Blues, Electric Blues and R&B

Jimmy Reed – Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall

  • Jimmy Reed makes his debut on this site with this stunning copy of Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall
  • You’ll find Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound on ALL FOUR sides of this killer album
  • A surprisingly good recording – this early stereo pressing is wonderfully big and rich, with natural tonality and more three-dimensional space than any other copy we played
  • It took us years to find enough early Vee-Jay stereo (and mono) pressings that played quietly in order to do this shootout, and here is the winner in all its glory!
  • 5 stars: “… In some ways, it almost does make for a greatest-hits compilation, as it contains most of Reed’s most popular tunes… it was highly popular and influential, making the Top 50 at a time when few blues LPs charted.”

(more…)

B.B. King – Midnight Believer

More B.B. King

More Electric Blues

  • An outstanding copy of Midnight Believer with solid Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from start to finish
  • Rich and full-bodied, clean, and clear, while the bass is big and punchy, and the energy level is off the charts
  • B.B. is backed by members of The Crusaders here, and on a copy like this one you can really get a sense of just how much they contribute to this music
  • “Another collaboration that worked a lot better than one might have expected. King and the Crusaders blended in a marginally funky, contemporary style for the buoyant ‘Never Make Your Move Too Soon’ and an uplifting ‘When It All Comes Down.'”

B.B. is backed by members of The Crusaders here, and on a copy like this one you can really get a sense of just how much they contribute to this music. The best sides have the kind of rich, full tonality and extended low end we just don’t hear often enough!

You can be sure this will beat the pants off the Direct Disc Labs Half-Speed Mastered pressing, or your money back. It’s no wonder they wanted to do an audiophile pressing of the album — it’s a superb recording. But mastering it at half-speed is not the answer. Finding one like this that has the LIFE of that master tape pressed into its grooves is the only way to be sure you will get real audiophile sound, not that pseudo kind we bash all over the site. (Sorry, we just can’t help it.) (more…)

John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers – A Hard Road

More British Blues and Blues Rock

  • An outstanding copy of the band’s third album, with solid Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides – reasonably quiet vinyl for this title too
  • Forget the dubby domestic pressings and whatever crappy Heavy Vinyl record they’re making these days – these early UK stereo LPs are the only way to fly
  • 4 stars: “Eric Clapton is usually thought of as John Mayall’s most important right-hand man, but the case could also be made for his successor, Peter Green. The future Fleetwood Mac founder leaves a strong stamp on his only album with the Bluesbreakers, singing a few tracks and writing a couple, including the devastating instrumental ‘Supernatural.'”

This vintage Decca import pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Albert King – Years Gone By

  • Incredible sound throughout for this original Stax pressing with both sides earning Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) grades 
  • Both sides here are big, full-bodied and lively with lots of Tubey Magic and a huge bottom end
  • “With Booker T. drummer Al Jackson producing, the set includes such staples as “You Threw Your Love on Me Too Strong,” “Wrapped up in Love Again,” and a powerful version of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.” For fans of King’s guitar work, the inclusion of the instrumental workouts on “You Don’t Love Me” and “Drowning on Dry Land” are a special bonus…” – All Music, 4.5 Stars

This vintage original Stax pressing has the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records can barely BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn’t showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to “see” the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It’s what vintage all analog recordings are known for — this sound. (more…)

Taj Mahal – Oooh So Good ‘N Blues

  • You’ll find excellent Double Plus (A++) sound on both sides of this 1973 album of primarily acoustic Folky Blues
  • If you like the music of Ry Cooder this album should be right up your alley – it’s as well recorded as Ry’s stuff, and that’s saying something 
  • As quiet as we can find them – Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus
  • “Ooh So Good ‘N’ Blues takes a more straight-ahead approach that keeps the experimentation down to a minimum. As a result, this is one of his most consistently enjoyable and even albums.”

Taj does his own material and a few classics by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Elmore James and Willie Dixon. With the Pointer Sisters singing backup on some of the songs, fans of authentic acoustic blues will find much to like here. (more…)

Amtrak Blues – Our First Shootout Winner

Hot Stamper Pressings of Soul, Blues, R&B, etc. Available Now

Absolutely amazing sound – Alberta is uncannily present and real on this copy. This is High Fidelity Top Quality Uncolored Studio Sound like few records you’ve heard. 

And the crazy thing about Amtrak Blues is that it was recorded in 1980 (when Alberta was 83), not a decade we expect good sound to come from. But this is no ordinary recording. Behind the album is none other than legendary Columbia engineer FRANK LAICO. 

Hearing is definitely believing, especially in our business — we don’t give a fig about who, why or when a record was made; we just play it and judge it based on what we hear in the grooves.

Needless to say, this pressing of the album was judged to be a knockout.

Side One

White Hot, open, clear and lively as any record you’ve heard in a very long while. The piano is solid and very dynamic. Practically nothing to fault in the sound. So natural and effortless, why do so few records sound like this?

Side Two

Nearly as good. Listen to the second track to hear how vibrant and young she sounds. This is an 83 year old woman?

The sound gets better as it plays; by the second track it’s the equal of side one.

Side One

The Darktown Strutters Ball 
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out 
I’m Having a Good Time 
Always 
My Handy Man Ain’t Handy No More

Side Two

Amtrak Blues 
Old Fashioned Love 
Sweet Georgia Brown 
A Good Man Is Hard to Find 
I’ve Got a Mind to Ramble

AMG Review

Alberta Hunter’s second recording since launching her remarkable comeback (she was 83 when this album was cut) finds the veteran blues singer (a survivor of the 1920s) still in surprisingly strong form and full of spirit. Such songs as “Darktown Strutters’ Ball,” “My Handy Man,” “Old Fashioned Love” and “I’ve Got a Mind to Ramble” are given fine treatment by Hunter, who is joined by the Gerald Cook quartet, trombonist Vic Dickenson, trumpeter Doc Cheatham and tenorman Frank Wess on various tracks.

AMG Bio

Alberta Hunter was a pioneering African-American popular singer whose path crosses the streams of jazz, blues and pop music. While she made important contributions to all of these stylistic genres, she is claimed exclusively by no single mode of endeavor. Hunter recorded in six decades of the twentieth century, and enjoyed a career in music that outlasted most human lives.

When Hunter retired from nursing in 1977, she was 81 and ready to go back on the road. By this time her voice was gritty, down and dirty, and her fans loved her for it. She made four albums for Columbia between 1977 and her death in 1984, including the extraordinary Amtrak Blues, and for many younger listeners these are the records by which Alberta Hunter is defined.

Alberta Hunter was one of the earliest African-American singers, along with Sippie Wallace, to make the transition from the lowly brothels and sporting houses into the international spotlight. That she defies easy categorization attests to the astonishing fact that she was on the scene a little before the genres themselves were defined.

B.B. King – Blues On Top Of Blues

More B.B. King

More Electric Blues

  • You’ll find outstanding Double Plus (A++) sound or close to it from first note to last on this 1968 pressing, BB King’s fourteenth studio album
  • This is the album he made right before Lucille, so the man was definitely on a roll and doing some great work in the late ’60s
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Featuring brassy arrangements by Johnny Pate, it presents King’s sound at its fullest without sacrificing any of his grit or sophisticated swing … the material is very strong throughout.”

Watch for more B. B. King albums coming to the site soon. Some of the Bluesway pressings we’ve auditioned recently have had exceptionally big, rich, lively sound, and that’s the way we like to hear our music. There are plenty of dogs in the King canon, especially in the ’70s, so you have to be a bit careful with the man’s recordings, but good titles in the ’60s with excellent sound can still be found if you’re willing to do the work (or you’re willing to let us do it for you). (more…)

B.B. King – Friends

More B.B. King

More Electric Blues

  • A superb sounding copy of Friends with solid Double Plus (A++) sound from start to finish
  • One of the better sounding B.B. King records we’ve heard – it’s a treat to hear B.B. singing, playing guitar and backed by a horn section without the mediocre sonics that take all the fun out of listening to most copies
  • “… a gritty, soulful real stage performance where BB earns his living and forged his unique style… His voice was at its peak and this [recording] has captured his essence. It’s that good.”

(more…)

Fleetwood Mac – Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac

  • Dramatically more impressive than any other copy we played – Triple Plus (A+++) throughout – exceptionally quiet vinyl too
  • The size, clarity, presence and energy are off the charts – and talk about Tubey Magic, this pressing is overflowing with it
  • The Mac’s debut is an extraordinary collection of Guitar-Based British Blues and an album that’s rarely on the site with sound this good and surfaces this clean
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Fleetwood Mac’s debut LP was a highlight of the late-’60s British blues boom. Green’s always inspired playing, the capable (if erratic) songwriting, and the general panache of the band as a whole placed them leagues above the overcrowded field…”

This is the band back in the day when they were playing their unique brand of Blues Rock, with Peter Green leading the band, about as far from Rumours as you can get. If you like British Blues Rock, I don’t think any other band can hold a candle to the Mac back then. Clapton may have been considered a god but I think Green is the better guitar player. 

The pluck of the guitar transients aren’t smeary and dull for once. There’s real extension up top, a big help to the cymbals, and the vocals sound tonally correct with just the right presence, placing Green front and center but still keeping the band in the mix. Like a good vintage Brit record, the sound is smooth, rich and full.

This is ANALOG, baby. They don’t make ’em like this anymore because they don’t know how. (more…)

B.B. King – L.A. Midnight

More B.B. King

More Electric Blues

  • The best copy to hit the site in over a year with Shootout Winning Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish
  • Dramatically better than practically every other pressing we played – super lively, full-bodied and clear with real extension up top and down low
  • Check out how cool the tuba sounds anchoring the bottom end on the opening track 
  • “The King is at his sly peak on ‘I Got Some Help I Don’t Need,’ uproariously humorous and hurt at the same time, with crazy wah-wah filigrees laced within, and ‘Can’t You Hear Me Talking to You” is also tight and right.’

We had the chance to sit and play a big stack of these recently and only a few copies sounded very good. This one was our shootout winner! Check out how cool the tuba sounds anchoring the bottom end on the opening track! Both sides here were bigger, fuller, more open and more transparent than any other. (more…)