Little Smokey Smothers & Elvin Bishop - Chicago Blues Buddies

Size: 134.2 MB
Time: 57:06
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Remembering (3:12)
02. Talkin' Blues (4:37)
03. Smokey Shuffle (3:04)
04. Crackhead Woman (7:08)
05. Mother-In-Law Blues (4:25)
06. You're Gonna Miss Me (5:49)
07. You Don't Love Me (4:04)
08. Interview (7:55)
09. Roll Your Moneymaker (4:13)
10. Little Red Rooster (5:42)
11. Hello Baby (3:57)
12. Bye Bye Baby (2:53)

Elvin met Smokey in Chicago in 1960 while attending regular college at the University of Chicago and “blues college” on the south and west sides. Smokey would have a steady mostly local career in the Chicago blues scene, while Elvin would gain prominence, first with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and then as an artist in his own right.

The CD is entitled “Chicago Blues Buddies” and it features studio recordings from Chicago and live recordings from San Francisco,Chicago & Clarksdale (Mississippi) from 1992 to 2006, plus 7 previously unissued live tracks & interview.

Chicago Blues Buddies MP3
Chicago Blues Buddies FLAC

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Elvin Bishop & Little Smokey Smothers - That's My Partner!

Size: 126,6 MB
Time: 55:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. That's My Partner (4:58)
02. Roll Your Moneymaker (4:26)
03. Slow Down (4:51)
04. Little Red Rooster (5:39)
05. Hello, Baby (3:41)
06. Middle Aged Man (3:34)
07. The Skin They're In (3:24)
08. Stomp (3:49)
09. Annie Mae (5:28)
10. Pleading With You (4:36)
11. Dirty Drawers (4:25)
12. Travelin' Shoes (6:20)

Every now and again you get one of those discs that picks up a few threads that have long lain dormant for various reasons, and you are more than overjoyed that someone took the time to help make the reconnections that seem to make life richer. Little Smokey took the young — and new to Chicago — Elvin Bishop under his wing in the early '60s and taught the kid everything, from playing blues guitar to how to walk the walk. It is well-documented how Bishop's career took off when he hooked up with Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield in the Butterfield Blues Band (setting the stage for all the other twin lead guitar bands such as the Allman Brothers Band that followed). Smokey remained in Chicago and virtually gave up trying to make a living playing music in favor of a job to support the family. With the kids grown, by the '80s he started playing again. In January 2000, the two hooked up again for three nights that would be recorded by Alligator. Maybe this was to say thank you for the early help; more likely — judging by the playing — it was a return of the early love between the two. It was more than worth the wait to hear the interplay of Elvin and Smokey, backed by a more-than-capable band (a nod to S.E. Willis on keyboards) that provides strong, solid support while letting the two stand to the forefront and play off each other. Bishop has always been known as a fun-loving musician; however, he takes his chops seriously, his playing is crisp, and — as he shows here — he is at his best when playing off an equal (listen to his signature "Travelin' Shoes"!). The joy of playing that deep-felt Chicago blues with an old friend and colleague and the chance for teacher and pupil to stand up and show off their licks and progress shine through here. The banter between the two helps to push the music along to greater heights. Just listen to this gutter-crawling version of Little Red Rooster. You know the Wolf would be proud.

That's My Partner! MP3
That's My Partner! FLA

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Little Smokey Smothers - Second Time Around / Bossman: The Chicago Blues Of Little Smokey Smothers

Album: Second Time Around
Size: 125,0 MB
Time: 53:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1996
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Bluesman (3:19)
02. Second Time Around (4:32)
03. Soft Winds (4:02)
04. Crack Head Woman (6:09)
05. I Get Evil (4:26)
06. Clouds In My Heart (3:41)
07. Got To Be Some Changes Made (4:19)
08. In The Zone (3:56)
09. Somebody (4:45)
10. Let Me In (5:33)
11. My Baby's Gone (5:07)
12. I Better Go Now (3:22)

Not to be confused with his late older brother Big Smokey, Albert "Little Smokey" Smothers began to transcend his journeyman status in 1993 with a superlative Dick Shurman-produced album for the Dutch Black Magic label, Bossman: The Chicago Blues of Little Smokey Smothers. The set happily reunited him with his ex-guitar pupil Elvin Bishop and his cousin, singer Lee Shot Williams.

Little Smokey rolled into Chicago during the mid-'50s, landing gigs with guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and pianist Lazy Bill Lucas and playing with Howlin' Wolf on the 1959 Chess session that produced "I've Been Abused" and "Mr. Airplane Man." Smothers fell in with young White harpist Paul Butterfield when the latter was just starting out in the early '60s and is still fondly recalled as a major influence by his buddy Bishop, who would go on to make history as Butterfield's slashing axeman after Smothers left the harpist's employ.

There was a time during the '70s when Little Smokey pretty much gave up music, but he slid back into playing gradually during the next decade with the Legendary Blues Band. Heart problems temporarily shelved Smothers for a spell not too long ago, but he's back in action now, releasing That's My Partner with Elvin Bishop in 2000 among other dates. ~Biography by Bill Dahl

Thanks To Marc.
Second Time Around

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Album: Bossman: The Chicago Blues Of Little Smokey Smothers
Size: 108,8 MB
Time: 46:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1993
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Remembering (3:12)
02. Days Are Dark (2:38)
03. You're Gonna Miss Me (5:06)
04. This Town's Too Small (4:43)
05. Tribute To Earl Hooker (7:15)
06. Hello Baby (3:09)
07. Talkin' Blues (4:34)
08. Don't Misuse My Love (3:43)
09. Why Are You So Mean To Me (2:55)
10. Monkey Man (3:12)
11. 43Rd Street Blues (5:34)

Sizzling and long-overdue debut album by the veteran Chicago bluesman, whose approach is considerably more contemporary than that of his late older brother. Producer Dick Shurman recruited vocalist Lee Shot Williams (Smokey's cousin) and Elvin Bishop (who Smokey tutored during the early '60s) for this project, a fine showcase for Smothers's hearty vocals and expressive guitar. ~Review by Bill Dahl

Thanks To Marc.
Bossman: The Chicago Blues Of Little Smokey Smothers

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