Friday Blues Picks (Looking Back)

Back when I started reading Living Blues magazine in the late 80's, one of my favorite sections was the "Blues Rare and Well Done" section, where they discussed older tracks and albums that didn't deserve to fade away into oblivion.  I managed to learn a lot about the early history of the blues and track down some great stuff that I might have missed, thanks to LB's efforts.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've managed to find some exciting vintage blues tunes from some unexpected sources.  For those blues fans who like the classic blues, but are looking for something a bit different, Friday Blues Fix may have just what you're looking for......

This release, Super Rare Electric Blues 60's Era (Rockbeat Records) has been out for several years.  Actually, I've had it on my Amazon Wish List for maybe ten years and just never got around to purchasing it.  I finally did so a couple of weeks ago and let me tell you, blues fans, it's one of the wildest and wooliest collections that I've found.

This set focuses on blues artists that recorded on smaller labels in the late 50's and early 60's, some of which would probably not be heard by newer listeners because the artists simply didn't record enough sides to make up an album, so a collection like this one would be the only way anyone ever heard them.  Most of the tracks are guitar-driven, but there are other instruments featured as well

There are some familiar names here, such as Ike Turner (recording as Icky Renrut), Guitar Shorty, Earl Hooker, Lonnie Brooks, and even two tracks from Buddy Guy, and a few lesser known artists like Juke Boy Bonner, Lafayette "Thing" Thomas, Wild Jimmy Spruill, and Homesick James.  There are also some great artists that maybe you've never heard of, like Flash Terry, Piano Slim, Johnny Morrisette, Muvva "Guitar" Hubbard and the Stompers, Johnny Jones & the King Casuals, Sly Williams, The Poor Boys, and Bobo Jenkins.

These tracks were recorded for relatively obscure labels (all are listed in the liner notes, but make sure you have your reading glasses on....pretty small print), but it's amazing at how good the quality is on each song. Truthfully, there's not a bad track in the 50 tracks collected here.  If you are a fan of classic blues....this is a dynamite set to own.  It's pretty easily found on Amazon or Discogs for a nice price and well worth the hunt!

Another cool set that I'd never even heard of until a couple of weeks ago was released in 2007 by Fuel 2000 Records, which produced some excellent blues and rock collections over the past 20-30 years, collecting recordings by specific artists as well as anthology-type collections.  The most recent one that I found was called Rare Blues and it features 18 rare tracks from Jewel Records, Paula Records, USA Records and Mel-Lon Records.  This set also features tracks from some familiar faces like Elmore James, Robert Lockwood Jr., John Lee Hooker, Guitar Shorty, and Little Walter and also a few sides that I'd always wanted to hear, along with some really cool surprises.

Lockwood's contribution is an alternate take of his 1951 version of "Dust My Broom," the song that Elmore James made famous a few months later.  J.O.B. Records decided not to release Lockwood's version, which he learned directly from his "stepfather" Robert  Johnson.  James' version for Trumpet Records follows Lockwood's blueprint pretty closely.  Chicago-based singer Ricky Allen recorded several fine sides in the 60's and paved the way for the soul-blues sound of the 1970's.  "Cut You A-Loose" was his big song, but "Little By Little," the Junior Wells standard, is included here and will make you wonder why he didn't record more often, dropping off the scene for nearly 30 years.

Elmore James' "Knocking At Your Door" was a new track for me, released on Chief Records in 1957, and another great slide guitarist, J.B. Hutto, has a track here as well ("Combination Boogie"), as well as John Lee Hooker (recording as John Lee Booker to get around his recording contract), who cut "I Love To Boogie" for Chance Records.  Probably the neatest find on this album is Little Walter's debut on wax on harmonica and vocals, a 1948 session for the Tempo-Tone label released under Sunnyland Slim's name with Muddy Waters on guitar ("Blue Baby").

That's just a few of the excellent offerings on Rare Blues, but not to be dismissed are the outstanding liner notes from Bill Dahl, who always provides outstanding information.  He really outdoes himself on these notes, which gives yet another reason for buying physical product whenever possible, indispensable liner notes with musician credits.  A lot of younger fans who don't buy physical copies of recordings don't realize what they're missing out on, but you can learn a lot by reading the liner notes, especially Bill Dahl's.  

Anyway, anybody who calls themselves a blues fan would definitely love either one of these sets, or both.....head to Amazon or Discogs and go for it!!!