Bo+diddley

The indispensable collection for all guitar players and anyone interested in the instrument. In chronological order, starting with the first historic recordings of an amplified lap steel guitar in 1935 up to the triumph of rock guitar, most of the best and most influential guitarists can be found here. They are heard showing astonishing musical diversity in this anthology recounting the evolution of the electric guitar. This highly-documented triple album is an essential work and features not only the pioneers and innovators but also the stylists who contributed to make the guitar the dominant instrument in western popular music for over five decades. Told by Bruno Blum, himself a guitarist, this epic includes truly dazzling recordings. Patrick FRÉMEAUX

Eric Bell may not have been present for Thin Lizzy's best-known and most successful era (the mid- to late '70s), but he was there for the group's formation as a founding member. Born on September 3, 1947 in Belfast, Ireland, Bell played guitar throughout the '60s for several local bands (including Them and John Farrell & the Dreams), but paid the bills by working as a street gas-lamp lighter, and in both pickle and shirt factories. One night in 1969, Bell caught a gig by another local Irish outfit, Orphanage, which featured bassist/singer Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Soon after, Bell relocated to Dublin, where he joined up with the others to form Thin Lizzy.

The punks of the 77 class shouted no future, but they did not forget the past. If they seemed to public obloquy all established artists who preceded them, it was primarily to denounce the perversion and decadence of the rebellious spirit of the original rock. But it was enough to look at the times carefully chosen in the directory of the Clash, the Ramones, Blondie or The Cramps to see that these insurgents farms references, serious models: bluesmen and wild rockers, whose formidable energy and anger were their first and paramount quality. This means that the triple anthology The Roots of punk rock music, 1926-1962 (1) is more than a treat, a blessing. Compiled by journalist and musician Bruno Blum, it brings together dozens of raw pearls of rebellious artists, some established (Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis …), others more obscure (Esquerita Ronnie Allen, Hasil Adkins, punk and handyman in 1955!). In addition, it contains the original versions of songs become, through their times, standard new wave (Junco Partner, Goo goo muck, Brand New Cadillac, Denis …). This means that the collection is a breath away as thrilling as history lesson.

This was the most unusual, and probably the most difficult to assemble of MCA's Chess Box series, mostly because of the unusual nature of Willie Dixon's contribution to Chess Records. To be sure, Dixon rates a place in the history of the label right alongside that of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter, but his role was more subtle than that of a performer (indeed, two of the half-dozen recordings here that feature Dixon as a singer were previously unreleased). So he is all over this two-CD set, as a songwriter, producer, and bassist, and occasionally as a singer as well, but the unifying element are the Dixon songs, and he is the only blues songwriter to be honored by a major label with a retrospective of this type.

The Liverbirds were not unique, but they were certainly unusual. The male groups of the Merseybeat era were ten a penny. Of the 400 Liverpool combos listed by Spencer Leigh in his book Let’s Go Down The Cavern, less than a handful are female. The fact that the Liverbirds played their own instruments made them doubly rare, even more so on a national and international level. Although they were from Liverpool, as photographs suggest (at a quick glance they could almost be mistaken for the Pretty Things or the Stones) musically the Liverbirds had more in common with the R&B-influenced bands of the South East than your typical Merseybeat group.

Enjoy this Compilation with the most successful Soul, R&B, Jazz, Blues singers like Wilbert Harrison, Bo Diddley, Otis Rush, Slim Harpo and many more!

Conceived as music for listening behind the wheel or at home, this triple album echoes the “American Way of Life” back in the days when the automobile was a striking symbol. This anthology featuring rock, jazz, western swing, blues and country music is a landmark audio-collection illustrating the car-myth in American popular music. The 28-page booklet contains detailed notes by Bruno Blum, and these remarkable titles were all chosen for their quality: compositions, lyrics, performance… and, wherever possible, great sound, the kind you need wherever you take the music.