Chicago Japanese Edition

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first concert in Japan in 1971, Chicago, a brass rock band formed in 1967, has released a 3-CD set (2CD+DVD) featuring hit singles and music videos released in Japan…

American pop/jazz-rock group. One of the biggest-selling bands in U.S. history, hailing from the Windy City (Chicago, Illinois). Formed in 1967 as "The Big Thing", they were one of the first groups to successfully fuse rock with a horn section…

Forty-five years into the band's career, the seemingly straightforward numerical system Chicago follow to title their albums has gotten confusing. Their 2014 offering Now: Chicago XXXVI is clearly their 36th record but it is only their 23rd studio album and, to muddle matters more, it is their first collection of brand-new original material since Chicago XXX in 2006 (the 2008 release of Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus doesn't really count, as that was initially scheduled for release in 1994, which would've made it Chicago XXII or so). Hence, the decision to put "Now" in front of Chicago XXXVI instead of behind: it emphasizes that this record showcases the band in the present, not the past. That Chicago's Now sounds tethered to the Chicago of the early '80s is neither here nor there…

Mighty Joe Young & Snooks Eaglin is, on the one hand, a skilled guitarist from Chicago who works hard on the sessions, and on the other hand, a versatile genius guitarist from New Orleans. The Legacy Of The Blues Vol. 4 is a compilation of two LPs from the Samuel Charters series of the same name based on the originals. This is a contrasting combination. Even though they use the same instrument, the guitar, it's almost a mixed martial art. However, for guitar lovers, this is also a very interesting approach. Rare Japanese edition.

Chicago ranks among the all-time most successful groups in American rock. When it was first released as a four-LP package in 1972, this marathon live recording hit #3 on Billboard's Pop album chart and was certified RIAA gold. Following up their 1969 debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, 1970's Chicago II, and 1971's Chicago III-#17, #4, and #2 respectively-this historic set features all their early hits and spotlights Chicago at the pinnacle of their inital success…

If there's a blues harmonica player alive today who doesn't have this landmark album in their collection, they're either lying or had their copy stolen by another harmonica player. This 12-song collection is the one that every harmonica player across the board cut their teeth on. All the hits are here: "My Babe," "Blues With a Feeling," "You Better Watch Yourself," "Off the Wall," "Mean Old World," and the instrumental that catapulted him from the sideman chair in Muddy Waters' band to the top of the R&B charts in 1952, "Juke." Walter's influence to this very day is so pervasive over the landscape of the instrument that this collection of singles is truly one of the all-time greatest blues harmonica albums, one of the all-time greatest Chicago blues albums, and one of the first ten albums you should purchase if you're building your blues collection from the ground floor up.

After a long hiatus, Chicago blues harpist Junior Wells has recorded two studio albums in rapid succession-and, if not for the inclusion of three painfully overworked standards, this Japanese import might earn a marginal nod over Wells' slicker recent album for Telarc. Certainly this set, cut with Wells' own band, better captures his irrepressible persona. The storming "What My Ma Told Me" and a downbeat "Don't Nobody Know" (with Wells on chromatic harp) are offset by pointless marathon revivals of "Sweet Home Chicago," "Help Me," and "Little Red Rooster" that would try the patience of the staunchest clubgoer. But an intimate rendition of Tampa Red's "When Things Go Wrong," with only pianist John Kattke in supple support, is one of the best things the harpist has done in ages.

This album chronicles a 1959 Carnegie Hall bill shared between Muddy and Slim. In retrospect, it might be seen as something of a warm-up for Muddy, who would soon wow the world with the 1960 performance captured on his Newport album. Muddy's style was much more primal and sensual than the more urbane, slightly Charles Brown-like sound of Peter Chatman (AKA Memphis Slim), but the two blues giants accompany each other here with sensitivity and taste. Slim dominates the proceedings, with 13 cuts to Muddy's four, and his sophisticated vocal and piano stylings are a joy to the ear. Conversely, Muddy's tunes lack the punch his customary sidemen gave them (he's backed by Al Hall and Shep Sheppard). Nevertheless, the singer was in his prime at this time, and it was seemingly impossible for him to come across as anything less than commanding…

The best contemporary Shaw offering, cut in his old Mississippi stomping grounds with his trusty combo, the Wolf Gang. Lots of lyrically unusual originals - "Dunkin' Donut Woman," "Wine Head Hole," and "She Didn't Tell Me Everything," for starters - and Shaw's usual diamond-hard horn lines and commanding vocals make this a standout selection.