“Blowing The Fuse – 28 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1950” by VARIOUS ARTISTS. A Review Of The Award-Winning 2004 Bear Family CD Compilation

"…Gonna Drink Myself A Whole Wad Of Gin…Let The Good Times Roll ‘Til The Cops Come In…"

The "Blowing The Fuse" series of CD compilations stretches across 16 volumes from 1945 to 1960 and was then followed by Bear Family's equally magnificent "Sweet Soul Music" series of 10 sets from 1961 to 1970 (I've reviewed all 10 of those in detail). Having been drawn in by the truly beautiful sound quality and presentation of the 'Soul' discs, I knew it would be a big blow to my bank balance buying even one of these R&B issues - and it was! But I've laboured with all of these time-consuming detailed reviews because these reissues are the business...they truly are.

"Blowing The Fuse - 28 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1950" is on Bear Family BCD 16705 AS and was released November 2004 in Germany. Each US-based yearly compilation comes in a 3-way foldout card digipak sleeve. The left flap pictures an original record relevant to the year (1950 has "Please Send Me Someone To Love" by Percy Mayfield on Specialty), the centre flap holds a 70 to 90 page oversized booklet that slips out so you can read it separately and the right flap a colour-themed CD that matches the outer packaging. As with the 10 "Sweet Soul Music" compilations, each of the 16 R&B spines makes up a whole photo when placed alongside each other (a fantastic black & white shot of a crowd of hip dudes and their gals dancing at some Saturday night bar). As you can see from the cover photos of these compilations too, the theme of people dancing and artists enjoying themselves is repeated right across all of these wonderfully restored photographs (they're from The Showtime Music Archive in Toronto). This 1950 issue has 72-pages in its booklet and the CD runs to a jam-packed 79:58 minutes.

Compiler Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth took his time with this - actually playing the set through - mixing in the famous with the obscure but in a new order - and the result is a truly satisfying listen rather than a patchy one. The compilation begins in January and in rough chronological order ends in December.

THE SOUND and TRACK CHOICES:
Bear Family have gotten all the ORIGINAL master tapes from each record company (or in many cases, the best disc available) and their resident expert JURGEN CRASSER has mastered them with care - and given their age and wildly varying sources, the sound is uniformly great. But - it has to be said that in comparison to 1951 to 1960, the sound on 1950 is a lot rougher - the music is as blissfully exuberant as ever (“Stack–A ‘Lee” and “The Fat Man”), but the sound has definitely taken a dip…

The proceedings open with two songs about women – the man in the first song doesn’t understand the signals they send out - and the woman in the second song won’t “put out” at all - "Information Blues" by Amos Milburn and "Sittin’ On It All The Time" by Wynonie Harris. Cleverly chosen instrumentals go to “Strollin’ With Bones” by T-Bone Walker and “Old Time Shuffle Blues” by Lloyd Glenn – both are easy on the ear shuffles – while two overly familiar tracks (and personal favourites of mine) now sound fantastic – the best I’ve ever heard them – they are “Teardrops From My Eyes” by Ruth Brown (see track notes below) and “Please Send Me Someone To Love” by Percy Mayfield.

There’s a lot of great dancers on here too – “Well Oh Well” by Tiny Bradshaw, “Come On Let’s Boogie” by Goree Carter (great guitar work) and “Safronia B.” by Calvin Boze who was as musically and lyrically sophisticated as Louis Jordan. A superb coupling is tracks 18 and 19 – they are “Count Every Star” by The Ravens (which some claim practically started the Doo Wop and Vocal Groups craze) and “Blue Shadows” by guitarist Lowell Fulson – an infectious R&B groove that perfectly compliments its predecessor. Great stuff…

After 22 slices of hip R&B dancers and commercially astute smoochers, the straight-up acoustic blues of Lightnin’ Hopkins then comes as both a genuine shock and thrill. “Shotgun Blues” was written by Sonny Boy Williamson and is so sparse and moody that it’s like a dark past licking at your feet – echoes of Robert Johnson. And that voice – wow - his presence too – extraordinary stuff.

Criminally forgotten gems go to "Double Crossing Blues" by Johnny Otis which introduced the wonderfully expressive vocals of “Little” Esther Phillips to the world, Eddie Mack swigs back a few drinks on his “Hoot And Holler Saturday Night” (lyrics above) and Roy Hawkins practically writes the handbook on “poor me” blues songs on his “misery…lonesome…strange things happening…” whiner “Why Do Everything Happen To Me”. And it all ends as it started – a blasting rocker by Jimmy Preston (written by Louis Prima years before he went solo in 1956). It’s impressive stuff…

THE BOOKLET:
Although slightly different in layout, like the "Sweet Soul Music" series, the booklet is to die for. A couple dancing grace Page 3 (and the front sleeve), there's an intro on Page 4 with the text for the songs beginning on Page 5 and ending on Page 70, so there's almost no wasted space. Each artist is pictured using quality publicity shots, and every now and then, a beautiful full colour plate of lesser-seen records and their label bag graces an entire page (“I Almost Lost My Mind” by Ivory Joe Hunter on M-G-M and "Rag Mop” by Doc Sausage and his Mad Lads on Regal and are on Pages 11 and 12). Each song then has an essay on its history by noted writer COLIN ESCOTT with knowledgeable contributions from BILL MILLAR, DAVE BOOTH, Larry Cohn, Walter DeVenne and many more (photos from Michael Ochs Archives, Victor Pearlin & others). And because the booklet allows Escott to spread out on each song, the details come thick and fast - like Dahl's work on "Sweet Soul Music" - it's a fabulously entertaining and informative read.

To sum up - even though they're expensive as imports, I think once long-time collectors actually get their hands on even one of these compilations (no matter what the date) - they'll be irresistibly hooked. For the casual buyer just looking for a great one-stop account of R&B Music for a given year - "1950" is 'the' place to start.

Track List for the CD "Blowing The Fuse 1950"
(Label & Catalogue Number For The US 78" Follow The Title. If There's TWO Catalogue Numbers, The First Is The Original; The 2nd Is The Reissue)

1. Information Blues – ROY MILTON and his Solid Senders (Specialty 349)
2. Sittin’ On It All The Time – WYNONIE HARRIS (King 4330)
3. I Almost Lost My Mind – IVORY JOE HUNTER (MGM 10578)
4. Rag Mop – DOC SAUSAGE and his Mad Lads (Regal 3251)
5. The Fat Man – FATS DOMINO (Imperial 5058)
6. Double Crossing Blues – JOHNNY OTIS QUINTETTE (Savoy 731)
[Featuring “Little” Esther Phillips and Mel Walker on Duet Vocals]
7. Hoot And Holler Saturday Night – EDDIE MACK and Orchestra (Apollo 417)
8. Mardi Gras In New Orleans – PROFESSOR LONGHAIR and his New Orleans Boys (Atlantic 897)
9. 3 x 7 = 21 – JEWEL KING (Imperial 5055) [Mary Jewel King]
10. Why Do Everything Happen To Me – ROY HAWKINS and his Orchestra (Modern 734)
11. Pink Champagne – JOE LIGGINS and his Honeydrippers (Specialty 355)
12. Strollin’ With Bones – T-BONE WALKER, his guitar and his Orchestra (Imperial 5071)
13. Well Oh Well – TINY BRADSHAW (King 4357)
14. Still In the Dark – JOE TURNER and Orchestra (Freedom 1531)
15. Stack-A’ Lee, Parts 1 & 2 – ARCHIBALD and his Orchestra (Imperial 5068)
16. Come On Let’s Boogie – GOREE CARTER (Freedom 1536)
17. Safronia B. – CALVIN BOZE and his All-Stars (Aladdin 3055)
18. Count Every Star – THE RAVENS (National 9111)
19. Blue Shadows – LOWELL FULSON (Swing Time 226)
20. Blue Light Boogie Parts 1 & 2 – LOUIS JORDAN and his Tympany Five (Decca 27114)
21. Love Don’t Love Nobody – ROY BROWN and his Mighty, Mighty Men (DeLuxe 2306)
22. Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere – JOE MORRIS and his Orchestra (Atlantic 914)
[Uncredited Lead Vocals by LAURIE TATE; Atlantic’s first No. 1 R&B hit]
23. Shotgun Blues – LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS (Aladdin 3063)
[Written by Sonny Boy Williamson]
24. Teardrops From My Eyes – RUTH BROWN with Budd Johnson’s Orchestra (Atlantic 919)
[In October 1950 in reached No. 1 on the R&B charts (their 2nd number one) and was the first Atlantic track issued on the new 45 RPM 7” single format as well as a 78”]
25. Boogie Rambler – CLARENCE ‘GATEMOUTH’ BROWN, his guitar and his Orchestra (Peacock 1505)
26. Please Send Me Someone To Love – PERCY MAYFIELD and Orchestra (Specialty 375)
27. Old Time Shuffle Blues – LLOYD GLENN with Th’ Fulson Unit (Swing Time 237)
[Featuring Lowell Fulson on Guitar, Lloyd Glenn on Keyboards]
28. Oh, Babe! – JIMMY PRESTON and his Band (Derby 748)

“Blowing The Fuse – 28 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1951” by VARIOUS ARTISTS. A Review Of The Award-Winning 2005 Bear Family CD Compilation

"…I’m Looking For A Chick That Only Drinks Lemonade…I’m Tired Of Being Broke The Day After I Get Paid..."

The "Blowing The Fuse" series of CD compilations stretches across 16 volumes from 1945 to 1960 and was then followed by Bear Family's equally magnificent "Sweet Soul Music" series of 10 sets from 1961 to 1970 (I've reviewed all 10 of those in detail). Having been drawn in by the truly beautiful sound quality and presentation of the 'Soul' discs, I knew it would be a big blow to my bank balance buying even one of these R&B issues - and it was! But I've laboured with all of these time-consuming detailed reviews because these reissues are the business...they really are.

"Blowing The Fuse - 28 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1951" is on Bear Family BCD 16706 AS and was released April 2005 in Germany. Each US-based yearly compilation comes in a 3-way foldout card digipak sleeve. The left flap pictures an original record relevant to the year (1951 has "Little Red Rooster" by Margie Day on Dot), the centre flap holds a 70 to 90 page oversized booklet that slips out so you can read it separately and the right flap a colour-themed CD that matches the outer packaging. As with the 10 "Sweet Soul Music" compilations, each of the 16 R&B spines makes up a whole photo when placed alongside each other (a fantastic black & white shot of a crowd of hip dudes and their gals dancing at some Saturday night bar). As you can see from the cover photos of these compilations too, the theme of people dancing and artists enjoying themselves is repeated right across all of these wonderfully restored photographs (they're from The Showtime Music Archive in Toronto). This 1951 issue has 72-pages in its booklet and the CD runs to a healthy 78:24 minutes.

Compiler Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth took his time with this - actually playing the set through - mixing in the famous with the obscure but in a new order - and the result is a truly satisfying listen rather than a patchy one. The compilation begins in January and in rough chronological order ends in December. And even the way-too-familiar tracks on here like "Rocket “88”" by Jackie Brenston and "I’m In The Mood" by John Lee Hooker are all sorted out by the next big plus...the massively improved sound…

THE SOUND and TRACK CHOICES:
Bear Family have gotten all the ORIGINAL master tapes from each record company (or the best disc available) and their resident expert JURGEN CRASSER has mastered them with care - and given their age and wildly varying sources, the sound is uniformly GLORIOUS.

Six years after the Second World War, America wanted to rock - so it's not surprising that so many songs in 1951 were about drink, sex and partying (with an occasional nod towards their consequences in between). The proceedings open with a superlative double-whammy – “Bad, Bad Whiskey” by Amos Milburn and “Little Joe’s Boogie” by Joe Liggins – both with stunning sound and infectious dancefloor rhythms. Dark-edged blues then follow in the “…long distance” moaner “Telephone Blues” by Floyd Dixon and the lingering chill of “…my brother’s in Korea…” on “Black Night” by Charles Brown. Then it’s back to more boozy tunes like “Bloodshot Eyes” by Wynonie Harris - whose style and voice Louis Prima mimicked almost phrase for phrase 5 years later on his Capitol debut album - while Louis Jordan’s wonderfully catty “Lemonade” has a very funny monetary take on the demon-drink (lyrics above).

Genius choices - "Chica Boo" is an instrumental rumba shuffle beautifully arranged and played by one of the periods great unsung-heroes – Lloyd Glenn (the 78” is also pictured on Page 40), while the brass on “I’m Just Waiting For You” by Lucky Millender is likely to blow your speakers out - so powerful, so clear. “I Got Loaded” by Peppermint Harris on Aladdin is probably one of the best celebrations of getting drunk ever - it was later covered by The Cadets with the stunning bass vocals of Will “Dub” Jones on lead.

Criminally forgotten gems go to "Sixty-Minute Man" by The Dominoes, which not only dominated almost half of the year it was such a huge hit – but some say is one of the most important records ever made because it was ‘the’ crossover song for black music into the white charts. With Bill Brown heading up the deep bass vocals and Clyde McPhatter on background operatic yelps, it also used the words “rock” and “roll” together in the same song (The Boswell Sisters used the combo of words in 1934, but The Dominoes track is the one most associated with the pairing). Somehow sensing its importance, the 78” is pictured in its Federal bag on Page 33.

Vocal Group collectors and Blues enthusiasts will flip for the sound quality on “The Glory Of Love” by The Five Keys and “I’m In The Mood” by John Lee Hooker – clarity on both like I’ve never heard before. My only slight disappointment is that excepting Margie Day, 'women' singers are entirely absent from 1951 (unlike 1952 onwards).

THE BOOKLET:
Although slightly different in layout, like the "Sweet Soul Music" series, the booklet is to die for. The Treniers grace Page 3 (and the front sleeve), there’s an intro on Page 4 with the text for the songs beginning on Page 5 and ending on Page 70, so there's almost no wasted space. Each artist is pictured using quality publicity shots, and every now and then, a beautiful full colour plate of lesser-seen singles and their label bag graces an entire page ("I Got Loaded" by Peppermint Harris on Aladdin and "Fool, Fool, Fool” by The Clovers on Atlantic are on Pages 49 and 66). Each song then has an essay on its history by noted writer COLIN ESCOTT with knowledgeable contributions from BILL MILLAR, DAVE BOOTH, Marv Goldberg's online R&B site, Robert L. Campbell, Red Saunders Research Project, Larry Cohn, Walter DeVenne and Bernd Matheja (disc pictures supplied by John Tefteller and Victor Pearlin). And because the booklet allows Escott to spread out on each song, the details come thick and fast - like Dahl's work on "Sweet Soul Music" - it's a fabulously entertaining and informative read.

To sum up - even though they're expensive as imports, I think once long-time collectors actually get their hands on even one of these compilations (no matter what the date) - they'll be irresistibly hooked. For the casual buyer just looking for a great one-stop account of R&B Music for a given year - "1951" is 'the' place to start.

Compilations like this live or die based on a few key ingredients - great track choices, properly remastered sound and all of it wrapped up in knowledgeable and (if you're lucky) sumptuous presentation. Well "Blowin The Fuse" wins on all counts - it really does. The entire series is gorgeous to look at and especially to listen to. Well done to all involved...

Track List for the CD "Blowing The Fuse 1951"
(Label & Catalogue Number For The US 78"/7" Single Follow The Title. If There's TWO Catalogue Numbers, The First Is The Original; The 2nd Is The Reissue In That Year)

1. Bad, Bad Whiskey – AMOS MILBURN and his Aladdin Chickenshackers (Aladdin 3068)
2. Little Joe’s Boogie – JOE LIGGINS and his Honeydrippers (Specialty 379)
3. Telephone Blues – FLOYD DIXON with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers featuring Oscar Moore (Aladdin 3075)
4. Rockin’ With Red – PIANO RED (RCA 22/50-0099)
5. Lemonade – LOUIS JORDAN and his Tympany Five (Decca 27324)
[Featuring Bill David on Organ]
6. I Will Wait – THE FOUR BUDDIES (Savoy 769)
7. Rockin’ Blues – THE JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA with Mel Walker (Savoy 766)
8. Little Red Rooster – MARGIE DAY with the Griffin Brothers’ Orchestra (Dot 1019)
9. Black Night – CHARLES BROWN and his Band (Aladdin 3076)
10. I’m Waiting Just For You – LUCKY MILLINDER and his Orchestra, Vocal by Annisteen Allen and John Carol (King 4453)
11. Rocket “88” – JACKIE BRENSTON and his Delta Cats (Chess 1458)
12. Long Distance Call – MUDDY WATERS and his Guitar (Chess 1452)
13. Sixty-Minute Man – THE DOMINOES (Federal 12022)
[Featuring Bill Brown on Lead Vocals, Clyde McPhatter on Backing Vocals]
14. Tend To Your Business – JAMES WAYNE (Sittin’ In 588)
15. Chains Of Love – JOE TURNER with Vann “Piano Man” Walls and his Orchestra (Atlantic 939)
[On this 78” ‘Van’ is spelt with two n’s’ in error; on all subsequent issues it’s spelt ‘Van’]
16. Chica Boo – LLOYD GLENN (Swingtime 254)
17. Go! Go! Go! – THE TRENIERS (Okeh 6804)
18. The Glory Of Love – THE FIVE KEYS (Aladdin 3099)
19. I Got Loaded – “PEPPERMINT” HARRIS with Maxwell Davis and his ALL-STARS (Aladdin 3097)
20. Castle Rock – JOHNNY HODGES and his Orchestra (Mercury 8944)
[Featuring Al Sears On Tenor Saxophone]
21. Eyesight To The Blind – THE LARKS (Apollo 427)
22. Bloodshot Eyes – WYNONIE HARRIS (King 4461)
[Featuring Big John Greer on Saxophone]
23. '’T’ 99 Blues – JIMMIE NELSON and The Peter Rabbit Trio (RPM 325)
24. Walkin’ The Chalk Line – TINY BRADSHAW (King 4457)
25. I’m In The Mood – JOHN LEE HOOKER (Modern 835)
26. Fool, Fool, Fool – THE CLOVERS (Atlantic 944)
27. Flamingo – EARL BOSTIC and his Orchestra (King 4475)
28. How Many More Years – HOWLIN’ WOLF (Chess 1479)

“Blowing The Fuse – 29 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1952” by VARIOUS ARTISTS. A Review Of The Award-Winning 2005 Bear Family CD Compilation

"…I’ve Got Six Extra Children…From A Getting Frisky..."

The "Blowing The Fuse" series of CD compilations stretches across 16 volumes from 1945 to 1960 and was then followed by Bear Family's equally magnificent "Sweet Soul Music" series of 10 sets from 1961 to 1970 (I've reviewed all 10 of those in detail). Having been drawn in by the truly beautiful sound quality and presentation of the 'Soul' discs, I knew it would be a big blow to my bank balance buying even one of these R&B issues - and it was! But I've laboured with all of these time-consuming detailed reviews because these reissues are the business...they really are.

"Blowing The Fuse - 29 R&B Classics That Rocked The Jukebox In 1952" is on Bear Family BCD 16707 AS and was released April 2005 in Germany. Each US-based yearly compilation comes in a 3-way foldout card digipak sleeve. The left flap pictures an original record relevant to the year (1952 has "The Bells Are Ringing" by Smiley Lewis on Imperial), the centre flap holds a 70 to 90 page oversized booklet that slips out so you can read it separately and the right flap a colour-themed CD that matches the outer packaging. As with the 10 "Sweet Soul Music" compilations, each of the 16 R&B spines makes up a whole photo when placed alongside each other (a fantastic black & white shot of a crowd of hip dudes and their gals dancing at some Saturday night bar). As you can see from the cover photos of these compilations too, the theme of people dancing and artists enjoying themselves is repeated right across all of these wonderfully restored photographs (they're from The Showtime Music Archive in Toronto). This 1952 issue has 72-pages in its booklet and the CD runs to a healthy 78:59 minutes.

Compiler Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth took his time with this - actually playing the set through - mixing in the famous with the obscure but in a new order - and the result is a truly satisfying listen rather than a patchy one. The compilation begins in January and in rough chronological order ends in December. And even the way-too-familiar tracks on here like "Dust My Broom" by Elmore James and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price are all sorted out by the next big plus...the massively improved sound (on almost all tracks)...

THE SOUND and TRACK CHOICES:
Bear Family have gotten all the ORIGINAL master tapes from each record company (both Mono and Stereo) and their resident expert JURGEN CRASSER has mastered them with care - and given the wildly varying sources, the sound is uniformly GLORIOUS.

The post war years saw America wanting to rock – so it’s not surprising that so many songs in 1952 did just that – infectious floor-fillers include “Lovin’ Machine” by Wynonie Harris, “The Train Kept-A-Rollin’” by Tiny Bradshaw and “I Can’t Lose With The Stuff I Use” by Lester Williams. Even the Doo Wop vocal groups were in on the boppin’ act – “Baby, Please Don’t Go” by The Orioles and “Rock Me All Night Long” by The Ravens. But best of all is “Have Mercy Baby” by The Dominies where the lead singer tells us in a pleading warble “…I’ve been a good for nothing…I’ve lied and cheated too…” That fabulous new vocalist was Clyde McPhatter, ably backed up by Billy Ward’s ultra-tight combo (he fined them for missing beats). The result is R’n’B perfection.

In between these rockers were the misery guts songs like the wonderfully bluesy “So Tired” by Roy Milton and the almost dark “Hard Times” by Charles Brown. “Hard Times” was one of the first songs to benefit from the stunning Leiber & Stoller songwriting partnership – it sounds amazing despite its dubbed-from-disc roughness. Speaking of which, it’s not all good news on the sound front - “Booted’ By Rosco Gordon features very audible crackle and hiss, while “My Song” by Johnny Ace is not just badly recorded – it’s almost unlistenable. And there’s some disappointing clicks on “5-10-15 Hours” by Ruth Brown – but it’s still better than I’ve ever heard it…

Genius choices – there’s two superb instrumentals - “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest (later covered so well by James Brown) and “Juke” by Little Walter – a harmonica blast so good it might tempt the dead back from Heaven for one more turn on the barroom floor. But my poison is the fantastically catchy dancer “It Ain’t The Meat” by The Swallows (whose picture graces the front cover). It bops along with great double-entendre lyrics - the handclaps and lead vocals beautifully clear from the remaster.

Criminally forgotten gems go to “Got You On My Mind” by John Greer (covered over the years by acts as diverse as Piano Red, Cookie And The Cupcakes and Eric Clapton) and the stunning discovery of Thomas Braden’s lead vocals on “Mary Jo” by The Four Blazes – a cross between Louis Prima and Smiley Lewis. The slashing guitar of Elmore James on the seminal “Dust My Broom” sounds like it was recorded in a bucket with a microphone bought at Woolworths, but it still packs the punch of a fist in the face – and it also reminds you of how many white guitar players fell under its voodoo spell who then subsequently shaped rock music for the next 40 years. And once again – like 1953 – it’s also noticeable just how far ahead of the game "Atlantic" was as a label - "The Chill Is On'" by Big Joe Turner, "5-10-15 Hours" by Ruth Brown and the irresistibly saucy “One Mint Julep" by The Clovers (lyrics above) – all great.

The women are either containing their men’s ardour - “Easy, Easy Baby” by Varetta Dillard or being shot because they’re cheated on them – “Goodbye Baby” by Little Caesar – an extraordinarily grim tune where bullets sound out in the dying moments – twice (he does himself too!).

THE BOOKLET:
Although slightly different in layout, like the "Sweet Soul Music" series, the booklet is to die for. With an intro on Page 4, the text for the songs begins on Page 5 and ends on Page 69, so there's almost no wasted space. Each artist is pictured using quality publicity shots, and every now and then, a beautiful full colour plate of lesser-seen singles and their label bag graces an entire page ("3 O’Clock Blues” by B.B. KING on RPM Records and “Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price on Specialty are on Pages 11 and 48). Each song then has an essay on its history by noted writer COLIN ESCOTT with knowledgeable contributions from BILL MILLAR, DAVE BOOTH, Marv Goldberg's online R&B site, Robert L. Campbell, Red Saunders Research Project, Larry Cohn, Walter DeVenne and Bernd Matheja. And because the booklet allows Escott to spread out on each song, the details come thick and fast - like Dahl's work on "Sweet Soul Music" - it's a fabulously entertaining and informative read.

To sum up - even though they're expensive as imports, I think once long-time collectors actually get their hands on even one of these compilations (no matter what the date) - they'll be irresistibly hooked. For the casual buyer just looking for a great one-stop account of R&B Music for a given year - "1952" is 'the' place to start.

Compilations like this live or die based on a few key ingredients - great track choices, properly remastered sound and all of it wrapped up in knowledgeable and (if you're lucky) sumptuous presentation. Well "Blowin The Fuse" wins on all counts - it really does. The entire series is gorgeous to look at and especially to listen to. Well done to all involved...

PS: the pictures on the front sleeves of 1952 and 1953 have been 'reversed' by Bear Family despite what the Amazon pictures above show (probably done at the last minute – see my own photos provided).

Track List for the CD "Blowing The Fuse 1952"
(Label & Catalogue Number For The US 78"/7" Single Follow The Title. If There's TWO Catalogue Numbers, The First Is The Original; The 2nd Is The Reissue In That Year)

1. The Chill Is On – JOE TURNER With Van “Piano Man” Walls And His Orchestra (Atlantic 949)
2. It Ain’t The Meat – THE SWALLOWS (King 4501)
3. 3 O’Clock Blues – B.B. KING (RPM 339)
4. Got You On My Mind – JOHN GREER And The Rhythm Rockers (RCA 20/47-4348)
5. Booted – ROSCO GORDON (Chess 1487)
6. Weepin’ And Cryin’ – THE GRIFFIN BROTHERS ORCHESTRA Featuring Tommy Brown (Dot 107)
7. Dust My Broom – ELMORE JAMES (Trumpet 146)
8. Lovin’ Machine – WYNONIE HARRIS With Todd Rhodes’ Orchestra (King 4485)
9. Hard Times – CHARLES BROWN And His Band (Aladdin 3116)
10. Wheel Of Fortune – DINAH WASHINGTON With Orchestra Accompaniment (Mercury 8267)
11. Baby, Please Don’t Go – THE ORIOLES (Jubilee 5065)
12. The Train Kept-A-Rollin’ – TINY BRADSHAW (King 4497)
13. Goin’ Home – FATS DOMINO (Imperial 5180)
14. One Mint Julep – THE CLOVERS (Atlantic 963)
15. I Can’t Lose With The Stuff I Use – LESTER WILLIAMS And His Band (Specialty 422)
16. Night Train – JIMMY FORREST And His Allstar Combo (United U 110)
17. I’m Gonna Play The Honky Tonks – MARIE ADAMS With Bill Harvey’s Band (Peacock 1583)
18. Have Mercy Baby – THE DOMINOES (Federal 12068)
[Clyde McPhatter on Lead Vocals]
19. So Tired – ROY MILTON And His Solid Senders (Specialty 429)
20. Lawdy Miss Clawdy – LLOYD PRICE And His Orchestra (Specialty 428)
21. 5-10-15 Hours – RUTH BROWN With Orchestra (Atlantic 962)
22. Mary Jo – FOUR BLAZES (Lead Vocal Thomas Braden) (United U 114)
23. My Song – JOHNNY ACE With The Beale Streeters (Duke R-102)
24. The Bells Are Ringing – SMILEY LEWIS (Imperial 5194)
25. Easy, Easy Baby – VARETTA DILLARD (Savoy 847)
26. Juke – LITTLE WALTER (Checker 758)
27. Goodbye Baby – LITTLE CAESER (Hollywood 235)
28. I Don’t Know – WILLIE MABON And His Combo (Chess 1531)
29. Rock Me All Night Long – THE RAVENS (Mercury 8291)