Blues Playlist

[imasoundhound]

i'm a big fan of the blues. being from clarksdale, ms, the home of such greats as son house, john lee hooker, muddy waters and others, i just it's un-avoidable. unfortunately, my collection is rather small. blues albums are quite pricey, and my budget is limited. however, i do play a blues record or two from time to time, and i'd love to hear about what others are listening to.

at the moment, i'm listening to taj mahal's latest (that i am aware of) entitled "maestro".

[Fast Forward]

Pick up some Roy Buchannon,,great guitar player,never made a bad album,,,Danny Gatton,s 88 Elvira Street is excellent

[imasoundhound]

what i like the most is acoustic blues. just a guy and his guitar. i like slide a lot, also. i've managed to acquire (i think) all of taj mahal's studio recordings and all of john mooney's studio recordings. if you're not familiar with mooney, he does a lot of slide stuff. i'm working on my big bill broonzey collection now. i've picked up a few valuable old blues records at flea markets and such, but not much selection around here. it's kinda surprising that in "the birthplace of the blues" there are not very many blues fans.

[Naknut]

Love da blues. I enjoy just about any form of it but am fond of the electric stuff the most. Only thing is original blues recordings are hard to find and pricey.
Your post made me pull out my original copy of Drinkin' TNT "N" Smokin' Dynamite - Buddy Guy & Junior Wells on Blind Pigs Records.

Good luck on adding to your collection.

[clhboa]

I too dig the blues in all it's forms. I always keep my eye out for titles on certain labels (Hightone, Blacktop, Alligator + Blind Pig) in the bargain bins. Does anybody here dig any of the Fat Possum catalog?

[Rat44]

Try to find some John Campbell.
He's my favorite that no ones heard of.
His music was deep dark blues from hell,not for the faint of heart.

[imasoundhound]

Muddy Waters "King Bee". just got it in today. in really nice shape. won it on that auction site for little to nothing. can't beat a cheap blues album!

[imasoundhound]

willie dixon "i am the blues"

columbia stereo PC9987

[Flyquail56]

Oh yeah. I've been a Howlin' Wolf fan for many years. Still enjoy listening to London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, though it's not generally considered his best effort.

The Best of Chess Blues is another album worth finding. It's loaded with classics. Here's an epay listing (no affiliation) that lists the tracks:
http://tinyurl.com/cyphha

And if you love acoustic blues, you gotta have Robert Johnson, King Of The Delta Blues Singers on Columbia/Legacy. Poor sound quality of course, but he is to the blues what Charlie Parker is to jazz *thumbsup*

Good thread! I'm going to have to dig up Taj Mahal's Giant Step and give it a spin.

Mike

[imasoundhound]

b.b. king "from the beginning". two record set on kent kst-533, apparently a compilation. no date found.

[imasoundhound]

muddy waters "muddy waters" on chess blues masters series-2 record set #2acmb-203 released 1976

what, am i the only guy that ever plays the blues around here?

[Des-Lab]

Rolling Stones "Exile On Main Street".

Most folks, when they think of the Stones think of songs like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Start Me Up".

Those are some good songs for sure. But many folks either don't know or have forgotten that the Stones were very much a Blues oriented band. Once you get away from their overplayed staples like the ones mentioned above, they did some great obscure bluesy stuff. "Exile" is a classic that blends elements of rock and blues and makes for a wonderful soundtrack to a late night of drinkin' smokin', and playin' poker. Especially cuts like "Casino Boogie" and "Turd On The Run".

[clhboa]

muddy waters "muddy waters" on chess blues masters series-2 record set #2acmb-203 released 1976

what, am i the only guy that ever plays the blues around here?

No, I play plenty of blues. I just list it under vinyl playlist or what's playing?.

[imasoundhound]

many folks either don't know or have forgotten that the Stones were very much a Blues oriented band.

lots of good blues on "let it bleed" also!

[imasoundhound]

jimmy reed "at carnegie hall" on bluesway records, a subsidiary of abc #blx-6073-2 two record set 1973

[imasoundhound]

brownie mcgee and sonny terry "hootin' and hollerin'" olympic records 7108.

[imasoundhound]

just cracked the seal on blind willie mctell "atlanta twelve string". atlantic records sd-7224 1972 mono. ah, the smell of virginal vinyl!

up next is a still sealed sonny terry and brownie mcgee "you bring out the boogie in me". on a&m records sp-4379. my thumbnail is itching to crack the seal!

[westgate]

http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/670/679161.jpg

[imasoundhound]

never heard of that guy. could you describe the sound for me?

[westgate]

never heard of that guy. could you describe the sound for me?
if you mean s. guyger (http://www.steveguyger.com/html/bio.asp), he's a blues' harp player. kind of a moody sound, imo.
a buddy just sent me the cd so he's new to me as well.

[Eldorado]

unfortunately, my collection is rather small. blues albums are quite pricey, and my budget is limited.

I'm a little surprised to read that, because I've always thought that the blues is well served by mid-price and discount offerings. I've picked up a lot of CDs that way. Lately I've been buying some of the sets from Proper Records, which are very moderately priced. For discount material, they're quite lavishly produced, come with informative booklets, and the move to paper sleeves instead of jewel cases for the more recent sets is very welcome (for me anyway). I've read criticism of the selections from time to time, I think what they're doing is putting out material that's out of copyright so as a comprehensive overview, it may not work for the connoisseur, but regardless, there's some really fine music on there. They don't only do blues, the catalog's well worth checking out. But among the blues releases I picked up the T-Bone Walker set and Blind Willie McTell. There are many others I'd like but haven't got around to buying.

Branching out from Proper, I don't have any preference for one blues form over another, most are good to me - unless it's too slick. A short but extremely incomplete list of artists I particularly enjoy: Lightnin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Magic Sam, Blind Willie McTell, Freddie King and Hound Dog Taylor. Dinah Washington, too, though I don't think she can be labelled a blues artist as such.

Oh and Fat Possum records, what a company. I recommend two DVDs: one's a documentary about Fat Possum, I think it's called You Hear Me Laughing. Amazing stuff. The other is Deep Blues, which includes a lot of the Fat Possum artists, including Burnside and Kimbrough. Very cool.

A third DVD doc I enjoyed for quite different reasons is Red, White and Blues. It was part of the Scorsese series on the blues, and covers the British adoption and adaptation of blues by 60s musicians. A lot of really nice interviews there from artists talking about how the music grabbed them and changed their lives, and how they tried to copy this imported music without having any idea how it should be done. It's even interesting to see musicians who really aren't my cup of tea (Tom Jones, Lulu) knocking out their versions of blues songs.

[imasoundhound]

perhaps a little explanation is called for here.

first, you must bear in mind that i am a dyed in the wool tight ass. i'm not ashamed of it. it comes from a life spent for the most part in poverty. i also do not HAVE to have anything. if i feel the price is too high, i don't buy. period.

for the most part, i only buy used vinyl. i do have a small collection of cd's, but if the musical selection in question was originally recorded non-digitally, i greatly prefer vinyl, and choose other formats only for just cause. case in point, i bought all of led zepplin's albums on cd because the albums are generally over-priced, and most are not in great condition.

all of my stereo equipment and albums were destroyed in a house fire back in 2002. since then, i have amassed a collection of over 700 albums at last count. at least 95% of these i purchased at thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, pawn shops, etc. and paid 2 bucks or less for them. many were a quarter or 50 cents each, many were a buck. i shopped carefully, all are in at least VG+ condition.

except under extremely rare circumstances, i flat refuse to pay more for a used record than the record cost when it was new. in short, i don't pay collector prices. there are very few exceptions to this rule in my collection.

my rock collection is nearly complete. though i may add to it slowly as i come across good deals, i have almost every rock album that i desire to own! my focus has now turned towards building up my blues collection.

blues records around these parts are scarce for some reason. though i live in the birth place and home of the delta blues, there are very few blues fans here. as a result, a typical used blues album runs somewhere between 10 and 30 bucks. i will NOT pay that price!

i will only buy blues albums at less than the original purchase price. that's my rule, i stick to it. so when i say it's tough to find blues albums, i mean that it's tough to find blues albums within my parameters.

i'm well aware there are many newer blues bands available as well as re-issues, however, once again, i'm unwilling to pay the price. add to that the fact that i prefer the old stuff. a lot of what passes for blues these days, in my opinion, is actually rhythm and blues, and not the style that i prefer.

once again, i'm well aware that i'm a cheap bastard.

i hope this explains a little.

[Eldorado]

Actually, I'd wondered if you meant vinyl and was going to add that qualifier when I posted. Guess I should have. I agree it's harder to find than cheap CDs. I am fortunate enough to have occasional access to the record shops in Tokyo, I can go every couple of months, and there's a very healthy market for secondhand vinyl there. I can usually find some blues worth buying on every trip. Like you I try not to overpay, most of my purchases are well under 1000 yen (which approximates to $10), with the bulk in the 300-700 yen range.

[westgate]

http://i7.ebayimg.com/02/i/001/08/ff/b8db_2.JPG
'50s jump blues and sax blasters.