Sweet

Four albums dating from 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981 from legendary blues singer Bobby Bland, originally released on MCA. Bland had a long and influential career with the ‘Dreamer’ album (BGOCD63) and ‘His California Album’ (BGOCD64) both creating great critical and commercial acclaim. Rock artists such as Van Morrison, Mick Hucknall and David Coverdale are all disciples of Bland. Digitally remastered and slipcased, and with extensive new notes.

Excepting a few years with Mercury at the beginning of their career, Flatt & Scruggs made all of their studio recordings for Columbia. This double-disc set is the most useful survey of their work for the label, spanning 1950 to 1969, and throwing in three unreleased tracks along the way. In addition to the expected sterling bluegrass, it has their occasional commercial breakthroughs ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett," "Petticoat Junction," and the version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" that was used as the theme to Bonnie and Clyde). Curiosity seekers will also be impressed by their cover of Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood," recorded in late 1967, and unreleased by Dylan himself until The Basement Tapes.

Various Artists - Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' By The Bayou: Mad Dogs, Sweet Daddies & Pretty Babies (2015) {Ace Records CDCHD 1422}
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© 2015 Ace Records | CDCHD 1422
Blues / Rhythm & Blues / New Orleans R&B / Soul

Ten volumes into their seemingly never-ending, always-excellent By the Bayou series, Ace returns to R&B for Mad Dogs, Sweet Daddies & Pretty Babies. Like nearly all of its predecessors, this is primarily archival – i.e., there aren't a lot of familiar names, but there are acts that have popped up on previous Bayou installments because, at this point, it's been proven that the well is deep but not fathomless. Newly discovered cuts by unknowns can hardly be called "recycling," and this, like its cousins, is pretty close to straight-up aural dynamite.

Robert Nighthawk was one of the most influential blues guitarists of the post war period, a stature he achieved without the benefit of many hit records. His song Sweet Black Angel Blues became a blues standard when B.B. King covered it as "Sweet Little Angel" and B.B. went on to do the same with "Crying Won't Help You". Across the 23 tracks presented here are top blues musicians such as, Roosevelt Sykes, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon, Brownie McGhee and Pinetop Perkins. Robert Nighthawk was an important and very underappreciated bluesman whose evocative slide guitar influenced a remarkable number of musicians who followed in his wake.

Fats Domino - Sweet Patootie: The Complete Reprise Recordings (1967-70) {Warner-Rhino Handmade Limited Edition rel 2004}
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© 1967-70, 2004 Reprise / Warner / Rhino Handmade | Numbered Limited Edition | 603497 788026
Rock & Roll / Rhythm and Blues / Boogie-Woogie / Piano Blues / Jazz

Of all the early rock & rollers, Fats Domino was the easiest to take for granted, since he made it all seem so easy. Even when it rocked hard, his music was so relaxed, so friendly that it sounded effortless and natural, which was part of the reason that his classic recordings for Imperial in the '50s were so consistently enjoyable. All the hits, many of their flips sides, and most of his album cuts were flat-out fun – maybe not as revolutionary as work by Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers, but his body of work for Imperial not only stands proudly next to theirs, but is just as influential. This much is clear after years of hindsight, but in the late '60s he was as passé as any of his peers, even if there were legions of new rockers, from the Beatles to Randy Newman, who were raised on his music.

Various Artists - Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul Vol. 2 (2013) {Ace Records CDKEND 395}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 449 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 190 Mb
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© 2013 Ace Records / Kent Records | CDKEND 395
Country / Soul / R&B / Country Soul / Southern Soul

Sweet Dreams: Where Country Meets Soul, Ace's second dip into the country-soul well, is every bit as good as its 2012 predecessor. Basically, it's cut from the same cloth as the first volume, concentrating on recordings from the late '60s but stretching deep into the '70s (Millie Jackson's "Sweet Music Man" dates from 1977), with Ted Taylor's 1962 "I'll Release You" and Orquestra Was' 1996 "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" functioning as de facto ringers. "Forever's a Long, Long Time Ago" may fit aesthetically but certainly not sonically, as it's a crisp digital blast on a collection devoted to warm, lush, analog soul.