Johnny Winter White, Hot And Blue

BGO Records continues its series of two-fer CD reissues of Johnny Winter's Columbia and Blue Sky LPs with this combination of two successive albums, 1977's Nothin' But the Blues and 1978's White, Hot & Blue. Both discs were informed by Winter's involvement with Muddy Waters, for whom he produced comeback albums prior to each of his own efforts, 1977's Hard Again and 1978's I'm Ready. After the Grammy-winning Hard Again, Winter toured with Waters, and when he came to make Nothin' But the Blues, he recruited Waters and his band as sidemen. (Waters only made a vocal contribution, singing "Walking Thru the Park.") Thus, Winter performed with harmonica player James Cotton and pianist Pinetop Perkins, among others…

This album was recorded in Dallas, in the fall of '69 that also featured B.B. King, Sly & the Family Stone and Ten Years After.. By this time Johnny's popularity was such that he was no longer merely an opening act but a headliner and just a everyone expected, he stole the show. Not only that, we're lucky enough to have a really good quality recording surviving from that unforgettable show.

Still Alive and Well proved to the record-buying public that Johnny Winter was both. This is a truly enjoyable album, chock-full of great tunes played well. Johnny's version of the Rolling Stones' "Silver Train" revealed the potential of this song and what the Stones failed to capture. Everything here is good, so get it and dig in.

Although it could be argued that, for the most part, Johnny Winter has gotten better and better as a guitarist over the years, his career has had its ups and downs for personal and professional reasons. Especially after involving himself in the latter stages of Muddy Waters' career and helping the veteran bluesman achieve a comeback with 1977's Hard Again, Winter made superior music of his own on the blues-oriented Nothin' But the Blues and White, Hot & Blue. But those albums didn't sell as well as some of his earlier rock-oriented ones, and after his 1980 album Raisin' Cain moved back toward rock, but didn't even make the charts, he left his major label and spent a few years without a record company. Signing to the Chicago-based independent blues label Alligator Records, he staged his own comeback with 1984's Guitar Slinger, and its follow-up, Serious Business, is in the same vein…

The rockin’ blues guitar legend Johnny Winter is showcased in a parade of relentless hot licks and menacing growls on this Alligator compilation. The material here was culled from three of Winter’s strongest Alligator albums-1984’s Third Degree, 1985’s Guitar Slinger and 1986’s Serious Business. It includes two previously unissued tracks in the Smiley Lewis flavored "Georgianna," which features Dr. John tickling the ivories, and the Delta-flavored "Nothing but the Devil," featuring James Cotton on harmonica.

If you ever wondered what the white blues monster sounded like at the very peak of his name, this is it! Recorded at a 1969 Johnny Winter concer in Houston, Johnny and his regular band members (brother Edgar, I.P. Sweat, Uncle John Turner) display the honed-to-perfection combination of blues with rock that ws catapulting Johnny to stardom at tis very time in music history. No longer was he merely a regional blues man doing old favorites for a cult following; Johnny was blazing forth with a totally new sound that captured big audiences everywhere.

Culled from Johnny's 3 '80s Alligator albums (Guitar Slinger-Serious Business-Third Degree) these 12 tracks prove that after the guitar slingers CBS years he still had the fire to burn the fingerboard! Back by top notch Chicago blues players and the occassional guest's Dr. John & Tommy Shannon (ex Stevie Ray Vaughan bassist) during his Alligator years, these recordings show Johnny at his best with no confetti or studio razzle dazzle. These raw to the bone blues tracks boil red hot. If you don't own any of the guitar legends Alligator albums, you must get this one.

Scorchin' Blues marries tracks from Johnny Winter's early Columbia albums - including the classic National steel-driven "Dallas" from his 1969 debut - with material from his return-to-roots Blue Sky period in the late '70s. The aggressive playing and raunchy vocals will appeal to both blues and rock fans, and Ben Sandmel crams an authoritative biography into seven pages, complete with interesting Winter quotes. The one downside: a miserly ten tracks spread over only 43 minutes of playing time.

Stepping into the role of a whirlwind albino electric blues guitar player from Texas with a brilliant slide style and a roaring voice was the very role Johnny Winter was born to fill. He released nearly 30 albums of blues and blues-rock in his 40-plus-year career, and delivered countless memorable concerts as well. His death in the summer of 2014 at the age of 70 left an unfillable void in the international blues community. Step Back is his final studio album, and it follows his 2011 release Roots in paying tribute to his various blues influences, and, like Roots, it is essentially a series of duets with all-star guests, with Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, Billy Gibbons, Joe Perry, Dr. John, Leslie West, Brian Setzer, and Joe Bonnamassa helping out this time around…

Winter's debut album for Columbia was also arguably his bluesiest and best. Straight out of Texas with a hot trio, Winter made blues-rock music for the angels, tearing up a cheap Fender guitar with total abandon on tracks like "I'm Yours and I'm Hers," "Leland Mississippi Blues," and perhaps the slow blues moment to die for on this set, B.B. King's "Be Careful with a Fool." Winter's playing and vocals have yet to become mannered or clichéd on this session, and if you've ever wondered what the fuss is all about, here's the best place to check out his true legacy.