Showing posts with label Otis Rush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Otis Rush. Show all posts

Monday, May 20, 2024

Otis Rush - Right Place, Wrong Time

Album: Right Place, Wrong Time
Size: 94,7 MB
Time: 40:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1976/1987
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Tore Up (3:21)
2. Right Place, Wrong Time (5:26)
3. Easy Go (4:48)
4. Three Times A Fool (3:14)
5. Rainy Night In Georgia (4:00)
6. Natural Ball (3:31)
7. I Wonder Why (4:15)
8. Your Turn To Cry (3:40)
9. Lonely Man (2:53)
10. Take A Look Behind (5:43)

This recording session was not released until five years after it was done. One can imagine the tapes practically smoldering in their cases, the music is so hot. Sorry, there is nothing "wrong" about this blues album at all. Otis Rush was a great blues expander, a man whose guitar playing was in every molecule pure blues. On his solos on this album he strips the idea of the blues down to very simple gestures (i.e., a bent string, but bent in such a subtle way that the seasoned blues listener will be surprised). As a performer he opens up the blues form with his chord progressions and use of horn sections, the latter instrumentation again added in a wonderfully spare manner, bringing to mind a master painter working certain parts of a canvas in order to bring in more light.

Blues fans who get tired of the same old song structures, riff, and rhythms should be delighted with most of Rush's output, and this one is among his best. Sometimes all he does to make a song sound unlike any blues one has ever heard is just a small thing - a chord moving up when one expects it go down, for example. The production is particularly skilled, and the fact that Capitol Records turned this session down after originally producing it can only be reasonably accepted when combined with other decisions this label has made, such as turning down the Doors because singer Jim Morrison had "no charisma."

This record doesn't mess around at all. The first track takes off like the man they fire out of a cannon at the end of a circus, a perceived climax swaggeringly representing just the beginning, after all. Some of the finest tracks are the ones that go longer than five minutes, allowing the players room to stretch. And that means more of Rush's great guitar playing, of course. For the final track he leaves the blues behind completely for a moving cover version of "Rainy Night in Georgia" by Tony Joe White. /Eugene Chadbourne, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Right Place, Wrong Time mc
Right Place, Wrong Time gofile

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Albert King & Otis Rush - Door To Door

Album: Door To Door
Size: 92,7 MB
Time: 39:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1969/1990
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Albert King - Searchin' For A Woman (3:03)
2. Albert King - Bad Luck (3:02)
3. Otis Rush - So Close (2:45)
4. Albert King - Howlin' For My Darling (3:04)
5. Otis Rush - I Can't Stop (2:14)
6. Albert King - Won't Be Hangin' Around (2:55)
7. Otis Rush - I'm Satisfied (2:25)
8. Otis Rush - All Your Love (2:54)
9. Otis Rush - You Know My Love (2:41)
10. Albert King - Merry Way (2:52)
11. Albert King - Wild Women (2:38)
12. Albert King - Murder (2:56)
13. Otis Rush - So Many Roads (3:11)
14. Albert King - California (2:46)

Although Albert King is pictured on the front cover and has the lion's share of tracks on this excellent compilation, six of the fourteen tracks come from Rush's shortlived tenure with the label and are some of his very best. Chronologically, these are his next recordings after the Cobra sides and they carry a lot of the emotional wallop of those tracks, albeit with much loftier production values with much of it recorded in early stereo.

Oddly enough, some of the material ("All Your Love", "I'm Satisfied (Keep on Loving Me Baby)") were remakes - albeit great ones - of tunes that Cobra had already released as singles. But Rush's performance of "So Many Roads" (featuring one of the greatest slow blues guitar solos of all time) should not be missed at any cost. /Cub Koda, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Door To Door mc
Door To Door gofile

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Otis Rush & Friends - Live At Montreux 1986

Size: 126.1 MB
Time: 53:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Tops (4:39)
02. Natural Ball (5:37)
03. Right Place, Wrong Time (6:09)
04. Mean Old World (5:18)
05. You Don't Love Me (3:45)
06. Crosscut Saw (With Eric Clapton) (7:04)
07. Double Trouble (With Eric Clapton) (5:11)
08. All Your Love (I Missing Loving) (With Eric Clapton) (7:07)
09. Everyday I Have The Blues (With Eric Clapton & Luther Allison) (9:07)

Southpaw guitarist Otis Rush made his debut in 1956 with a cover of Willie Dixon?s "I Can?t Quit You Baby", charting his first Top Ten R&B hit. Over the course of his 50-year career, Rush has established himself as one of the premiere bluesmen on the Chicago circuit.

Often credited with being one of the architects of the West side guitar style, Rush?s esteemed status as a prime Chicago innovator is eternally assured by his trademark sound. Blues fans have said that his combination of ringing, vibrato-enhanced guitar work with an intense vocal delivery is powerful enough to force the hair on the backs of their necks upwards in silent salute.

Otis Rush Live At Montreux 1986 features the Chicago blues legend at his spine-tingling best. For his first appearance at the Montreux Festival, Rush is joined on stage by fellow blues stars Eric Clapton and Luther Allison for a truly special show. The CD features nearly an hour-and-a-half of performances of Rush classics, including "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)", "Double Trouble" and many more.

Live At Montreux 1986 MP3
Live At Montreux 1986 FLAC

Friday, October 23, 2020

Otis Rush - Live In Boston, April 1973

Size: 131,7 MB
Time: 55:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Intro (1:10)
02. Watermelon Man (6:47)
03. It Takes A Little Time (3:40)
04. I Can't Quit You Baby (6:03)
05. Keep Loving Me Baby (3:06)
06. Popcorn (4:26)
07. Gamblers Blues (6:00)
08. Why I Sing The Blues (5:56)
09. Please Love Me (4:47)
10. Double Trouble (3:26)
11. Everything's Gonna Work Out Fine (5:11)
12. Please Please Please (5:19)

Otis Rush was perhaps a somewhat lesser known name among the legends that came out of Chicago Blues and its storied history. But his unique electric guitar playing demonstrates a perfection with his touch and feel of the instrument.

Rush passed away September 29th of 2018. 'Otis Rush: Live in Boston, April 1973' leaves behind a worthy document, a testament to his talent. Rush, a skillful guitarist, influenced many British greats from Peter Green to Jeff Beck to Jimmy Page. Rush is also an emotive singer.

'Watermelon Man' starts out the concert with stinging electric guitar by Rush, who is in the zone, finding the feel. It is a first rate instrumental with the whole band just humming. The effect is beautiful and flowing.

'It Takes a Little Time' features Rush singing about what it means to be alone. The guitar licks are not rushed but intense, demonstrating a great sense of timing.
Rush made the archtypical bluesman’s journey from work in the cotton fields in Mississippi, the child of a sharecropping family who knew poverty, to Chicago in the early 1950s.

'I Can’t Quit You Baby' is an iconic song, later recorded by the likes of Led Zeppelin. “My love for you I will never hide,” Rush sings, “You know you’re my desire.” Rush’s guitar licks pierce the soul. Sure enough, it is the blues. A sweet tenor saxophone part lends accompaniment.

Next is “a little thing called 'Keep Loving Me Baby,'” rollicking in its momentum. 'Popcorn' is a percolating instrumental, with more resonant guitar and evocative saxophone.
The lyric of 'Why I Sing The Blues' is distinct. “Everybody wants to know why I sing the blues/I’ve been around a long time/I really have paid some dues.” 'Please Love Me' is again fine flowing guitar, soothing in its sway.

'Everything’s Gonna Work Out Fine' is perhaps my favorite track on the album, with almost a Jamaican reggae like beat, and a lovely bounce to the rhythm.

'Please Please Please' is the fine finale. “Darling please don’t go/I love you so,” Rush sings. The effect is soulful and heartfelt, a worthy conclusion to a strong live recording. Otis Rush deserves to be remembered. ~Carl Bookstein

Live In Boston, April 1973 MP3
Live In Boston, April 1973 FLAC

Friday, June 26, 2020

VA - Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 3 (KMCD30)

Size: 134,8 MB
Time: 56:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues, R&B
Art: Front & Back

01 Eddie Kirkland - Monkey Tonight (2:40)
02 Muddy Waters - I Won't Go On (2:56)
03 Sugar Pie Desanto - Going Back Where I Belong (2:27)
04 Otis Rush - Homework (2:37)
05 Jody Williams - Moanin' For Molasses (2:23)
06 Little Daddy Walton & Sons - Highway Blues (2:30)
07 Clear Waters - A Minor Cha-Cha (3:05)
08 Louisiana Red - I’m Louisiana Red (3:30)
09 George Smith - Come On Home (1:43)
10 Howlin' Wolf - Who’s Been Talking (2:24)
11 Buddy Ace - Screaming Please (2:31)
12 Willie West - Willie Knows How (2:36)
13 Nappy Brown - Well, Well, Well, Baby-La (2:37)
14 Magic Sam - She Belongs To Me (2:34)
15 Jimmy Nolen - The Way You Do (2:25)
16 Dave 'Baby' Cortez - Gettin To The Point (2:44)
17 Mecie Jenkins - Come Back Pretty Baby (2:36)
18 Eddie 'Guitar Slim' Jones - Well, I Done Got Over It (2:29)
19 Z.Z. Hill - One Way Love Affair (2:30)
20 Little Johnny Taylor - Somewhere Down The Line (2:13)
21 Jesse Fortune - Too Many Cooks (2:51)
22 Aaron McCray, Jr. - Inter Santum (2:26)

**Track 1 incorrectly listed as "Voo Doo Dust" by Mighty Joe Young.**

In an article for The Guardian titled ''Belgium's 'Popcorn: the last underground music scene in Europe'' musician and writer, Bob Stanley wrote ''the purity of Belgian Popcorn is its very impurity. R&B, Broadway numbers, tangos, Phil Spector-Esque girl groups, and loungey instrumentals, they are all constituent parts of a rare, and still largely undiscovered scene. It won't stay that way forever.''

Sadly the trademark ''Popcorn'' dance style (that reminds me in more than one way of the American ''Shag'' dance and culture still so popular in Carolina) stayed pretty much in Belgium. Everywhere else, the British ''vision'' of the Popcorn genre and dance seem to be the most popular version around the World (just like all the other similar genres I mentioned) and not the original and Belgian Popcorn. In the current ''international'' version of Popcorn (mainly focused on the gritty R&B side of the genre) the minor key seems to be almost mandatory and slower Northern Soul dance moves replaced the original hand dance that was actually a slower version of ''classic'' 1950s rock and roll dancing. On the other hand, this created a new ''buzz'' that seems to appeal to younger generations, while in Belgium the Popcorn crowd is mostly composed of people over 40. For strange that it seems only a few compilations of American and other R&B and pop music in the Belgian Popcorn style (also known as ''Oldies Popcorn'') have been released to this day. Before this series (of 3 volumes) none of them focused on blues (even if lotta songs included here are already regarded by many as ''classics'' of the genre) so I decided to change that. that with a truckload of boss platters straight from his old record box. This second helping of boss ''Popcorn Blues'' tracks anthology features more great tunes. Dig it! ~Little Victor (a.k.a. DJ ''Mojo'' Man)

Thanks to Nappyrags
Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 3 MP3
Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 3 FLAC

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Little Walter & Otis Rush - The Chicago Blues Festival

Size: 169,2 MB
Time: 73:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. Buddy Guy - Buddies Blues (4:38)
02. Buddy Guy - Blue Monday (5:00)
03. Buddy Guy - Everyday I Have The Blues (4:29)
04. Buddy Guy - Woman Blues (3:08)
05. Buddy Guy - Satisfaction (3:36)
06. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Messin' With The Kid (2:31)
07. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - No Use Cryin' (3:01)
08. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Just To Be With You (4:11)
09. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Junior's Shuffle (4:28)
10. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Out Of Sight (6:08)
11. Otis Rush - It's Hard For Me To Believe Baby (5:55)
12. Otis Rush - May Be The Last Time (4:04)
13. Otis Rush - I Feel Good (3:00)
14. Otis Rush - Otis' Blues (3:59)
15. Goin' Down Slow (4:17)
16. Little Water - Walter's Blues (3:28)
17. Little Water - Lovein' You All The Time (4:20)
18. Little Water - Blue Mood (3:32)

Tracks 1 - 10 Chicago Blues Festival 1964
Tracks 11 - 18 Chicago Blues Festival 1967

The Chicago Blues Festival MP3
The Chicago Blues Festival FLAC

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Various Artists - Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 1 & Vol. 2

Album: Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 1 (KMCD28)
Size: 137,8 MB
Time: 57:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2019
Styles: Blues, R&B
Art: Front & Back

01 B.B. King - Sixteen Tons (2:34)
02 Johnny Copeland - Just One More Time (2:55)
03 Jody Williams - Lucky Lou (3:48)
04 John Lee Hooker - You Gotta Shake It Up And Go (2:17)
05 Memphis Slim - Steppin' Out (2:00)
06 Bo Diddley - She's Fine, She's Mine (2:42)
07 Roy Gaines - Black Gal (2:22)
08 Tabby Thomas - My Baby Got It (2:33)
09 Dennis Roberts - I Don't Care (2:43)
10 Jerry McCain - Jet Stream (2:30)
11 Sugar Boy Williams - Little Girl (2:33)
12 Jimmie Lee Robinson - Lonely Traveling (2:25)
13 Howlin' Wolf - Going Back Home (2:41)
14 Ricky Allen - Cut You A-Loose (2:48)
15 Johnny Guitar Watson - Wait A Minute Baby (2:06)
16 Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - The Cricket (2:47)
17 Jimmy Rogers - What Have I Done (2:43)
18 Sonny Boy Williamson - Help Me (3:10)
19 Freddie King - The Bossa Nova Watusi Twist (2:53)
20 Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don't Go (2:25)
21 Otis Rush - Keep On Loving Me Baby (2:23)
22 Shakey Jake - Jake's Cha Cha (2:07)

Album: Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 2 (KMCD29)
Size: 153,1 MB
Time: 64:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues, R&B
Art: Front & Back

01 Albert King - Had You Told It Like It Was (3:09)
02 Bobby 'Blue' Bland - 36-22-36 (2:51)
03 Miss Lavelle White - Stop These Teardrops (2:22)
04 Ike Turner & His Orchestra - She Made My Blood Run Cold (2:21)
05 Little Joe Washington - Bossa Nova And Grits (2:12)
06 Sir Arthur Coleman - Stop Cheating On Me (2:52)
07 Albert Collins - Icy Blue (3:02)
08 Big Jack Reynolds - Made It Up In Your Mind (2:26)
09 Piney Brown - Sugar In My Tea (Cream In My Coffee) (2:30)
10 Bo Diddley - Down Home Special (3:12)
11 Louisiana Red - Sugar Hips (4:30)
12 Charles Sheffield - Its Your Voodoo Working (1:47)
13 Charles Clark - Hidden Charms (2:34)
14 Doug Johnson & The Outlaws - Quick Sand (2:40)
15 Blind Johnny Davis - Magic Carpet (2:14)
16 Nappy Brown - My Baby (2:31)
17 Otis Rush & His Band - All Your Love (2:38)
18 Willie Cobbs - You Don't Love Me (6:06)
19 Tommy Brown - Southern Women (2:29)
20 Bo Diddley - I Can Tell (4:34)
21 Peppermint Harris - Need Your Lovin' (2:50)
22 Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs) - Up The Line (2:07)

The Popcorn genre is a style of music and dancing first established in Belgium (the Land of Beers) in the late 1960s and it got its name from a discotheque called the Popcorn. This style includes a pretty eclectic and wide range of American R&B and pop songs mostly recorded in the 1950s and mid-1960s in a slow or medium tempo and often in a minor key. Popcorn can be recognized by its tempo just as much as its sound. In an article for The Guardian titled ''Belgium's 'Popcorn: the last underground music scene in Europe'' musician and writer Bob Stanley wrote ''the purity of Belgian Popcorn is its very impurity. R&B, Broadway numbers, tangos, Phil Spector-Esque girl groups, and loungey instrumentals, they are all constituent parts of a rare, and still largely undiscovered scene. It won't stay that way forever.

Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 1
Popcorn Blues Party Vol. 2

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

VA - Confessin' The Blues

Size: 151,5+168,8 MB
Time: 63:52+71:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

CD 1:
01 Muddy Waters - Rollin' Stone (3:10)
02 Howlin' Wolf - Little Red Rooster (5:05)
03 John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen (3:07)
04 Little Walter - I Hate To See You Go (2:15)
05 Chuck Berry - Little Queenie (2:43)
06 Bo Diddley - You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover (3:08)
07 Eddie Taylor - Ride 'Em On Down (2:55)
08 Slim Harpo - I'm A King Bee (3:03)
09 Magic Sam - All Your Love (3:52)
10 Sonny Boy Williamson - Dust My Broom (2:44)
11 Little Walter - Just Your Fool (2:22)
12 Muddy Waters - I Want To Be Loved (2:21)
13 Big Bill Broonzy - Key To The Highway (3:03)
14 Robert Johnson - Love In Vain Blues (2:31)
15 Mississippi Fred McDowell - You Gotta Move (3:21)
16 Jimmy Reed - Bright Lights, Big City (2:41)
17 Big Maceo Merriweather - Worried Life Blues (2:53)
18 Little Johnny Taylor - Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (Pt. 1) (3:17)
19 Howlin' Wolf - Commit A Crime (1991 Chess Box Version) (3:04)
20 Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You Baby (3:07)
21 Jay McShann - Confessin' The Blues (With Walter Brown) (2:58)

CD 2:
01 Howlin' Wolf - Just Like I Treat You ( 2:57)
02 Little Walter - I Got To Go ( 2:42)
03 Chuck Berry - Carol ( 2:51)
04 Bo Diddley - Mona ( 2:23)
05 Muddy Waters - I Just Want To Make Love To You ( 2:51)
06 Elmore James & The Broom Dusters - Blues Before Sunrise ( 2:45)
07 Eddie Taylor - Bad Boy ( 3:00)
08 Boy Blue - Boogie Children ( 2:56)
09 Jimmy Reed - Little Rain ( 3:09)
10 Robert Johnson - Stop Breakin' Down Blues ( 2:17)
11 Reverend Robert Wilkins - The Prodigal Son (10:01)
12 Lightnin' Slim - Hoodoo Blues ( 4:05)
13 Billy Boy Arnold - Don't Stay Out All Night ( 3:08)
14 Bo Diddley - Crawdad ( 2:24)
15 Dale Hawkins - Suzie Q ( 2:13)
16 Amos Milburn - Down The Road Apiece ( 2:58)
17 Howlin' Wolf - Little Baby ( 2:46)
18 Little Walter - Blue And Lonesome ( 2:54)
19 B.B. King - Rock Me Baby ( 3:02)
20 Buddy Guy - Damn Right I Got The Blues ( 4:31)
21 Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy ( 5:21)

The Rolling Stones have curated a new compilation, Confessin’ the Blues, that will feature songs from blues legends like Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.

Confessin’ the Blues fittingly opens with Waters’ “Rollin’ Stone” and features other classics like Berry’s “Little Queenie,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “Litle Red Rooster” and Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover.” The collection will also boast tracks from Elmore James, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Jimmy Reed, Robert Johnson, B.B. King and Buddy Guy.

Confessin' The Blues

Friday, October 5, 2018

Otis Rush - Lost In The Blues

Year: 1977/1991
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:36
Size: 110,2 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Hold That Train (6:21)
2. You've Been An Angel (5:04)
3. Little Red Rooster (4:39)
4. Trouble, Trouble (6:48)
5. Please Love Me (4:17)
6. You Don't Have To Go (4:20)
7. Got To Be Some Changes Made (7:45)
8. You Got Me Running (4:27)
9. I Miss You So (3:51)

Recorded and issued only in Europe in 1977, Lost in the Blues (originally known as 'Troubles, Troubles') consists of nonoriginals that are laden with vocals of almost paralyzing pain, tension, and bereavement (the exceptions are two Jimmy Reed numbers, with Rush's anodyne singing no better than push-button entertainment). For altruistic reasons Alligator potentate Bruce Iglauer has regenerated Rush's original guitar sound in the remix, accentuating the emotional frankness of his phraseology. Furthermore, Rush's trio is augmented on this 1991 CD reissue by the harmless yet also controvertible presence of dubbed-in keyboardist Lucky Peterson.

Lost In The Blues mc
Lost In The Blues zippy

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Otis Rush - Screamin' And Cryin'

Year: 1974/1992
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:43
Size: 117,0 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Looking Back (5:22)
2. You're Gonna Need Me (7:50)
3. It's My Own Fault (7:13)
4. I Can't Quit You Baby (5:35)
5. Every Day I Have The Blues (5:56)
6. A Beautiful Memory (7:51)
7. I Got News For You (Bonus) (4:49)
8. I Can't Quit You Baby (Bonus) (6:03)

Otis Rush's crunching guitar and vocals were never more emphatic than during the '70s when it seemed that he would actually find the pop attention and mass stardom he deserved. These mid-'70s tracks were originally cut for the Black and Blue label, with Rush playing grinding, relentless riffs and creating waves of sonic brilliance through creatively repeated motifs, jagged notes, and sustained lines and licks, while hollering, screaming, moaning, and wailing.

Jimmy Dawkins, an outstanding lead artist in his own right, has also long been one of Chicago's great rhythm artists and shows it by adding plenty of tinkling, crackling figures and lines in the backgrounds. While not as consistently riveting as his live Evidence date, this one is also a valuable Rush document. /Ron Wynn, AllMusic

Screamin' And Cryin' mc
Screamin' And Cryin' zippy

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Otis Rush - So Many Roads: Live In Concert

Year: 1978/1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:45
Size: 135,7 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Introduction (1:05)
2. Will My Woman Be Home Tonight (Blue Guitar) (4:10)
3. Everyday I Have The Blues (4:32)
4. I Can't Quit You Baby (5:28)
5. Crosscut Saw (3:54)
6. Looking Back (Take A Look Behind) (4:29)
7. Chitlins Con Carne (4:41)
8. I've Got News For You (5:04)
9. Mean Old World (2:55)
10. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (4:16)
11. So Many Roads (5:28)
12. Gambler's Blues (7:51)
13. Three Times A Fool (4:46)

The 1995 CD release of this title, complete with a bit more than an extra ten minutes of material, looks good on paper and received lots of praise. The original album release is among much live material by this artist that haunts the used-record pile, possibly because when blues fans begin culling through their collection, it is titles such as this that get the boot. Not that this is terrible or anything. Otis Rush is one of the finest blues guitarists, ever. He has made some records that are fantastic.

On this one, he is in front of a huge live audience in Japan. The performance is reminiscent of some of the live albums by B.B. King. Backup is sparse in comparison, though. There are only drums and bass, plus second guitarist Jimmy Johnson, a capable player who is mixed pretty far to the background, sticking closely to chords or riff patterns.

Blues purists will raise an eyebrow over the way the drummer and bassist play, ever mindful of the fact that Rush was a heavy guitarist who liked to stretch out and build intensity in his solos. His string-bending prowess never fails to surprise, and he also has other tricks for the fretboard, including feedback and ecstatic chording at the climax of an improvisation.

Listeners familiar with the way bass and drums pursue a soloist in a fusion jazz band will have an inkling of the way bassist Sylvester Boines and drummer Tyrone Centuray attack the guitar happenings here. There are plenty of familiar gambits, such as suddenly doubling or even tripling the time at the turnaround, heavy-handed use of hi-hat splashes, and intense, synchronized accents that bring to mind the time the guy upstairs decided to demonstrate dance steps at three in the morning.

"Crosscut Saw" is a version of this blues standard as if Rush had written it, every guitar lick delivered piping hot, fresh from the guitarist's bakery. It all adds up to showmanship and virtuosity, yes. What is missing is the really deep feeling of the blues. It just doesn't happen on this record. Deep as Rush's guitar burrows into one's soul, however, the listener might not even miss it. /Eugene Chadbourne, AllMusic

So Many Roads: Live In Concert mc
So Many Roads: Live In Concert zippy

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Otis Rush - Live ...And In Concert From San Francisco

Size: 122,9 MB
Time: 52:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. I Wonder Why ( 7:13)
02. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) ( 8:58)
03. It's My Own Fault (10:05)
04. 717 ( 5:45)
05. I Can't Quit You Baby ( 7:54)
06. Feel So Bad ( 5:54)
07. Got My Mojo Working ( 7:05)

The fingerprints of Otis Rush's music are all over the blues of his Chicago contemporaries and those who have followed and studied them since his initial heyday in the 1950s. In the early 1960s, fledgling artists like Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Elvin Bishop, Nick Gravenites, Harvey Mandel and Steve Miller sang his praises and his songs. By the late 1960s this blues audience for Otis was international. If John Mayall and Eric Clapton weren't paying musical tribute, then Peter Green and Santana were via "Black Magic Woman," or Led Zeppelin with their cover of "I Can't Quit You Baby", or Jeff Beck was citing Otis as one of his favorites. As a tribute to Otis, Stevie Ray Vaughan band named his band "Double Trouble" after Otis's classic song of the same name. Duke Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh and Sean Costello are among a throng of contemporary blues guitarists today who continue to pay tribute to Otis. By the time Otis won his first Grammy in 1998 for his CD "Any Place I'm Going," he was a certified Blues Hall of Famer, and both a deity and a legend.

Live ...And In Concert From San Francisco MP3
Live ...And In Concert From San Francisco FLAC

Monday, October 1, 2018

R.I.P. Otis Rush (1935-2018)

Otis Rush, one of the pioneering guitarists of the Chicago blues scene, died Saturday from complications from a stroke he suffered in 2003. He was 83. Rush’s wife, Masaki Rush, confirmed her husband’s death on his website. A note read, “Known as a key architect of the Chicago ‘West Side Sound’ Rush exemplified the modernized minor key urban blues style with his slashing, amplified jazz-influenced guitar playing, high-strained passionate vocals and backing by a full horn section. Rush’s first recording in 1956 on Cobra Records ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ reached Number on the Billboard R&B Charts and catapulted him to international acclaim. He went on to record a catalog of music that contains many songs that are now considered blues classics.”

Rush became a staple of the Chicago scene in the late Fifties and early Sixties, partnering first with Cobra Records, which was also home to artists like Magic Sam and Buddy Guy. Their take on the blues would prove to be a revelation for a generation of artists to follow, while Rush would become a totem for countless rock guitarists (he was placed at Number 53 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists). Notably, Rush’s signature style – long, dramatically bent notes – was in part a product of his unique playing approach: A left-handed guitarist who played his guitar upside-down, placing the low E string at the bottom and the high E string on top. In 1968, Mike Bloomfield summed up Rush’s influence, telling Rolling Stone that in Chicago, “the rules had been laid down” for young, white blues bands: “You had to be as good as Otis Rush.”

Rush was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1935 and began teaching himself the guitar at age eight. He moved to Chicago in 1949 and was inspired to pursue music full time after seeing Muddy Waters live. In 1956, Rush released his first, and most successful single on Cobra, “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” Along with its chart success, Led Zeppelin famously covered the cut on their 1969 debut. During his Cobra years, Rush recorded with a revolving cast of musicians that included Ike Turner, Big Walter Horton, Little Walter and Little Brother Montgomery. His output also featured classic cuts such as “My Love Will Never Die,” “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” (later covered by John Mayall) and “Double Trouble” (Stevie Ray Vaughn later named his band after that track).

After Cobra went bankrupt, Rush released a pair of singles on Chess before moving to Duke Records in the early-Sixties. But it wasn’t until 1969 that Rush released what was essentially his first album, Mourning In the Morning, which he recorded at the legendary FAME Studios with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Rush continued to tour and record during the Sixties and Seventies, though seemed perpetually dogged by label issues. For instance, Capitol Records refused to release his acclaimed LP Right Place, Wrong Time, and it wasn’t until 1976 – five years after it was recorded – that Bullfrog Records finally put it out.

In 1994, Rush released Ain’t Enough Comin’ In, which at the time marked his first record in 16 years. Two years later, his album, Any Place I’m Goin’ won him the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. Though that LP would be his last full-length studio effort, Rush contributed to various tribute albums and remained a regular live performer until health issues forced him off the road. /Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone


Album: Otis Rush - Any Place I'm Going
Year: 1998
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:49
Size: 131,2 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. You Fired Yourself (4:29)
2. Keep On Loving Me Baby (6:15)
3. Part Time Love (5:50)
4. I Got The Blues (4:54)
5. The Right Time (5:59)
6. Looking Back (6:22)
7. Any Place I'm Going (Beats Any Place I've Been) (4:39)
8. Laughin' And Clownin' (4:01)
9. Pride And Joy (3:56)
10. Have You Ever Had The Blues (3:18)
11. Walking The Back Streets And Crying (7:02)

This album on the House of Blues label is a bit smoother and more slickly produced (by Rush and famed Memphis producer Willie Mitchell) than Rush's classic, rough-edged Chess recordings, but there's still plenty here to like. With a solid horn section backing him on most cuts, Rush gets ample room to show off his razor-sharp guitar chops. And his distinctive, emotionally charged voice remains a true blues treasure. In addition to his own no-nonsense originals, Rush draws on some familiar tunes from classic soul and blues performers like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Nappy Brown, and Little Milton. /Joel Roberts, AllMusic

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Album: Otis Rush & Friends - Live At Montreux 1986
Year: 2006
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:31
Size: 171,7 MB
Styles: Blues, Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Tops (4:38)
2. I Wonder Why (Will My Man Be Home Tonight) (7:08)
3. Lonely Man (4:27)
4. Gamblers Blues (8:57)
5. Natural Ball (5:36)
6. Right Place, Wrong Time (6:09)
7. Mean Old World (5:18)
8. You Don't Love Me (3:45)
9. Crosscut Saw (w. Eric Clapton) (7:05)
10. Double Trouble (w. Eric Clapton) (5:10)
11. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (w. Eric Clapton) (7:07)
12. Everyday I Have The Blues (w. Eric Clapton & Luther Allison) (9:06)

Southpaw guitarist Otis Rush made his debut in 1956 with a cover of Willie Dixon’s "I Can’t Quit You Baby", charting his first Top Ten R&B hit. Over the course of his 50-year career, Rush has established himself as one of the premiere bluesmen on the Chicago circuit. Often credited with being one of the architects of the West side guitar style, Rush’s esteemed status as a prime Chicago innovator is eternally assured by his trademark sound. Blues fans have said that his combination of ringing, vibrato-enhanced guitar work with an intense vocal delivery is powerful enough to force the hair on the backs of their necks upwards in silent salute.

Otis Rush Live At Montreux 1986 features the Chicago blues legend at his spine-tingling best. For his first appearance at the Montreux Festival, Rush is joined on stage by fellow blues stars Eric Clapton and Luther Allison for a truly special show. The CD features nearly an hour-and-a-half of performances of Rush classics, including "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)", "Double Trouble" and many more. /Amazon

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Friday, June 29, 2018

Otis Rush - Live In Europe

Year: 1993
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:06
Size: 147,5 MB
Styles: Blues
Scans: Full

1. Cut You Loose (6:09)
2. All Your Love (6:59)
3. You're Breaking My Heart (8:24)
4. I Wonder Why (8:42)
5. Feel So Bad (5:13)
6. Society Woman/Love Is Just A Gamble (7:40)
7. Crosscut Saw (4:58)
8. I Can't Quit You Baby (4:55)
9. I'm Tore Up (5:25)
10. Looking Back (5:37)

Recorded in France back in 1977, this ten-song set finds Otis backed by strong trio support throughout in a delightfully engaged performance. Though several live albums exist on him, seldom has his declamatory vocals and stinging left-handed upside down guitar style been so well documented. Rush puts forth solo after solo, each with its own unique set of twists and turns, making this a veritable textbook of what he does best. Inspired listening and highly recommended. /Cub Koda, AllMusic

Personnel: Otis Rush (guitar, vocals): Bob Lewis (rhythm guitar): Bob Stroger (bass); Jesse Green (drums).

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

Otis Rush - Live And Awesome

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:35
Size: 143.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. The Preacher
[5:32] 2. I Got A Woman
[9:24] 3. Gambler's Blues
[3:48] 4. Feel So Bad
[3:24] 5. Let's Have A Natural Ball
[7:22] 6. Right Place, Wrong Time
[5:11] 7. Please Love Me
[6:04] 8. All Your Love
[4:04] 9. Lonely Man
[7:39] 10. Stormy Monday
[7:39] 11. Cold Day In Hell

Bass – Tim Green; Drums – Julian Vaughn; Guitar – Duke Levine; Guitar, Vocals – Otis Rush; Piano – Ken Vangel.

For decades, Otis Rush has been something of an enigma to blues lovers. Biographies of the man in blues magazines and reference books refer to his enormous talent and equally sizeable share of bad luck. But explanations do little to satisfy our hunger for more of his unique and powerful sound.

This CD, recorded live in Europe, truly delivers Rush to his fans. Not only is the man himself in first class form and voice, he is backed by a band of uncommon talent and experience. Together, they perform a powerful mix of Otis' best original material, plus top-notch covers of blues standards such as Lonely Man by Little Milton and Natural Ball by Albert King. Live & Awesome ranks among the best samplings of Otis Rush to be served up in decades. For 60+ minutes, you will hear an artist who has continued to sharpen his musical skills throughout an impressive career.

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Monday, June 18, 2018

Ike Turner - Ike Turner 1958-1959

Size: 114,7 MB
Time: 48:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1991
Styles: Blues, Rock, R&B, Soul
Art: Front & Back

01. Matchbox (Version B) (2:23)
02. (I Know) You Don't Love Me (2:12)
03. You Keep On Worrying Me (2:28)
04. Box Top (1:59)
05. I'm Gonna Forget About You (2:25)
06. Down And Out (3:09)
07. You've Got To Lose (2:22)
08. Walking Down The Aisle (2:16)
09. Matchbox (Version B) (2:25)
10. Tell Me Darling (Feat. Betty Everett) (2:04)
11. I'll Weep No More (Feat. Betty Everett) (2:56)
12. Keep On Lovin' Me Baby (Feat. Otis Rush) (2:22)
13. (I Know) You Don't Love Me (2:11)
14. You Keep On Worrying Me (2:33)
15. I'm Gonna Forget About You (2:24)
16. You've Got To Lose (2:26)
17. Walking Down The Aisle (2:17)
18. Tell Me Darling (Feat. Betty Everett) (2:09)
19. I'll Weep No More (Feat. Betty Everett) (2:49)
20. Matchbox (Version A) (2:23)

Ever the hustler, Ike Turner found himself picking up some extra money on a road trip through Chicago recording for Cobra Records both as a bandleader and sideman. After contributing the sparkle to several Otis Rush classics (an alternate of one of them, "Keep On Loving Me Baby" is found here) and some early Buddy Guy sides, Turner also recorded a handful of sides, scant few of them seeing release until now. This CD collects them all up, including surviving alternate versions, and is a delightful fly on the wall invite to a 1950s Chicago blues session. ~by Cub Koda

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Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Various - The Best Of Duke-Peacock Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:25
Size: 115.4 MB
Styles: R&B, Blues
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[2:45] 1. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - My Time Is Expensive
[2:41] 2. Elmore Nixon - A Hepcat's Advice
[2:43] 3. Big Mama Thornton - Let Your Tears Fall Baby
[3:02] 4. Earl Forest - Whoopin' And Hollerin'
[2:31] 5. Johnny Ace - How Can You Be So Mean
[2:47] 6. Rosco Gordon - Keep On Doggin'
[2:45] 7. Andrew Tibbs - Rock Savoy Rock
[2:50] 8. Sonny Parker - She Sets My Soul On Fire
[2:41] 9. Memphis Slim - Living Like A King
[2:48] 10. Little Richard - Little Richard's Boogie
[2:23] 11. Peter Guitar Lewis - Goin' Crazy
[2:35] 12. Little Junior Parker - Drivin' Wheel
[2:40] 13. Larry Davis - Texas Flood
[2:45] 14. Fenton Robinson - Mississippi Steamboat
[2:54] 15. James Davis - Blue Monday
[2:39] 16. Otis Rush - Homework
[4:09] 17. Bobby 'Blue' Bland - Stormy Monday Blues
[2:38] 18. Bobby 'Blue' Bland - Turn On Your Love Light

Interesting collection of sides from this seminal Texas label. Highlights includes tracks by Bobby Bland ("Stormy Monday," "Turn On Your Lovelight"), Otis Rush ("Homework"), Junior Parker "Driving Wheel"), and Larry Davis' original version of "Texas Flood," made popular to a new audience by Stevie Ray Vaughan. ~Cub Koda

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Saturday, February 24, 2018

Various Artists - The Original Blue & Lonesome

Year: 2017
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:32
Size: 165,8 MB
Styles: Blues/R&B
Scans: Full

1. Little Walter - Just Your Fool (2:23)
2. Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You Baby (3:07)
3. Little Walter - Blue And Lonesome (2:55)
4. Magic Sam - All Of Your Love (2:54)
5. Little Walter - I Gotta Go (2:41)
6. Jimmy Reed - Little Rain (3:08)
7. Eddie Taylor - Ride 'Em On Down (2:57)
8. Little Walter - Hate To See You Go (3:05)
9. Lightnin' Slim - Hoo Doo Blues (2:20)
10. Howlin' Wolf - Just Like I Treat You (2:58)
11. Dale Hawkins - Susie Q (Bonus) (2:14)
12. Chuck Berry - Around And Around (Bonus) (2:39)
13. Arthur Alexander - You Better Move On (Bonus) (2:44)
14. Muddy Waters - Look What You've Done (Bonus) (2:23)
15. Howlin' Wolf - The Red Rooster (Bonus) (2:26)
16. Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller (Bonus) (2:14)
17. Slim Harpo - I'm A King Bee (Bonus) (3:01)
18. Gene Allison - You Can Make It If You Try (Bonus) (2:08)
19. Chuck Berry - Carol (Bonus) (2:48)
20. Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (Bonus) (2:48)
21. Larry Williams - She Said Yeah (Bonus) (1:50)
22. Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Bonus) (2:50)
23. Buddy Holly & The Crickets - Not Fade Away (Bonus) (2:20)
24. Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy (Bonus) (2:56)
25. Jimmy Reed - Honest I Do (Bonus) (2:45)
26. Bo Diddley - Mona (Bonus) (2:22)
27. Robert Johnson - Love In Vain Blues (Bonus) (2:22)

When the Rolling Stones' first new release in 11 years turned out to be an all vintage blues album some fans were a bit dismayed, but it was a natural, almost inevitable, move.

After all, the Stones began life as a blues band and they have supported its originators - sharing stages with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Etta James - and up held the blues as a key inspiration throughout their career.

With Blue & Lonesome, they celebrated the genre by taking on some key post-war blues classics and here we have compiled the original recordings by the artists who introduced the songs. /Excerpt from the liner notes by Jonny Whiteside

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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Various - Chicago City Blues: The '60s

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:48
Size: 100.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[2:26] 1. Big Joe Williams - Sinkin' Blues
[3:19] 2. Big Joe Williams - Screamin' And Cryin'
[2:45] 3. Big Joe Williams & Paul Butterfield - Wild Cow Moan
[3:10] 4. Mighty Joe Young - I Walked All Night
[3:53] 5. Mighty Joe Young - Things I Used To Do
[4:37] 6. Otis Rush - Everyday I Have The Blues
[3:41] 7. Otis Rush - Cut You A-Loose
[6:29] 8. Otis Rush - Mean Old World
[3:26] 9. Robert Lockwood, Jr. - Blues And Trouble
[2:44] 10. Homesick James - Crossroads
[3:04] 11. Robert Lockwood, Jr. - Lockwood's Boogie
[4:09] 12. Sonny Boy Williamson II - I'm So Glad

Chicago, Illinois is a major center for music in the midwestern United States where distinctive forms of blues (greatly responsible for the future creation of rock and roll), and house music, a genre of electronic dance music, were developed.

The "Great Migration" of poor black workers from the South into the industrial cities brought traditional jazz and blues music to the city, resulting in Chicago blues and "Chicago-style" Dixieland jazz. Notable blues artists included Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf and both Sonny Boy Williamsons.

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Friday, October 27, 2017

VA - Blind Pig Records 40th Anniversary Collection

Size: 172,0+166,7 MB
Time: 73:18+71:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

CD 1:
01 Magic Slim & The Teardrops - Gambling Blues (3:21)
02 Victor Wainwright & The Wildroots - Boom Town (3:16)
03 Albert Cummings - No Doubt (4:33)
04 Popa Chubby - Hey Joe (6:05)
05 Big Walter Horton - Everybody's Fishin' (3:00)
06 Deborah Coleman - I'm A Woman (4:49)
07 James Cotton - Dust My Broom (4:20)
08 Otis Rush - Crosscut Saw (4:51)
09 Elvin Bishop - Stomp (4:57)
10 Altered Five Blues Band - Charmed & Dangerous (3:40)
11 Sena Ehrhardt - Last Chance (6:24)
12 Damon Fowler - Thought I Had It All (5:17)
13 Kenny Neal - Old Friends (4:36)
14 Charlie Musselwhite - Chicago Sunset (3:36)
15 Eddy Clearwater - Crossover (4:35)
16 Pinetop Perkins - Just Keep On Drinking (3:01)
17 Commander Cody - Last Call For Alcohol (2:51)

CD 2:
01 Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working (4:59)
02 Big Bill Morganfield - You're Gonna Miss Me (3:24)
03 Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks - Human Cannonball (4:33)
04 Tommy Castro - It's That Time Again (4:11)
05 Deanna Bogart - In The Rain (4:07)
06 The Cash Box Kings - Baby Without You (3:55)
07 Luther Allison - Let's Try Again (6:45)
08 Smokin' Joe Kubek - Diamond Eyes (3:47)
09 Zac Harmon - Raising Hell (4:33)
10 Studebaker John & The Hawks - Blue Feelin' (3:56)
11 Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers - Frankenbop (3:49)
12 Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88's - Chicken Shack Boogie (2:47)
13 Billy Branch - Back Alley Cat (2:18)
14 Andy T - Nick Nixon Band - Shut The Front Door (2:41)
15 Southern Hospitality - Southern Livin' (4:43)
16 Hubert Sumlin - Sitting On Top Of The World (4:18)
17 Otis Clay - When The Gates Swing Open (6:07)

Blind Pig Records 40th Anniversary Collection CD 1
Blind Pig Records 40th Anniversary Collection CD 2