VA - Chess Blues, Box Set [1993] (4 x CD's)

CHESS BLUES

VA - Chess Blues, Box Set [1993] (4 x CD's) + Booklet

There was a time in history when the Blues reigned supreme. We don't hear a lot about the blues these days, other than as background music for boner-pill commercials or as excerpts sprinkled into Hollywood movies every now and then. But the foundations of the Blues deserve better than to be relegated into a commercialized footnote in history.  The Chess Brothers, Leonard and Phil, set up shop in Chicago during the apogee of the Blues era. With Willie Dixon acting as musical director, Leonard and Phil Chess managed to coax a veritable Who's Who of Blues musicians into the studio to make recordings. The results are often priceless. And important. Not only did the Chess brothers actually pay these musicians, nurtured them into making the best sound possible during these studio sessions. A parade of Blues royalty passed through the Chess studios at 2120 South Michigan Avenue—a feat so laudatory that the Rolling Stones would later pay homage to the legendary studio's street address. If you're a new listener to post-War urban blues or are unfamiliar with the Chess label and its subsidiaries, you must own this box set. If, on the other hand, you're like me and your CD and LP collections contain scores of re-issues of individual artists who recorded for Chess, Checker, and the like...you must own this box set. Do not fear over-duplication. This is no mere collection of the "best of" each artist included in the set but is a true cross-section of styles and artists recorded during the incredibly important two decades after World War II by the Chess brothers. Major artists--Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, et al--are represented by several songs each, ranging from their earliest to their later recordings. Most impressive, though, is the breadth of artists, major and minor, and the quality of the song selection. From the gritty Robert Nighthawk to the urbane Lloyd Glenn to the soulful Etta James, the creators of this collection have managed to bring together some of the most interesting, moving, and important recordings of the post-War era. When listening to these CD's you'll hear famous classics like Otis Rush's "So Many Roads, So Many Trains," as well as unnoticed gems like Willie Dixon's "Walking the Blues" (a little gimmicky, but a rare chance to hear some terrific unaccompanied riffs by Lafayette Leake). The quality of the music is almost matched by the very informative booklet, which contains some terrific photos (included here). (Amazon)

This collection is expansive, with well over four hours of music packed into four CDs. 101 cuts from the most important post-WWII blues label, including 19 unreleased recordings and over two dozen singles making their album debuts (which means those with every Chess re-issue only own about half this set!). Superb

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Track lists

CD1

01    Clarence Samuels    Lollypop Momma    2:50
02    Andrew Tibbs    Bilbo is Dead    2:57
03    Sunnyland Slim    Johnson Machine Gun    2:52
04    Sunnyland Slim    Fly Right, Little Girl    2:36
05    Muddy Waters    Little Anna Mae    2:33
06    Muddy Waters    I Can't Be Satisfied    2:43
07    Robert Nighthawk    My Sweet Lovin' Woman    2:52
08    Muddy Waters    I Feel Like Going Home    3:11
09    Sunnyland Slim    She Aint Nowhere    2:47
10    St. Louis Jimmy    Florida Hurricane    2:56
11    Forrest City Joe    Memory of Sonny Boy    3:17
12    Forrest Sykes    Tonky Boogie    3:10
13    Laura Rucker    Cryin' the Blues    2:42
14    Baby Face Leroy    My Head Can't Rest Anymore    3:12
15    Little Johny Jones    Big Town Playboy    2:57
16    Robert Nighthawk    Sweet Black Angel    3:04
17    Muddy Waters    Rollin' Stone    3:08
18    Jimmy Rogers    Luedella    2:53
19    Memphis Slim    Mother Earth    2:43
20    Dr. Isaiah Ross    Dr. Ross' Boogie    2:38
21    Johny Shines    Joliet Blues    2:41
22    Howlin' Wolf    Moanin' at Midnight    2:57
23    Muddy Waters    All Night Long (Alternate)    3:49
24    Arbee Stidham    Mr. Commissioner (Alternate)    3:14
25    Howlin' Wolf    Gettin' Old and Grey    2:37

CD2

01    John Lee Hooker    Walkin’ the Boogie (Alternate)    2:34
02    Little Walter    Juke    2:48
03    Memphis Minnie    Conjur Man    2:59
04    Muddy Waters    Who’s Gonna Be Your Sweet Man When I’m Gone    3:05
05    Memphis Minnie    Broken Heart (Alternate)    3:00
06    Willie Nix    Truckin’ Little Woman    2:40
07    Rocky Fuller    Funeral Hearse at My Door    3:16
08    Eddie Boyd    Hard Time Gettin’ Started    2:32
09    Little Walter    Don’t Need No Horse    3:19
10    Gus Jenkins    Eight Ball    3:13
11    Little Walter    Fast Boogie    2:49
12    Willie Mabon    I’m Mad    2:39
13    John Brim    Ice Cream Man    2:48
14    Elmore James    Whose Muddy Shoes    3:19
15    Willie Mabon    Got to Have It    3:07
16    Henry Gray    I Declare That Ain’t Right    3:07
17    Alberta Adams    Remember    2:54
18    Henry Gray & Morris Pejoe    Untitled Instrumental    2:22
19    Little Walter    Blues With a Feeling    3:08
20    Muddy Waters    Hoochie Coochie Man    2:53
21    Howlin’ Wolf    Forty Four    2:50
22    Little Walter    Got to Find My Baby (Alternate)    3:08
23    Howlin’ Wolf    Evil    2:56
24    Lowell Fulson    Reconsider Baby    3:11
25    J.B. Lenoir    Mama Talk to Your Daughter    2:19

CD3

01    Little Walter    Mellow Down Easy    2:45
02    Muddy Waters    My Eyes (Keep Me in Trouble)    3:14
03    Little Walter    My Babe    2:43
04    Billy Boy Arnold    You Got to Love Me    2:27
05    Willie Dixon    Walking the Blues    3:05
06    Sonny Boy Williamson    Don’t Start Me to Talkin’    2:36
07    Howlin’ Wolf    Smokestack Lightnin’    3:09
08    Willie Dixon    29 Ways    2:11
09    Paul Gayten & Myrtle Jones    Right to Love You    2:39
10    Jimmy Witherspoon    Ain’t Nobody’s Business    2:43
11    Otis Spann    I’m Leaving You    2:42
12    Howlin’ Wolf    Break of Day    2:47
13    Floyd Dixon    Please Don’t Go    3:33
14    Sonny Boy Williamson    Keep it to Yourself    2:51
15    Jimmy Rogers    Walking By Myself    2:49
16    Muddy Waters    Got My Mojo Working    2:53
17    Sonny Boy Williamson    Fattening Frogs for Snakes (Alternate)    2:42
18    Lafayette Leake    Slow Leake    3:04
19    Howlin’ Wolf    Sitting on Top of the World    2:35
20    J.B. Lenoir    She Don’t Know    2:25
21    Sonny Boy Williamson    Your Funeral and My Trial    2:30
22    Little Walter    Key to the Highway    2:50
23    Muddy Waters    Double Trouble (Alternate)    3:31
24    Eddie Boyd    Come on Home    2:39
25    Sonny Boy Williamson    The Goat (Band Track)    2:23
26    Otis Rush    So Many Roads, So Many Trains    3:10

CD4

01    Buddy Guy    First Time I Met the Blues    2:21
02    Detroit Junior    Too Poor    2:17
03    Lowell Fulson    Blue Shadows    2:27
04    Lloyd Glenn    The Shakedown    2:29
05    Elmore James    The Sun is Shining (Alternate)    2:42
06    Albert King    Calling on My Darling    3:06
07    Howlin’ Wolf    The Red Rooster    2:28
08    Sonny Boy Williamson    Nine Below Zero    3:29
09    Howlin’ Wolf    Goin’ Down Slow    4:04
10    Little Milton    Satisfied    2:18
11    Etta James    Something’s Got a Hold on Me    2:50
12    Big Three Trio    Wrinkles    2:38
13    Sonny Boy Williamson    Bring it on Home    2:37
14    Big Walter Horton    Good Moanin’ Blues    4:14
15    Howlin’ Wolf    Killing Floor    2:51
16    Koko Taylor    What Kind of Man is That?    3:05
17    Little Milton    We’re Gonna Make It    2:41
18    Koko Taylor    Wang Dang Doodle    3:02
19    Little Joe Blue    Dirty Work Goin’ On    2:47
20    John Lee Hooker    One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer    3:00
21    Eddie Burns    Jinglin’ Baby    2:07
22    Muddy Waters    That’s Why I Don’t Mind    2:58
23    Buddy Guy    Keep it to Myself    2:30
24    Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers    Sitting Here Alone    3:45
25    Etta James    I’d Rather Go Blind    2:34

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