Yes, it's another generic blues compilation, but this one from Indigo Records gets high marks for being able to deliver without dragging its feet on well-worn standards. Most of the necessary bases are covered here: Chicago blues, Texas blues, Delta blues, vintage John Lee Hooker ("Helpless Blues," recorded in the late '40s), plus the obligatory nod to more contemporary stylists (Paul DeLay and Charlie Musselwhite). Overall, it's a tasteful mix that includes a generous amount of live material -- six tracks that range from a ...
Read More
Yes, it's another generic blues compilation, but this one from Indigo Records gets high marks for being able to deliver without dragging its feet on well-worn standards. Most of the necessary bases are covered here: Chicago blues, Texas blues, Delta blues, vintage John Lee Hooker ("Helpless Blues," recorded in the late '40s), plus the obligatory nod to more contemporary stylists (Paul DeLay and Charlie Musselwhite). Overall, it's a tasteful mix that includes a generous amount of live material -- six tracks that range from a solo Fred McDowell bantering with a hotel crowd in London to Albert Collins wrestling with guitar feedback at the Fillmore West. There's also a deliberate emphasis on lesser known blues veterans such as Byther Smith, Eddie Clearwater, U.P. Wilson, and Louisiana Red -- all deserving players who, for some unknown reason, usually don't make the cut for compilations of this sort. The album's one standard, Muddy Waters' "I Got My Mojo Working," isn't the "usual" version that Waters performed at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, but a later rendition recorded live at Rose & Kelly's by Harley Cokliss for his 1972 documentary film Chicago Blues. You don't have to appreciate such subtleties in order to like this album, but it's always nice to find a good, solid blues compilation that isn't steeped in the usual clichés. ~ Ken Chang, Rovi
Read Less
![Mississippi Fred McDowell [Rounder]](https://www1.alibris-static.com/mississippi-fred-mcdowell-rounder/cover/r27251oqc3l.jpg)
