Up! Up You June 1999

Tenor saxophonist Reed was retired for a brief time while he wrote the songs for this recording, and then came back to live performing and touring. His band is a bit rough and a little out of control at times, as the backing guitars are sharp and out of tune. For the most part, though, things are together. There are two cuts from unearthed older sessions featuring the late Albert Collins, some neat horn charts, and cameos from singers Maurice John Vaughn, Sammy Fender, and Arthur Irby, which work to varying degrees. Reed's songs emphasize various social ills, some optimism, and a blues-chasing attitude that always feels good. Reed's signature funky blues crops up on the title track, a travelers anthem about Mickey D's, B.K., and similar places, during which he admits that he eventually "ate a foot long dog," knowing it wasn't good for him…

Here you'll find great studio recordings - "Chicago Daily Blues" and "Came up the hard Way". Special bonus tracks on this CD were recorded in the Kingston Mines nightclub in Chicago on a trip in 1977.
Once dismissed by purists as a Chuck Berry imitator (and an accurate one at that), tall, lean, and lanky Chicago southpaw Eddy Clearwater became recognized as a prime progenitor of West Side-style blues guitar. That's not to say he wouldn't liven up a gig with a little duck-walking or a frat party rendition of "Shout"; after all, Clearwater brought a wide array of influences to the party. Gospel, country, '50s rock, and deep-down blues were all incorporated into his slashing guitar attack. But when he put his mind to it, "The Chief" (a nickname accrued from his penchant for donning Native American headdresses on-stage) was one of the Windy City's finest bluesmen.

At the time of this recording, John Primer had already established himself on the who’s who list of Chicago blues. He had finished a long stint with Muddy Waters and was in the middle of a 14 year stay as guitarist for Magic Slim and the Teardrops. This CD is John's fourth for Wolf Records and his very first full-length live album.
After the Wolf Records manager listened to the Zoo Bar recordings he got the idea to make a CD just with John Primer, because he always opened every set at the Zoo Bar and it was great! So the musicians here are just Nick Holt on bass, Michael Scott on drums and John himself! The three had a great sound and played songs like "Gambler's Blues", "Easy Baby" and "Walkin' through the Park"! Great!

After disbanding his group to take time off to clean up his life, Lil' Ed re-formed the Blues Imperials for this 1999 entry, his first for Alligator since What You See Is What You Get. The good news is that the time off had totally reinvigorated Ed's playing, singing, and songwriting, as he ultimately turned in a great batch of originals infused with blistering raw energy. The only non-originals out of the 14 tracks assembled here are nice takes on "Too Late" and "Pet Cream Man," both tunes written by Ed's uncle and principal inspiration, the late J.B. Hutto. Call this a comeback album if you must, but if great, raw Chicago blues is your thing, consider this one great album, period.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1981, The Bangles are an American band, who had several hit singles through out the 1980s. The bands hits included "Walk Like An Egyptian", "Hazy Shade Of Winter", and the 1989 No.1 single "Eternal Flame". The band officially broke-up in 1989 but almost ten years later, in 1998, started drifting back together . In 1999, they officially re-formed to record a song for the soundtrack of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". The reunion continued with a tour in 2000 and in 2003 they released, "Doll Revolution", their first album since 1988's "Everything".