Bobby 'Blue' Bland - 2 albums: Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings / Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings

Album: Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:51
Size: 100.4 MB
Styles: Soul-blues, Texas blues, R&B
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. Farther Up The Road
[2:22] 2. I'll Take Care Of You
[2:40] 3. I Pity The Fool
[2:40] 4. Cry Cry Cry
[2:24] 5. Don't Cry No More
[2:30] 6. Ain't That Lovin' You
[2:24] 7. Who Will The Next Fool Be
[2:35] 8. Turn On Your Love Light
[4:06] 9. Stormy Monday Blues
[2:33] 10. Yield Not To Temptation
[2:34] 11. That's The Way Love Is
[2:30] 12. Call On Me
[2:18] 13. These Hands (Small But Mighty)
[3:26] 14. That Did It
[2:32] 15. Good Time Charlie, Pt. 1
[3:15] 16. Chains Of Love

This single-disc compilation cherry-picks through MCA's three two-disc anthology sets and puts together 16 tracks of essential Bland, starting with 1957's "Farther up the Road" and ending up with his 1969 reading of Big Joe Turner's "Chains of Love." It gathers up all the biggies: "Turn on Your Lovelight," "I Pity the Fool," "Stormy Monday Blues," "Call On Me," "I'll Take Care of You," and the transfers are exemplary. While it obviously leaves off a few of the early favorites -- "Little Boy Blue" is almost inexcusable in its absence -- this and its companion volume will be the best introduction for anyone wanting to explore the Bobby Bland collection. ~Cub Koda

Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings mc
Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings zippy

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Album: Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:19
Size: 156.4 MB
Styles: Soul-blues, Texas blues, R&B
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. This Time I'm Gone For Good
[5:34] 2. Goin' Down Slow
[3:15] 3. I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
[3:49] 4. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
[3:41] 5. Yolanda
[3:36] 6. I Ain't Gonna Be The First To Cry
[3:44] 7. Today I Started Loving You Again
[4:12] 8. I Hate You
[4:00] 9. The Soul Of A Man
[3:21] 10. It Ain't The Real Thing
[4:05] 11. Sittin' On A Poor Man's Throne
[5:28] 12. Let The Good Times Roll
[4:27] 13. You'd Be A Millionaire
[5:55] 14. Love To See You Smile
[4:37] 15. Recess In Heaven
[4:57] 16. Soon As The Weather Breaks

Subtitled The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings, this picks up the last tenure of Bobby "Blue" Bland working under the corporate MCA umbrella. With tunes aboard from various albums and singles, this 16-track collection covers the highlights from his 1970s period, with only 1982's "Recess in Heaven" falling outside the time frame. Bland was a much different vocalist by now, and if anything, these tracks, some of them flirting outright with disco, spearheaded the easy listening-blues style that he continued with in later years. Highlights include "This Time I'm Gone for Good," an uncharacteristically funky "Goin' Down Slow," "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)," "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City," "Yolanda," and Bland's own "The Soul of a Man." Experiments with country show up on "Today I Started Loving You Again" and "I Hate You," and yet Bland's duet with B.B. King on Louis Jordan's "Let the Good Times Roll" shows that his blues roots were still always close at hand. Not the place to start, but his last hurrah before going over to Malaco, and a solid collection to investigate nonetheless. ~Cub Koda

Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings mc
Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings zippy

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