Press - track by Ike Turner (She Made My Blood Run Cold, with a doo-woop choir and vocals by pianist Clayton Love), Nashville rockabilly by Dave Rich (Chicken House) and the stratospheric falsetto of Donnie Elbert with Wild Child on Deluxe. So roll out the carpet and once dinner is over, offer your guests a little session of dancing, bop, twist or blues, not forgetting to snap your fingers!
Presse -a tear-jerking semi-ballad sung passionately to a memorable string arrangement! In addition to his qualities as a guitarist (which did not escape the notice of Frank Zappa or Jimmie Vaughan), JGW was an excellent singer, influenced by Ray Charles (You better love, I say I love you), with a caustic sense of humor (Gangster of love is worthy of the Coasters). This compilation does justice to his blues period, another one devoted to the funk sides on DJM would be just as relevant!
Press -The icing on the cake includes obscure recordings by artists such as Merle Kilgore, Eddie Banks and Barbara McNair, while the socially critical country/folk song “Sixteen Tons” is represented twice: once in the 1955 hit version by Tennessee Ernie Ford and once by The Platters. Rock'n'roll, doo wop and ballads complete the excursion into the 1950s and early 1960s. The 38-page booklet, which contains a lot of discographic details, is also visually tastefully presented. The sound is, as usual with Bear Family, great.
Press -Once again, the top recommendation is a Bear Family CD, namely “Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson Rocks”.
Although the CD focuses on his uptempo songs, it still offers a good overview of his early years 1952-64 and scores with its long playing time, excellent sound and detailed booklet. For more details see Kilian's record corner in this issue of bluesnews. For blues guitar fans, Watson's “Hot Just Like TNT” 2-CD set is essential, as it contains his complete Modern/RPM recordings, plus his two Keen singles and a few previously unreleased tracks.
Although the CD focuses on his uptempo songs, it still offers a good overview of his early years 1952-64 and scores with its long playing time, excellent sound and detailed booklet. For more details see Kilian's record corner in this issue of bluesnews. For blues guitar fans, Watson's “Hot Just Like TNT” 2-CD set is essential, as it contains his complete Modern/RPM recordings, plus his two Keen singles and a few previously unreleased tracks.