- Audio CD (Jan 24 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Varese Sarabande
- ASIN: B000058DXA
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #236,045 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
It's surely a sign of blues mastery: you sit down with your guitar, open your mouth, and the blues comes out. That's the impression one gains from this recording, made in 1960 and, incredibly, never issued, except piecemeal on albums by some of the artists involved. Now at last, here's the whole thing, featuring improvisatory riffs--the whole recording is ostensibly off the cuff and unrehearsed, which, given the talent involved, isn't hard to believe--from Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Joe Williams, and dynamic duo Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Just getting these four in the same room is something of an achievement, given the temperaments and busy careers involved, but any blues fan would admit that the results are worth it. Though they're admittedly pretty rough cuts, they're also heartfelt, enthusiastic, and overwhelmingly genuine, with the kind of musical intimacy that comes from sitting around and playing whatever's on your mind--and you're a good enough musician that what comes out is worth hearing. --Genevieve Williams
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very enjoyable, but mostly for fans...,
By
This review is from: Lightnin Hopkins And The Blue (Audio CD)
The first half of this album is a studio recording, bringing together Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins and local session bassist James Bond (!) with Big Joe Williams, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee, who were wrapping up a recidency at the highly renowned Ash Grove nightclub in Los Angeles.The second half was recorded live in front of the patrons at the Ash Grove that same night...according to the liner notes, anyway, the noise of the audience has been edited out, so we'll have to take their word for it. Opening with the eight-minute "Ain't Nothin' Like Whiskey", the track list is dominated by Lightnin' Hopkins-compositions with a number of traditional blues and gospel numbers thrown in for godo measure. Everything is strictly acoustic, very loose and relaxed, and these long and often meandering songs frequently sound like they're on the verge of collapsing, but the four veterans keep things in check, trading off lines and solos seemingly at random.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Legends Unplugged!,
By deepbluereview "deepbluereview" (SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lightnin Hopkins And The Blue (Audio CD)
For almost two years now, this CD has sat on top of my changer begging for more playing time. Last month, I finally placed it in rotation. The disc features Lightnin' Hopkins, Joe Willians, Son Terry and Brownie McGee unplugged in a Hollywood studio sometime in the 1960's. As sometimes happens when legends collaborate on a disc, there is an awkwardness and choppiness in the playing between these individuals and none of them really seem to take charge or distinguish themselves in any way. The notable exception to this is "Wimmin From Coast to Coast" which has a rather loose and upbeat tempo that works extremely well with these individuals. Fans of these individuals will like to add this to their collection. However, those not that familiar with these legends would be better served by exploring other selections in the vast catalogue of these great musicians.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Summit of all blues summits,
By
This review is from: Lightnin Hopkins And The Blue (Audio CD)
In 1960 World Pacific Records, once an important jazz label, put four of the great blues masters - Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Big Joe Williams - together with many bottles of whisky in a sound studio, turned on the Ampex tape decks, got out of the way and let the men jam. Afterwards, about half of the tracks available on this new CD were released on the classic but often elusive World Pacific 1298. The recording needs no new rave notices. Such bellwether critics of the time as Leonard Feather and Nat Hentoff already gave it the ultimate canonization it deserves those 41 years ago. There's nothing to add to the praise. No collection of basically acoustic black blues is anywhere near complete without this masterpiece. Several of the cuts that weren't on WP 1298 have been reissued on various albums by the individual artists, but this is the biggest single assembly out of the sessions ever. The Ampexes supposedly wound World Pacific's tapes for several hours on end, so this release too is only a selection, but the biggest yet. The sound quality is superlative, which one came to expect from World Pacific even in 1960. The music - fully improvised, totally jammed bragging dirty blues. Titles like "Wimmen From Coast to Coast" and "You Can Steal My Chickens But You Can't Make My Hens Lay" say it all.
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