Hoodoo Man

Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers - Rack 'Em Back: New Orleans R&B Stompers (2010) {Hoodoo Records 263373 rec 1953-1958}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 353 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 141 Mb
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© 1953-58, 2010 Hoodoo Records | 263373
Rhythm & Blues / Jazz / Early R&B / New Orleans R&B / Rock & Roll

From the vaults of the Imperial label comes one of the great examples of how New Orleans R&B turned into rock & roll in the ‘50s. The best Bobby Mitchell profile you ll ever need, these 26 recordings contain southern rhythm & blues, delightful doo-wop, hot rock & roll and early soul, with roaring horns and a bright production by the great Dave Bartholomew. Although Bobby Mitchell recorded the original version of the smash hit “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday” (later performed with great success by Fats Domino), he never got his due as either a singer or a songwriter.

John Lee Hooker - The Folk Lore Of John Lee Hooker & Folk Blues (1961-1962) {Hoodoo Records 263499 rel 2014}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 406 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
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© 1961-62, 2014 Vee Jay / Crown / Hoodoo Records | 263499
Blues / Electric Blues / Blues Revival / Delta Blues

Two classic Hooker LPs, all digitally re-mastered, 22 solid slabs of dark, leathery, brooding nostalgia. This is the electric blues at its very roots. If there’s still anyone out there reading this magazine who hasn’t at least one Hooker album in their collection, then you’re still a long way from qualifying as a blues aficionado. So this is a good place to start. This stripped-bare, one man and a growling electric guitar (on most tracks) music is the stuff those guys who fled the south for the auto production lines in the north used to listen to.

To call this collection of tunes from blues legend Buddy Guy definitive is not a stretch by any means, as it is a cohesive, thoughtful, chronological collection that accurately represents all of his changes and phases through six decades. Overall, it is a mellow compilation that showcases many of Guy's laid-back songs, several with longtime partner Junior Wells. It's sprinkled with the many all-star bluesmen he has collaborated with over the years, and is tastefully programmed to offer what is essentially cream of the crop blues from one of its enduring legends. Your hear music issued on singles, LPs and CDs recorded from 1958 through 2004 via various recordings done for the Artistic, Chess, Delmark, Vanguard, Blue Thumb, Atco, Evidence, Alligator, JSP, Blind Pig, and Silvertone labels. It really is a comprehensive overview of Guy's best known songs, and gives fans or neophytes an accurate big picture of why Buddy Guy remains one of the most influential artists in American popular music.

The resurrected Buddha acquired the rights to much of Rory Gallagher's prime material in 1999. They began their reissue program with his first two albums, then they moved to what most hardcore fans would consider the crown jewel of the series, a double-disc collection of Gallagher's BBC sessions. Like most lead guitarists (at least those of his generation), he would often expand his music when playing live, turning in vibrant, exciting versions of his material, peppered with great guitar solos. Although it lacks the kinetic spark generated whenever a musician performs in front of a live audience, BBC Sessions is one of the finest live sets in his catalog, thanks to its crystalline fidelity, strong performances, and classy presentation. Certainly, this collection isn't for anyone that isn't already devoted to Gallagher, but for those who are, there's plenty to cherish here – individual solos, impassioned vocals, and good liner notes. It's an excellent, worthy addition to his catalog, and it helps confirm Gallagher's gift as a blues-rock guitarist.

This stalwart independent label, headquartered in San Francisco, began in a small Ann Arbor club and grew into one of the most important imprints in blues. Thirty-three tunes ricochet between the potent old-school Chicago stylings of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells's classic "Hoodoo Man Blues" and Big Walter Horton'ss swinging shuffle "Put the Kettle On" to the intriguing pop-folk hybrid of Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo and the dashing retro-nuevo guitarisms of Nick Curran & the Niteflies to the brawny Texas-schooled sounds of Omar & the Howlers and Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King. The label's Delta blues side is underrepresented, although James Cotton and Elvin Bishop offer two great flavors of cottonland grind.

This historic compilation of classic Chicago blues from six decades brought through contemporary recording terms is a loving, two-CD set of music that is not interpreted or reinvented as it is played faithfully to the core. A fairly set rhythm section featuring guitarist Billy Flynn, bassist Felton Crews, and drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, backs modern-day living legends like Billy Boy Arnold, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, and John Primer on tunes penned by both Sonny Boy Williamsons, Big Bill Broonzy, Big Maceo Merriweather, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, the Hooker Brothers, Buddy Guy, and others. Considerable help is given by harmonicist Matthew Skoller (brother of producer Larry Skoller,) keyboardist Johnny Iguana, vocalist Mike Avery (cousin of Magic Sam), and lead guitarist Carlos Johnson…

Last Time Around – Live At Legends is a fitting farewell to the late, great Junior Wells and his partnership, friendship and kinship with Buddy Guy that lasted decades. The album is a historic release in many ways. It reunites two blues legends who began their unique association in the 1950s. The album was recorded live in March 1993 at Buddy Guy's world-famous Chicago blues mecca Legends, and it's an acoustic document of many classic songs that made both Wells and Guy legends in their own right, such as "She's Alright" and "I've Been There," along with other classic blues standards such as "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Key to the Highway," all delivered with a looseness and power that define both Guy and Wells. It also marks the last time the two ever played together.