Rockin' The Blues (Live In Germany 1964) - Howlin' Wolf

Advantages: Every tune's a winner
Disadvantages: Nothing new

...careful not to get the booklet wet in the bath though…) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This CD set is 50 of the best pieces, from what it dubs "the world's greatest composers". Being interested in music from all over the world, I would take issue with this statement, as the set basically covers only Europe and North America. Here's a list of the composers included, and the countries they hail from: (note, there is one piece from each composer, oddly except Johann Strauss, who gets 2). Mozart Austria Strauss, J Austria Schubert Austria Haydn Austria/UK Dvorak Czechoslovakia Sibelius Finland Gounod France Berlioz France Saint-Saens France Bizet France Widor France Satie France Ravel France Chopin France/Poland Handel Germany Beethoven Germany Bach Germany Orff Germany Mendelssohn Germany Wagner Germany... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Every one you can think of
Disadvantages: none

...is all about. Love, hate, pathos, hope, despair with some fantastic blues and blues slide guitar technique. The next track, I'm a Man by Bo Didley is interesting. It is still obviously The Blues, yet it is Chicago Blues, vastly different from the Delta Blues that Howlin' Wolf is such a fine exponent of. However, one thing you must realise about Bo Didley is that although Bo Didley performs in the Chicargo Blues idiom, Bo Didley is, first and foremost, Bo Didley. When they made Bo Didley, they broke the mould. His style is truly unique. Apparently even to the extent of making his own guitar effects such as a wah wah unit from an old alarm clock before the wah wah unit was heard of. The songs are not politically correct. But then, they reflect the harsh reality of lives gone bad. Your Funeral and My Trial sung by Sonny Boy Williamson is a good... Read review

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Advantages: guitar
Disadvantages: none

...This is a good and cheap selection of some of the greatest blues musicians ever. The collection opens predictably with a muddy waters track (rollin’ stone) although probably not his best and then there appears the great elmore james performance on slide guitar in ‘dust my broom’ – a fantastically modern style of blues for the time. The j l hooker song is not ‘boom, boom’ thank god and the howlin’ wolf track ‘smokestack lightning’ features as track 9, this is a great song and I think once a budweiser advert song. There is a beautifully rough recording of memphis slim’s ‘guess I’m a fool’ towards the end which is for me the pick of the tracks. This is a solid album, nothing too new, but touches all the bases and is successful.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful