Arthur Lee

Various Artists - Speak Easy: The RPM Records Story Volume 2, 1954-1957 (2014) {2CD Set, Ace Records CDTOP2 1421}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 567 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 347 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 45 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-57, 2014 RPM Records / Ace Records | CDTOP2 1421
Blues / Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll

As proof that Ace remains committed to the music that helped build its reputation as a foremost archivist of vintage R&B, this month we bring you our second package chronicling the output of Modern’s longest-running subsidiary of the 1950s, RPM. “Speak Easy” joins the RPM catalogue at the end of 1953 – the point where we left it on the first volume – and carries on through to the label’s final releases of late 1957. Although the focus is primarily on blues and R&B, a smattering of pop and rockabilly is also included. Every one of the important artists to record for RPM is heard on at least one selection – more in the case of bigger names such as B.B. King.

“Whether he’s wailing a Freddy King inspired blues ballad, stomping out low down and dirty blues, or getting down with a super funky New Orleans groove, Bryan Lee is gonna grab your soul and squeeze it till you scream in blues ecstasy." Born on March 16, 1943 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Bryan Lee lost his eye sight and was legally blind by the age of eight. Bryan Lee had an avid interest in early Rock and Roll and Blues Music which was fostered through the 1950’s late night listening sessions from the Nashville Music radio stations such as WLAC. This is where Lee was first introduced to the sounds of Elmore James, T-Bone Walker and many other influential bluesmen. The man now known as “Braille Blues Daddy” started out playing for Midwest crowds at the early age of 15.

Originally conceived as a play with musical accompaniment, Henry Purcell's 1691 King Arthur endures on the strength of its adventurous harmonies and appealing orchestration. Laying aside the Camelot legends, poet John Dryden framed the tale as the Christian King Arthur defending England against the pagan Saxons, and added colorful visitations by Greek and Norse deities to the plot.

Like so many other musicians in New Orleans, guitarist, singer and songwriter Bryan Lee came to the Crescent City from somewhere else. But he's been carefully honing and refining his craft in Crescent City bars for so many years now, he's considered a New Orleans institution. He's played at 25 of the prestigious New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals, and marked his 25th year at the spring time festival in 2009. Blind since the age of eight, like many blind people, Lee has a heightened sense of hearing. He's a master at ensemble playing and knows how to read an audience.

Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - A Music Man Like Nobody Ever Saw (2016) {5CD Box Set Bear Family BCD 17352 rec 1941-1962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.03 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 746 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 1.57 Gb | 5% repair rar
© 1941-62, 2016 Bear Family Records | BCD 17352
Blues / Delta Blues / Chicago Blues / Electric Blues

In the world of music, there was never anyone quite like ARTHUR 'BIG BOY' CRUDUP. Rooted in the Mississippi Delta, his style was propulsive, melodic, original, and profoundly soulful. If he wasn’t 'The Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll', as one LP proclaimed, there’s no doubt that rock ‘n’ roll owes a debt to his songs, including That’s All Right Mama, My Baby Left Me, Rock Me Mamma, So Glad You’re Mine, and Mean Ol’ Frisco Blues, as much as to his tight, swinging brand of rural blues.