Prestige Bluesville

Mildred Anderson - Person To Person (1960) {Prestige-Bluesville OBCCD-556-2 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 190 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 73 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1993 Prestige-Bluesville Records / Fantasy | OBCCD-556-2
Jazz / Bop / Vocal Jazz

Mildred Anderson, who recorded with organist Bill Doggett as early as 1953, only made two albums as a leader and, although thought of as as being in the R&B/blues field, both records have some notable jazz players supporting her. For this CD reissue, Anderson is joined by tenor-saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, organist Shirley Scott, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Arthur Edgehill for such songs as "Hello Little Boy," "Person to Person" and "Kidney Stew Blues" (the latter two tunes were associated with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson). Despite being rather brief (just 31 minutes), this set is worth checking out if quite obscure.

Al Smith - Hear My Blues (1959) {Prestige–Bluesville OBCCD-514-2 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 206 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 1993 Prestige / Bluesville / Fantasy | OBCCD-514-2
Blues / Jazz / Soul Blues / West Coast Blues

As a rule, people who appreciate the late Jimmy Witherspoon have a very favorable reaction to Al Smith – that is, if they get a chance to hear him. Neither of the two albums that Smith provided for Bluesville (Hear My Blues in 1959 and Midnight Special in 1960) are well-known. While Witherspoon was a big name in the blues world, Smith was a gospel singer who dabbled in secular music. But when Smith did venture outside the gospel realm, his approach was quite comparable to Witherspoon's – like Witherspoon, he favored a jazz-influenced approach to blues and R&B.

Al Smith - Midnight Special (1960) {Prestige-Bluesville OBCCD-583-2 rel 1996}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 209 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 76 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1996 Prestige/Bluesville Records / Fantasy | OBCCD-583-2
Blues / Regional Blues / Soul-Blues / Urban Blues / West Coast Blues

For many decades, African-American churches have worried about losing their best singers to secular music. And inevitably, many of them will, in fact, explore secular music instead of devoting 100 percent of their time to gospel. Al Smith is a perfect example. The obscure singer's roots were gospel, but he favored a jazz-influenced approach to blues and soul when he recorded two albums for Prestige/Bluesville: Hear My Blues in 1959 and Midnight Special in 1960. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's famous New Jersey studio, Midnight Special finds Smith backed by a rock-solid quintet that consists of King Curtis on tenor sax, Robert Banks on organ, Jimmy Lee Robinson on electric guitar, Leonard Gaskin on acoustic bass, and Bobby Donaldson on drums.

Sidney Maiden - Trouble An' Blues (1961) {Prestige-Bluesville OBCCD-574-2 rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 227 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1994 Prestige / Bluesville / Fantasy | OBCCD-574-2
Jazz / West Coast Blues / Piedmont Blues / Regional Blues

Louisiana-born singer and harmonica blower Sidney Maiden first made his mark in the blues world during the late Forties with Eclipse of the Sun, a number cut in Oakland with guitarist K.C. Douglas. Unlike many other Southern bluesmen who urbanized their styles after relocating to the West Coast, Maiden and Douglas stuck close to their rural roots.

Memphis Willie B. - Introducing Memphis Willie B. (1961) {Prestige Bluesville OBCCD-573-2 rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 233 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1994 Prestige Bluesville / Fantasy | OBCCD-573-2
Blues / Country Blues / Acoustic Memphis Blues / Piedmont Blues

I originally found this LP in a thrift store in the '90s and it has remained one of my very favorites ever since. I've always found the guitar riffs, simple tho' they might be, somehow perfect; and Memphis Willie B. (Borum)'s voice is very affecting and expressive. The harp's cool, too and the songs are also well chosen - blues with meaning and stories I'm interested in hearing. Bought it again as a cd, and find myself listening to it remarkably often - I do have an extensive collection, but Willie speaks to me! :D

A grab bag of early-'60s Hopkins, four of the songs recorded solo in a Houston studio in July 1961, two recorded with bass and drums in New York in May 1964, and the other six recorded live as a solo in New York in December 1964. These were originally released on the following Prestige/Bluesville LPs: the 1961 cuts on Walkin' This Road by Myself, the two New York band songs on Down Home Blues, and the live New York tracks on My Life in the Blues. Hopkins plays good country blues on the 1961 numbers, particularly on "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes" and his interpretation of "Good Morning Little School Girl." The two 1964 band efforts are pretty good spare electric blues, whether "I Like to Boogie" or the more unusual "Get It Straight," which gets rather close to country music in its rhythms and guitar work…