VA - Rhythm & Western Vol. 1: When Two Worlds Collide (KMCD138)

Size: 160.3 MB
Time: 68:11
File: MP3 @ VBR ~314K/s
Released: 2022
Styles: Blues, Rock, R&B
Art: Front & Back

01 The Hurricanes - Pistol Packin Mama (2:27)
02 Long John Hunter - Ole Rattler (2:26)
03 Titus Turner - A Knockin At My Babys Door (2:29)
04 Bumble Bee Slim - Ida Red (2:14)
05 The Stewart Brothers - Sleep On The Porch (2:18)
06 Brook Benton - The Boll Weevil Song (2:37)
07 Andre Williams - Rosa Lee (Stay Off That Bell) (2:29)
08 The Bobettes - Billy (2:00)
09 Koko Taylor - Honky Tonky (2:05)
10 Bob Gaddy - Could I (2:33)
11 Chuck Willis - Thunder And Lightning (2:37)
12 Ivory Joe Hunter - I Just Want To Love You (2:22)
13 The Ray-O-Vacs - Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddle (2:57)
14 King Curtis - Home On The Range (2:15)
15 Damita Jo - When Two Worlds Collide (2:30)
16 Guitar Jr - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down (2:28)
17 Chuck Berry - Maybelline (2:20)
18 Smokey Hogg & His Guitar - Crawdad (2:21)
19 Wade Flemons - Woops Now (2:21)
20 Fats Domino - Your Cheatin Heart (2:09)
21 The Coasters - Sorry But Im Gonna Have To Pass (2:10)
22 Mercy Dee - Oh Oh Please (2:04)
23 Nappy Brown - Oh You Dont Know (2:08)
24 Scatman Crothers - Ghost Riders In The Sky (2:41)
25 Esther Phillips - Release Me (3:18)
26 Solomon Burke - Keep The Magic Working (2:06)
27 The Crowns - Kiss & Make Up (2:15)
28 Charlie McCoy & Bo Chatman - Corrine Corrina (3:17)

Drumming up a new idea on the Koko Mojo label is The Mojo Man with a planned-five-series set of CDs featuring African American musicians performing country and western music. The songs selected are either classic C&W songs or songs that were issued as rhythm and blues at this time in history since they were not performed by a white artist. The album series ‘Rhythm & Western Volume 1 – When Two Worlds Collide’ will hopefully restore some form of balance by offering a platform for those African American artists who produced C&W music during the 50s and early 60s by showcasing their songs that were otherwise given less exposure and deemed unsuitable for said genre of music. With twenty-eight tracks to get the musical message across and offer an insight to the sounds of African Americans performing C&W, then the collision of rhythm and blues with country music is an apt title to begin this series. First up is The Hurricanes with ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’ and is not only a fine introduction but also representative of typical Koko Mojo fare by being a straight up rhythm and blues track, which may leave some wondering about the song’s inclusion, but there’s more to this compilation with songs touching upon C&W influences and themes and sometimes that’s in the style of rhythm and blues. Providing the first “Yee-haw!” moment is next in the queue Long John Hunter with ‘Ole Rattler’. It’s the first stab at C&W here and is wonderfully endearing in its “rattling” instrumentation assembled and just about holding together via some sticky tape and charismatic vocals from Long John Hunter. Interestingly as well, you can hear the rhythm and blues faintly in the background, yet this is certainly more C&W. Brook Benton saunters across the prairie in fine fashion with the spoken word novelty ‘The Boll Weevil Song’, and such a performance extends to another notable performance by Scatman Crothers ‘Ghost Riders In The Sky’ offering his version of this much covered C&W track. Once the album reaches its conclusion, the overall impression is that the lines between rhythm and blues and C&W are certainly blurred yet rhythm and blues often edges things where it’s more about the “mood” of a song that is fitting of a country style rather than the actual genre it’s performed in; hence the inclusion of classic country material fodder ‘Maybelline’ (Chuck Berry); ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ (Fats Domino), and ‘Sleep On The Porch’ (The Stewart Brothers).

Rhythm & Western Vol. 1: When Two Worlds Collide (KMCD138) MP3

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