Indie Blues Music

Gimmie some blues. This is not the best blues album ever made.
Little charlie's guitar is good but does not sizzle. Rick Estrins vocals are smooth and slick like that crazy pompedor he sports.Dobie Strange on drums - my girlfriend likes his name and I'm sure dobie would like my girlfriend- is great. Ronnie James Weber on bass makes the album. It's whitebread and processed cheese blues.It's the blues you'll gladly lend to a friend.If andrew lyodd webber made a play about Charlie Paxton
this is the sound you would hear on the elevator to the balcony.

Little Charlie and the nightcats are one of the finest blues bands of all time. Rick Estrin is one of the greatest harp players of all time and little charlie is the most unique guitar players in the world.

First and foremost, this is great party music: Almost every track is in the "jump blues" style, upbeat and eminently danceable, with some traces of jazz guitar that add to the fun. Superb ensemble playing throughout, humorous lyrics, and the band's obvious enjoyment make this stand above the rest of the (now popular) jump/swing blues bands.

Vocals are easy on the ears and unpretentious, mostly performed in a tongue-in-cheek style (although track two's humor is lost on me). The band makes no pretense of recreating any particular blues genre. The guitar can be blisteringcan at times (tracks 1, "I Could Deal With It," and 3, I'm Just Lucky That Way"), making the group sound bigger than it is. Track 4, "Turn My Back on You," contains some tasty tenor saxophone, with some hints of jazz, yet never sounds like the generic sax we hear these days on commercials and late-night shows. In fact, esp. on Track 4, the whole group has a jazz sensibility, even the "talk trash" vocals are articulated in a scat-like way.

The band slows down somewhat on the second side. Track 8 is good, but the B.B. King style licks, well, they ain't B.B. King! There's an excellent harp solo, with chording that recalls Sonny Boy Williamson on the Yardbirds album. Track 10, "Gerontology," jumps into full swing again, while "Playboy Blues" features an organ, a washboard-sounding bass, and lots of jazz/swing guitar, and a drummer who knows just how long to go with a solo. Finally "My Way or the Highway" (track 7), an instrumental, is a spirited blues with a swing perspective. The overdubbing of the heavily electrified harp will get you moving. Very highly recommended; try their other CDs as well.

I was looking for something a little different in terms of Jr. Wells when I picked this up a couple of years ago. While "Hoodoo Man Blues" remains my favorite, this ranks a very close second.

Backed by the likes of Buddy Guy and Otis Spann, this recording captures a superb bunch at a regular Monday night jam session like the kind they did in Chicago in the late 60's.

It is a loose, but exceptional groove born of understanding each other's abilities and of the direction any are likely to take. Some great standards and other tunes get a workout here, and it's topical for the period. The blues tune for then Mayor Richard Daley touches on the unrest in the city of the time.

Really nice stuff and some different takes on the better-known songs.

No words can describe the emotion of this music. Listening to this cd gave me a chance to imagine something that, unfortunately, I could never experience, because I'm too young and live too far away: to feel involved in, to witness a chicago blues jam session. Live!

P.S.: I doubt I'll ever get to hear someone play blues piano like Otis Spann does on this album.

The title of the album says it all. Junior, Buddy and Otis on the south side of Chicago. I saw Junior and Buddy many times at Theresa's and the Checkerboard. It cost a dollar or two to get in the door. You could usually get a table right near the bandstand. This CD sounds a lot like the music I used to hear in person. Junior's version of I just Want to Make Love to you, with an intro by Otis on Piano, stands right up there with Muddy's as the best of all versions. Check out Blues for Mayor Daley an original with Junior doing some autobigraphical material. Every track is a winner. The last cut is Buddy on vocals. Remember, most of the time Junior was the leader and the star of the group, before all these rock guitarist put Buddy on a pedestal.

A brilliant recording, This is the way I like to hear blues music played, with lots---a space and room to breathe. I'ts interesting and inspiring listening to these songs unfold with Junior at the helm and his band in full control, spontinaity!! Junior, improvises lyrically on many of the tracks here and the session seems to take on the vibe of a live rather than studio recording. Particularly effective is Junior's version of "I Could Have Had Religion", with the mention of Magic Sam's death, The Wolf's heart attack and Muddy's hospitalization, another highlight is Junior's tribute to Sonny Boy II on "I Wish I Knew What I know Now". For those looking to hear a smorgasbord of "little Junior's" bag-o harp licks, forget it, Junior uses his harmonica wisely, economically and in all the right places, an attribute to the man's skill, proficiency and security with his instrument {who says that more is better!}. These recordings should be required listening for all Present day bluzers who tend to overplay instead of the more powerful but suttle approach of ridin' the groove. Thank's to Junior and his sympathetic backing band of Chicago vets {who fully understand their roles} Otis Spann, Louis Myers, Buddy Guy, Freddie Below and Earnest Johnson we have this tasty morsel of Chicago blues to savor. My only dissapointment is in the c.d.'s length which clocks in at just under forty minuites, it would have been nice if some bonus tracks could have been added to the c.d. which is the same in length as the original l.p. release.

I've got 30 or so Junior Wells CDs lying all over the place but the one I keep searching out more than all the others is this truly moving early 70's cut that brings back the taste and feel of Chicago in a messier era, draws the heart-strings around Junior's plaintive vocals and still sounds fresh after all these years. This jam is a casual session of friends playing what they wanted to play and hear themselves, without a label's design pushing it, and it's real. Junior never overplays it, his harp spicing every track just right, his voice fresh, young and deep here. All-star Jam would've been as good a title, as you've got Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Louis Myers, Earnest Johnson and Fred Bellow in the house all playing like they're loving it. An earlier review mentioned that the album is too short, some tracks have been cut, and I agree it's a taste tease of an album, but I still love it. Let's hope it comes out in combination with Hoodoo Man Blues or another classic for one solid price. Two more must haves if you love Junior as vocalist are It's My Life Baby and On Tap. He could really mold a tune to fit a mood or groove more than anyone since Muddy Waters, and I'd say better and smoother than Muddy on a good night. These are Junior at his best. If you want long-play Junior to hold you over on a blue night, go for the Calling All Blues release, with 24 tracks of Junior's well-preened crooning, bopping and jiving, another Top 10 on my Junior Wells as vocalist list. Look elsewhere for Junior Wells the harp master; usually in combination with Buddy Guy he comes of just as masterful and strong on harp as Guy does with the guitar licks he shares; start with Better Off With The Blues and go from there.

The sound is like the voice of Emiliana Torrini with tricky as a producer/back up singer on some songs. It is the definition of bristol sound, standard formula trip hop.

The voice is of the girl from Flunk (i'm not sure her name), but this album sounds very very similar to flunk's two.

This is one of the best trip-hop albums i own.This is trip-hop with "down" beats, really "ambiance", with a superb female voice.Go get it if you like trip-hop in general, it's really accessible.

Excellent CD. Bought this for a friend who likes lavender things and this CD worked just perfect.

Listening to Sammy's sinuous, smoky tenor one can't help but wonder why he never went on to greater things. As it was, he managed to put five singles onto the Billboard Pop Hot 100 in 1959/60 for the Big Top label (which picked up his first few cuts from Pacific), backed by the saxophone of King Curtis and a smattering of violins and cellos. His first, billed to Sammy Turner and The Twisters, was Sweet Annie Laurie, and it was hardly what you could call an auspicious debut, only reaching # 100 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in March 1959 b/w Thunderbolt.

He made up for that, however, with Lavender-Blue which, b/w Wrapped Up In A Dream, made it to # 3 Hot 100 and # 14 R&B in the summer of 1959. His follow-up disc then saw both sides chart, with Always peaking at # 2 R&B/# 19 Hot 100 and the flipside, Symphony, reaching # 82 Hot 100 in December of 1959.

His last hit came in early 1960 when the lilting Paradise reached # 13 R&B and # 46 Hot 100 b/w I'd Be A Fool Again. With the exception of that first minor hit (this IS Collectables after all and par for the course), all are masterfully reproduced in this collection, along with the equally wonderful Raincoat In The River which, for some reason known only to the record-buying public [as you will see when you listen to it] failed to chart.

Born Samuel Black in New Jersey on June 2, 1932, Sammy would go on to record for a multitude of labels - including Motown, Verve, and SSInt'l - without any further chart success. And that is a mystery.

I had never heard of Sammy Turner until I recently bought a CD of east coast beach music (Grand Strand Gold), but Sammy Turner has quickly turned into one of my absolute favourites. I am highly impressed with not only his vocal talents, but also with the ambitious and complex string and horn arrangements on this CD. For the 50s, this must have been very daring. Listen to the complex chord progression on Always; it's amazing. I highly recommend this cd.

"Blue Lights Volume 1 & 2" is one of Burrell's two great live Blue Note recordings from the late 50s, the other being "At The Five Spot Cafe." I particularly enjoy this double CD for two reasons -- Louis Smith and Tina Brooks. Both of these gentlemen were under-recorded Blue Note players, and anything featuring them is a treat. (Most of Smith's and Brooks' solo BN recordings have been made available for limited times recently, and any fan of this album should try to find them.) Junior Cook subs in for Tina on some tracks, while Duke Jordan and Bobby Timmons split piano duties. Sam Jones and Art Blakey complete the personnel. The songs (4 of 9 are Burrell originals) are all nice, long, drawn out jams in which all players get a chance to state their business. An excellent album!

This is an excellent album. The previous review gave you a complete insight in what you'll find in this recording so I'll not spend my time telling you who's there and who's not. I can add that this album is so well recorded that it almost doesn't seem a live album. It seems a studio blowing session! It seems that the audience had been abducted by aliens! They didn't make a move, a shout, a breath! There's only music here. People? I dont't know! Maybe they went to the bathroom for the entire sets, I don't know! There's alot to shout and to get electrified here, but no one opens his mouth here! Extremely quiet people! Every tune here is really streched out and the solos are outstanding. All the guys played great in these nights. This album does not even seems a Kenny Burrell album because he does not have all that space. It seems almost an all star reunion. Anyway it is true among all the guys the trumpet player, Louis Smith, clean them up! His solos are spectacular fifties trumpet bebop examples! These guys all together was a perfect jazz machine! There's only one little thing that I don't like here. The scottish melodic line at the beginning of "Scottish blues", I don't know what it is (a traditional scottish melody I suppose) but it is futile and completly out of place. But don't worry it is simply a statement at the beginning and at the end of the tune. This album is spec-ta-cu-lar believe me! A friend of mine copied it to me, but I loved it so much that I HAD to own it original, so I bought it. Now it's your turn !! C'mon, let's do IT !

I've listened to all of Gary Schnitzer's CDs and I like them all. But my favorite by far is Dances With Strings. The selection of material is fairly eclectic an interesting combination. Also I really like the classic versions of "Girl From Impanema," and "Day in the Life of a Fool." They are just excellent. Enjoy.

You want AWESOME, this man and friends are consumate musicians.

This Album is a free-style dancers dream. Light and shade, drama and sorrow, interchange of tempos and a wealth of opportunities to wow the audiences not only with the prowess of Mr. Schnitzer and friends vertuosity,but with your own ability to show the beauty of dance. Thank You"

The most beautiful music I have ever heard!

I was at a restaurant when I first heard Gary's music, being played on the establishment's system. I was so impressed with the quality of the music, and its sheer beauty, that I asked the owner of the restaurant where he had gotten it? I have been "hooked of Gary" ever since - and before "Dances with Strings", I didn't care for violin music at all! The others are equally beautiful. This is not "Muzak," this is extremely fine quality music that anyone should appreciate.

This disk is a treasure for any collection. Gary's renditions of the Latin pieces defy you to keep still. The waltzes are soaring. You will be glad for many years that you bought this.

THIS IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC FOR THA WESTCOAST......THE SICKEST SONG ON HERE IS "WELCOME 2 YOUR OWN DEATH".....PICK THIS ONE UP FOR SURE

I was in 8th grade the first time I heard this CD, I was blown away. A rock fan at the time, Lynch turned me on the spot. I know every word to all the songs, the only cd I can say that with.

I have bought the cd 4 times (lost, stolen, wore out)....it's that good.

Without a doubt the Greatest Of All Time (goat). This album is sicc. I will not try to hide what this album is under metaphors and a long and complex review. This album is the fantasies of a man that is sicc in the head. He has been diagnosed with manic depression. Like a good horror movie, filled with guts and incomprehensible acts, it has it's own fans. whom like dark and demented facets of life. The best rapper alive today. GOAT

I love Brotha Lynch---his rap doesn't have the flashy, booming sounds of NWA, Dre Dogg, etc rappers---most of his tracks feature some pathetic soul trying to make music on a cheap keyboard in the background as a means of injecting some Drama into the 'story' of specific tracks. Brotha Lynch is a unique artist who put a lot of sincere effort into his tracks. Boldly went where no rapper had gone before: cannibalism, etc. I thoroughly enjoy his childlike violent imaginative lyrics. He's in that category: So Bad It's Good. I adore this guy!!

In 1994, Brotha Lynch Hung pushed the ever-changing boundaries of hip hop a little further with his breakthrough album "Season of da Siccness." The Sacramento MC established a fanbase on this album by incorporating cannibalism and grim murder fantasies into his brand of gangsta rap. This subject matter may be hard for some to stomach, but it's what makes his product unique and it's why his fans love him. I myself have to be in the right mood to enjoy this album. It surely has its moments, but as a whole it's not a great LP. "Season of da Siccness" starts strong, but it's kind of a one-trick pony. The songs are lyrically and musically so similar that they run into each other. There's something to be said for consistency, but all the songs sound so identical that they're nearly indistinguishable. It's some good fun for the half or so, but as the tracklist progresses and the songs grow longer and more repetitive, it grows monotonous. Brotha Lynch can really flow though, and he's a talented MC despite the album's shortcomings. The production ranges from average to good, but it's the same slow, dark g-funk product. It complements his verses well on the best songs. Other than the few songs where he raps about cannibalism and baby killing, the rest of the album is a more conventional gangsta rap product, with stories of gang activity and late-night crime. He could be compared to C-Bo, X-Raided, and a few other rappers on the West Coast's hardcore circuit. "Season of da Siccness" is an album that has enough moments to make it enjoyable, but with an overabundance of skits is a bit long and repetitive.

After an intro, the album opens with "Sicc Made," which introduces Brotha Lynch Hung as a ruthless cannibalistic killer. The beat is pretty good and his flow sounds nice over it, it's a solid opener. "Rest in P**s" is a similar track, with more threats and g-funk production. On "Return of da Baby," the ironic cannibalism takes centerstage, and the following posse cut "Locc 2 da Brain" is a little too long, but otherwise okay. "Liquor Sicc" is a tale of revenge and retaliation, I like it except for the weak hook. "Datz Real Gangsta" is boring skip material, and I don't like "Deep Down" either, because despite its decent subject matter, it becomes downright banal at its full seven-minute running time. "Dead Man Walkin'" is forgettable because it sounds so much like the other tracks and has nothing to make it stand out. The title track musically sounds like the rest but has a good guest spot, and "Welcome 2 Your Own Death" is solid, but at this point in the tracklist, a repetitive track six-minutes in length is too much. The album closes with a long track of shout-outs and a skit of a conversation with the devil.

Brotha Lynch Hung has a dedicated fanbase, so his music obviously has a certain appeal. If you can overlook the album's monotony and shortcomings, then you might like the murder raps and dark g-funk. Fans of hardcore rap should pick this up, while others might look elsewhere. "Season of da Siccness" is a unique album for sure, and I find its highlights make it worth a listen. Although the original pressing is now unavailable, it has been recently re-released: check Season of da Siccness: The Resurrection.

First off, the disclaimer: Otis Rush is my main man. A big blues fan, I put Otis's playing and voice up at the top of my list along with a select few: Muddy, Buddy, Albert and Freddie King. As noted everywhere, his recorded output can be uneven, but I really like this set. Along with the Otis standard "All Your Love" (made famous when Clapton did it while he was with the Bluesbreakers) there's some hot licks on You're Breaking My Heart, Society Woman, and Part Time Love. If you want to check out Otis Rush, this would be a good place to start!

I am not really much of a blues fan, preferring jazz, folk and classical music. And this is my first encounter with Washboard Sam. But I am very impressed by this 2-CD set.

There is something very geniune, earthy and captivating on just about every track of this complication. The washboard gives a swing feel to most of the tunes that I feel very appealing and that reminds of the hot jazz of Django Reinhardt.

And yes, as the previous reviewer noted, the tune list on the back of the CD is completely wrong. This was really bothering me because I wanted to know the names of these tunes. Fortunately, the correct track titles can be found at:

http://www.allegro-music.com/online_catalog.asp?sku_tag=CBL3200019

Enjoy! They don't make music like this anymore (electric guitars and washing machines put an end to it!).

Washboard Sam is the greatest, and this CD is an excellent deal but the track listing is COMPLETELY WRONG! No song is as listed. Most songs listed aren't even on this CD! I guess good help is hard to find these days.

If you get over that, pick this baby up.

If you like Bebo, this recording is a must have! Mellow, soulful, alive! It's 17 tracks of vintage stuff. And, I think the album is no longer available (out of print)? Look for it used (it's worth the price).

The Trio is composed of the great pianist Bebo Valdes, master congero Carlos "Patato" Valdes and the legendary bass player Israel Lopez "Cachao".

A very high quality recording, and each track is tastefully done. Gets even better as you listen more and more - lots to hear! Highly recommended.

I've been hooked on the old Cubans since I took a chance on BVSC before the hype caught on. Discovered Cachao around the time Andy Garcia found him. And have filled my CD collection with a motley assortment of winners (and a few losers.) I am convinced there are seven melodies that get recycled on every CD. And everyone has a slightly different take on it. That said, this is an incredibly satisfying disc that reflects the average 150 years of experience brought to the session by these guys. Maybe the precision of their youth is missing - but none of the passion is. There's an ease and familiarity and comfort level of old friends making their favorite music come alive. And as for Cachao - his bowing is more immediate in this small group than it is in his Master Sessions CDs - even though he was fronting the orchestra then and is supporting Valdes here. Overall, a wonderful low key (as low key as latin music can be), and satisfying listen.

Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Cuban/Latin Jazz music. I have been to a Chucho Valdes live concert and I 've been hooked ever since... Both Bebo (his father) and him are wonderful musicians.
It is a true delight!

This is an indispensable CD for lovers of Cuban music (not to speak of cuban lovers of cuban music). All of the cuts except Route 66, are music that we have heard since childhood. And they sound that way even when they are not played in the traditional way. You want to know why Chucho Valdes plays like he does? Listen to his Dad here. This is a CD not to be missed.

This CD is like sitting on a swing on a summer day -- gentle and fun. There's a lot to be savoured here. It's like a Latin lullaby.