Hubert Sumlin - Wake Up Call [1998] + Pinetop Perkins - The Complete High Tone Sessions [1998] + Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith - Bag Full Of Blues [1995]

HUBERT SUMLIN + PINETOP PERKINS + WILLIE "BIG EYES" SMITH

Hubert Sumlin - Wake Up Call [1998] + Pinetop Perkins - The Complete High Tone Sessions [1998] + Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith - Bag Full Of Blues [1995]

Hubert Sumlin - Wake Up Call [1998]          Hubert Sumlin is an electric guitar pioneer, largely responsible for the sound of many modern guitar players. Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Bob Weir, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and many other critically acclaimed musicians consider Sumlin a major influence on their playing. Clapton proved his respect by refusing to do the Chess Records London Howlin' Wolf Sessions unless Hubert was present. "The Red Rooster", "Backdoor Man", "Shake for Me", "Killing Floor", "Smokestack Lightnin" and "Sittin' on Top of the World" are songs you may recognize from cover versions by Cream, The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, or The Rolling Stones. Hubert Sumlin formulated the original music to these classics.   Sumlin is a historically significant originator of blues composition and one of the last living connections to an era that produced so much monumental music. Wake Up Call is a vibrant celebration of the past and present, showcasing Hubert's spontaneous, sensitive playing style. " Wake Up Call is an extraordinary release from Hubert Sumlin which music lovers everywhere will treasure. (homegrownmusic.net)

Pinetop Perkins - The Complete High Tone Sessions [1998]          Pinetop Perkins' Heritage of the Blues: The Complete Hightone Sessions is a welcome if strange reissue. In a sense, none of the tracks here have been issued before -- at least not in this form. These sessions took place over two years in the Octobers of 1996 and 1997 in Chicago. There are 15 tracks here, including Perkins classic originals such as "Down in Mississippi," "Take It Easy Baby," "Song for Sunnyland," "Big Fat Mama," "Little Girl, Little Girl," and others. Yes, "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" is here, too. Unaccompanied, Perkins runs through these tunes in an intimate and utterly compelling manner, turning the middle eights into wondrously dexterous right-hand workouts, and his voice is still in fine shape here. What is so strange is that some of these tunes are recorded on an electric piano, making them sound tinny, reedy, and oddly more home-style than barrelhouse. Even so, Perkins' trademark slippery right hand is in fine supply here, as are his strange, open-ended, and extrapolated chords. It's a gentle workout, one that is as laid-back as it is articulate and soulful, but this is a different side of Perkins, one that balances out the profile of a giant and master. Despite the weird timbres, Heritage of the Blues is a fine and even essential Perkins recording to own. (AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek)

If you love the blues...especially on piano, you can't go wrong with Pinetop Perkins. He is one of the best that ever lived.  Pinetop Perkins is absolutely amazing. His music has a ton of energy. His passing is a truly a great loss.

Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith - Bag Full of Blues [1995]          The former Muddy Waters drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith turns in an enjoyable, but unremarkable, set of Chicago blues with Bag Full of Blues. Supported by Pinetop Perkins and Fabulous Thunderbirds harpist Kim Wilson, Smith runs through a set of mid-tempo blues, combining some competent originals with covers like "Baby Please Don't Go." There are not many solos - Wilson mainly shines, while guitarists James Wheeler, Nick Moss, and Gareth Best all contribute small, pithy leads -- but the grooves are nice and relaxed. Bag Full of Blues may not be a jaw-dropper, but it does have some fine moments. (AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Featuring Kim Wilson on harmonica and Pinetop Perkins on piano. Willie played drums with Muddy Waters for 15 years, putting the beat behind many blues classics, and later founded the Legendary Blues Band. He is also an accomplished vocalist. Smith...walks the fine line between Muddy Waters and Paul Butterfield, and...re-defines how Chicago blues should sound.

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Track lists

Hubert Sumlin - Wake Up Call [1998]

01 Hubert Sumlin I'm Coming Home 7:15

02 Hubert Sumlin Makes Me Think About The One I Had 6:36

03 Hubert Sumlin When You're In Love 6:43

04 Hubert Sumlin I'm Your Baby 7:27

05 Hubert Sumlin Wake Up Call 9:07

06 Hubert Sumlin Gonna Move 4:35

07 Hubert Sumlin Let Your Fingers Do The Talkin' 4:46

08 Hubert Sumlin I Just Need Your Love 3:53

09 Hubert Sumlin Hubert Runs The Hoodoo Down 4:38

10 Hubert Sumlin Get This Love Straight 8:26

Pinetop Perkins - The Complete High Tone Sessions [1998]

01 Pinetop Perkins Down in Mississippi 3:20

02 Pinetop Perkins Song for Sunnyland 4:59

03 Pinetop Perkins Pintop's Boogie Woogie 3:49

04 Pinetop Perkins Kansas City 4:47

05 Pinetop Perkins Little Girl, Little Girl 5:08

06 Pinetop Perkins Just a Little Bit 3:17

07 Pinetop Perkins How Long 4:26

08 Pinetop Perkins Miss Ida B 4:25

09 Pinetop Perkins I Almost Lost My Mind 3:58

10 Pinetop Perkins Big Fat Mama 3:37

11 Pinetop Perkins Five Long Years 4:07

12 Pinetop Perkins Take it Easy Baby 3:43

13 Pinetop Perkins Every Day I Have the Blues 3:54

14 Pinetop Perkins Pinetop's Piano Shuffle 3:20

15 Pinetop Perkins Kidney Stew 4:01

Willie 'Big Eye' Smith - Bag Full Of Blues [1995]

01 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Tell Me Mama 3:32

02 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Hard Times 3:50

03 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Sure as You Live 2:36

04 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Believe Me 4:25

05 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Baby Please Don't Go 2:52

06 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Tired of Crying 3:40

07 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Hard, Hard Way 3:27

08 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Reap What You Sow 3:40

09 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Wskw Special 3:35

10 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith I Want My Baby Back 2:43

11 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Here I Am 4:00

12 Willie 'Big Eye' Smith Trust Me 3:30

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