Jimmy Witherspoon Singin' The Blues (2009)

Legendary Blues singer Jimmy ‘Spoon’ Witherspoon, one of the premiere Blues musicians of the post-WWII era, is immortalized in this exclusive DVD entitled Jimmy Witherspoon: Goin’ Down Blues. Witherspoon became the vocalist for Jay McShann’s band, which also featured T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner, during which time they recorded numerous hits, such as Ain’t Nobody’s Business, Times Gettin’ Tougher Than Tough, and Big Fine Girl, which exemplified his unique style as a “Blues Shouter.”

Jays Blues is a fine collection of early-'50s jump blues sides that Jimmy Witherspoon cut for Federal Records. This 23-track collection offers a good retrospective of one of Witherspoon's most neglected – and admittedly, uneven – periods.

This CD includes the high point of singer Jimmy Witherspoon's career. On October 2, 1959, he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival and created such a sensation that it caused his career to go through a renaissance. Heard at the peak of his powers, Witherspoon holds his own with a mighty group of veterans (trumpeter Roy Eldridge, both Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on tenors, clarinetist Woody Herman, pianist Earl Hines, bassist Vernon Alley, and drummer Mel Lewis). Although the five-song set only lasted 25 minutes, Witherspoon's performance was the hit of the festival. The other half of this CD features Witherspoon romping through ten mostly traditional blues songs two months later with Ben Webster, baritonist Gerry Mulligan, pianist Jimmy Rowles, bassist Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer Mel Lewis; the performance is equally exciting. This CD is the one truly essential Jimmy Witherspoon release.

When Willie Dixon left his native Mississippi and traveled north to Chicago, he almost single-handedly dragged the blues with him into the modern era, giving the country blues a hard, new sheen with his deft songwriting, sturdy bass playing, and his considerable talents as a producer and arranger. This two-disc, 47-track set catches Dixon wearing all of his hats, with the first disc featuring him in the studio and in concert (including several live tracks with Johnny Winter) and the second spotlighting his bass playing and production work with the likes of Robert Nighthawk, Eddie Boyd, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley, Willie Mabon, and Howlin' Wolf. What emerges is a well-rounded portrait and introduction to one of the major architects of the modern blues sound.

B.B. King - Singin' The Blues (1957) {2005 Remastered & Expanded, Crown–Ace Records CDCHM1041}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 199 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 126 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 24 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 2005 Crown Records | Ace Records | CDCHM 1041
Blues / Modern Electric Blues / Soul-Blues / Memphis Blues

Step forward the eighth set in Ace's mid-price series of vintage B.B. King recordings based on his albums released on the Crown label. Between 1957 and 1963, the Bihari brothers' dime store label released 12 albums, comprised of singles from their RPM and Kent labels, tracks from the vaults, plus dedicated album sessions. Despite the "cheap and cheerful" production values, the B.B. King Crown albums became collectors' items due to the high quality of B.B.'s recordings and the eye-catching artwork. The LPs were a discographical headache until Ace was able to unravel the details.

The Rhythm and the Blues is the fifteenth solo studio album by Australian rock musician Jimmy Barnes, released through Liberation Music on 28 August 2009. The album was produced by Don Gehman in Los Angeles and peaked at number one on the Australian Albums Chart for two weeks. The Rhythm and the Blues was Barnes' ninth solo album (thirteenth including his Cold Chisel records) to reach number one on the ARIA Charts, an all-time record for an Australian artist. The album was touted as a sequel to Barnes' previous works Soul Deep and Soul Deeper… Songs From the Deep South. It features cover versions of tracks from throughout the late 1940s to the 1960s, with songs by the likes of Ray Charles, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner, Bo Diddley, Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone.