"Are You Hep To The Jive?" by CAB CALLOWAY (August 1994 US Columbia/Legacy CD Compilation of Remasters - Part of the "Columbia Legacy Rhythm & Soul" Series of Reissue CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 This Review Along With over 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"…Don't Falter At The Altar! All Reet Then!"

With the USA in the grips of the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the subsequent 1930's Depression - Rochester's CAB CALLOWAY was 23 and making $50,000 a year, driving around in a Lincoln Continental, wearing white evening silk suits and fur coats whilst betting on leggy ponies and traversing even friskier molls. 

Coming away from your first listen to these fabulous-sounding Cotton Club Forties dancers (remastered to perfection) - you're left with an admiration for the sheer life-force of the man, your feet shuffling uncontrollably whilst sporting a big zoot suit grin on your flustered mush.

Musically and personally you'd compare Cab Calloway to that other genius of the period - LOUIS JORDAN and His Tympany Five. Both (big) bandleaders stood like giants in the Thirties and Forties - staggeringly good American R'n'B and Jazz Vocalist entertainers who elicited huge affection amongst the public and musicians alike. Cab also received a deserved resurgence in popularity from his dynamite appearance with Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi in the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers" doing his trademark "Minnie The Moocher" with a sassily dressed orchestra behind him. What a guy! 

Here's the Gravy Davey, the Baloney Tony and the Pancake Mandrake...

US released August 1994 - "Are You Hep You To The Jive?" by CAB CALLOWAY on Columbia/Legacy Rhythm and Soul CK 57645 (Barcode 886972330426) is a CD Compilation of Remasters that breaks down as follows (64:55 minutes):

1. Boo-Wah Boo-Wah (1940, Okeh 5774, A)

2. Are You All Reet? (1941, Okeh 6053, A)

3. Hey Now, Hey Now (1946, Columbia 37081, B-side to "I Got A Gal Named Hettie")

4. Everybody Eats When They Come To My House (1947, Columbia 38171, A)

5. Are You Hep To The Jive? (1940, Okeh 5804, A)

6. The Calloway Boogie (1947, Columbia 38227, A)

7. Hep Cat's Love Song (1941, Okeh 6192, A)

8. Papa's In Bed With His Britches On (1940, Okeh 5731, A)

9. What's Buzzin' Cousin (from the picture "Song Of The Islands") (Recorded February 1942, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

10. Twee-Twee-Tweet (1939, Vocalion 5126, A)

11. Come On With The "Come On" (1940, Okeh 5687, B-side of "(I Don't Stand) A Ghost Of A Chance")

12. Chant Of The Jungle (Recorded July 1942, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

13. I Want To Rock (1942, Okeh 6616, B-side of "I Ain't No Good")

14. Oh! Gram'Pa (1947, on the album "Cab Calloway 1935-1947" on Columbia CG 32593)

15. The Jungle King (You Ain't Done A Doggone Thing) (1947, Columbia 37500, B-side of "Give Me Twenty Nickels For A Dollar")

16. Don't Falter At The Alter (Recorded February 1947, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

17. Who's Yehoodi? (1940, Okeh 5566, B)

18. A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird (1940, Okeh 5847, A)

19. Tarzan Of Harlem (1939, Vocalion 5267, B-side of "Bee Gezindt")

20. Minnie The Moocher (1942, Okeh 4753, A)

21. Boog It (1940, Vocalion 5444, A)

22. Foo A Little Bally-Hoo (1945, Columbia 36786, B-side of "Let's Take The Long Way Home")

The 12-page booklet has wildly enthusiastic and funny liner notes by AL QUAGLIERI who explains just how huge Calloway was way back when. Quaglierei quite rightly wax's lyrical about Calloway's brilliance/fearlessness with words - which (like Louis Jordan) made so many of his dancing hits so memorable. They were fun and sassy and the right side of rude and gigglesome. The booklet also has a couple of period black and white publicity photos and a track-by-track breakdown.

But the big news (apart from three tasty Previously Unreleased tracks) is the new VIC ANESINI remasters which are breathtakingly good - especially given the Vintage of the material. He later went on to transfer The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, Carole King, Janis Joplin, Hall & Oates, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Jayhawks and Elvis Presley's vast catalogue (all to much praise). Anesini is a name I actively seek out when looking for quality remasters. The artwork also reflects a generic look across the whole of Columbia/Legacy's "Rhythm and Soul" Series of CD reissues. The whole thing has a classy feel to it...

With song titles like "Papa's In Bed With His Britches On", "Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird" and "Don't Falter At The Alter" - you can sense the fun from a mile away. Lyrics like "Papa's got lipstick on his cheek and a knot on his chin..." or "it's your last free mile, so smile brother smile..." or "eat it with tomatoes, rice and potatoes..." paint pictures. His scatting vocals on "Foo A Little Bally-Hoo" are typical - he plays off the boys in the background - they answer in equally silly hoots and hollers - the lowbrows and the highbrows. And all of it in amazing sound...

"...Get with the Banana Hannah, try a Tomato Plato, don't be so picky Mickey..." - Cab Calloway coaxes on the lyrically brill "Everybody Eats When They Come To My House". Get this CD in your home and wonder how you lived without the Lilly-Frilly and Skeedlee-Biddlee? Great Googly Moo and All Root Baby!

Titles in Columbia/Legacy's "Rhythm & Soul" Series of CD Remasters

1. The Complete Okeh Sessions 1952-1955 - BIG MAYBELLE

2. Are You Hep To The Jive? - CAB CALLOWAY (and His Orchestra)

3. Unforgettable - ARETHA FRANKLIN

4. Funky Family - THE ISLEY BROTHERS

5. Beautiful Ballads - THE ISLEY BROTHERS

6. Lady Marmalade: The Best Of - PATTI LaBELLE and LABELLE

7. Everybody Loves A Good Time: The Best Of - MAJOR LANCE

8. If You Don't Know Me By Now: The Best Of - HAROLD MELVIN and THE BLUE NOTES

9. Give The People What They Want - THE O'JAYS

10. Love Train: The Best Of - THE O'JAYS

11. In Philadelphia - THE O'JAYS

12. They Rock! They Roll! They Swing! - The Best Of - THE TRENIERS

13. From Philly With Love - VARIOUS ARTISTS

14. Legacy's Rhythm and Soul Revue - VARIOUS ARTISTS (Sampler)

15. Lost Soul - VARIOUS ARTISTS

16. The Okeh Rhythm & Blues Story 1949-1957 - VARIOUS ARTISTS

17. Let's Jump Tonight! The Okeh Sessions 1951-1956 - CHUCK WILLIS

18. Lean On Me: The Best Of - BILL WITHERS

"If I Have To Wreck L.A. Kent & Modern Records Blues Into The 60s Vol.2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Willie Headen, Smokey Wilson, Big Mama Thornton, Long Gone Miles, Model T Slim, Lowell Fulson and Willie Garland (September 2020 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Remasters – All New To Ace CD with Twelve Tracks Previously Unissued) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With over 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Nursing My Aching Head..."

Released 31 July 2020 in the UK, "Dirty Work Going On: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.1" was the first in this Ace Records CD Series. Here is the next instalment that followed in late September 2020 - "If I Have To Wreck L.A.: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.2". And it's just as enjoyable as numero uno... 

By the end of the 50ts, hard-hitting gutbucket Blues had morphed into a more commercial type of shuffling R&B which quickly then became the softer and more upbeat edge of early Soul. These compilations want in their hearts to go back to basics. And mostly they do – especially here. Like the first volume of these two CD compilations dealing with the 60s output of the US Kent & Modern labels (reviewed separately), Volume 2 is a hugely enjoyable listen with a lot of nifty Guitars and shimmering Harmonica warbles. 

And even if you don’t know names like Willie Headen and Long Gone Miles – you should. There is caustic humour too with the blame-game on both sides of the gender-divide being strong with this one. So here are the Black Widow Spiders, Hoodooing Hoodoo Men and Miss Nella Belle with rocks in her pillows and an inability to let her man play with her poodle (that’s just mean)...

UK released Friday, 25 September 2020 - "If I Have To Wreck L.A.: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDCHD 1577 (Barcode 029667099929) offers 24 Remastered Tracks, All New to Ace CD compilations (Twelve are Previously Unissued) and it plays out as follows (78:51 minutes):

1. If I Have To Wreck L.A. – WILLIE HEADEN (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording, Take 1)

2. Mama Said – WILLIE HEADEN (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1967 Kent recording, Take 3)

3. If I Can Ever Make Up My Mind - WILLIE HEADEN (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording, Take 5)

4. Hey Baby - WILLIE HEADEN (1968 recording that first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.3" on P-Vine PCD-3065)

5. You Told Me A Lie - SMOKEY WILSON (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1976 Kent recording)

6. Before Day (Big Mama's Blues) - BIG MAMA THORNTON (1965 US 45-single on Kent 45x424, A-side)

7. War Time Blues (Take 1) - LONG GONE MILES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording)

8. Gotta Find My Baby – LONG GONE MILES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording)

9. Little Sweet Thing (Take 4) – LONG GONE MILES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED Take of Kent 45x500, 1968 US 45-single A-side)

10. Black Widow Spider (Underdub With Alternate Vocal) – WILLIE GARLAND (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED Take of Kent 45x461, 1968 US 45-single A-side – for B-side see Track 12)

11. Address In My Hand – WILLIE GARLAND (1967 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

12. Soul Blues – WILLIE GARLAND (1967 US 45-single on Kent 45x461, Instrumental, B-side of "Black Widow Spider" – see Track 10 for an Alternate of the A-side)

13. You’re Too Cold – WILLIE HEADEN (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording, Take 1)

14. Hot Wire Baby – WILLIE HEADEN (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording, Take 2)

15. Baby You’re Wrong (Take 6) - WILLIE HEADEN (1968 recording that first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.3" on P-Vine PCD-3065)

16. If I Have To Wreck L.A. (Take 5) – WILLIE HEADEN (1968 recording that first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.3" on P-Vine PCD-3065)

17. Somebody’s Done Hoodooed The Hoodoo Man – MODEL T SLIM (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1967 Kent recording)

18. Christine – MODEL T SLIM (January 1969 US 45-single on Kent K-504, A-side – for B-side see Track 19)

19. Baby Don’t Tear My Clothes – MODEL T SLIM (January 1969 US 45-single on Kent K-504, B-side – for A-side see Track 18)

20. Rocks In My Pillow (Take 4) - LONG GONE MILES (1968 US Kent recording first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "Juke Joint Blues 1950s -1960s" on P-Vine PCD-3058)

21. Let Me Play With Your Poodle (Take 2) - LONG GONE MILES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1968 Kent recording)

22. Low Down Dirty Shame (Take 4) - LONG GONE MILES (1968 US Kent recording first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "Juke Joint Blues 1950s -1960s" on P-Vine PCD-3058)

23. Miss Nella Belle - LONG GONE MILES (1968 US Kent recording first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "Juke Joint Blues 1950s -1960s" on P-Vine PCD-3058)

24. Blues Pain - LOWELL FULSON (Originally Unissued Take of Kent 489, appeared also on the September 2001 Japan-Only 4CD compilation "The Complete Kent Recordings 1964-1968" on P-Vine PCD-3066-9)

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17 and 21 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

(Like Volume 1) the 16-page booklet features informative liner notes courtesy of DICK SHURMAN sat alongside photos of those rare US 45-labels and rare publicity shots of heroes like Little Joe Blue, B.B. King and Big Jay McNeely (dig T-Bone Walker looking cool with a cigarette in his mouth and that huge guitar in hand) while DUNCAN COWELL does his usual spectacular best - the Audio kicking ass on every tune. The fidelity (despite the age) is at times eerily brill. To the listen...

Clever inclusions are eight tracks from those desirable but long-deleted 'P-Vine' CD compilations out of Japan (limited editions of 3000 or less apparently) as well as Alternates of Kent 45s that feel just as good as the released versions. "If I Have To Wreck L.A." opens with a triple-whammy of Previously Unreleased guitar soloing Blues from Willie Headen who comes on like an excited Albert King ripping up and down the frets while he sings of mistreating women. They're damn good, but they're whomped by an Elmore James slashing Smokey Wilson whose 1976 "You Told Me A Lie" is a real find (cool and clear audio). The fantastic continues with great Little Walter-type Harmonica warbling from George Smith guesting on the anti-draft song "War Time Blues" by Luke "Long Gone" Miles. Two more cuts from him hammer home more slices of early-in-the-morning mean and dirty Harp Blues – brilliant inclusions.

Pity poor Willie Garland, his baby is a "Black Widow Spider" who done bit him and then up and left. Willie called the Doctor but the man with the leather bag just shook his head and went into a Harmonica solo in sympathy. Willie Headen returns too and he has his own problems – he wants to stop being a fool for his "Hot Wire Baby" who has returned from California with attitudes and some Mississippi missing (he bought her first shoes at the age of 22). A great guitar-shuffler. And on it goes - a great listen, Bluesy, Shufflers when you need them, Fun moments and those superb unreleased lifting up everything to winner status. 

"Well, look here mama, listen to my song, let me play with your poodle, I mean him no harm... " Luke "Long Gone" Miles saucily implores on "Let Me Play With Your Poodle" - a raucous Tampa Red cover version blessed with fabulous Harmonica from George Smith and the deep suggestive voice of Luke Miles. 

Well, I suggest you get jiggy-jiggy with "If I Have To Wreck L.A.: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.2" too, because it's a winner that deserves your loving ham (if you know what I'm saying)...

See also Review for Volume 1

"The Texas Blues Of Smokey Hogg" by SMOKEY HOGG – 78" and 45-single Tracks Recorded 1947 to 1953, All New To CD, Four Previously Unreleased (February 2021 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Rarities Remastered by Duncan Cowell) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With over 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Life Is Too Short To Be Worrying Over You..."

Some Blues artists elicit a kind of affection in me that just won't quit – the slinky Folk Blues of Lightning Hopkins – the Harmonica warble of Slim Harpo buzzing around bees – the combo positive message of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee on A&M Records in the Seventies – Robert Johnson and those eerie groundbreaking Thirties sides – and on it goes. 

Texas Folk Bluesman (Andrew) Smokey Hogg is the same. This 2021 CD is the kind of Acoustic Guitar, plinking Piano and shuffling snare drum beat I could listen to all the live long day – reed of straw in my mouth and a fishing rod in my hands (ok maybe not the fishing rod in Margate after a thunderstorm). And combined with his similar-to-Lightning Hopkins wily voice - I'm a goner. 

So I'm more than pleased to report that Ace Records' digital instalment number five (see list below) afforded the largely unknown (Andrew) Smokey Hogg does the heartbreak business once again - even if the artwork is dull as Dallas dishwater. Here are the pretty mamas, crooked fortune tellers, devilish preachers, penitentiary holds and good morning little schoolgirl details...

UK released Friday, 5 February 2021 - "The Texas Blues Of Smokey Hogg" by SMOKEY HOGG on Ace Records CDCHD 1588 (Barcode 029667101226) is a 24-Track MONO CD compilation of Remasters (Four Previously Unreleased, Most New To CD) that plays out as follows (67:17 minutes):

1. I Don't Want You (from the 1967 US LP "Original Folk Blues" on Kent KLP 5024 in Mono)

2. Worrying Over You (June 1948 US 78" on Modern 596, B-side of "Jivin' Little Woman")

3. Everybody Gotta Racket (1950 US 78" on Modern 20-735, A-side - 1947 Recording)

4. Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl (from the 1961 US LP "Smokey Hogg Sings The Blues" on Crown CLP 5226 in Mono - recorded in 1947)

5. The Way You Treat Me (I Got Your Picture) (1950 US 78" on Modern 20-758, A-side)

6. I Want My Baby (But My Baby Don't Want Me) (from the 1967 US LP "Original Folk Blues" on Kent KLP 5024 in Mono)  

7. You Can't Tell Where I'm Goin' (from the 1967 US LP "Original Folk Blues" on Kent KLP 5024 in Mono)

8. No Matter What You Do (from the 1967 US LP "Original Folk Blues" on Kent KLP 5024 in Mono)

9. When The Sun Goes Down (from the 1967 US LP "Original Folk Blues" on Kent KLP 5024 in Mono)

10. Coming Back Home To You Again (from the 1961 US LP "Smokey Hogg Sings The Blues" on Crown CLP 5226 in Mono - recorded in 1950)

11. Kind Hearted Blues - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1950 Modern recording

12. What's That You Got - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1950 Modern recording

13. You'll Need My Help Someday (1950 US 78" on Hollywood 130, A-side)

14. Somebody New (1950 US 78" on Hollywood 130, AA-side)

15. Ain't You Sorry Baby (1951 US 78" on Hollywood 131, A-side)

16. Ruby (1951 US 78" on Hollywood 131, AA-side)

17. Penitentiary Blues Part 1 (1951 US 78" on Hollywood 170, A-side)

18. Penitentiary Blues Part 2 (1951 US 78" on Hollywood 170, AA-side)

19. Baby Shake Your Leg (1952 US 78" on Top Hat 1023, A-side)

20. Fortune Teller Blues (1952 US 78" on Top Hat 1023, AA-side)

21. Where Have You Been (1952 US 78" on Combo 11, A-side)

22. My Gal Gave Me Money - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1951 Combo recording 

23. Instrumental - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1951 Combo recording 

24. Too Late Old Man (1953 US 78" on Modern 896, B-side on "River Hip Mama")

The 12-page booklet has new track-by-track liner notes by fan and Smokey Hogg-expert GUIDO VAN RIJN whose 320-page book "The Texas Blues Of Smokey Hogg" is published in 2021 by Agram Blues in the Netherlands (the first in-depth book on him). The text here is peppered with hard-to-find 78"s while Page 5 features the Side 2 label of the "Original Folk Blues" LP from 1967 - five of its tracks featured on this CD. It's a typically informative read that pictures labels and album artwork rarely seen outside of specialist circles. 

As most are 1947 to 1952 recordings issued on varying 78's and early 45s (13 cuts in all) - the Audio is of course cackling and hiss on the worse - but mostly DUNCAN COWELL has once again done a stunning job getting such clarity out of these recordings. The listen is at times bare Blues - just the Guitar and Voice - but then there are the wonderful piano shuffles in the more R&B stabs. But I love the 'feel' Hogg gets - real and unpretentious - and Cowell has done wonders on what must have been difficult transfers. 

The themes rarely veer far from cheatin' gals, sugar daddies praying on those double-dealin' hussies and poor Smokey having to leave lest he reaches for that loaded pistol again. The milkmen in these tales of infidelity and woe leave more than an extra pint and mama likes the rattle of their bottle-holders when they approach the front door (papa usually away on some possibly illegal business). It's great fun in a weird way, but I would have to caution that stuff like "Penitentiary Blues..." is covered in crackle that some may think 'too' much. But then the band shuffle of "Where Have You Been" (Track 21) is both clean as a whistle and great fun – the sitting here wondering when will you come back home vibe sailing out of your speakers with a clarity that is shocking. I just wish more were like it. 

"...Everybody gotta rocket...I gotta racket too..." – he sang on "Everybody Gotta Racket" – his woman giving his money to another man on the other side of town (oh dear). You may not know the name the way you do other legends, but if your baby treats you bad like she do, they Smokey and his guitar mojo hand is the pal for you...

SMOKEY HOGG CDs on Ace Records

1. "Angels In Harlem" (August 1992 UK Ace/Specialty Records CDCHD 419 – Barcode 029667141925)

2. "Deep Ellum Rambler" (January 2001 UK CD on Ace Records CDCHD 780 – Barcode 029667178020)

3. "Serve It To The Right: The Combo And Modern Recordings 1947-52" 

(December 2002 UK CD on Ace Records CDCHD 866 – Barcode 029667186629)

4. "Midnight Blues" (November 2004 UK Ace Records CDCHD 1019 – Barcode 029667002820)

5. "The Texas Blues Of Smokey Hogg" 

(February 2021 UK CD on Ace Records CDCHD 1588 - Barcode 029667101226)

"Classic" by THE EVERLY BROTHERS – Their Fifties Columbia and Cadence Records Output Including Three Albums In Full – The 1958 US Debut "The Everly Brothers", their 1958 Second Album "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us", their 1959 Third Album "The Fabulous Style Of..." (1960 UK) Plus Single-Sides, Rarities and Previously Unreleased (February 1992 GERMAN Bear Family 3CD 74-Track LP-Sized Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With over 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Let It Be Me..."

In June 2021 – and with copyright laws for material of this age long ago gone out the moral window – I am sure you can find the stunning Fifties Cadence Records beginnings of The Everly Brothers for cash peanuts elsewhere. In fact I'd lay odds that if you listen close enough, some of the remasters from this famously thorough release have probably been dubbed and half-inched for myriad cheaper budget reissues (Bear Family has even sued over suchlike theft). 

So why spend money on this LP-sized behemoth that in late 2021 is fast approaching 30-years of age - old CDs being something of a pariah in the digital domain? Because its 'Bear Family' and they're the absolute biz-schnizz - the very best.

I've owned this LP-Sized beauty for decades now and it still feels like the words 'class act' were coined just to describe it (see photos below provided). There's a heap to discuss, so let's have at it....

Released 10 February 1992 in GERMANY - "Classic" by THE EVERLY BROTHERS on Bear Family BCD 15618 CI (Barcode 4000127156181) is a 3CD LP-Sized 74-Track Box Set of Remastered 1950s Columbia and Cadence Recordings in Mono (1955 to 1959) with Previously Unreleased that plays out as follows:

CD1 (48:06 minutes) 21 Tracks

CD2 (67:44 minutes) 24 Tracks

CD3 (68:39 minutes) 29 Tracks

The LP-sized colour booklet is a beautiful thing to behold that amidst black and whites snaps of the boys with Buddy Holly and other genre-luminaries of the day, are full-page colour plates of Don and Phil - young and fresh-faced – the clean-cut all-American lads with harmonising voices of gold. Pages 35 to 37 offer up an archive-type Columbia & Cadence Records US-based Discography put together by the award-winning musicologist and writer COLIN ESCOTT. It covers November 1955 through to the December 1959 sessions and you get American catalogue numbers for 45-singles, four-track E.P.s and full albums plus subsequent LP/CD reissues carrying tracks that were made in those early years. 

Take for instance the beautiful song "Let It Be Me" – it's on two CDs – Track 9 on Disc 2 is the master for the December 1959 US 45-single A-side of Cadence 1376 – while we find that Track 11 on Disc 3 is an outtake version exclusive to this box set. The discography then also lists the US Mono LP it appeared on – July 1960's "The Fabulous Style Of..." on Cadence CLP 3040 and further to that Cadence CLP 3062, a 1963 best of called "15 Everly Hits 15". Above the master entries are session players, studio dates, and any other relevant info. But the big news is the stunning clear Audio from two hugely experienced Audio Engineers - Rhino's BILL INGLOT and England's 'Boppin' BOB JONES - names collectors would actively seek out when it comes to Exceptional Remasters.

An irritation for me with these master-type discographies is that you get catalogue number references to albums like CLP 3025 for instance without it ever telling you what that LP's title actually is – "The Everly Brothers' Best" on Cadence Records. I always feel they should have a reference to what catalogue number is for what so you know what you're dealing with. Also, despite the Discography not surprisingly being almost-entirely US-based – there is the occasional nod towards UK releases when it warrants it. The 'One O'Clock Lyric version' of "Poor Jenny" famously appears only on the May 1959 UK 45-single on London HLA 8863 (and the British LP apparently) while the 'Ten O'Clock Lyric Version' appears on the US single and LP. This is noted. 

But the big news is the stunning clear Audio from two hugely experienced Audio Engineers - Rhino's BILL INGLOT and England's 'Boppin' BOB JONES - names collectors would actively seek out when it comes to Exceptional Remasters.

In fact if you want to sequence their first three albums from this box set, here’s how: 16/1 = Track 16 on Disc 1, 2/3 = Track 2 on Disc 3 etc

"The Everly Brothers"

January 1958 US Debut Album on Cadence CLP 3003 (Mono)

May 1958 UK Debut Album on London HA-A 2081 (Mono)

Side 1: This Little Girl Of Mine (16/1) / Maybe Tomorrow (10/1) / Bye Bye Love (6/1) / Brand New Heartache (11/1) / Keep-A Knockin' (13/1) Be Bop A Lula (17/1)

Side 2: Rip It Up (15/1) / I Wonder If I Care As Much (5/1) / Wake Up Little Susie (8/1) / Leave My Woman Alone (14/1) / Should We Tell Him (12/1) / Hey Doll Baby (9/1)

"Songs Our Daddy Taught Us"

 November 1958 US Second Album on Cadence CLP 3016 (Mono)

February 1959 UK Second Album on London HA-A 2150 (Mono)

Side 1: Roving Gambler (13/2) / Down In The Willow Garden (17/2) / Long Time Gone (18/2) / Lightning Express (19/2) That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine (20/2) / Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet (14/2)

Side 2: Barbara Allen (21/2) / Oh So Many Years (22/2) / I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail (23/2) / Rockin' Alone (In An Old Rocking Chair) (15/2) / Kentucky (24/2) / Put My Little Shoes Away (16/2)

"The Fabulous Style Of The Everly Brothers"

July 1960 US Third Studio Album * on Cadence CLP 3040 (Mono)

October 1960 UK Third Studio Album *** on London HA-2266 (Mono)

Side 1: Like Strangers (11/2) / Since You Broke My Heart (1/2) / Let It Be Me (9/2) / Oh, What A Feeling (8/2) / Take A Message To Mary (3/2) / Brand New Heartache (11/1)

Side 2:  When Will I Be Loved (12/2) / Rip It Up (15/1) / ('Til) I Kissed You (7/2) / Hey Doll Baby (9/1) / Poor Jenny (5/2) ** / Be Bop A Lula (17/1)

NOTES ("The Fabulous Style Of..."):

* Although this is technically their third US album, "The Fabulous Style Of..." is a compilation that features Four Tracks from the debut while the other eight cuts are the A&B-sides of Four US 45s that hadn't appeared on a US LP up to this point

** the song "Poor Jenny" comes in two forms - the 'Ten O'Clock Lyric Version' that appears on the US albums CLP 3040 and CLP 3062 (Track 5, Disc 2) while the 'One O'Clock Lyric version' appears only on the May 1959 UK 45-single on London HLA 8863 that cut is Track 4 on Disc 2 (the UK LP cut is the Ten O'Clock version)

*** The UK LP variant features a different track list as follows

Side 1: Like Strangers (11/2) / All I Have To Do Is Dream (18/1) / Claudette (19/1) / Oh, What A Feeling (8/2) / Take A Message To Mary (3/2) / Devoted To You (20/1)

Side 2: When Will I Be Loved (12/2) / Bird Dog (21/1) / ('Til) I Kissed You (7/2) / Problems (1 / 2) / Poor Jenny ** (5/2) / Love Of My Life (2/2)

All the huge Billboard Pop hits are here - "Bye Bye Love" (No. 2 in 1957 with "I Wonder If I Care As Much" on the flipside), "Wake Up Little Susie" (No. 1 in 1957), "This Little Girl Of Mine" (No. 26 in 1958), "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (No. 1 in 1958 with "Claudette" on the flipside) and so on until "Let It Be Me" in January 1960 (No. 7 on the charts) marked the transition over to Warner Brothers for the rest of the Sixties. "Bird Dog" also hit No. 1 in 1958, "Problems" went to No. 2 and other chart notables include "Take A Message To Mary", "Poor Jenny" and "('Til) I Kissed You". The Brothers charted 14 songs in that period and they are all here is best Audio. 

Bear continued their thorough exploration of the Everlys musical legacy by going all out on the next two sets - "The Price Of Fame 1960-1965" came in January 2006 and covered the first part of the Warner Brothers Years (7CDs) - while "Chained To A Memory 1966-1972" came in June 2006 and its 8CDs+1DVD covered the remaining Warner Brothers catalogue. 

I know "Classic" is expensive as all Bear Family tomes tend to be – but put it to you this way – any Box set that is still on catalogue after nearly 30 years has to have done something right in the first place. Beautiful and then some...

PS: Bear Family followed up this release with a real gem that I've also reviewed - "Studio Outtakes" from February 2006 featured 34 x 1950s Cadence Recordings Outtakes onto 1 CD (79:42 minutes), all Remastered and placed in a Mini Clamshell Box Set with a substantial booklet (Bear Family BCD 15931 AR - Barcode 4000127159311). If you've any love for the Harmony Vocals of the Ev's then you will need that too...

"Dirty Work Going On: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.1" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Solomon Burke (as King Solomon), T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Big Jay McNeely, Little Joe Blue, Larry Davis, Fillmore Slim [aka Billy Ray], Flash Terry and more (July 2020 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Remasters with Seven Previously Unissued Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With over 200 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...My New Figure Mama Sure Looks Good To Me..."

By the end of the Fifties, hard-hitting gutbucket Blues had morphed into a more commercial type of shuffling Rhythm & Blues which quickly then became the softer and more upbeat sooth of early Soul. 

Despite emphasising Blues in its title - this first volume of two CD compilations dealing with the US Kent & Modern labels and their 60s output straddles all of those genres really and is a hugely enjoyable listen for it (Volume 2 "If I Have To Wreck L.A." followed in September 2020 and is reviewed separately, pictured below). 

Although Ace say the emphasis is on Blues, most tracks veer towards R&B while all have those witty lyrical vignettes of domestic misery we love where it's always someone else's fault. With that in mind, "Dirty Work Going On..." serves you up clip-winged jealous angels, new figure mama's, fast guns, fine mellow bodies and bad-luck midnight skinny uptight Texas types, so let's get our hands mucky people and have at it...

UK released Friday, 31 July 2020 - "Dirty Work Going On: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.1" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDCHD 1571 (Barcode 029667098724) offers 26 Remastered Tracks (Seven are Previously Unissued) that play out as follows (74:14 minutes):

1. Go Ahead - FILLMORE SLIM (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, 1962 Kent Recording)

2. New Figure - KING SOLOMON (1966 US 45-single on Kent 45x451, B-side of "S K Blues" - for A-side see 10)

3. Understanding - LITTLE JOE BLUE (1967 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

4. Hey Hey Baby - T-BONE WALKER (January 1965 US 45-single on Modern 1004, A-side - for B-side see Track 13)

5. It Can Only Hurt For So Long - LARRY DAVIS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1970 Kent Recording)

6. On My Way Back Home (Alternate Take) - FLASH TERRY (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED take of Kent 310, a 1958 US 45-single A-side - for B-side see Track 15)

7. Please Mr. President - KING SOLOMON (1966 US 45-single on Kent 45x446, A-side - for B-side see Track 25)

8. Jealous Woman - T-BONE WALKER (1964 recording firs issued in 1992 on the UK Various Artists 3CD compilation "60 Great Blues Recordings" on Cascade CBOXCD 3)

9. Dirty Work Going On (Take 8) - LITTLE JOE BLUE (1964 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

10. S K Blues - KING SOLOMON (1966 US 45-single on Kent 45x451, A-side, for B-side "New Figure" see Track 2)

11. Something About You Baby (Take 7) - LARRY DAVIS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1970 Kent Recording)

12. Fast Gun Annie - BILLY RAY [aka Fillmore Slim] (1962 recording first issued in June 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.2" on P-Vine PCD 3063)

13. Should I Let Her Go - T-BONE WALKER (January 1965 US 45-single on Modern 1004, B-side - for A-side see Track 4)

14. Consider Yourself (Extended) - STACY JOHNSON (1965 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

15. One Thing We Know - FLASH TERRY (1958 US 45-single on Kent 310, A-side - for alternate of the A-side see Track 6)

16. Let Me Be Your Eagle Baby (Take 1) - KING SOLOMON (1966 recording that first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.3" on P-Vine PCD-3065)

17. Blues In G Minor (Blues Guitar) - BIG JAY McNEELY (1968 US 45-single on Modern 45xMX32, B-side of "Deacon's Hop")

18. Love Will Lead You Right - T-BONE WALKER (1964 recording first appeared on the 1988 UK LP compilation "Blues Around Midnight" on Ace Records CH 235) 

19. Almost Midnight (Take 3) - KING SOLOMON (1966 recording that first appeared on the 1999 Japan-Only Various Artists CD Compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's Vol.3" on P-Vine PCD-3065)

20. Playboy (Underdub) - BILLY RAY [aka Fillmore Slim] (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED Version of the A-side to a US 45-single on Kent 45x367)

21. Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It (Take 3) - LITTLE JOE BLUE (1964 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

22. Sweet Little Angel - LARRY DAVIS (January 1969 US 45-single on Kent K-507, A-side)

23. Down Now (Take 3) - B.B. KING (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1961 Kent Recording)

24. Jimmy's Special - LITTLE JOE BLUE (1967 recording first issued in March 1999 on the Japan-Only Various Artists CD compilation "West Coast Modern Blues 1960's" on P-Vine PCD 3060)

25. Mr. Bad Luck - KING SOLOMON (1966 US 45-single on Kent 45x446, B-side - for A-side see Track 7)

26. Texas Queen (Underdub) - BILLY RAY [aka Fillmore Slim] (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED Version of Kent 367)

Tracks 1, 5, 6, 11, 20, 23 and 26 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 

The 16-page booklet features informative liner notes courtesy of DICK SHURMAN sat alongside photos of those rare US 45-labels and rare publicity shots of heroes like Little Joe Blue, B.B. King and Big Jay McNeely (dig T-Bone Walker looking cool with a cigarette in his mouth and that huge guitar in hand) while DUNCAN COWELL does his usual spectacular best - the Audio kicking ass on every tune. The fidelity (despite the age) is at times eerily brill. To the listen...

Clever inclusions are several tracks from those desirable but long-deleted 'P-Vine' CD compilations out of Japan as well as early Ace releases. "Dirty Work Going On..." opens with a Blues bruiser, the rough and ready "Go Ahead" where Fillmore Slim finally gets a 1962 Kent Records recording an airing. Far funnier and better recorded comes the first of four fab songs from Atlantic Records stalwart Solomon Burke credited as 'King Solomon'. Our robe-be-draped hero is digging his lady's "New Figure" where she may have put on a few pounds but it's in all the right places. Speaking of genre heroes, T-Bone Walker gets hugely enjoyable cuts - the first of which is the very B.B. King shuffle of "Hey Hey Baby" where the big man is prepared to forgive his dirty no-good mistreater of a gal if she'll only agree to come home and face the music never mind his guitar (what a guy). But it gets worse - T-Bone is then afraid to go asleep in "Jealous Woman" 'cause his latest squeeze will stab him in his PJ's if he gawks at his old girlfriend ' that way' again. 

Fantastic audio accompanies the witty brass and bass roll of "S K Blues" where Solomon Burke wants the wig he bought his lady back because she keeps on doing him wrong (the Lord done forgot to give her hair apparently). There is something about his baby that lingers in the mind of Larry Davis, a fabulous slow mooching of a Blues song with nifty guitar work (Take 7 is Previously Unissued and is a genuine find). Heartbreaker and money-taker Billy Ray (Fillmore Slim) jumps in his Cadilac for "Playboy" – or is it a Coupe de Ville? Little Joe Blues has deep regrets in "Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat It Too" – naturally this B.B. King-sounding singer finds that the want for too much sugar is on his lady’s side (the man is blemishless). And on it goes...

A great listen, Bluesy, Shufflers when you need them, Fun moments and those superb unreleased along with eight from Solomon Burke and T-Bone Walker lifting up everything to winner status. 

"I got a sweet little angel and I love the way she spread her wings... " - Larry Davis pines on "Sweet Little Angel". He asked her for a nickel and she gave him a twenty-dollar bill. Well, "Dirty Work Going On: Kent & Modern Records - Blues Into The 60s Vol.1" does the same...