September 2003-CD Reviews

Various Artists: The Blues Kingpins Series-EMI/Right Stuff

The Blues Kingpin Series is an exciting project which features an abundance
of recordings that have been vaulted since 1952. Each “Best Of” disc
features rare recordings from some of the most influential bluesmen ever;
B.B. King, Elmore James, Lightin’ Hopkins, Ike Turner, Fats Domino, and John
Lee Hooker. The reissues were produced and annotated by noted blues
journalist/author Bill Dahl. A portion of the profits from the series will
be donated to the Blues Foundation (http://www.blues.org), a nonprofit
corporation headquartered in Memphis serving as the organization for the
worldwide resurgence of blues music.

Even with the ambitious remastering efforts, these recordings remain pure
and raw. Despite the dated production value of the majority of these discs,
the music speaks volumes about the blues and early rock and roll. You are
literally listening to history as a very young Riley King sings “Everyday I
Get The Blues”, “Sweet Little Angel”, or “Woke Up This Morning”.
John Lee Hooker is perhaps one of the most imitated artists ever. Some of
the gems featured on the John Lee Hooker collection are “Sally May”, “Hobo
Blues”, and “I Tried So Hard”, as well as early recordings of some of his
best known songs.

Elmore James died at age 45 but left us with a body of work which has been
influential in many careers—including Eric Clapton and Duane Allman’s—and is
still being reexamined by young slide players today. In addition to his
signature song “Dust My Broom”, James also recorded other Robert Johnson
tunes including “Standing At The Crossroads”.

Before he met Tina, Ike Turner was blazing a trail of his own as an
innovator of rock and roll. As a guitarist, he had nasty tone, and was one
of the first to make the whammy bar an integral part of his sound. While he
was in relative obscurity until he met Anna Mae Bullock in 1956, it was Ike’
s pre-Tina work that would set the stage for what was to come. This
compilation finds a young Ike playing and yes, singing, the blues.
Unquestionably one of the true innovators of modern delta blues, Lightin’
Hopkins was a remarkable musician whose riffs translated just as well on
acoustic as on electric guitar. With a vast catalogue of compilations as
well as original recordings, compiling a unique set must have been a
daunting task. However, since many of these recordings have been collecting
dust for the past 50 plus years, even the most astute blues connoisseurs
will be thrilled by rare versions of “Feel So Bad”, “Shotgun Blues”, or
“Black Cat”.

Fats Domino will always be remembered best by his hit “Blueberry Hill”, but
before he found success on mainstream radio, his relaxed and rolling
boogie-woogie style on the ivories was born out of New Orleans R&B. While
his style remained unvarying, it gave the big man a signature sound which
has yet to be successfully mimicked. Before the national hits, Fats was
achieving success on the R&B charts. This set captures Antoine Domino in
the infant stage of his career. What came next is a part of rock and roll
history.

In this the year of the blues, many compilations have already sprung up in
honor of this purely American genre of music. However, the Blues Kingpins
set is without a doubt the most exciting one so far. This 6 volume set is a
must-have for all serious blues fans.
-Tony Engelhart