The Chess Box |
|
Released: November 22, 1988 Recorded: 1951-1969 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: blues |
Tracks, Disc 1:Song Title Performer (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.
Tracks, Disc 2:
|
Rating: 4.403 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
|
About the Album:“Songwriter, producer, and talent scout, singer-bassist Willie Dixon essentially built Chicago's Cobra and Chess labels with his sweat.” AZ This collection features 13 different artists but with one unifying theme – all of these songs are written by Dixon, “a testament to his songwriting prowess” AZ that makes a case for Dixon to be crowned “king of the blues composers.” BF He also produces and plays bass on most of these tracks. Dixon “is the only blues songwriter to be honored by a major label with a retrospective of this type.” AMG It makes for a variety of styles; “amplified Delta blues, big band, Mills Brothers-style harmony blues, jazz-influenced jump blues, and near-pop style R&B are all here; guitar pyrotechnics by Muddy Waters or Hubert Sumlin (on the Wolf’s records), vocal acrobatics by Little Walter, and rippling performances by Koko Taylor illuminate this set throughout.” AMG “There's Howlin’ Wolf tearing through Spoonful, Little Red Rooster, Evil, and Back Door Man. There’s Muddy Waters belting You Shook Me, Hoochie Coochie Man, and I’m Ready. There’s Bo Diddley delivering You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover and Koko Taylor launching her career with Wang Dang Doodle.” AZ “The six tracks featuring Dixon as vocalist are probably the least familiar to collectors. Crazy For My Baby and his Big Three Trio’s previously unreleased take of Violent Love, both from 1951, are the earliest recordings here.” BF These, as well as Pain in My Heart, “are great records, lacking perhaps only a slight measure of the energy that a Muddy Waters brought to recording.” AMG “Dixon biographer Don Snowden’s informative 12-page booklet adds to the value and also includes a complete session discography for every track; note, however, that the 1965 date given for The Same Thing from the Fathers and Sons/i> album (one of the few tracks here where Dixon was not present as bassist or A&R director) should be 1969.” BF |
Resources and Related Links:
First posted 3/19/2024. |
No comments:
Post a Comment