the blues. who do you like? who don't you like? what kind of blues do you listen to or play? where do you go to hear live blues? --and so forth.19 responses total.
i've recently developed a liking for the blues, and i'm interested in starting a collection. thing is, i don't know a darn thing about them and i'd rather not collect the blues equivalent of partridge family albums. can anyone give me some suggestions, pointers, or hints?
I'm afraid I'm not going to be much of a help. I'm in more or less the same position as you - how do you *start* a blues collection? There's *way* too much good stuff out there...
Get the complete recordings of Robert Johnson, its a landmark 3-cd set containing ALL the known recordings of Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues pioneer who is said tohave sold his soul to the devil in exchange for theability to sing the blues. Anything Alligator records in Chicago puts out is good...Clarence "GAtemouth" Brown, Koko Taylor, .etc And of course, the "King of the Blues", BB King...BB King Live at the Apollo 1964 is the quintessential live blues CD. Just BB and his ever present guitar "Lucille", singing "Every day I have the blues"
For a sampling of blues, check out "Blues DeLuxe" on WIQB,
102.9fm Sunday nights at 10pm, just before Dr. Demento. Catch
something you like?; persue it. The River, 93.9fm also has
blues break at 7pm weeknights and it's Sunday local blues show
in addition to Elwood Blue's "House of Blues" at 7pm, also heard
on WCSX. WCSX also has a blues show at 8pm. Of course, overnights,
it's the famous Coachman on WDET, 101.9fm.
You might have to get a 'record on auto-reverse' cassette
recorder and a timer to catch some of these on the radio for playback
at more convient time. Do the cabs have cassette players for your
use?
Well, I'm definitely a blues novice myself, so I don't have a lot of help to offer. I'm a fan of Taj Mahal. Beyond that, I'd suggest looking at a series of label samplers which Alligator offers -- called GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN' MUSIC or something like that. There's also a Blind Pig label which has similar samplers. I believe the Rounder label put out a 2-CD sampler set as part of their 25th Anniversary flood last year; it was budget priced, so you might look for that. Rounder also has a few blues titles on its Easydisc imprint; the Easydisc samplers usually sell for about $8 new.
I was driving down this icy, winbdblown highway, one day after a break-up and I heard "Snowed In" by Albert Collins on some public radio station, and realized what the blues was about: survival. I liked that attitude, so I started looking around. Pretty soon I was hearing B.B. King making magic with the crowd at Cook County Jail and I was getting a real laugh out of the blues. I'll admit I haven't gotten as deep as I've wanted to get with the blues, yet, but I've heard some good stuff. Two current blues albums that are worth checking out are Alvin Younglbood Hart's _Big Mama's Door_ and Keb' Mo's self-titled debut. Both are young blues musicians with a lot of talent and a healthy respect for tradition. Rhino Records has a nice line of blues compilation albums. Among them, I think the most useful entry points are the slide guitar one and the harmonica album. Robert Johnson is definitely one of the guys to check out, and, as was mentioned, there's a nice set on Columbia Legacy. He was a rather young blues musician way back when he was making a name for himself, as well. Bessie Smith was the legendary, prototypically powerful female blues vocalist, and another good place to start. I think there's a Colubia Legacy collection of her material, too. Of course, B.B. King is a great place to start, as well. He is a consummate performer and has rightfully earned his title of ambassador of the blues. A good live album of his material is worth looking into. Koko Taylor is always a pleasure to listen to, and a more modern version of the Bessie Smith school of blues. This ought to give you a start, at least.
Oh, I almost forgot. There's a pretty cool collection of real old blues stuff on the soundtrack to _Crumb_. Apparently, the cartoonist has a pretty nice collection of old blues vinyl, which influenced the choice of music for the documentary.
Don't forget recordings on Alligator Records -- All blues, nothing but the blues.
Yeah, Alligator has a lot of the newer blues...
Oh, and how could I forget to plug my favorite local? Larry McCray, out of Saginaw, Michigan, has put out two highly-acclaimed blues albums: _Ambition_ and _Delta Hurricane_. McCray is a more modern electric bluesman. I saw him in Bay City a few years back, and he blew the roof off the place. One of the best live shows I've ever seen. Completely turned on a friend to the blues, too, who went with me... McCray has a rich voice like B.B. King and plays like Stevie Ray Vaughan...
And, it just so happens I spotted that Bessie Smith Legacy compilation at Encore the other day. Not sure what the price will be, but it oughta be about 2/3 the regular price, and I don't think it normally retails for more than $20. Sweet way to begin a blues collection.
Or one could check it out from the public library if they wanted a sneak preview..
Darn, that public library steals all the surprises...
I'm still searching for a blues club in Gainesville, but so far to no avail.
I'm listening to the Columbia Legacy collection of Bessie Smith, right now. Absolutely great stuff!
Another really cool thing to check out is "jump blues", which is a lot of fun to hear. Currently, a former house band out of Chicago called The Mighty Blue Kings is leading the jump blues revival. They've put out two albums, so far, that are fantastic...
how does jump blues differ from the usual sort?
Jump blues is faster and more punctuated, as far as I can tell. It's danceable and more upbeat. It may involve horns and saxophones...
Dan, jump blues sounds to me like it leans slightly towards swing jazz. I can't think of a blues tune, offhand, that was a usual sort of blues tune...there are quite a few different styles
You have several choices: