Louis Myers - Wailin' The Blues

Size: 214 MB
Time: 36:06
File: Flac from vinyl
Released: 1983
Styles: Chicago blues
Art: Front, rear

1. Give Me A Drink (3:12)
2. Mean Black Spider (5:04)
3. Sweet Home Chicago (3:41)
4. Going Down South (6:41)
5. Tomorrow Night (4:10)
6. Wailin' The Blues (3:30)
7. Outskirts Of Town (5:35)
8. Re-Consider Baby (4:13)

One of my favorite guitar players at backing up a harp player is the brilliant Louis Myers. Perhaps it was because he also played harmonica so well himself that Louis was such a gifted and empathetic accompanist. He is prominently associated with two of the greatest modern harmonica masters - Little Walter & Junior Wells. Louis and his talented brother Dave, along with brilliant drummer Fred Below,formed one of the absolute standout modern blues ensembles, the Aces. Louis' musical range was truly impressive. His playing was possessed of strong traditional roots along with an appealing modernity. He was capable of great sensitivity as well as tremendous drive and intensity. Mr. Myers’ linear concept and chordal work were both rhythmically incisive and propulsive. His playing is chock full of memorableand innovative hooks - both single line and chordal. --- Peter Parcek, bostonblues.com

Wailin' The Blues FLAC

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Louis Myers - I'm A Southern Man

Size: 98,7 MB
Time: 42:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1978
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. I'm A Southern Man (4:02)
02. Short Haired Woman (5:20)
03. Woman's Lib (4:25)
04. Just Woke Up (3:55)
05. Woman Trouble (4:13)
06. Hello Stranger (3:29)
07. South Bound Blues (4:42)
08. All My Love In Vain (3:52)
09. Kind Hearted Woman (3:51)
10. Old Black Mattie (4:18)

Despite his vaunted reputation as a versatile standout on the Windy City circuit, Louis Myers seldom recorded as a leader. This is the best set he did as a front man; cut in 1978, it was ironically recorded in Hollywood. Fellow ex-Little Walter sideman Freddy Robinson shared guitar duties with Myers (who also played harp) on a well-produced set strong on tradition but with one eye cocked toward contemporary developments (witness Myers's stylish diatribe on "Women's Lib"). ~Bill Dahl

Wild And Free MP3
Wild And Free FLAC

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Eddie Taylor - Live In Japan 1977 (Deluxe Edition)

Size: 172,2+168,4 MB
Time: 74:04+72:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

CD 1:
01. Honky Tonk (6:23)
02. That's All Right (Feat. Dave Myers) (4:54)
03. Kansas City (Feat. Dave Myers) (3:26)
04. I Don't Know (Feat. Odie Payne, Jr.) (6:04)
05. Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee (Feat. Odie Payne, Jr.) (4:37)
06. She's Nineteen Years Old (Feat. Louis Myers) (5:29)
07. Got My Mojo Working (Feat. Louis Myers) (4:12)
08. Stop Breakin' Down (Feat. Louis Myers) (4:41)
09. Goin' Down Slow (5:09)
10. My Sometimes Baby (4:28)
11. Bad Boy (3:47)
12. Blow Wind Blow (4:06)
13. Going Upside Your Head (4:10)
14. You're Gonna Look For Me (And I'll Be Hard To Find) (4:51)
15. Kind Hearted Woman (7:38)

CD 2:
01. Night Train (4:19)
02. Mean Old World (Feat. Dave Myers) (5:22)
03. Caldonia (Feat. Dave Myers) (4:59)
04. Hamburger O-I-8-1-2 (Feat. Odie Payne, Jr.) (5:00)
05. For You My Love (Feat. Odie Payne, Jr.) (3:09)
06. Tin Pan Alley (Feat. Louis Myers) (5:15)
07. Take A Little Walk With Me (Feat. Louis Myers) (4:32)
08. Mean Black Spider (Feat. Louis Myers) (5:33)
09. Off The Wall (Feat. Louis Myers) (3:02)
10. Hoy Hoy (4:33)
11. Come Back Baby (4:19)
12. Signals Of Love (4:46)
13. There'll Be A Day (3:59)
14. I'm A Country Boy (4:16)
15. Crossroads (3:23)
16. Hideaway (3:00)
17. Baby Please Don't Go (Feat. Louis Myers) (2:40)

Personnel:
Eddie Taylor: Guitar, Vocals
Louis Myers: Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
Odie Payne, Jr.: Drums, Vocals
Dave Myers: Bass, Vocals

Recorded live at Seibu Kodo, University of Kyoto on December 17, 1977 (Disc 1) and December 18, 1997 (Disc 2, 2-1 to 2-16; track 2-17 recorded at Nihon Kyoiku Kaikan Hall, Tokyo on December 21, 1977.

Thanks to MarcFr
Live In Japan 1977

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The Aces - Chicago Beat

Size: 142,0 MB
Time: 61:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1976/1999
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Tell Me Mama (2:50)
02. Hoo Doo Man (3:59)
03. Take A Little Walk With Me (3:17)
04. Whole Lot Of Lovin' (3:30)
05. Got My Mojo Workin' (3:40)
06. Ace's Shuffle (2:55)
07. Blues For Marcelle (5:17)
08. Kansas City (6:05)
09. Early In The Morning (4:10)
10. Money, Marbles And Chalk (4:15)
11. Route 66 (4:56)
12. Blue Shadows (3:38)
13. Wee Wee Baby (3:23)
14. Fannie Mae (2:44)
15. Ace's Shuffle (3:56)
16. Stop, Stop, Stop (3:02)

Personnel: Louis Myers (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Fred Below (vocals, drums); Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers , Mickey Baker (guitar); Willie Mabon (piano).

Common wisdom says that Muddy Waters was the man responsible for turbo charging the Delta blues and creating what we now call Chicago blues. Waters' importance is inestimable, but to lay all the credit at his feet is to ignore the contributions of those who quite literally used Waters' music as a jumping-off point, and blazed historical trails of their own. Of all the great musicians who passed through Waters' bands, perhaps the most important of all was harmonica player and singer Little Walter Jacobs. Jacobs left Waters' band at the age of 22 already a seasoned veteran of the road and the recording studio. He quickly recruited his own superb band, and came very close to eclipsing his former boss' success during the heyday of Chicago blues in the '50s, with two number one hits among his ten appearances on the nationwide Billboard R&B charts; Waters himself had 12 songs reach the Billboard charts, but he never scored a number one hit. Much of Little Walter's success can be attributed to the fact that he was doing something new, different, and thoroughly urban; where Waters' appeal lay heavily with Southern emigres longing for familiar sounds, Walter's swinging, modern, jazz-inflected style found favor with a younger generation of city blues fans not so closely tied to the "down-home" sounds of the South.

But Little Walter couldn't have done it alone -- he needed accompanists who shared his desire to push the edge of the blues envelope, so he recruited his band from among the most accomplished and forward-thinking blues musicians available in Chicago. His first recording and touring band in 1952 was one that he'd sometimes sat in with while still with Waters -- The Aces, featuring brothers David and Louis Myers on guitars. The Myers brothers were born in Byhalia, MS, and had learned the rudiments of guitar from their father before the family relocated to Chicago in the early '40s while both brothers were still in their early teens. There their musical tastes were formed by equal doses of the big-band swing that was popular at the time, pop ballads they heard on the radio, and the blues that was being played all around their southside neighborhood. By the late '40s they had assumed the roles they'd play for much of their musical careers: older brother Dave providing basslines and chords into which Louis wove his tastefully jazzy blues riffing. Their rock-solid musical foundation provided the perfect base for the veteran bluesman they soon found themselves backing, but their musical precociousness drove them to eventually form the Aces, which incorporated some of the more modern and sophisticated influences that had raised eyebrows with the older blues crowd. The Aces were rounded out by schooled jazz drummer Fred Below, a Chicago native for whom the rough Southern blues rhythms were almost completely foreign; after his first gig with the group he was so musically disoriented that he decided to quit the band, but was persuaded to stick it out and adapt his jazz techniques to the blues, ultimately becoming the most in-demand blues drummer in Chicago (in addition to putting the beat to many of rock & roll pioneer Chuck Berry's early hits). Little Walter approached his harmonica like a jazz saxophone player, and the Aces provided the propulsive backing of a swinging big band. It would have been near impossible at the time to find three musicians who were better suited to providing the solid foundation for Walter's musical innovations than the Aces, who had the musical and dynamic range, swing sensibilities, and melding of individual strengths that made them the standard by which all of Little Walter's later ensembles -- and most harp-led blues bands since -- have been measured.

Unfortunately this band was not to last; the Aces had been establishing their own name around town, but when their first records with Little Walter were released by the Chess Records subsidiary Checker as by "Little Walter and His Night Caps" or "...and His Jukes" (to capitalize on the popularity of his first hit "Juke," recorded during a session while he was still with Waters), there was dissension in the ranks. The first to leave was Louis, who was replaced by Robert Jr. Lockwood in 1954. Almost 40 years old at the time, Lockwood's roots were in the Delta; as Robert Johnson's stepson, he had a firm handle on the deepest of blues, but had been studying jazz guitarists since at least the '30s, and had been recording since before WWII. He proved to be an adept foil for Walter's harp excursions, and many of Walter's jazziest adventures were supported and driven by Lockwood's sophisticated guitar riffing.

Dave Myers was the next to leave, joining his brother Louis in 1955 in a re-formed Aces that featured Junior Wells (who had played with them pre-Walter) and later Otis Rush. Dave was replaced by 19-year-old guitar prodigy Luther Tucker, who had been hanging around the band and occasionally sitting in with them, as well as with other local blues acts. Although Tucker's role was initially the same as Dave's -- thumping out basslines on his guitar and providing chordal fills behind Lockwood -- he soon distinguished himself as one of the flashiest of the new breed of guitarists in Chicago. When given the chance to take the lead, Tucker's fleet-fingered bursts of nervous energy helped push Little Walter's music in new and exciting directions. The first wave of rock & roll was cresting, aggressively played electric guitar was moving to the forefront of popular music, and Luther Tucker was among the blues guitarists at the leading edge.

It was around this time that Fred Below vacated the drum seat, although as was the custom at Chess/Checker Records, he continued to be brought in for recording sessions for the next several years. Replacing him on the road for a time was his old drum school classmate Odie Payne, Jr., who had been playing and recording in Chicago since the late '40s with the likes of Tampa Red, Memphis Minnie, Memphis Slim and Elmore James, and later worked as the house drummer at Cobra Records, playing behind Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Otis Rush and others. Payne's slightly more orthodox but still distinctly jazzy style was by all accounts ideally suited to Walter's music, although there's no documentation of him ever appearing on any of Walter's records.

After a short time with a still young and rambunctious Little Walter and the even younger Luther Tucker, Lockwood was began to tire of the grind, and he left Walter's band, although he continued to appear on records with him (and also notably with Sonny Boy Williamson) until the late '50s. In 1956 Jimmie Lee Robinson joined Little Walter's band, pushing Luther Tucker into the lead role that Lockwood had vacated. Robinson was another Chicago native, who had grown up around the blues-rich Maxwell Street Market area, and knew Walter from his escapades there during his earliest years in Chicago. Robinson's formative years included musical apprenticeship on Maxwell Street, followed by formal music lessons for a time, and then time spent with guitarists Freddie King, Elmore James, Eddie Taylor, and others in the early '50s. His guitar style had similarities to Tucker's, and eventually their roles carrying the top and bottom of the music melded to the point where they would trade back and forth even during songs. Unfortunately there are only a few examples of Jimmie Lee's years with Walter on record, due to the record label's insistence on not tampering with the successful studio formula that had been established by the Tucker/Lockwood/Below ensemble (usually augmented by Willie Dixon on string bass).

By the end of the '50s, Little Walter's hit-making days were behind him, and his bands soon became a revolving door through which a number of local musicians passed. In 1959 guitarist Freddie Robinson joined the band for a time (replacing Jimmie Lee Robinson, a move that has caused much confusion among discographers over the years), during which he sometimes played electric bass. Odie Payne left the band after a short time to be replaced by the solid if less musically adventurous George Hunter. During sessions over the next few years the drum throne (on sessions, at least) was also occupied by Billy Stepney, session ace Al Duncan, and even the return of Fred Below for a 1960 session. But blues tastes were changing, and his great ensembles of the past had all scattered and moved on to other pursuits with varying degrees of success. ~by Scott Dirks

Chicago Beat

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Various - Earwig 16th Anniversary Sampler

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:36
Size: 159.3 MB
Styles: Assorted styles
Year: 1995/2005
Art: Front

[2:16] 1. Frank Frost - Jelly Rolly King
[4:35] 2. Arthur Lee Stephenson - Lightnin' Struck The Poor House
[3:25] 3. J.W. Brewer - Hair Like A Horse's Mane
[3:51] 4. Jack Johnson - Oil Man
[3:32] 5. Albert Luandrew - Be Careful How You Vote
[2:56] 6. Eurreal Montgomery - I'm Gonna Build My Bed On The Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea
[4:29] 7. Louis Myers - Bottom Of The Harp
[4:56] 8. Jimmy Dawkins - Wes Cide Bluze
[3:17] 9. David Honeyboy Edwards - Eyes Full Of Tears
[4:24] 10. Lessie Davenport - When The Blues Hit You
[5:24] 11. Alfonzo Primer, James Son Thomas - Cairo
[3:59] 12. Robert P. Ferguson - Shake Your Apple Tree
[6:49] 13. Aron Burton - Past, Present And Future
[2:28] 14. Eddie Lee Watson - Stick Candy
[3:21] 15. William Henderson - Better Know What You Runnin' From
[2:35] 16. Willie Anderson - Come Here Mama
[3:35] 17. Leon Brooks - Young Girl
[3:35] 18. Iverson Minter - Sittin' Here Wonderin'

Earwig was founded in 1979 by Michael Robert Frank, and it quickly become one of the top blues labels, recording artists based on the quality of their music rather than on sales potential. To celebrate Earwig's 16th anniversary, this 18-song collection of music from the label's catalog was put out in 1995. There is impressive variety on the single CD, with the settings ranging from Little Brother Montgomery's solo piano to rockish blues groups and everything in between. The selections were well chosen, and although sticking to the blues (no Motown, R&B, or soul music here), the disc shows the wide variety of music that appeared in the 1980s and '90s in the blues world. Overall, this CD gives one an excellent overview of some of the treasures in the Earwig catalog. ~Scott Yanow

Earwig 16th Anniversary Sampler mc
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Various - ABCO Records Chicago

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:04
Size: 96.3 MB
Styles: R&B, Chicago blues
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:39] 1. Morris Pejoe - Screaming And Crying
[2:45] 2. Morris Pejoe - Maybe Blues
[2:49] 3. Herby Joe - Smokestack Lightning
[2:25] 4. Herby Joe - Dreamed
[2:39] 5. Louis Myers - Just Whaling
[2:38] 6. Louis Myers & The Aces - Bluesy
[2:33] 7. Arbee Stidham - Meet Me Halfway
[2:28] 8. Arbee Stidham - I'll Always Remember You
[2:40] 9. Arbee Stidham - When I Find My Baby
[2:27] 10. Arbee Stidham - Please Let It Be Me
[2:24] 11. Freddy Hall & The Aces - Can't This Be Mine
[2:42] 12. Arbee Stidham, Morris Pejoe, Louis Myers & The Aces - Playin' Hard To Get
[2:56] 13. Zona Sago's - Jivin' At Random
[2:36] 14. Zona Sago's - Short Order
[2:48] 15. Rip-Chords - I Love You The Best
[2:27] 16. Rip-Chords - Razzle Dazzle

Abco Records was a subsidiary of Eli Toscano's Cobra Record Corp.. Similar to it's parent, this Chicago based label focused on rhythm & blues recordings - and issued their small quantity of releases exclusively on 45rpm 7" vinyl records. In the two years of Abco's existence, only 8 releases are known to exist.

ABCO Records Chicago mc
ABCO Records Chicago zippy

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Little Walter - Chronological 1947-1953

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2004
Styles: Blues
Time: 69:02
Size: 158,4 MB
Covers: Full

Personel:
Little Walter - harmonica & vocals
Othum Brown - guitar & vocals (1,2)
Muddy Waters - guitar (3,4)
Jimmy Rogers - guitar (1,2,3,4,16-24)
Louis Myers - guitar (5-15)
Dave Myers - guitar (5-15)
Willie Dixon - bass (11-24)
Ernst Big Crawford - bass (9,10)
Elga Edmonds - drums (3,4)
Fred Below - drums (5-25)

(2:40) 1. Little Walter and Othum Brown - Ora Nelle Blues
(2:30) 2. Little Walter and Othum Brown - I Just Keep Loving Her
(2:45) 3. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Juke
(3:01) 4. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Can't Hold On Much Longer
(2:25) 5. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Blue Midnight
(3:01) 6. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Boogie
(2:54) 7. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Mean Old World
(3:11) 8. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Sad Hours
(2:48) 9. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Fast Boogie
(3:19) 10. Little Walter & His Nighcats - Don't Need No Horse
(3:04) 11. Little Walter & His Jukes - Don't Have to Hunt No More
(2:25) 12. Little Walter & His Jukes - Crazy Legs
(2:55) 13. Little Walter & His Jukes - Tonight With a Fool
(2:50) 14. Little Walter & His Jukes - Off the Wall
(2:47) 15. Little Walter & His Jukes - Tell Me Mama
(3:10) 16. Little Walter & His Jukes - Blues With a Feeling
(3:16) 17. Little Walter & His Jukes - Quarter to Twelve
(2:32) 18. Little Walter & His Jukes - Last Boogie
(2:39) 19. Little Walter & His Jukes - Too Late
(2:52) 20. Little Walter & His Jukes - Fast Boogie
(2:45) 21. Little Walter & His Jukes - Lights Out
(2:51) 22. Little Walter & His Jukes - Fast Large One
(3:04) 23. Little Walter & His Jukes - You're So Fine
(3:06) 24. Little Walter & His Jukes - My Kind of Baby

Legendary and revolutionary harmonica virtuoso Marion Walter Jacobs (born May 1st, 1930 Louisiana), known professionally as Little Walter, left home at age 12, traveling to New Orleans. Jacobs gradually journeyed north from there, pausing in Helena and St. Louis before arriving in Chicago in 1946. He first gained attention on Chicago's famed Maxwell Street Market in 1947. His first record was a shared billing with guitarist Othum Brown for the tiny independent Ora Nelle Records (Ora-Nelle Blues b/w I Just Keep Loving Her). Walter joined forces with Muddy Waters in 1948 and along with Jimmy Rogers and Baby Face Leroy Foster, this super-confident young aggregation became informally known as the Headhunters. They would saunter into Southside clubs, mount the stage, and proceed to calmly "cut the heads" of whomever was booked there that evening. In january 1950 this little group recorded a session for Parkway (Muskadine Blues b/w Bad Acting Woman). None of these sides made any dents in the national charts, but his reputation in and around Chicago was such that the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, hired him as their label's resident harmonica master. By 1950, Walter was firmly entrenched as Waters' studio harpist at Chess. In 1952 he was assigned to the Checker subsidiary and in September burst into national prominence when the instrumental "Juke", billed as Little Walter & His Night Cats streaked to #1 R&B, remaining there for eight solid weeks. Suddenly, Walter was a star on his own, combining his stunning talents with those of guitarists Louis and David Myers and drummer Fred Below, and advancing the concept of blues harmonica another few light years with every session he made for Checker Records. The follow-up instrumental "Sad Hours" then settled for # 2 early in 1953 reaching #6. The guitar of Muddy Waters was featured on all sides. For the next Checker sides the billing had become Little Walter & His Jukes. Hits on the R&B charts continued until 1959. Tragically, the '60s saw the harp genius slide steadily into an alcohol-hastened state of unreliability, his once-handsome face becoming a road map of scars. In 1964, he toured Great Britain with the Rolling Stones, who clearly had their priorities in order, but his once-prodigious skills were faltering badly. That sad fact was never more obvious than on 1967's disastrous summit meeting of Waters, Bo Diddley, and Walter for Chess as the Super Blues Band; there was nothing super whatsoever about Walter's lame remakes of "My Babe" and "You Don't Love Me." Walter's eternally vicious temper led to his violent undoing in 1968. Little Walter died at age 37 on February 15, due to injuries suffered following a street fight. In 1982 he was among the first 20 honoured by The Blues Hall Of Fame in their first year of existence, and in 2008 the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame brought him in the "Sidemen" category. -- Allmusic.

1947-1953

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Various - Goin' Down To Eli's 1956-58

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 78:16
Size: 179.2 MB
Styles: Mostly Chicago blues
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. Sunnyland Slim - Highway 61
[2:16] 2. Shakey Horton - Have A Good Time
[2:42] 3. Louie Meyers And The Aces - Just Whaling
[2:43] 4. Harold Burrage - You Eat Too Much
[2:22] 5. Betty Everett - Killer Diller
[2:06] 6. Guitar Shorty - Irma Lee
[2:42] 7. Morris Pejoe - Screaming And Crying
[2:59] 8. Charles Clark - Row Your Boat
[3:02] 9. Sonny Boy Williamson II - Steady Rollin' Man
[2:30] 10. Freddie Hall - Can This Be Mine
[2:44] 11. Arbee Stidham - When I Find My Baby
[2:16] 12. Harold Burrage - I Don't Care Who Knows
[2:36] 13. Lee Jackson - Fishin' In My Pond
[2:39] 14. Little Willie Foster - Crying The Blues
[2:00] 15. Memphis Slim - I Wonder What's The Matter
[2:40] 16. Louie Meyers And The Aces - Luesy
[2:01] 17. Harold Burrage - Messed Up
[1:58] 18. Betty Everett - My Life Depends On You
[2:18] 19. Sunnyland Slim - It's You Baby
[2:11] 20. Guitar Shorty - You Don't Treat Me Right
[2:27] 21. Clarence Jolly - Changing Love
[2:49] 22. Morris Pejoe - Maybe Blues
[4:51] 23. Sonny Boy Williamson II - Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket
[2:37] 24. Arbee Stidham - Meet Me Halfway
[1:56] 25. Betty Everett - Ain't Gonna Cry
[2:31] 26. Little Willie Foster - Little Girl
[2:15] 27. Shakey Horton - Need My Baby
[2:19] 28. Lee Jackson - I'll Just Keep Walkin'
[2:36] 29. The Willie Dixon Band - Hidden Charms
[2:14] 30. Memphis Slim - Best Gal I Ever Had
[1:43] 31. Various Artists - Eli Toscano Blues

Goin' Down To Eli's 1956-58 mc
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Louis Myers - Tell My Story Movin'

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:46
Size: 141.4 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[5:53] 1. Wiggle Tail
[6:28] 2. Blue And Lonesome
[4:39] 3. Bottom Of The Harp
[5:49] 4. Whoopin' Cough
[4:42] 5. Sloppy Drunk
[6:07] 6. One More Break
[3:16] 7. Tribute To The Aces
[5:50] 8. Rock Me
[5:26] 9. In The Evening
[4:36] 10. Heart Attack
[4:34] 11. Worried Life Blues
[4:19] 12. Tell My Story Movin'

Since a serious stroke had largely robbed Myers of his revered ability to play guitar, this effort really isn't indicative of his vast talent. But you've got to give him points for courage -- Myers summoned up the strength to play harp and sing on what would be his final release. A nice Chicago combo that included guitarists Steve Freund and John Primer undoubtedly put Myers's mind at ease.

Tell My Story Movin'

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