "everyday i have the blues", albert king's "crosscut saw", a bluesy version of kenny burrel's "chitlins con carne" and his own "all your lovin" and "i can't quit you babe" - this is pretty much the apex of live electric blues. the music can be considered "in your face" but still very melodic and tasty. and if otis really used the fender jaguar in the show as shown in the album cover, his vibrato is nothing short of amazing considering that the sustain on the jaguar is almost non-existant!

CD-Charts Position 136
Average Rating:

The Live One

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Dave Hole

Release Date March 11, 2003
If you're not familiar with Dave Hole, this is a good intro to his work, with many of his signature songs. I tend to favor studio versions over live albums (eg, Up All Night Thinking on Working Overtime), but this album has a lot of energy. Like Sonny Landreth, his awesome slide work is somewhat offset by weaker vocals, which is why I withhold one star. If you like this album, I can also highly recommend Landreth's live album Grant Street.

CD-Charts Position 137
Average Rating:

Live at B.L.U.E.S.

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Jimmy Burns

Release Date February 27, 2007
Younger brother 64 years old of the veteran bluesman Eddie Burns, the Mississippi-born bluesman Jimmy Burns that began playing guitar about the age of ten, has distinguished his modern Chicago blues with some tastefully integrated soul accents and churchy emotionalism. He derived his earliest inspiration from the music of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and others.
This record `Live at B.L.U.E.S.' really is great, very great, I knew it because I've heard Jimmy in others registers `Leaving here walking' or `Back to the Delta' frankly first class. Returning to the ` live at Blues' all the Blues in the record are very good but it is only fair to emphasize that Lowell Fulson's "Three O'Clock Blues" with Jesse Fortune appearance is absolutely terrific, "Country Boy in the City" is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 138
Average Rating:

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

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
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 SONG BY ISAAC HAYES AND DAVID PORTER (THE DEFINITIVE ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 139
Average Rating:

Rockin' the Blues Live in Germany

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Howlin' Wolf

Release Date January 22, 2008
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 SONG BY ISAAC HAYES AND DAVID PORTER (THE DEFINITIVE ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 140
Average Rating:

Screamin' and Cryin': Live in Warsaw 1976

CD-Charts > Music > Live Albums
by: Muddy Waters

Release Date January 25, 2005
There is a LOT of live Muddy Waters out there, ranging from the magnificent (like "Muddy Waters Live At Newport 1960") to the mediocre, and this one belongs with the latter.
It's not bad, Muddy never was, but on "Screamin' And Cryin'" Muddy neither screams nor cries...it's a more laid-back Muddy Waters than on earlier recordings, and the set is burdened by too many s-l-o-w numbers and mediocre instrumentals, and not enough firepower.

There are some highlights as well, of course, like "Blow Wind Blow" and "Hoochie Coochie Man", but there is really nothing here which isn't available in equally good or better renditions on other live recordings of the Muddy Waters blues band. This rendition of "Got My Mojo Working" is disappointing, and "Screamin' And Cryin'" lacks the intensity of terrific ... Read More: