A.C. Reed - Live

Size: 99,8 MB
Time: 43:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1989
Styles: Electric blues
Art: Full

1. Ain't Doing To Bad (4:15)
2. Introduction/She's Fine (7:12)
3. Come On Home (4:40)
4. Broke Music (7:31)
5. These Blues Are Killing Me (4:29)
6. Take These Blues And Shovem (5:02)
7. Things I Want You To Do (3:43)
8. Boogie (6:11)

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself.

Arriving in Chicago during the war years, he picked up steady gigs with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon before the '40s were over. In 1956, he joined forces with ex-Ike Turner cohort Dennis "Long Man" Binder, gigging across the southwest for an extended period. Reed became a valuable session player for producer Mel London's Age and Chief labels during the early '60s; in addition to playing on sides by Lillian Offitt, Ricky Allen, and Hooker, he cut a locally popular 1961 single of his own for Age, "This Little Voice." More gems for Age - "Come on Home," "Mean Cop," "I Stay Mad" - followed. He cut 45s for USA in 1963 ("I'd Rather Fight Than Switch"), Cool ("My Baby Is Fine," a tune he's recut countless times since) and Nike ("Talkin' 'Bout My Friends") in 1966, and "Things I Want You to Do" in 1969 for T.D.S.

Reed joined Buddy Guy's band in 1967, visiting Africa with the mercurial guitarist in 1969 and, after harpist Junior Wells teamed with Guy, touring as opening act for the Rolling Stones in 1970. He left the employ of Guy and Wells for good in 1977, only to hook up with Alligator acts Son Seals, and then the Master of the Telecaster, Albert Collins. Reed appeared on Collins' first five icy Alligator LPs, including the seminal Ice Pickin'.

During his tenure with Collins, Reed's solo career began to reignite, with four cuts on the second batch of Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1980 and two subsequent LPs of his own, 1982's Take These Blues and Shove 'Em! (on Ice Cube Records, a logo co-owned by Reed and drummer Casey Jones) and I'm in the Wrong Business! five years later for Alligator (with cameos by Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan). Until his death from cancer in February of 2004, Reed remained an active force on the Chicago circuit with his band the Spark Plugs (get it? AC spark plugs? Sure you do!). /Biography by Bill Dahl, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Live mc
Live zippy

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A.C. Reed & His Spark Plugs - Take These Blues And Shove 'Em!

Year: 1982
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s (vinyl)
Time: 32:24
Size: 74,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Chicago blues
Scans: LP front & back

1. Things That Get Me Off (3:47)
2. I Stay Mad (3:53)
3. I Got The Blues (4:44)
4. I'm A Jealous Man (2:46)
5. I'm Fed Up With This Music (5:05)
6. My Baby Is Fine (4:48)
7. Howlin' For My Darlin' (3:19)
8. Lotta Lovin' (3:58)

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself.

Arriving in Chicago during the war years, he picked up steady gigs with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon before the '40s were over. In 1956, he joined forces with ex-Ike Turner cohort Dennis "Long Man" Binder, gigging across the southwest for an extended period. Reed became a valuable session player for producer Mel London's Age and Chief labels during the early '60s; in addition to playing on sides by Lillian Offitt, Ricky Allen, and Hooker, he cut a locally popular 1961 single of his own for Age, "This Little Voice."

More gems for Age - "Come on Home," "Mean Cop," "I Stay Mad" - followed. He cut 45s for USA in 1963 ("I'd Rather Fight Than Switch"), Cool ("My Baby Is Fine," a tune he's recut countless times since) and Nike ("Talkin' 'Bout My Friends") in 1966, and "Things I Want You to Do" in 1969 for T.D.S. Reed joined Buddy Guy's band in 1967, visiting Africa with the mercurial guitarist in 1969 and, after harpist Junior Wells teamed with Guy, touring as opening act for the Rolling Stones in 1970. He left the employ of Guy and Wells for good in 1977, only to hook up with Alligator acts Son Seals, and then the Master of the Telecaster, Albert Collins. Reed appeared on Collins' first five icy Alligator LPs, including the seminal Ice Pickin'.

During his tenure with Collins, Reed's solo career began to reignite, with four cuts on the second batch of Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1980 and two subsequent LPs of his own, 1982's Take These Blues and Shove 'Em! (on Ice Cube Records, a logo co-owned by Reed and drummer Casey Jones) and I'm in the Wrong Business! five years later for Alligator (with cameos by Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan). Until his death from cancer in February of 2004, Reed remained an active force on the Chicago circuit with his band the Spark Plugs (get it? AC spark plugs? Sure you do!). /Biography by Bill Dahl, AllMusic

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A.C. Reed - Junk Food

Year: 1998
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:24
Size: 123,3 MB
Styles: Electric blues, funky blues
Scans: Full

1. Junk Food (3:52)
2. Big Woman (3:26)
3. Broke Music (4:28)
4. I Got Mad (4:04)
5. The President Plays (3:32)
6. Give It Up (Smoking) (3:33)
7. Florine (3:17)
8. Lonely Man (4:42)
9. Roadhouse Blues (5:09)
10. 2 Women In A Pickup (3:05)
11. Party With Y'all (3:11)
12. You're Going To Miss Me (4:41)
13. Fed Up (3:26)
14. Last Time Around (2:49)

Tenor saxophonist Reed was retired for a brief time while he wrote the songs for this recording, and then came back to live performing and touring. His band is a bit rough and a little out of control at times, as the backing guitars are sharp and out of tune. For the most part, though, things are together. There are two cuts from unearthed older sessions featuring the late Albert Collins, some neat horn charts, and cameos from singers Maurice John Vaughn, Sammy Fender, and Arthur Irby, which work to varying degrees. Reed's songs emphasize various social ills, some optimism, and a blues-chasing attitude that always feels good.

Reed's signature funky blues crops up on the title track, a travelers anthem about Mickey D's, B.K., and similar places, during which he admits that he eventually "ate a foot long dog," knowing it wasn't good for him. That same funk forms the basis for "Give It Up," a reference to quit smoking with Vaughn chiming in about saying no to drugs, while "Fed Up" has Reed complaining about not getting paid one night after a gig.

The Collins features include a slower-paced "Broke Music" (in reference to the blues being broke all the time) and the easy-swinging "I Got Mad," where a female abuser is chided in regards to an eventual Bobbitt incident. Collins' role is, for the most part, incidental. Reed praises Bill Clinton effusively as a saxophonist and leader on the John Lee Hooker-type boogie "The President Plays"; he uses a similar rhythm about "Two Women in a Pick-Up" headin' for New Orleans, and compliments his "Big Woman" who went to Jenny Craig and who is "now... slim & fine" in a slinky, slow 12-bar, pure Chicago blues style. In a "Killin' Floor"-mode "Florine" has Reed adopting a Howlin' Wolf vocal stance. "Lonely Man" is a down-home blues, and the Fender goes soulful on an Albert King-flavored "You're Going to Miss Me." Irby sounds like he's straining to hit high notes on a version of the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues."

In the final cut, "Last Time Around," Reed sounds seriously like he has had enough of the music business, given that the song centers around him quitting, harkening back to his previous CD I'm in the Wrong Business. If this is the musician's last recording, it's a good one, with his typical tenor swagger present and accounted for; so typical of bar-walking R&B saxophonists of the '50s, it is compact yet on the edge. His singing is also solid and easily identifiable. The horn backing sounds great throughout, and Reed himself doesn't seem like he is done yet musically. Recommended. /Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic

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A.C. Reed - 2 albums: I'm In The Wrong Business! / Chicago Blues Session Vol 14

Album: I'm In The Wrong Business!
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:47
Size: 118.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1987
Art: Front

[4:29] 1. I'm In The Wrong Business
[4:05] 2. I Can't Go On This Way
[4:27] 3. Fast Food Annie
[5:34] 4. This Little Voice
[3:15] 5. My Buddy Buddy Friends
[4:30] 6. She's Fine
[3:08] 7. These Blues Is Killing Me
[2:57] 8. Miami Strut
[3:36] 9. The Things I Want You To Do
[4:25] 10. Don't Drive Drunk
[3:19] 11. Hard Times
[4:05] 12. Going To New York
[3:52] 13. Moving Out Of The Ghetto

Backing Vocals – Miranda Louise, Vicki Hardy; Bass – Douglas Watson, Nate Applewhite; Drums, Backing Vocals – Casey Jones; Guitar – Maurice John Vaughn, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan; Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Producer – A.C. Reed. Recorded at Riverside Sound Studios, Austin, Texas.

Solid, soulful blues, often with humorous, self-deprecating lyrics, comes from the well-respected vocalist, tenor player, composer, and veteran of the bands of Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, and Son Seals. Reed has been called "the definitive Chicago blues sax player." This album features Reed's band, with guests Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan. ~Niles J. Franz

I'm In The Wrong Business! mc
I'm In The Wrong Business! zippy

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Album: A.C. Reed, Big Wheeler - Chicago Blues Session Vol 14
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:29
Size: 95.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1989/2015
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. I Ain't Doin' Too Bad
[4:59] 2. I Got The Blues
[3:55] 3. I'm A Jealous Man
[5:16] 4. Good Lover
[3:28] 5. Last Time Around
[3:01] 6. Crazy 'bout You Baby
[4:01] 7. Honey, Where You Goin'
[7:38] 8. Last Night
[5:35] 9. What's On Your Mind

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint -- Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself. Arriving in Chicago during the war years, he picked up steady gigs with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon before the '40s were over. In 1956, he joined forces with ex-Ike Turner cohort Dennis "Long Man" Binder, gigging across the southwest for an extended period. Reed became a valuable session player for producer Mel London's Age and Chief labels during the early '60s; in addition to playing on sides by Lillian Offitt, Ricky Allen, and Hooker, he cut a locally popular 1961 single of his own for Age, "This Little Voice." More gems for Age -- "Come on Home," "Mean Cop," "I Stay Mad" -- followed. He cut 45s for USA in 1963 ("I'd Rather Fight Than Switch"), Cool ("My Baby Is Fine," a tune he's recut countless times since) and Nike ("Talkin' 'Bout My Friends") in 1966, and "Things I Want You to Do" in 1969 for T.D.S. Reed joined Buddy Guy's band in 1967, visiting Africa with the mercurial guitarist in 1969 and, after harpist Junior Wells teamed with Guy, touring as opening act for the Rolling Stones in 1970. He left the employ of Guy and Wells for good in 1977, only to hook up with Alligator acts Son Seals, and then the Master of the Telecaster, Albert Collins. Reed appeared on Collins' first five icy Alligator LPs, including the seminal Ice Pickin'. During his tenure with Collins, Reed's solo career began to reignite, with four cuts on the second batch of Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1980 and two subsequent LPs of his own, 1982's Take These Blues and Shove 'Em! (on Ice Cube Records, a logo co-owned by Reed and drummer Casey Jones) and I'm in the Wrong Business! five years later for Alligator (with cameos by Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Ray Vaughan). Until his death from cancer in February of 2004, Reed remained an active force on the Chicago circuit with his band the Spark Plugs (get it? AC spark plugs? Sure you do!). ~ bio by Bill Dahl

Chicago Blues Session Vol 14 mc
Chicago Blues Session Vol 14 zippy

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Magic Sam - Magic Sam Live

Year: 1990
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:08
Size: 168,5 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Every Night About This Time (4:30)
2. Don't Believe You'd Let Me Down (4:29)
3. Mole's Blues (5:14)
4. I Just Got To Know (4:23)
5. Tore Down (3:23)
6. You Were Wrong (5:47)
7. Backstroke (4:41)
8. Come On In This House (5:50)
9. Riding High (1:41)
10. San-Ho-Say (3:16)
11. I Need You So Bad (4:37)
12. Strange Things Happening (4:16)
13. I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie) (5:08)
14. All Your Love (5:09)
15. Sweet Home Chicago (4:14)
16. Looking Good (3:48)
17. Looking Good (Encore) (2:33)

No blues guitarist better represented the adventurous modern sound of Chicago's West side more proudly than Sam Maghett. He died tragically young (at age 32 of a heart attack), just as he was on the brink of climbing the ladder to legitimate stardom, but Magic Sam left behind a thick legacy of bone-cutting blues that remains eminently influential around his old stomping grounds to this day.

While the sound quality leaves something to be desired, fans of electric Chicago blues should hear Magic Sam live. Recorded at two separate locations, the Alex Club in Chicago in 1963 and 1964 and the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in 1969, this disc captures the raw energy not only of the musicians, but the crowds' tremendous response to them. Sam is in his natural environment at the Alex Club with an interchanging quintet, including electric pianist Tyrone Carter and tenor saxophonists Eddie Shaw and A.C. Reed, playing in front of a rowdy audience, ready to party.

The Ann Arbor performance, on the other hand, finds him playing with a stripped down trio at an outdoor festival to a mainly white hippie crowd; performer and audience are somewhat unfamiliar with each other. This doesn't stop Sam's trio from blazing through their set and once again igniting the crowd. It should be noted that the energy level of the audience and band was exceptionally tense after Sam arrived late to the festival site without a drummer. Sam Lay was called upon at the last minute to fill the drum seat, as Charlie Musselwhite's band filled in for them while they set up.

Ignore the rotten sound quality, this is raw blues power and provides a priceless document of Sam Maghett's vital showmanship.

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Various Artists - Sweet 'N' Tough: The Blues From Chicago

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:43
Size: 165,0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Charlie Musselwhite - The Blues Overtook Me (4:44)
2. Maurice John Vaughan - Watching Your Watch (4:56)
3. Billy Boy Arnold - Fool For You (3:36)
4. A.C. Reed - My Buddy Buddy Friends (3:17)
5. Son Seals - Gentleman From The Windy City (4:09)
6. Lonnie Brooks - A Man's Got To Do What A Man's Got To Do (4:05)
7. Hound Dog Taylor - She's Gone (3:52)
8. Big Walter Horton - Christine (4:02)
9. The Jimmy Johnson Band - Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home (4:45)
10. The Sons Of Blues/Chi-Town Hustlers - The Only Thing That Saved Me (3:18)
11. Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials - Everything I Do Brings Me Closer To The Blues (4:10)
12. Albert Collins - Master Charge (5:11)
13. The Kinsey Report - Love's Overdue (3:32)
14. Carey Bell - Tired Of Giving You My Love (3:52)
15. Fenton Robinson - I'm So Tired (3:55)
16. Detroit Junior - If I Hadn't Been High (4:05)
17. James Cotton - High Compression (2:43)
18. Big Twist & The Mellow Fellows - The Sweet Sound Of Rhythm & Blues (3:21)

To call Chicago the 'Home Of The Blues' is something of a misnomer, for the music that brought the city its reputation was made by generations of musicians who migrated from the southern states of Arkansas, Tennessee and especially Mississippi. Each brought his own particular experience and expertise, and Chicago's clubs and bars became the melting pot in which all these different elements were fused.

The blues is more popular today than it's ever been. The bedrock of its appeal remains as strong as ever and Chicago remains its strongest bastion. Sweet 'N' Tough encompasses this intriguing music in all its facets. /Excerpts from the liner notes by Neil Slaven

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Maurice John Vaughn - 2 albums: In The Shadow Of The City / I Got Money

Album: In The Shadow Of The City
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:59
Size: 128.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1993
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. Can't Nobody
[5:34] 2. I Want To Be Your Spy
[5:19] 3. (Everything I Do) Got To Be Funky
[6:34] 4. Blood Red Sky
[4:57] 5. Game Over
[3:57] 6. Love Bone
[2:33] 7. Treat Me So Bad
[4:53] 8. Watching Your Watch
[3:16] 9. Eager Beaver
[5:39] 10. Are You Satisfied
[3:54] 11. Suicide Is Not The Way
[4:40] 12. Small Town Baby

The Chicago guitarist/saxist spreads his stylistic wings considerably further than he did on his debut, embracing funk more fully than his first time around but offering enough tasty contemporary blues to keep everyone happy. The prolific triple threat (he's also an engaging singer) wrote all but three tracks himself (one of the covers is the shuffling "Small Town Baby"; its composer, veteran pianist Jimmy Walker, plays on the cut). ~Bill Dahl

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Album: Maurice John Vaughn & A.C. Reed - I Got Money
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:49
Size: 114.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[5:21] 1. Boogie All Night
[6:00] 2. Help Me Spending My Gold
[4:03] 3. My Buddy Buddy Friend
[3:36] 4. This Little Voice
[5:40] 5. Big Boss Man
[4:26] 6. Mojo Hand
[6:15] 7. Computer Took My Job
[5:52] 8. Everything I Do Got To Be Funky
[5:34] 9. I Got Money
[2:58] 10. Mojo On Me

Aaron Corthen moved from Missouri to Chicago in his teens. He changed his name and became a fulltime musician in the early ’50s, recording a number of singles from 1960 onwards. Reed was a sideman with Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Son Seals and others as well as leading his own band and operating the Ice Cube label. Whether or not they were half-brothers, as A.C. sometimes claimed, he was a longtime occasional borrower of Jimmy Reed’s drawl and his loping rhythms. The other distinguishing features of A.C.’s music are the skinny rasp of his sax and the singing of blues about how the singing of blues doesn’t pay. The joke wears thin with repetition, but it’s symptomatic of a talent for original, often witty lyrics that get away from the standard topics.

The band is tight on this album, A native Chicagoan, Vaughn played drums and saxophone in his teens, adding the guitar some years latter. He worked for spells with Professor Eddie Lusk, Phil Guy, Son Seals and A.C.Reed, whom he has accompanied on several albums; he has also recorded with Zora Young and Detroit Jr., and produced albums by several artists for Italian Appaloosa label.

This album was made in France while Vaughn was touring with A.C.Reed, (who sings on five of the album’s ten tracks), offers ‘Computer Took My Job’ and also ‘Mojo On Me’. A.C. Reed - Tenor Saxophone, Vocals tr.1-5; Maurice John Vaughn - Guitar, Vocals tr.6-10; Douglas Watson - Bass; Julian Vaughn - Drums.

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Various - The Alligator Records Playlists: Working

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 66:21
Size: 151.9 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. Elvin Bishop - Don't Let The Bossman Get You Down
[6:14] 2. Maurice John Vaughn - Computer Took My Job
[3:56] 3. Koko Taylor - Big Boss Man
[4:27] 4. Albert Collins - Cash Talkin' Aka The Workingman's Blues
[4:36] 5. Carey Bell - Hard Working Woman
[4:16] 6. Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King - Payday In America
[4:40] 7. Son Seals - Call My Job
[3:28] 8. Little Charlie & The Nightcats - Got To Have A Job
[4:30] 9. A.C. Reed - I'm In The Wrong Business
[3:48] 10. Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials - Housekeeping Job
[4:11] 11. Michael Hill's Blues Mob - This Is My Job
[6:02] 12. Rufus Thomas - Breaking My Back
[4:07] 13. Little Charlie & The Nightcats - Weekend Off
[4:38] 14. Son Seals - Cotton Picking Blues
[4:31] 15. Guitar Shorty - I've Been Working

The Alligator Records Playlists: Working

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Various - Bright Lights Big City: Urban Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:14
Size: 147.0 MB
Styles: Urban blues, Chicago blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:05] 1. A.C. Reed - Going To New York
[4:29] 2. John Hammond - Sweet Home Chicago
[3:49] 3. Hound Dog Taylor - Kansas City
[5:23] 4. Luther Allison - Big City
[3:06] 5. James Cotton - Born In Chicago
[3:20] 6. Kenny Neal - Big City Ways
[5:24] 7. Buddy Guy - Hello San Francisco
[3:54] 8. A.C. Reed - Moving Out Of The Ghetto
[3:52] 9. Roomful Of Blues - New Orleans
[4:59] 10. Roy Buchanan - Chicago Smokeshop
[4:52] 11. Big Mama Thornton - Lost City
[3:46] 12. Charlie Musselwhite - Mean Ole Frisco
[4:50] 13. Peggy Scott - Big City Blues
[4:59] 14. Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Living For The City
[3:20] 15. John Lee Hooker - Bus Station Blues

After World War II, the use of electrified instruments became inevitable. During the 1940s, some blues bands even incorporated saxophones, although the preference was for amplified harmonicas, especially in Chicago, a predominant center of blues recording in the 1950s. Blues from this period is often called “urban blues,” “electric blues,” or simply “Chicago blues.” Important urban blues musicians included Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker, and B. B. King.

Blues remains with us in contemporary American culture, and as a traditional musical form it has been subjected to countless revivals and reinterpretations. Its current practitioners often integrate the sounds and instrumental pyrotechnics of rock music and the sheen of urban soul; but the twelve-bar form, variations on the blues chord progression, and emotive lyrical content remain relatively unchanged.

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Various - Alligator Records Playlists: Songs Of The City

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:22
Size: 140.5 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[5:18] 1. Koko Taylor - Bad Avenue
[4:06] 2. Son Seals - Gentleman From The Windy City
[3:51] 3. A.C. Reed - Moving Out Of The Ghetto
[4:59] 4. Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Living For The City
[5:23] 5. The Holmes Brothers - Concrete Jungle
[4:15] 6. The Kinsey Report - This Old City
[7:08] 7. The Kinsey Report - Code Of The Streets
[4:05] 8. Shemekia Copeland - Ghetto Child
[3:20] 9. Kenny Neal - Big City Ways
[4:43] 10. Maurice John Vaughn - Small Town Baby
[5:23] 11. Luther Allison - Big City
[3:42] 12. Luther Allison - Move From The Hood
[5:04] 13. Shemekia Copeland - Up On 1-2-5

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Various - Living Chicago Blues Vols 1-4

Every night in Chicago, the sounds of blues bands reverberate from narrow barrooms, basement taverns, and small, modest lounges throughout the city. At black neighborhood bars on the South and West Sides, decorated with Christmas tinsel, day-glo zodiac posters, handwritten signs on the walls; at the more publicized, fashionable nightspots on the North Side; or just at house parties out on the streets- the blues men and women of Chicago are singing, shouting, crying, laughing, celebrating. Songs of hard times, heartbreak, loneliness; songs to drive the blue feelings away, to rock the night and let the good times roll.

This is the living, continuing blues tradition of Chicago. Vibrant music with rich heritage of legendary names and classic songs from years gone by--but music not resigned to mere history. The blues still speaks to neighborhood crowds at clubs like Theresa’s, Florence’s, The Checkerboard, Pepper’s, Porter’s, Queen Bee’s and Morris Brown’s on the South Side, Eddie Shaw’s New 1815 Club, Ma Bea’s, The Majestic, The Golden Slipper, and The Poinciana on the West Side. And in recent years blues has drawn white audiences to popular North Side clubs: The Wise Fools Pub, Elsewhere, Kingston Mines, Biddy Milligan’s and others. The North Side clientele and décor differ, and the atmosphere is not so loose as in the black taverns. But, black or white, the blues clubs are much the same size and offer fine entertainment at similar prices. The small bands echo the sounds of the 1950s and ‘60s, but they’ve updated the music, too, with new patterns, new rhythms. In an era of pervasive rock, soul and disco trends, blues has thrived in the Chicago bars.

On weekends, clubgoers can find live blues at 20 or 30 clubs. Hundreds of singers and instrumentalists appear in the blues joints every year, just as they have ever since the 1940s and ‘50s, when thousands of blacks were arriving in Chicago from Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana. Today, black Southern musicians no longer migrate to the city in such numbers, but a whole new generation of bluesmen has grown up in the urban streets. And on the North Side, young white performers from the suburbs, the East and Midwest have moved in to participate with the blues veterans, sharing bands as well as bandstands.

The blues men of the ‘70s, like their predecessors, are men who live the blues, and live for the blues. Many have to work in factories, steel mills, or garages to make ends meet when the local blues gigs pay a man only $15 or $20 a night. But the blues is more than a weekend hobby to these musicians. The wages may be low, but the quality of the music is undeniably high. Chicago tavern musicians have set standards which have influenced popular music the world over. They may be featured as singers and bandleaders one night, while on the next gig they might work as sidemen in another band. Even on their nights off they’re likely to show up at a blues club, where patrons are continually treated to spontaneous jams and unadvertised guest performances. The crowds in the black clubs are mostly working people from the neighborhood. Sometimes they’re still dressed in work clothes. But the cab driver at the next table might also be a blues singer just back from a tour from France; maybe the mechanic sitting at the bar will suddenly be up on stage, blowing a harmonica or rocking the house with a guitar boogie.

Actually, “on stage” is a misnomer when it comes to most blues clubs. Bands often simply stand in a corner, or sit on their amplifiers, just a few feet from the audience. If there is a bandstand, it’s probably tiny and cramped, with barely enough room for four or five musicians at a time. Dressing rooms and special lounging areas for the stars are almost unheard of. Bluesmen share drinks and conversation with friends and neighbors between –and during-sets. In the blues bars, it’s a 9 p.m.-to-2 (or 4) a.m. world of live musical excitement, good natured-banter, friendly crowds, musicians who always have time for their fans, and honest songs wrought with power and emotion. And usually, all it costs to hear some of the world’s great music is a dollar at the door, if admission is charged at all, and 75 cents or a dollar a beer.

Yet most bluesmen have played their blues in taverns, week after week, year after year, unknown to all but the local patrons. There was a period of commercial blues recording in the 1950s, when companies like Chess and VeeJay were turning out hit singles, and the R&B disc jockeys and promoters were pushing the blues artists. But even then, the great majority of Chicago’s bluesmen were never able to record with any regularity, if indeed they recorded at all.

Today the powerful recording conglomerates show little interest in blues, and most blues singers must depend on small, independent companies which operate from storefronts or producers’ homes. The occasional 45s are distributed to ghetto record shops, jukeboxes, and amateur DJs who shout and spin records in the corner taverns. With luck, or enough money, a record might get a little airplay on the radio. The few Chicago companies which issue blues albums deal mainly with a market of white fans, students and collectors. Success in this market can mean gigs in college towns, or European tours which are more grueling than glamorous. Labels such as Delmark, Arhoolie, Prestige/Bluesville, Testament, and Vanguard were instrumental in putting many major Chicago bluesmen on LP for the first time during the 60s. Alligator’s Living Chicago Blues series, in fact, owes its inspirations to a historic sent of Vanguard albums (Chicago/The Blues/Today!), produced by Sam Charters in 1965/66. The men Charters recorded--Otis Rush, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Homesick James, the late Otis Spann, and others--went on to win international recognition and record several albums apiece for other labels. But today, many other excellent artists remain unrecorded, or with a mere handful of obscure releases to their credit. From this deep pool of overlooked or undiscovered talent come the artists who appear on the Living Chicago Blues series.

When Charters produced and annotated Chicago/The Blues/Today! he wrote, “In Chicago, on the South Side, it’s still today for the blues.” More than a decade later, it is still today for the blues in Chicago. As it was yesterday, as it will be tomorrow. Living Chicago Blues.

Album: Living Chicago Blues Vol 1
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:40
Size: 148.1 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1978
Art: Front

[5:48] 1. Jimmy Johnson - Your Turn To Cry
[3:56] 2. Jimmy Johnson - Serves Me Right To Suffer Aka Memory Pain
[3:11] 3. Jimmy Johnson - Ain't That Just Like A Woman
[4:42] 4. Jimmy Johnson - Feel Like Breaking Up Someone's Home
[2:50] 5. Eddie Shaw - It's Alright
[3:18] 6. Eddie Shaw - Out Of Bad Luck
[3:59] 7. Eddie Shaw - Stoop Down, Baby
[3:40] 8. Eddie Shaw - Sittin' On Top Of The World
[3:27] 9. Eddie Shaw - My Baby's So Ugly
[4:00] 10. Left Hand Frank - Come Home, Darling
[2:29] 11. Left Hand Frank - Blues Won't Let Me Be
[4:28] 12. Left Hand Frank - One Room Country Shack
[4:10] 13. Left Hand Frank - Linda Lu
[2:39] 14. Carey Bell - Too Late
[4:29] 15. Carey Bell - Laundromat Blues
[2:48] 16. Carey Bell - One Day
[4:40] 17. Carey Bell - Woman In Trouble

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Album: Living Chicago Blues Vol 2
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 65:05
Size: 149.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1978
Art: Front

[4:13] 1. Lonnie Brooks - Don't Answer The Door
[3:26] 2. Lonnie Brooks - Two Headed Man
[4:42] 3. Lonnie Brooks - Cold, Lonely Nights
[4:11] 4. Lonnie Brooks - Move Over, Little Dog
[3:23] 5. Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker - Would You, Baby
[4:14] 6. Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker - Worry, Worry
[2:48] 7. Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker - Sunnyland Blues
[3:19] 8. Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker - Cry, Cry Darling
[4:23] 9. Magic Slim - Stranded On The Highway
[5:06] 10. Magic Slim - Dirty Mother For You
[4:19] 11. Magic Slim - Spider In My Stew
[3:41] 12. Magic Slim - Don't Say That No More
[3:28] 13. Pinetop Perkins - Take It Easy, Baby
[5:00] 14. Pinetop Perkins - Blues After Hours
[5:15] 15. Pinetop Perkins - Little Angel Child
[3:30] 16. Pinetop Perkins - How Much More Long

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Album: Living Chicago Blues Vol 3
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 70:43
Size: 161.9 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[3:16] 1. A.C. Reed - Hard Times
[4:15] 2. A.C. Reed - She's Fine
[3:51] 3. A.C. Reed - Moving Out Of The Ghetto
[3:35] 4. A.C. Reed - Going To New York
[3:38] 5. Scotty & The Rib Tips - Big Leg Woman
[3:00] 6. Scotty & The Rib Tips - Careless With Our Love
[2:47] 7. Scotty & The Rib Tips - Road Block
[3:13] 8. Scotty & The Rib Tips - Poison Ivy
[2:45] 9. Lovie Lee - I Dare You
[5:15] 10. Lovie Lee - Nobody Knows My Troubles
[3:12] 11. Lovie Lee - Sweet Little Girl
[3:00] 12. Lovie Lee - Naptown
[4:37] 13. Lacy Gibson - Drown In My Own Tears
[2:46] 14. Lacy Gibson - Crying For My Baby
[3:51] 15. Lacy Gibson - Feel So Bad
[2:53] 16. Lacy Gibson - Wish Me Well
[6:06] 17. Sons Of The blues - Have You Ever Loved A Woman
[4:23] 18. Sons Of The blues - Berlin Wall
[4:11] 19. Sons Of The blues - Prisoner Of The Blues

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Album: Living Chicago Blues Vol 4
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 69:28
Size: 159.0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[4:02] 1. Detroit Junior - If I Hadn't Been High
[3:03] 2. Detroit Junior - Some Nerve
[5:19] 3. Detroit Junior - Somebody To Shack
[2:35] 4. Detroit Junior - I Got Money
[3:01] 5. Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson - Somebody Have Mercy
[3:17] 6. Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson - Got To Have Money
[3:01] 7. Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson - Just Like Mama Said
[3:48] 8. Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson - Look What You Done
[4:57] 9. Queen Sylvia Embry - Going Upstairs
[2:05] 10. Queen Sylvia Embry - Blues This Morning
[2:52] 11. Queen Sylvia Embry - Tired Of Being Pushed Around
[4:29] 12. Queen Sylvia Embry - Please Let Me Stay
[3:31] 13. Big Leon Brooks - Blues For A Real Man
[3:03] 14. Big Leon Brooks - Thirteen Years In Prison
[4:21] 15. Big Leon Brooks - Country Boy
[3:16] 16. Big Leon Brooks - My Life Ain't The Same
[4:58] 17. Andrew Brown - I Got News For You
[3:40] 18. Andrew Brown - Morning, Noon And Night
[4:00] 19. Andrew Brown - Two Years

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Various - The USA Records Blues Story

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 70:17
Size: 160.9 MB
Styles: Chicago blues, Detroit blues
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. Lonnie Brooks - Figure Head
[2:24] 2. Eddy Clearwater - The Duck Walk
[2:55] 3. Willie Mabon - Some Time I Wonder
[2:58] 4. Fenton Robinson - From My Heart
[3:12] 5. Ricky Allen - Going Or Coming
[2:34] 6. Jimmy Burns - Forget It
[3:06] 7. Detroit Junior - It's Bad To Make A Woman Mad
[2:53] 8. Andrew Brown - You Better Stop
[3:12] 9. Mighty Joe Young - Hard Times (Follow Me)
[2:36] 10. Koko Taylor - Like Heaven To Me
[2:13] 11. J.B. Lenoir - I Feel So Good
[2:45] 12. A.C. Reed - I'd Rather Fight Than Switch
[2:38] 13. Willie Mabon - Just Got Some
[2:48] 14. Jesse Fortune - Too Many Cooks
[2:44] 15. Homesick James - Crossroads
[2:58] 16. Ricky Allen - I Have Made A Change
[2:59] 17. Junior Wells - She's A Sweet One
[2:14] 18. Jimmy Burns - Through All Your Faults
[2:53] 19. Detroit Junior - Call My Job
[2:24] 20. Eddy Clearwater - Momee, Momee
[2:05] 21. Andrew Brown - Something Can Go Wrong
[2:34] 22. Lonnie Brooks - I'm Not Going Home
[2:37] 23. Fenton Robinson - Say You're Leavin'
[2:55] 24. Homesick James - My Baby's Sweet
[2:05] 25. Koko Taylor - Honky Tonky
[2:40] 26. Jesse Fortune - Good Things

More than a decade before Alligator Records began reviving the careers of Koko Taylor, Fenton Robinson, Lonnie Brooks, and Detroit Junior, among others in the 1970s, these cats were cutting killer sessions for little labels that you probably have never heard of, including USA Records (not to be confused with Leonard Allen's twin labels United and States from the '50s). Recorded between 1963 and 1966, The USA Records Blues Story captures a dozen of Chicago's best at their peak, often in the midst of some kind of historic transition artistically -- witness Koko Taylor a couple years shy of "Wang Dang Doodle," Fenton Robinson a couple years shy of "Somebody Loan Me a Dime," and Junior Wells a couple years shy of his Hoodoo Man Blues breakthrough. But USA also lured more bankable talent, including Willie Mabon and J.B. Lenoir, who were both still going strong long after their stints with Chess Records. If USA Records ever cut any duds, you wouldn't know it from the way Bill Dahl compiled the reissue; this one hits the jackpot all the way through. ~Ken Chang

The USA Records Blues Story

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Mojo Blues Band - Blues Parade 2000 Vol. 1 & 2

Size: 161,8+158,6 MB
Time: 68:20+66:56
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1999
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Chicago Blues
Art: Full

Vol. 1:
01. Wee Baby Blues (3:13)
02. Where Did You Go Last Night (3:13)
03. Going Crazy Over Tv (3:18)
04. You Can't Win'em All (3:52)
05. Anna Lee (4:42)
06. They Must Have Seen Me Comin' (3:46)
07. Come On Little Children (4:13)
08. Arkanas (2:43)
09. Rocket In My Pocket (3:11)
10. Keep On Rockin' Me Baby (4:01)
11. Call You On The Phone (3:28)
12. Last Time Around (3:57)
13. Big Muddy (4:04)
14. Irene (4:36)
15. Roll Over Beethoven #1 (5:39)
16. Operator (7:19)
17. Pull Down The Shades (2:57)

Vol. 2:
01. No No (3:06)
02. Roll Over Beethoven #2 (4:39)
03. I'm Movin' On (2:20)
04. Sunnyland Train (4:56)
05. A. C.'s Big Fat Woman (3:30)
06. I Wanna Boogie (2:58)
07. I Wonder Why (5:36)
08. Rock A While (3:38)
09. Baby You Don't have To Go (4:48)
10. Mack's Cruise (3:11)
11. Baby What You Want Me To Do (3:43)
12. The Fisherman (3:36)
13. Going Through The Park (4:09)
14. All Shucks (3:41)
15. Playgirl (4:47)
16. I Got A Brand New Mojo (5:20)
17. Coal Miner's Shift (2:48)

Chicago Blues with guests: Jimmy Mc Cracklin, A.C. Reed, Nappy Brown, Larry Dale, Jimmy Anderson, Bob Gaddy and more.

With their new double CD that you are now holding in your hands, the Mojo Bluesband continues this tradition and shares the spotlight with some of their guests of recent years. Compiled from sessions and concerts recorded between 1992 and 1998, the band is by itself on 7 tracks of this double CD set. Six tracks are sung by the group’s founder, Erik Trauner, whose strong, experienced, unaffected vocals match his instrumental prowess on guitar and harmonica. On one track, bassist Dani Gugolz is the lead singer with his distinctive high-pitched voice. “Sunnyland Train” and “Anna Lee” are both features for Trauner’s exceptional slide guitar work, inspired by Elmore James and Tampa Red/Robert Nighthawk, respectively. The stylistic diversity of the band is taken one step further on this CD with the inclusion of material from the area of western swing (Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On”) and rockabilly (“Rocket In My Pocket”).

Blues Parade 2000 Vol. 1
Blues Parade 2000 Vol. 2

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MOJO BLUES BAND - The Wild Taste Of Chicago

Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Chicago Blues
Recorded: 1989
Released: 1996
File: mp3 @ 320 k/s
Size: 127.96 MB
Time: 68:51
Art: Full

1. Accordion Boogie (3:57)
2. Dancin' With Y'All (3:01)
3. Let Me Love You (3:30)
4. Lonely Man (4:35)
5. Just Sitting Here (5:07)
6. Rather Be Lonesome (3:49)
7. Please, Mr. Jailer (5:12)
8. Living In Paradise (3:34)
9. The Reedman's Boogie (3:05)
10. Enough Love (4:38)
11. This Little Voice (4:12)
12. Curly Head Woman (2:55)
13. Just A Poor Boy (4:24)
14. The Wild Taste Of Chicago (4:32)
15. MLove My Baby (6:08)
16. Good Bye Chicago (6:12)

Personnel: Erik Trauner - Guitar, Slide
Christian Dozzler - Accordion, Harmonica
Markus Toyfl - Guitar
Dani Gugolz - Bass
Michael Strasser - Drums
with guests:
A.C. Reed - vocals, Tenor Sax
Timothy Taylor - Drums
Willie Kent - Vocals, Bass
Taildragger - Vocals
Big Mojo Elem - Vocals, Bass
Robert Plunkett - Vocals

Notes: This album present recordings during a three weeks stay of the Mojo Blues Band in Chicago, undoubtedly the blues metropol of the United States. Without actually having planned such a project the band decided on a spontaneous recording session.

Erik Trauner, Christian Dozzler, Markus Toyfl and Dani Gugolz experienced Chicago "live". They were invited to barbecues in the heart of the South Side, encountered living blues legends, had memorable wild jam-parties in the back yards of terrace- houses and spent long nights in black blues clubs.

Even though only little can still be heard of traditional blues in Chicago, the "Mojos" consistanly strayed in its persuit until they made the aquaintance of several musicians who may be the last of their kind.

The Mojo Blues Band invited such musicians as Willie Kent, A.C. Reed, Taildragger, Big 'Mojo' Elem and Timothy Taylor to their recording session at ACME-studios in Southport Street.

In a 16-hours-marathon recording session the different cultures, languages and mentalities melted into one another to become a friendly whole - all made possible by the common love of music. Inspiration for the title came from a gigantic gourmet fair, named "The Taste Of Chicago", presenting local restaurants and organized at the time by the City of Chicago.

Consequently, this album can be regarded as an acoustic delicacy. Furthermore this record documents the first bridge between musicians of Chicago and Vienna in the history of the blues.

                                                    The Wild Taste Of Chicago
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