VA – Plug It In! Turn It Up! Part 1 to Part 4 [1939-2005] (12 x CDs)

BLUES

VA – Plug It In! Turn It Up! Part 1 to Part 4 [1939-2005] (12 x CDs)

A set like Plug It In! Turn It Up! Electric Blues The Definitive Collection tends to reveal itself slowly, not through any single disc but through the way it settles across all four volumes. Twelve CDs in total, issued as a connected series, it gathers electric blues recordings from the point where amplification begins to reshape the music, and follows that current forward without forcing it into a strict narrative.

It helps to dip in rather than start at the beginning. A track built around a sharp, overdriven guitar line leads into something looser, then into a groove that leans more on rhythm than melody. Across the set, that balance keeps shifting. Early recordings still carry the structure of acoustic blues, just pushed through an amplifier. As the discs move forward, the sound thickens. Bands tighten, rhythms become more insistent, and the guitar begins to take a more central role.

Names come and go, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, not as isolated highlights but as part of a wider field of players working within the same language. The sequencing keeps them grounded in that shared space, rather than lifting any one performance above the rest.

What gives the series its shape is accumulation. Repeated patterns, familiar chord movements, and variations in tone begin to connect across discs. A riff heard early on reappears later in a different form, a rhythm returns with more weight behind it. The differences are there, but they sit within a consistent approach.

Heard across multiple sittings, the set feels less like a history lesson and more like a long current of sound. The details shift, the energy rises and falls, but the core remains steady, one amplified voice following another, carrying the same idea forward without needing to resolve it. (B)

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Track lists

Part 1 CD1

01 Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds of Joy - Floyd's Guitar Blues 3:08

02 T-Bone Walker - Mean Old World 2:54

03 Tharpe, Sister Rosetta - Strange Things Happening Every Day 2:47

04 Johnny Moore's Three Blazers - Drifting Blues 3:14

05 Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Ain't That Just Like A Woman 2:52

06 Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - That's All Right 2:54

07 Hopkins, Lightnin' - Let Me Play With Your Poodle 2:32

08 T-Bone Walker - Call it Stormy Monday (But Tuesday is Just as Bad) 3:02

09 Sonny Boy Williamson - Better Cut That Out 2:59

10 Big Bill (Broonzy) & His Rythm Band - Ramblin' Bill 2:54

11 Muddy Waters - I Can't Be Satisfied 2:42

12 John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen 3:08

13 Pee Wee Crayton - Blues After Hours 3:03

14 Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Mary is Fine 2:42

15 Stick Mcghee & His Buddies - Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee 3:15

16 Little Willie Littlefield - Hit The Road 2:52

17 Jimmy Witherspoon - Who's Been Jivin' You 2:38

18 Nighthawks (Robert Nighthawk) - Black Angel Blues (Sweet Black Angel) 3:03

19 Baby Boy Warren - My Special Friend Blues 2:37

20 Lowell Fulson - Every Day I Have The Blues (Lonely Heart Blues) 2:32

21 Goree Carter & His Hepcats - Rock Awhile 2:42

22 Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula 3:10

23 Baby Face Leroy Trio - Rollin' and Tumblin' Part 1 2:50

24 Gene Phillips With Jack Mcvea Orchestra - Slippin' and Slidin' 2:27

25 Jimmy McCracklin - Rockin' All Day (Aka Rockin' and Reelin') 2:41

26 Roy Brown & His Mighty Mighty Men - Love Don't Love Nobody 2:41

Part 1 CD2

01 Jimmy Rogers - That's All Right 2:48

02 Tampa Red - Midnight Boogie 2:50

03 Charles Brown - Black Night 3:08

04 Cecil Gant - Rock Little Baby 3:08

05 Lonnie Johnson - Why Should I Cry? 2:47

06 Jackie Brenston - Rocket '88' 2:49

07 Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years? 2:43

08 James 'Wide Mouth' Brown - Boogie Woogie Nighthawk 2:20

09 Floyd Dixon - Baby Let's Go Down to The Woods 3:16

10 Robert Nighthawk - Kansas City Blues 2:36

11 Sonny Boy Williamson - Pontiac Blues 2:41

12 Elmore James - Dust My Broom 2:46

13 John Lee Hooker - I'm in The Mood 3:07

14 T-Bone Walker - Cold Cold Feeling 3:11

15 Boyd Gilmore - Ramblin' on My Mind 2:48

16 Sunny Blair - Please Send My Bany Back 2:18

17 Fats Domino - Trust in Me 2:50

18 Little Walter - Juke 2:44

19 Memphis Minnie - Me and My Chauffeur Blues 2:52

20 Eddie Boyd - Five Long Years 2:40

21 Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson - Lonesome Train 2:23

22 Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton - Hound Dog 2:50

23 Pete 'guitar' Lewis - Chocolate Pork Chop Man 2:52

24 B. B. King - Woke Up This Morning 2:57

25 Johnny Shines - Evening Sun 2:30

26 Snooky Pryor - Cryin' Shame 2:51

Part 1 CD3

01 Chuck Norris - Messin' Up 2:42

02 B. B. King - Please Love Me 2:50

03 Danny Overbea - Forty Cups of Coffee 3:10

04 John Brim - Ice Cream Man 2:47

05 Ray Charles - Losing Hand 3:12

06 Joe Hill Louis - Hydramatic Woman 2:32

07 Little Junior's Blue Flames - Feelin' Good 2:57

08 Amos Milburn - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer 3:14

09 Rufus Thomas Jr. - Tiger Man 2:49

10 Little Walter - Blues With A Feeling 3:07

11 Lil' Son Jackson - Piggly Wiggly 2:23

12 Joe Turner - TV Mama 2:48

13 Guitar Slim - The Things That I Used to Do 3:01

14 Champion Jack Dupree - Shim Sham Shimmy 2:43

15 Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Dirty Work at The Crossroad 2:49

16 Jimmy Reed - You Don't Have to Go 3:05

17 Muddy Waters - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man 2:51

18 Jimmy Rogers - Sloppy Drunk 3:02

19 Harris, Wynonie - Shake That Thing 2:17

20 Papa Lightfoot - Wine, Women, Whiskey 2:12

21 Pat Hare - I'm Gonny Murder My Baby 2:56

22 Hutto, J.B. - Pet Cream Man 2:28

23 Lowell Fulson - Reconsider Baby 3:10

24 Lafayette Thomas - Don't Have to Worry 2:41

25 Dr. Ross - The Boogie Disease 2:33

Part 2 CD1

01 B. B. King & His Orchestra - You Upset Me, Baby 3:03

02 Muddy Waters - I'm Ready 3:04

03 J. B. Lenoir - Mama, Talk to Your Daughter 2:21

04 Big Walter & His Combo - Hard-Hearted Woman 3:03

05 Pee Wee Crayton - You Know - Yeah 2:33

06 Earl King & His Band - A Mother's Love 2:21

07 Eddie Taylor - Bad Boy 3:01

08 Little Walter & His Jukes - My Babe 2:41

09 L. C. Mckinley - She's Five Feet Three 2:49

10 Robert Lockwood Jr. & His Combo - Aw, Aw, Baby 2:37

11 Diddley, Bo - I'm A Man 3:02

12 Guitar Slim - Quicksand 2:23

13 Chuck Berry - Wee Wee Hours 3:04

14 Billy Boy Arnold - I Wish You Would 2:41

15 Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - Three Hours Past Midnight 3:24

16 Sonny Boy Williamson - Don't Start Me Talkin' 2:34

17 Little Willie John - Need Your Love So Bad 2:17

18 Little George Smith - Rockin' 2:33

19 Jimmy Reed - Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby? 2:15

20 Jerry McCain - My Next Door Neighbour 2:14

21 Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning 3:08

22 Billy Gayles - I'm Tore Up 2:23

23 John Lee Hooker - Dimples 2:12

24 Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You, Baby 3:06

25 Little Junior Parker With Bill Harvey's Band - Next Time You See Me 2:37

Part 2 CD2

01 Diddley, Bo - Who Do You Love? 2:30

02 Doggett, Bill - Honky Tonk (Part 1) 3:06

03 Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Rock My Blues Away 2:34

04 Jackie Brenston - Gonna Wait for My Chance 2:04

05 Jimmy Rogers - Walking By Myself 2:47

06 Lonesome Sundown - My Home is A Prison 3:10

07 Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working 2:52

08 Slim Harpo - I'm A King Bee 3:04

09 Bobby Blue Bland - Farther Up The Road 2:58

10 Frankie Lee Sims - Walking With Frankie 3:30

11 Magic Sam - All Your Love 2:55

12 Guitar Jr. - Family Rules 2:21

13 Otis Rush - All Your Love (I Miss Loving) 2:38

14 Larry Davis - Texas Flood 2:42

15 Lazy Lester - Sugar Coated Love 2:45

16 Brownie Mcghee - Living With The Blues 2:55

17 Little Milton - That Will Never Do 2:56

18 Fenton Robinson - As The Years Go By 2:34

19 Wilbert Harrison - Kansas City 2:25

20 Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - Look at Little Sister 2:28

21 Jimmy Reed - Baby, What You Want Me to Do 2:27

22 Memphis Slim - Messin' Around 3:06

23 Lightnin' Slim - Rooster Blues 2:31

24 Buster Brown - Fannie Mae 2:57

25 Elmore James & His Broomdusters - The Sky is Crying 2:46

Part 2 CD3

01 Pee Wee Crayton - Texas Hop 3:06

02 Roy Milton - Junior Jives 2:37

03 T-Bone Walker - Strollin' With Bones 2:28

04 Tiny Grimes Quintet - Tiny's Boogie 2:59

05 Elmore James - Hawaiian Boogie 2:32

06 Jimmy & Walter - Easy 2:59

07 Earl Hooker - The Huckle-Buck 3:06

08 Young John (Guitar) Watson - Space Guitar 2:38

09 Lightnin' Hopkins - Hopkins' Sky Hop 2:12

10 Clarence 'gatemouth' Brown - Okie Dokie Stomp 2:34

11 Bill Jennings Quintet - Big Boy 2:16

12 Mickey Baker - Shake Walkin' 2:48

13 Jimmy Nolen - Strollin' With Nolen 2:24

14 Guitar Gable - Congo Mambo 2:22

15 Jody Williams - Lucky You 3:48

16 Johnny Heartsman - Johnny's House Party (Parts 1 & 2) 5:05

17 Berry, Chuck - Guitar Boogie 2:20

18 Cal Green - The Big Push 2:32

19 Little Walter - Back Track 2:49

20 Memphis Slim - Steppin' Out 2:01

21 Spruill, Wild Jimmy - Hard Grind 2:58

22 Royal Earl - Royal Earl Shuffle 2:20

23 Ike & Tina's Kings of Rhythm - Prancing 3:46

24 Clarence Green - Red Light 2:07

25 Fredde King - Remington Ride 6:29

26 Lonnie Mack - Wham! 2:10

27 Albert Collins - Frosty 3:04

28 Johnny Jones - Finger Lickin' 2:25

29 Magic Sam - Looking Good 3:12

Part 3 CD1

01 Otis Rush - So Many Roads, So Many Trains 3:12

02 Buddy Guy - First Time I Met The Blues 2:19

03 Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man 2:51

04 King, Freddie - Hideaway 2:37

05 King, Freddie - Have You Ever Loved A Woman? 3:07

06 Junior Wells - Messin' With The Kid 2:16

07 Bobby Bland - I Pity The Fool 2:42

08 Earl King - Come on (Parts 1 & 2) 4:30

09 Kid Thomas - Rockin' This Joint To-Nite 1:58

10 Elmore James - Shake Your Moneymaker 2:34

11 Betty James - I'm A Little Mixed Up 2:49

12 Junior Parker - Driving Wheel 2:37

13 Willie Perryman - Doctor Feel-Good 2:16

14 John Lee Hooker - Boom, Boom 2:32

15 Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step 2:44

16 Willie Cobbs - You Don't Love Me 2:38

17 Ricky Allen - Cut You A-Loose 2:48

18 Frank Frost - Jelly Roll King 2:29

19 Bo Diddley - You Can't Judge A Book By Looking at The Cover 3:15

20 Christine Kittrell - I'm A Woman 2:34

21 Sonny Boy Williamson - Help Me 3:08

22 Jesse Fortune - Too Many Cooks 2:51

23 Little Johnny Taylor - Part Time Love 3:49

24 Howlin' Wolf - Hidden Charms 2:23

25 James Davis - Blue Monday 2:54

Part 3 CD2

01 Tommy Tucker - Hi-Heel Sneakers 2:50

02 Little Frankie Lee & The Saxtons - Full Time Lover 2:32

03 B. B. King - Rock Me, Baby 2:59

04 Timmy Shaw - Gonna Send You Back to Georgia 2:24

05 Sugar Pie Desanto - Use What You Got 2:42

06 Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor 2:50

07 Rufus Thomas - All Night Worker 2:18

08 Junior Wells - Snatch it Back and Hold It 2:51

09 Slim Harpo - Baby, Scratch My Back 2:54

10 Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle 2:59

11 Little Milton - Feel So Bad 4:04

12 Johnnie Taylor - Little Bluebird 3:13

13 Wilson Pickett - Mustang Sally 3:07

14 Albert King - Crosscut Saw 2:34

15 Mable John - You're Taking Up Another Man's Place 2:53

16 Lowell Fulson - Tramp 3:05

17 Aretha Franklin - Dr. Feelgood (Love is A Serious Business) 3:20

18 Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign 2:45

19 Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind 2:36

20 Buddy Guy - Mary Had A Little Lamb 2:30

21 Clarence Carter - Slip Away 2:29

22 Sonny Rhodes - One of These Days 2:56

23 Tyrone Davis - A Woman Needs to Be Loved 2:46

24 Magic Sam - What Have I Done Wrong? 3:09

25 Calvin Leavy - Cummins Prison (Farm) 4:41

Part 3 CD3

01 Ronnie Hawkins - Who Do You Love 2:41

02 Lonnie Mack - Baby, What's Wrong? 3:48

03 Johnny Winter - Gangster of Love 2:27

04 Animals - The House of The Rising Sun 4:30

05 Manfred Mann - Bring it to Jerome 3:23

06 Michael Bloomfield - Going Down Slow 3:41

07 Pretty Things - Judgement Day 2:46

08 Yardbirds - I Ain't Got You 2:00

09 Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Born in Chicago 3:08

10 John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - Have You Heard? 5:54

11 John Hammond - I Can Tell You 3:22

12 Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band - Baby, Will You Please Help Me? 3:20

13 Spencer Davis Group - Stevie's Blues 3:47

14 Ten Years After - I Want to Know 2:10

15 Savoy Brown - Shake 'em on Down 6:05

16 Taj Mahal - She Caught The Cat 3:30

17 Canned Heat - On The Road Again 3:23

18 Big Brother & The Holding Company - Ball and Chain 9:12

19 Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman 2:51

20 Jeff Beck Group - I Ain't Superstitious 4:51

Part 4 CD1

01 Ted Taylor - Something Strange is Goin' on in My House 2:51

02 Al Green - I Can't Get Next to You 3:45

03 Israel 'Popper Stopper' Tolbert - Big Leg Woman (With A Short Mini Skirt) 3:16

04 Bill Coday - Get Your Lie Straight 2:57

05 Z. Z. Hill - Don't Make Me Pay for His Mistakes 2:53

06 O. V. Wright - A Nickel and A Nail 3:40

07 Bobby Rush - Chicken Heads 2:32

08 Little Johnny Taylor - Everybody Knows About My Good Thing 3:16

09 Joe Simon - Drowning in The Sea of Love 3:21

10 Little Beaver - Joey 3:41

11 Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do 3:55

12 Ann Peebles - Breaking Up Somebody's Home 2:25

13 Albert King - I'll Play The Blues for You 3:37

14 Denise Lasalle - Man Sized Job 2:48

15 Bettye Lavette - Your Turn to Cry 3:13

16 Little Sonny - It's Hard Going Up (But Twice as Hard Coming Down) 3:53

17 B. B. King - To Know You is to Love You 8:33

18 Johnnie Taylor - Cheaper to Keep Her 3:28

19 Latimore - Let's Straighten it Out 5:13

20 Bobby Bland - I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) 3:17

21 Syl Johnson - Take Me to The River 3:05

22 Tyrone Davis - Turning Point 4:24

23 Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - Ain't That A Bitch? 4:56

24 Artie White - (You Are My) Leanin' Tree 3:25

Part 4 CD2

01 B. B. King - The Thrill is Gone 5:23

02 Johnny Winter - Memory Pain 5:27

03 King, Freddie - Going Down 3:21

04 J. Geils Band - Homework 2:45

05 Otis Rush - Right Place, Wrong Time 5:24

06 Hound Dog Taylor - Give Me Back My Wig 3:34

07 Chick Willis - Stoop Down, Baby 4:27

08 Rory Gallagher - Should've Learnt My Lesson 3:35

09 Roy Buchanan - After Hours 6:15

10 Son Seals - Your Love is Like A Cancer 4:34

11 Elvin Bishop Group - Stealin' Watermelons 2:57

12 Luther Allison - Luther's Blues 6:20

13 James Cotton Band - Boogie Thing 3:18

14 Z Z Top - La Grange 3:52

15 Fenton Robinson - Somebody Loan Me A Dime 2:56

16 Junior Wells - The Train I Ride 5:04

17 Delbert McClinton - Before You Accuse Me 3:06

18 Bonnie Raitt - Runaway 3:55

19 Koko Taylor - Hey, Bartender 2:53

20 Roomful of Blues - Duke's Blues 4:21

21 Eddie Clearwater - Bad Dream 5:00

Part 4 CD3

01 Hollywood Fats Band - Rock This House 4:38

02 Albert Collins - Brick 4:35

03 Z. Z. Hill - Down Home Blues 5:03

04 Johnny Copeland - Claim Jumper 3:32

05 Clarence 'gatemouth' Brown - Dollar Got The Blues 4:37

06 George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Bad to The Bone 4:49

07 Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Pride and Joy 3:39

08 Lonnie Brooks - Don't Take Advantage of Me 4:20

09 Fabulous Thunderbirds - Tuff Enuff 3:20

10 Robert Cray - Smoking Gun 4:07

11 Joe Louis Walker - Cold is The Night 4:11

12 Buddy Guy - Damn Right, I've Got The Blues 4:25

13 Robert Ward - Your Love is Real 3:02

14 Snooks Eaglin - Red Beans 3:53

15 Junior Kimbrough & The Soul Blues Boys - All Night Long 5:51

16 R. L. Burnside - Old Black Mattie 4:10

17 Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Robert Nighthawk Stomp 3:15

18 Luther Allison - Bad Love 6:24

19 Arthur Adams - Backup Man 3:48

20 Nick Moss & The Flip Tops - Check My Pulse 4:16

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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