CD-Charts Position 151
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Bourgeois Blues: Lead Belly Legacy, Vol. 2

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Leadbelly

Release Date March 18, 1997
Lead Belly's thick and juicy 12-string guitar and soaring vocals kept belting out originals and classics right up until his death in 1949. In and out of prison from 1918 to 1934, he built up a vast repertoire that greatly impressed musicologist Alan Lomax. But after recording in the 1930s in New York City, he again found himself in prison from 1939 to 1940. None of those recordings found any commercial success. Then in the 1940s he began to record for Moses Asch. This disc, the second volume of a three volume series, preserves highlights of these recordings. They were all made in the last decade of Lead Belly's life. And though the money never poured in his reputation exploded as he played numerous shows in venues and in his apartment in New ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 152
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The High Lonesome Sound

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Roscoe Holcomb

Release Date January 20, 1998
The title characterizes the music; it's high lonesome music at its best. No high tech mixing, just honest, straight from the heart music that has been passed down from generation to generation, with Roscoe Holcomb's distinct voice and style of play. A must for the serious "old-timey" music collector.

CD-Charts Position 153
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New Orleans Piano

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Professor Longhair

Release Date October 25, 1990
For me these Atlantic tracks are by far his best recordings.I have the LP but felt I must purchase the CD as well.Backed by Dave Bartholomews best musicians and produced by the excellent Atlantic Records team of Jerry Wexler,Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson it can't get any better!!What an excellent mix!!!These Atlantic greats should have made more trips to New Orleans (sorry Cosimo!)

CD-Charts Position 154
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Train Home

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Chris Smither

Release Date July 22, 2003
If I were to ask someone, in the year 2008, to name a male folk singer from the 1960's I would assume that if I were to get an answer to that question that the name would be Bob Dylan. And that would be a good and appropriate choice. One can endlessly dispute whether or not Dylan was (or wanted to be) the voice of the Generation of '68 but in terms of longevity and productivity he fits the bill as a known quality. However, there were a slew of other male folk singers who tried to find their niche in the folk milieu and who, like Dylan, today continue to produce work and to perform. The artist under review Chris Smithers is one such singer/songwriter.

I do not know if Chris Smithers, like his contemporary Bob Dylan, started out wanting to be the king ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 155
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The Piano Style of Nat King Cole

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date June 15, 1993
This is a pensive, introspective Cole breaking new ground, exploring a new kind of dialog with the piano and the orchestra. During the hight of his vocal career few realized the quality of his musicianship and piano playing. This isn't background music: you cannot anticipate the next note, so you wind up listening closely to his playing, 'feeling' his fingers on the keys. This is a musician's album, best appreciated by musicians and a few astute listeners.

CD-Charts Position 156
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Whose Muddy Shoes

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Elmore James, John Brim

Release Date April 09, 1991
This album brings together slide guitar legend Elmore James' and guitarist John Brim's waxings for the Chess label. It is not a collaboration between the two, but rather than put out two very brief CDs, MCA/Chess has opted to combine the two, much as they did on the Albert King/Otis Rush-album "Door To Door".

John Brim's fine "Ice Cream Man" is the leadoff track, and he is the featured artist on five more numbers, including "You Got Me", the "Hound Dog"-knockoff "Rattlesnake", and the menacing "Be Careful What You Do", all of which feature Robert "Jr." Lockwood on guitar, drummer Fred Below, and Little Walter Jacobs playing the harmonica.

But Brim's contributions mostly pale next to the power and intensity of the great Elmore James, whose ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 157
Average Rating:

His Recorded Legacy: The 29 Songs

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Robert Johnson

Release Date March 20, 2002
This collection is much better than "The Complete Recordings." I don't need two takes of the same song. This CD includes only the best version of each song, and I agree with their selections.

CD-Charts Position 158
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Death Chants, Breakdowns and Military Waltzes

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: John Fahey

Release Date February 02, 1999
From the fingerpicked opening notes of "Sunflower River Blues" (on the '64 version), you know you're in for a really special treat. Fahey's picking is at once familiar--we've all heard fingerpicked acoustic blues with octave bass note repetition, but we've never heard it like Fahey does it (unless, of course, you own other John Fahey records). This album's a great example of John Fahey's unique guitar technique after he'd had a few years to solidify his style and really start taking risks.

What makes Fahey so unique is less his technical skill (though he does possess pretty wicked chops--listen to wild harmonics on the 1967 version of "America"), and more his compositional prowess. He was adept at blending familiar blues with classical ideas (ideas, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 159
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Billie Holiday's Greatest Hits (Decca)

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date June 06, 1995
Nineteen mellow arrangements and a laid back Ms Holiday make for a very pleasant hour of listening pleasure. It can set the mood for a relaxed dinner party by having this play in the background.

CD-Charts Position 160
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Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970)

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date February 24, 2004
This great 2-disc collection covers a 25 year-period, when small and large labels utilized Nashville studios for that special sound - something a little bigger, often with incongruous back-up ("pop" vocal groups, electric sitars) that worked every time. True, sometimes the instrumentation came off a bit "assembly line" - access Ruth Brown's fun remake of "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (love those oddball remakes!) - the guitar break is smoothly commercial, reminiscent of something like the pickin' on Elvis Presley's 1963 "Blue River", also done in Nashville.
Talking about remakes, it comes to mind that several 1950's rockers went to Nashville in the 1960's to recut their hits: the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard - perhaps a Volume ... Read More: