Big Bill Broonzy The Bill Broonzy Story

Tommy McClennan would work in the cotton fields by day and in the evenings he would play on the streets of Greenwood, MS. Later he worked in juke joints and for dance parties, playing both the guitar and the piano. McClennan was a small man, standing just 4 feet 10, but this in no way negated the powerful voice that he possessed. His guitar playing is typical of the Mississippi style; simple, dominant, solid rhythms from the bass end with dashes of spikey treble riffs interjected between the vocal choruses. His voice was rough, hoarse and loud. Loud enough to be heard over the hubbub in a Mississippi juke joint on a Saturday night. Honey Boy Edwards tells of Tommy’s habit of standing in front of a mirror talking to himself…

Jethro Tull was very much a blues band on their debut album, vaguely reminiscent of the Graham Bond Organization only more cohesive, and with greater commercial sense. The revelations about the group's roots on This Was – which was recorded during the summer of 1968 – can be astonishing, even 30 years after the fact. Original lead guitarist Mick Abrahams contributed to the songwriting and the singing, and his presence as a serious bluesman is felt throughout, often for the better: "Some Day the Sun Won't Shine for You," an Ian Anderson original that could just as easily be credited to Big Bill Broonzy or Robert Johnson; "Cat's Squirrel," Abrahams' big showcase, where he ventures into Eric Clapton territory; and "It's Breaking Me Up," which also features some pretty hot guitar from Abrahams.

Since the very birth of the blues, the train has been a source of great inspiration for musicians. From the steam engine imitation tunes of pioneering harmonica players to wonderful variations on classic folk songs, this collection highlights how the railroad helped shape the blues.

While audiophile editions of Thick as a Brick, Aqualung, Living in the Past, and A Passion Play are easily obtainable, Tull's very earliest albums have languished in substandard editions on CD for ten years. This triple-CD box from England, part of EMI's 100th Anniversary reissue series, rectifies the problem, featuring newly remastered versions of This Was, Stand Up, and Benefit, each packaged in a miniature re-creation of the original LP sleeve…

Various Artists - Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars (2018) {Universal Music 673 212-9} (Complete Artwork)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.03 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 370 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 160 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2018 Universal Music | 673 212-9
Rock / Blues Rock / Stage & Screen / Blues / Soul / Psychedelic Rock

Life in 12 Bars is the name of Lili Fini Zanuck's feature-length 2018 documentary about Eric Clapton, so it fits that its accompanying soundtrack also attempts to tell his story, only through song. To that end, the double-disc soundtrack doesn't limit itself strictly to music Clapton recorded himself, either on his own, as a sideman, or with the many bands he's played in over the years. It kicks off with three vintage blues sides – "Backwater Blues" by Big Bill Broonzy, then two cuts from Muddy Waters – and it later finds space for Aretha Franklin's "Good to Me as I Am to You" and George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" (although, oddly, nothing from the Band's Music from Big Pink, which changed the course of Clapton's career as thoroughly as hearing blues for the first time).