Lester Bihari was the Bihari Brother (the brothers owned and operated Modern Records) with the least real business sense, and initially Meteor Records was a Modern spinoff label handed to Lester to keep him from being underfoot in the day-to-day operations of Modern proper. Meteor Records operated in Memphis, Tennessee between late 1952 and 1957. In time, the fledgling imprint with the flashy logo proved itself, though, and Joe Bihari assumed more of the operational controls. Between 1952 and 1957 Meteor released an impressive number of singles in styles ranging from raw blues and R&B to gospel, country (then called hillbilly), and nascent rockabilly, and as this generous double-disc 54-track collection shows, much of it was of high quality, possessing a rough, natural energy that rivaled Sun Records' more famous output. Among the highlights in a set that is full of them are Baby Face Turner's raw blues "Gonna Let You Go," Woodrow Adams' even more primitive-sounding "Baby You Just Don't Know," Smokey Hogg's ramshackle "Dark Clouds" (Hogg's shaky sense of rhythm and timing create a powerful tension throughout this reluctant gem), and the mournful doo wop strains of the Del Rios' "Alone on a Rainy Night." There are several interesting Elmore James cuts here as well, including the flame-throwing "I Believe" that opens things, the leaping and roaring R&B of "Baby, What's Wrong," and the obscure "Hawaiian Boogie," which emerges definitely more Elmore than Hawaiian. There isn't really a whole lot of gospel here, and the rockabilly and country material that Meteor released is covered in other installments of Ace's Meteor reissue series, so this set is by no means the full Meteor picture, but it is sure to please both collectors and casual listeners because, well, it rocks with a ragged power that is rare in any era. -- Akkmusic
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2006
Styles: Blues
Time: 74:11 + 75:25
Size: 169,8 MB + 172,6 MB
Covers: Full (28 page booklet)
Album: Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings Disc 1
(3:15) 1. Elmore James - I Believe
(3:25) 2. Elmore James - I Held My Baby Last Night
(2:43) 3. Bep Brown Orchestra - Round House Boogie (Sax Symphonic Boogie)
(3:00) 4. Bep Brown Orchestra - Kickin' the Blues Around (Flaming Blues)
(2:22) 5. Carl Green and His Orchestra - My Best Friend
(2:13) 6. Carl Green and His Orchestra - Four Years Seven Days
(2:48) 7. Elmore James - Baby, What's Wrong
(2:48) 8. Elmore James - Sinful Women
(3:09) 9. Chicago Sunny Boy - Western Union Man
(2:33) 10. Chicago Sunny Boy - Jack Pot (At the Woodchopper's Ball)
(2:52) 11. Earl Forest I Wronged a Woman
(2:28) 12. Earl Forest I Can't Forgive You
(2:04) 13. Baby Face Turner -Gonna Let You Go
(2:18) 14. Sunny Blair - Please Send My Baby Back (Step Back Baby)
(2:38) 15. Chicago Sunny Boy - Love You Baby
(2:59) 16. Chicago Sunny Boy - On the Floor
(2:07) 17. Jimmy Wright & Orchestra - Porkey Pine
(1:59) 18. Jimmy Wright & Orchestra - Scotch Mist
(3:10) 19. Carl Green and His Orchestra - Horizon
(2:28) 20. Carl Green and His Orchestra - Boogie Freight
(2:50) 21. Buster Smith & Orchestra - Crying in the Chapel
(3:03) 22. Buster Smith & Orchestra - Leapin' in Chicago
(2:39) 23. Jimmy Wright & Orchestra - I'm in the Mood to Be Loved
(2:27) 24. Jimmy Wright & Orchestra - Slow Down Daddy
(2:20) 25. Leo Baxter & Orchestra - Heartaches
(2:18) 26. Leo Baxter & Orchestra - Can I Depend on You?
(2:30) 27. Al Smith's Progressive Jazz - Beale Street Stomp (Chop Chop Boogie)
(2:29) 28. Al Smith's Progressive Jazz - Slidin' Home (Hot Rod Special)
Album: Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings Disc 2
(2:42) 1. Elmore James - Hawaiian Boogie
(3:08) 2. Elmore James - Lost Woman Blues (Please Find My Baby)
(2:34) 3. Sax Man Brown - Sax-Ony Boogie
(3:12) 4. J.T. Big Boy Brown - Dumb Woman Blues
(3:00) 5. Woodrow Wilson Adams - Baby You Just Don't Know
(2:45) 6. Woodrow Wilson Adams - Wine Head Woman
(2:59) 7. Angel Voices Choir - Tell the Angels
(3:28) 8. Angel Voices Choir - Walkin' and Talkin' with Jesus
(3:24) 9. James Anderson - Let My Last Days Be My Best
(3:36) 10. James Anderson - Something Within Me
(2:29) 11. Smokey Hogg - I Declare
(2:47) 12. Smokey Hogg - Dark Clouds
(2:13) 13. Minnie Thomas - What Can the Matter Be?
(2:18) 14. Minnie Thomas - I Know What You Need
(3:16) 15. Walter Miller - My Last Mile
(2:47) 16. Walter Miller - Standing on the Highway
(2:45) 17. The Del Rios - Alone on a Rainy Nite
(2:08) 18. The Del Rios - Lizzie
(2:47) 19. Rufus Thomas The Easy Livin' Plan
(3:18) 20. Rufus Thomas I'm Steady Holdin' On
(2:48) 21. Little Milton -Love at First Sight
(3:15) 22. Little Milton -Let's Boogie Baby
(2:29) 23. Fenton Robinson - Tennessee Woman
(3:48) 24. Fenton Robinson - Crying Out Loud
(2:56) 25. Little Milton -Let My Baby Be
(2:24) 26. Little Milton -Ooh! My Little Baby
The Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings Disc 1
The Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings Disc 2
The Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings scans pt 1
The Complete Meteor Blues/R&B Gospel Recordings scans pt 2
