"A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings" by ELVIS PRESLEY – Includes The Four Sides Of His Self-Financed Memphis Recording Services Acetates, All The Sun Masters, 28 Sun Studio Sessions, Four RCA Masters and 32 Live/Radio Performances – The Definitive Account of the Sun Records Period (2017 UK RCA/Legacy/Sony Music 10 x 10-Inch 3CD Book Set of Remasters with A Detached 120-Page Booklet) - 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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"...That's All Right..."

For my Elvis Presley Sun Records fix and delectation, I would always reach for the June 2004 single CD "Elvis At Sun" - RCA/BMG 82876 613082 and its 19 tracks and 47:39 minutes sufficient for my Rock 'n' Roll/Rockabilly needs. But then this officially issued RCA/Legacy swoon-fest showed up in 2017 and it's been "That's All Right Mama..." ever since. 

With the involvement of long-time Presley aficionado and a reissue name fans revere and trust - Ernst Mikeal Jorgensen – this Sun Records period splurge was always going to be thorough, affectionate and worth buying. But few could have expected "A Boy From Tupelo..." to be such a winner. This actually feels and looks like a release wanting to do right by his legendary beginnings – and not just dress to impress – but put out the definitive statement on that wild rollercoaster of a start. And in July 2021, "...Tupelo" is reduced to below twenty-two quid as new. Loads to discuss, so let's have at it...

UK released 28 July 2017 - "A Boy From Tupelo: The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings" by ELVIS PRESLEY on RCA/Legacy/Sony Music 88985417732 (Barcode 889854177324) is a 3CD 85-Track 10" x 10" Soft Book Set of Remasters covering his Sun Records period with an accompanying 120-Page Booklet. It plays out as follows:

CD1: Memphis Recording Services Acetates, Sun Masters & RCA Masters (66:36 minutes, 27 tracks):

MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE ACETATES 

1. My Happiness 

2. That's When Your Heartaches Begin 

3. I'll Never Stand In Your Way 

4. It Wouldn't Be The Same (Without You) 

SUN MASTERS

5. Harbor Lights 

6. I Love You Because 

7. That's All Right (45 RPM Master) 

8. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (45 RPM Master, July 1954 recording) 

9. Blue Moon (August 1954 recording)

10. Tomorrow Night 

11. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') 

12. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine 

13. Just Because 

14. Good Rockin' Tonight 

15. Milkcow Blues Boogie 

16. You're A Heartbreaker 

17. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version) 

18. Baby, Let's Play House 

19. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone 

20. I Forgot To Remember To Forget 

21. Mystery Train 

22. Tryin' To Get To You 

23. When It Rains It Pours 

RCA MASTERS

24. That's All Right (RCA Single Version) 

25. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (RCA Single Version - 78 RPM Master)

26. I Love You Because (Spliced From Takes 3 & 5) 

27. Tomorrow Night (RCA LP Version, Overdubbed & Slowed Down)  

CD2: Sun Studio Sessions (75:40 minutes, 26 tracks):

SUN STUDIO SESSIONS 

1. Harbor Lights (Takes 1-2, Level Adjustments & 3/M) 

2. Harbor Lights (Take 4) 3. Harbor Lights (Takes 5-8)

4. I Love You Because (Takes 1-2) 

5. I Love You Because (Take 3) 

6. I Love You Because (Takes 4-5) 

7. That's All Right (Takes 1-3) 

8. Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Slow Tempo Outtake) 

9. Blue Moon (Takes 1-4)

10. Blue Moon (Take 5) 

11. Blue Moon (Takes 6-8) 

12. Blue Moon (Take 9/M) 

13. Dialogue Fragment (Before "Tomorrow Night") 

14. I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') (Incomplete Take)

15. Good Rockin' Tonight (Fragment From Vocal Slapback Tape) 

16. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine (Takes 1-2 & 3/Master) 

17. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version, Take 1) 

18. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version, Take 2) 

19. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version, Take 3) 

20. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version, Takes 4 & 5/Master) 

21. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow Version, Takes 6-7)

22. How Do You Think I Feel (Guitar Slapback Tape, Rehearsals)

23. When It Rains It Pours (Vocal Slapback Tape, Take 1)

24. When It Rains It Pours (Vocal Slapback Tape, Takes 2-4)

25. When It Rains It Pours (Vocal Slapback Tape, Take 5/Master)

26. When It Rains It Pours (Vocal Slapback Tape, Takes 6-8)

CD3: Live And Radio Performances (79:17 minutes, 32 tracks):

LIVE AND RADIO PERFORMANCES 

1. That's All Right 

2. Blue Moon Of Kentucky 

(Tracks 1 & 2 - Louisiana Hayride, Shreveport, 16 Oct 1954)

3. Shake, Rattle And Roll

4. Fool, Fool, Fool (Tracks 3 & 4 - KDAV Radio, Lubbock, Texas, 6 Jan 1955)

5. Hearts Of Stone 

6. That's All Right 

7. Tweedlee Dee (Tracks 5-6 - Louisiana Hayride, 15 Jan 1955)

8. Shake, Rattle & Roll (Track 8 - WJOI Radio, Alabama, 19 Jan 1955)

9. KSU Radio Commercial With DJ Tom Perryman 

10. Money Honey 

11. Blue Moon Of Kentucky 

12. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine 

13. That's All Right (Tracks 10 to 13 - Louisiana Hayride, 22 Jan 1955)

14. Tweedle Dee 

15. Money Honey 

16. Hearts Of Stone 

17. Shake, Rattle & Roll 

18. Little Mama 

19. You're A Heartbreaker (Tracks 14 to 19 - Louisiana Hayride, 5 March 1955)

20. Good Rockin' Tonight 

21. Baby Let's Play House 

22. Blue Moon Of Kentucky 

23. I Got A Woman 

24. That's All Right (Tracks 20-24 - Eagles Hall, Houston, 19 March 1955)

25. Tweedle Dee (Track 25 - Gladewater High School, Gladewater, Texas, 30 April 1955)

26. That's All Right (Track 26 - Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival, Meridian, Mississippi, 26 May 1955)

27. I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Track 27 - Louisiana Hayride, 2 July 1955)

28. Baby Let's Play House 

29. Maybelline 

30. That's All Right (Tracks 28-30 - Louisiana Hayride, 20 August 1955)

31. Interview With Bob Neal (5:31 minutes) (WMPS Radio, Memphis, Tennessee, 29-31 August 1955)

32. I Forgot To Remember To Forget (Track 32 - Louisiana Hayride, 29 Oct 1955)

Many have commented on the 120-page booklet but until you see it, its hard to describe how cleverly and beautifully its put together. Take Pages 70 and 71 - there are seven photos on one and another six on 71 - at the bottom you get a numbered reference - most are in black and white but there are four colour of a June 1955 Louisiana Hayride gig where a young lad gets a photo opportunity with the new 'uppercoming Country Star attraction' ELVIS PRESLEY. They even picture the ten 45-singles that Elvis took his cover versions from on Pages 116 and 117. The text is stunning - broken down into a week-by-week chronology of events - for instance Page 61 pictures both sides of the Sun 217 45-single - "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" b/w "Baby, Let's Play House" because it was issued April 1955. The booklet even provides the less-than-enthusiastic trade reviews for the awkward A-side while a timeline chart shows that Elvis played Gladewater High School on Saturday 30th of April. And of course all the key players are there - Sam Phillips of Sun Records - the ever-lingering Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis' chaperoning Mum and Dad - Vern and Gladys. There are lovely photos of girlfriends too - Carolyn Bradshaw, Betty Amos, all a tad giddy to be in the orbit of a rising star. 

AUDIO RESTORATION and Mastering is by SEBASTIAN JEANSSON with additional work from Sony stalwarts VIC ANESINI, MARIA TRIANA and MARK WILDER with Dominick Constanzo and Alan Stoker - all at Battery Studios. As you can imagine it's a mixed bag of the amateur vying for attention with the restored hissy tapes of Sun Records. The outtakes are in great shape and even if the Sun Masters dip a bit here and there, we are so used to hearing the lo-fi releases of yore - this kind of clarity will come as a shock to most. I cannot imagine the number of hours both the presentation and the restoration took, but the results are impressive even if the difficult-to-remove CDs from their card lips is a disappointment (once out, I'd store them in envelopes for ease of access). To the music...    

The sound on the "My Happiness" debut acetate is eerily clean – awesome frankly. RCA admits that the second "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" self-financed acetate is far more compromised and therefore not as pristine, but it still shockingly good. The RPM Master for "That's All Right" has hiss but the sheer power of history comes roaring across your speakers and it put the first of many smiles on my Covid-weary visage. But then you're whomped with the stunning Slapback echo of "Tomorrow Night" in fabulous sound quality – the best I've ever heard it – Scotty Moore on Guitar and Bill Black on Bass. There is also an RCA version (Track 27) but it feels like Elvis is lost in the back of the mix amidst girly vocals, an overly powerful Bass and a scene-stealing Charlie McCoy Harmonica solo. I want to hear him, not them. 

Another wonderful clarity moment comes with the Rockabilly rattle of the kiss and kiss and kiss "I Don't Care If The Sun Don’t Shine" – lights are low – when I’m with my baby. There has been repair to "Good Rockin’ Tonight" – Scotty’s fab solo clear as a bell – Bill’s plucking Double Bass sweet in the background as Elvis sings I heard the news. And while "Milk Cow Blues" and "You're A Heartbreaker" sound good and not much more - I'm taken aback by the Slow Version of "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" – the Audio leaping out of my speakers and Elvis letting rip with just enough power. Suddenly he seems like the rocket they were all saying he was. Music-changing epoch number three arrives in the shape of "Mystery Train" – sixteen coaches long – coming right round the Audio Slap-Bass bend - very tasty indeed. 

In some respects I was crest-fallen to find not one outtake from my fave Elvis track of that period - his great cover version of The Eagles Vocal Group R&B hit "Tryin' To Get To You" (original 1954 on Mercury Records) - or for that matter "Mystery Train" - but the stop-starts of "Harbor Lights" and "That's All Right" are very clear if not minus any dialogue (Elvis being respectful?). And when you hear the live stuff where he tears into R&B influences like Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle And Roll", The Clovers "Little Mama", Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman" and even Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" - you wish they were amongst the outtakes or studio cuts too - but alas. 

For certain that 2004 single CD "Elvis At Sun" is probably all any period-curious traveller needs, but if you've any love for the man and this myth making period - then "A Boy From Tupelo" is the tribute it has always deserved...

"The Ballads Of The Platters" by THE PLATTERS – US Federal and Mercury Record Label 45-Single and LP Hits Between 1955 and 1961 (March 2013 GERMAN Bear Family 33-Track CD Compilation of Jurgen Crasser 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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"...The Magic Touch..."

The Doo Wop and Vocal Group Tradition had few genuine superstars and even fewer who crossed over into the Pop arena. 

But manager and songwriter Buck Ram's carefully honed and beautifully produced Vocal Group THE PLATTERS (with the sweetest pipes in Tony Williams and Zola Taylor out front) were both, and across its huge near ninety-minute playing time, this gorgeous sounding Bear Family CD shows why they were so big, back in the smooching day. 

After a short stint with Federal Records between 1953 and 1955 (despite being non-charters, two of those sides are featured here - the A&B of their rare debut 45-single "I'll Cry When You're Gone") - The Platters hit the ground running and charted a huge 21 tracks between 1955 and 1967 on the American R&B singles lists - four of which went to Number One (same for any other territories around the world too). 

This 2013 set sticks to the Federal and Mercury Recordings and so begins in 1953 and ends with 1961's "I'll Never Smile Again" (doesn't include the four they charted on Musicor between 1966 and 1967). So, there's a lot of smoke getting in people's eyes, twilight times, my prayers and great pretenders to get through, so let's have at the Four Guys and Their One Dish...

Released in Germany 26 March 2013 - "The Ballads Of The Platters" by THE PLATTERS on Bear Family BCD 17326 AR (Barcode 5391523910095) is a 33-Track CD Compilation of Federal and Mercury Recordings Remasters that plays out as follows (89:44 minutes): 

1. Smokes Gets In Your Eyes - November 1958, US 45-single on Mercury 71383, A-side) - No. 3 R&B

2. Only You (And You Alone) - June 1955, US 45-single on Mercury 70633, A-side) - No. 1 R&B

3. I'll Cry When You're Gone - 1953, US 45-single on Federal 12164, A-side) 

4. I Need You All The Time - 1953, US 45-single on Federal 12164, B-side to "I'll Cry When You're Gone")

5. Tell The World - July 1954, US 45-single on Federal 12188, B-side of "Love All Night" - Reissued December 1955 on Federal 12250

6. Why Should I  - 1956 US Debut LP "The Platters" on Mercury MG 20146

7. The Great Pretender - November 1955 US 45-single on Mercury 70753, A-side - No. 1 R&B

8. I'm Just A Dancing Partner - November 1955 US 45-single on Mercury 70753, B-side of "The Great Pretender" 

9. (You've Got) The Magic Touch - February 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70819, A-side - No. 4 R&B

10. Winner Takes All - February 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70819, B-side of "(You've Got) The Magic Touch"

11. My Prayer - June 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70893, A-side - No. 1 R&B

12. Heaven On Earth - June 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70893, B-side of "My Prayer" - No. 13 R&B 

13. You'll Never, Never Know - August 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70948, A-side - No. 9 R&B

14. It Isn't Right - August 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70948, A-side - No. 10 R&B

15. On My Word Of Honor - November 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 71011, A-side - No. 7 R&B

16. One In A Million - November 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 71011, A-side - No. 7 R&B

17. I'm Sorry - January 1957 US 45-single on Mercury 71032, A-side - No. 15 R&B

18. Glory Of Love - 1956 US Debut LP "The Platters" on Mercury MG 20146 in Mono

19. Remember When - 1956 US Debut LP "The Platters" on Mercury MG 20146 in Mono

20. In The Still Of Night - 1956 US Second LP "Volume Two" on Mercury MG 20216 in Mono 

21. My Dream - June 1958 US 45-single on Mercury 71320, B-side to "My Old Flame" - No. 7 R&B

22. Only Because - August 1957 US 45-single on Mercury 71184, A-side - also 1960 US LP "Encores!" on Mercury/Wing MGW 12112 

23. The Mystery Of You - 1960 US LP "Encores!" on Mercury/Wing MGW 12112 - 1960 US LP "Encores!" on Mercury/Wing MGW 12112

24. Helpless - December 1957 US 45-single on Mercury 71246, A-side - also 1960 US LP "Encores!" on Mercury/Wing MGW 12112

25. Twilight Time (LP Version) - 1960s US LP "The Flying Platters Around The World" on Mercury SR 60043 in Stereo 

26. You're Making A Mistake - June 1958 US 45-single on Mercury 71320, B-side of "My Old Flame" 

27. I Wish - August 1958 US 45-single on Mercury 71353, A-side 

28. No Matter What You Are - November 1958 US 45-single on Mercury 71383, A-side - No. 3 R&B

29. Enchanted - March 1959 US 45-single on Mercury 71427, A-side - No. 9 R&B

30. My Secret - November 1959 US 45-single on Mercury 71538, A-side 

31. Harbor Lights - 1960 US LP "Reflections" on Mercury SR 60160 in Stereo 

32. To Each His Own - October 1960 US 45-single on Mercury 71697, A-side 

33. I'll Never Smile Again - July 1961 US 45-single on Mercury 71847, A-side

The 36-page booklet is attached to the inside of the fetching gatefold card digipak - the world's premier archivist on R&B and Vocal Groups BILL DAHL providing Page 3 to 27 - a detailed history of this most famous of groups. 'The Mercury Discography' is put together by other famous names associated with the genres - WALTER DeVENNE, (Bear Family's) RICHARD WEIZE and LAURENCE ZWISOHN. In-between Dahl's classy storytelling there are black and white photos of our five-piece heroes holding all manner of awards including the 'Cash Box' award for sales of "The Great Pretender" in 1958. Not surprisingly the most recognisable element of The Platters - Tony Williams and his gorgeous Nat King Cole velvet sets of pipes - gets a publicity shot on Page 5 while the classic line-up smile for us on Page 11 - Herb Reed (Bass Vocals), Tony Williams (Lead Tenor Vocals), Zola Taylor (Lead Female Vocals), David Lynch (Tenor Vocals) and Paul Robi (Baritone Vocals). 

But the big news is that all tracks are the JURGEN CRASSER Remasters that turned on Bear Family's sumptuous 9CD LP-Sized Box Set "Four Platters And One Lovely Dish" in February 1994 (Bear Family BCD 15741 II - Barcode 4000127157416). These are beautifully clear and clean and I can't stress enough how it adds to the enjoyment of the listen. I know some will complain that at their not insubstantial prices, Bear really should have included the single mix everyone knows for "Twilight Time" and not the Stereo LP cut, and you can get all this stuff on a Universal Best Of CD for probably six quid or something (with a gatefold slip of paper as an inlay). But if you want the best, especially in the cause of exceptional audio, then reach for The Platters here first.

Even after all these decades, the sheer romance of this music hits home – Tony whooping up a tearful storm as you bath in the yesteryear innocence of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender" and "You'll Never, Never Know". All that MONO is clear as a whistle too, so re-discoveries like "You're Making A Mistake" and "Glory Of Love" feel like eavesdropping on a different time and different place. The two early sides show why Tony made such a difference – his voice was pretty – comforting like buttered toast and scones – and you can hear the improvement by the time we reach the zenith years of 1955 and 1956 – that signature feel they got. 

"Only You (And You Alone)" has been covered by so many artists you might require a foolscap jotter to name them all, but here is the place to understand why they made so many hungry hearts smile and swoon... 

PS: in this Bear Family "Ballads" Series of CD Reissues - see also CHARLIE RICH 

"Like It Is/Honey-Drippin’ Blues" by (LITTLE) JUNIOR PARKER – February 1967 US LP on Mercury and December 1969 US LP on Blue Rock Records - Both in Stereo – featuring Memphis Sessionmen Willie Mitchell, Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller, Fred Ford and Jimmy Mitchell on Horns, Bobby Emmons on Organ, Joe Hall on Piano with Reggie Young on Guitar (March 2017 UK Beat Goes On Compilation - 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson 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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"...Gonna Please You...Yes I Am!"

A blindingly good twofer from England's BGO yet again – pairing two completely overlooked Blues-Soul albums that haven't seen the CD light of day prior to this - ever. 

Originally on Mercury Records and their subsidiary Blue Rock – they came out Stateside in early 1967 and late 1969 (the first even got a British release in both Mono and Stereo) and were clearly aimed at dancefloor feet rather than Blues Guitar purists. Criminally forgotten goodies comes to mind, so let's have at Little Junior cuttin' loose and cookin' his lovin' goose...

UK released March 2017 - "Like It Is/Honey-Drippin' Blues" by (LITTLE) JUNIOR PARKER on Beat Goes On BGOCD1278 (Barcode 5017261212788) offers two US Albums from 1967 and 1969 originally on Mercury Records Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (61:33 minutes):

1. Country Girl [Side 1]

2. You Can Make It If You Try 

3. Wish Me Well 

4. Hey Lawdy Mama

5. Sometimes I Wonder 

6. (Ooh Wee Baby) That's The Way You Make Me Feel

7. Come Back, Baby [Side 2]

8. Just Like A Fish 

9. Baby, Please

10. You Ain't Got No Heart 

11. Cracked Up Over You

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Like It Is" – released February 1967 in the USA on Mercury MG-21101 (Mono) and Mercury SR-61101 (Stereo) and March 1967 in the UK on Mercury 20097 MCL (Mono) and Mercury 20097 SMCL (Stereo). Produced by BOBBY ROBINSON – it didn't chart in either country. Band included Memphis sessionmen Willie Mitchell (the Hi Records and Al Green Producer), Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller, Fred Ford and Jimmy Mitchell on Various Horns, Reggie Young on Guitar, Buddy Emmons on Organ, Joe Hall on Piano, Mike Leech on Bass with Sam Creason on Drums.  

12. Easy Lovin' [Side 1]

13. I'm So Satisfied 

14. You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down 

15. You're The One

16. Reconsider Baby 

17. Lover to Friend 

18. Your Bag Is Bringing Me Down 

19. Ain't Gon' Be No Cutting Aloose [Side 2]

20. Lovin' Man On Your Hands 

21. Your Love's All Over Me 

22. What A Fool I Was 

23. I Got Money 

24. It Must Be Love 

Tracks 12 to 24 are the album "Honey-Drippin’ Blues" – released December 1969 in the USA on Mercury/Blue Rock SRB-64004 in Stereo (no UK issue). 

The card-wrap outer slipcase lends these Beat Goes On reissues a classy feel while the 20-page booklet features all the original artwork and sleeve notes with a new appraisal of all by noted writer CHARLES WARING. He goes into both albums and gives a potted history of Parker back when he was Little Junior Parker for his album in 1961 on Crown Records called "Driving Wheel". Hip-O Select of the USA reissued that famous American LP in its reissue artwork and I've reviewed that rare CD elsewhere. 

BGO's resident mucho-experienced Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON does the usual stalwart business by the transfers and even if the separation in say either "Baby Please" or "You Ain't Got No Heart" sees the drums in one speaker and the guitar and brass in another – they're so alive, kicking and clear – the feel is still great. This is a nice sounding CD reissue and the musicianship of the Memphis sessionmen is tight, contributing a lift when the arrangements needed it. The second album from 1969 sees Production values go up big time, proper Stereo – gorgeous sound in your speakers as you digest the hipster shuffle of "Easy Lovin'" and the lurve-man persuasion in "You're The One". 

Amongst the large number of covers on the "Like It Is" album is an absolute cracker in his dancing take on Memphis Slim’s "Wish Me Well" where session guitarist Reggie Young (subject of an Ace CD all by himself) does Junior Parker proud – tasty flicks throughout. Young does the same on the Jimmy Reed standard "Hey Lawdy Mama" – gotta leave this town – ain’t got no time to lose. Mercury took the opening song "Country Girl" on Side 1 and paired it up with another excellent Parker original "Sometimes I Wonder" as the flipside – but the April 1967 US 45-single on Mercury 72672 didn’t seem to take. Shame, as both are good. 

Less successful is a girly-vocal-laden take on Smokey Robinson's "(Ooh Wee Baby) That's The Way You Make Me Feel" that feels too much like its reaching for a two-minute single hit. Far better is the chugging Blues lurch in "Come Back, Baby" – a popular Ray Charles song used on loads of Euro Atlantic Records singles in 1961 and 1962. Parker follows it with another chugger-winner in the shape of "Come Back A Fish" – a Pearl Woods song Mercury issued way ahead of the album in September 1966 as a flipside (Woods famously co-wrote "Something's Got A Hold Of Me" with Etta James). Using a truly superb smouldering cover of the Curtis Mayfield pleader "Baby Please" on the A-side of Mercury 72620 – they make for a handsome pairing. And on it goes to the Motown R&B bop of "Cracked Up Over You" – Junior Parker understated in his vocal delivery – backed up so well by Piano, Brass and Drums making it a dancefloor draw. 

The December 1969 LP "Honey-Drippin' Blues" clearly feels more produced and sounds just great for it – very much a 60ts Sexy Shuffling Soul LP more than Blues or traditional R&B. Think The Dells meets The Chi-Lites meets Northern Soul joy. His voice just so suits this material too. Hardly surprising that Blue Rock chose "Easy Lovin'" as its leadoff 45-single - it's hooky chorus bound to grab FM-attention. Coupled with the equally cool "You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down" on the flipside - Blue Rock B-4088 was released August 1969 as a US 45-single but it didn't trouble Billboard's top 200 on their R&B charts. 

Lovely warmth to the side-stepper "You’re The One" – a sexy thrill-you-with-my-love piece of slinkiness – his pleading vocals smooth as silk. Parker then cleverly reworks the Lowell Fulson classic "Reconsider Baby" with tiny nods in the arrangement to the fabulous version Presley did on the "Elvis Is Back" way back in 1960. Looky-here-baby lyrical jabs fill "Lover To Friend" as does some nice Harmonica soloing work from Parker. He goes into full-on smooch for "What A Fool I Was" sounding not unlike B.B. King realising he's been a bit of a schmuck when it comes to trusting that woman who studies all the time. 

For sure the song quality dips on album number two with "I Got Money" and the church-organ vs. girly backing singers of "It Must Be Love" feeling like Parker's chasing Aretha Franklin Gospel-Soul authenticity and not quite getting there. But still, there is so much good on this pairing that at less than seven quid in July 2021 on Amazon (brand new) - that makes me wanna advise that you to "Wish Me Well" when it comes to Beat Goes On BGOCD 1278...  

"The Complete Recordings" by ROBERT JOHNSON - Tracks recorded in Texas in 1936 and 1937 and transferred from Twelve Vocalion Mono 78s, Acetates and Other Sources (1990 US Columbia 2CD "Roots 'n' Blues" 49-Track Long Box Presentation Set of Remasters, Alternate Takes and Some Previously Unreleased) - 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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"...Someone Fishing In My Pond..."

During his short, tumultuous and staggeringly influential tenure on this ball we call Earth, Bluesman Robert Johnson had eleven 78s issued on Vocalion Records in the USA with a further posthumous issue in 1939 after his passing aged only 27 in 1938. There were also five reissues during 1937 on Perfect and Conqueror (all listed below). 

His extraordinary musical reach that began in January 1937 with the debut release of "Terraplane Blues" will quick enough reach 100 years in 2037 (his birth centenary was May 2011) – a world-spanning influence that is based largely on 22-Tracks tucked away on fragile super-rare shellac 78"s that regularly sell for six to nine-thousand dollars at auction today in 2021 - a whole lotta love from a handful of gimme. 

Born May 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi to parents who had literally seen slavery, Johnson famously died at the age of only 27 in August 1938 from complications with pneumonia brought on by a malicious poisoning after he'd had an altercation with someone else's wife (something our frisky hero did a lot and not always at a crossroads either). RJ's 'Hellhound On My Trail' legend based on scratchy eerily played Vocalion 78s from 1936 and 1937 is now so profound and far-reaching, that his playing style and tunes have been covered by every major Blues Artist on the planet (man and woman) and even thrown up Movies loosely based on his much publicised liaison with Beelzebub where he supposedly traded his immortal Soul for the ability to play like no one else (all true of course). But is it justified – As Stevie Ray Vaughan and Keith Richards would say - Hell yes! 

This early American CD Box Set was part of the much-respected "Roots 'n' Blues" Reissue Series (Lawrence Cohn the Producer here). Columbia's FRANK ABBEY carried out the Digital Restoration and the 48-page black and white long booklet has appreciations (not surprisingly) from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and a new essay on Johnson's life by musicologist, collector and researcher STEPHEN C. LaVERE. There are photos of key players in RJ's story – San Antonio and Dallas Producer Don Law, talent scout John Hammond, pal players like Son House, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elmore James, Lonnie and Tommy Johnson (and more). 

The booklet provides lyrics to every single version, a Discography and of course Reissue Credits. In 1990 there were only a handful of photos of the great man – the one on the box being the most famous – with those spider-fingers enabling him to bend notes on the fret that changed how players attacked the Blues. "The Complete Recordings" has been reissued since 1990 in a jewel-case version, but I love this original Box Set presentation. Here are Cross Road Blues...

US released 28 August 1990 - "The Complete Recordings" by ROBERT JOHNSON on Columbia/"Roots 'n' Blues" C2K 46222 (Barcode 07464462222) features 49 Tracks from 78s and Acetates (recorded 1936 and 1937) Remastered onto 2CDs and housed in a Long Box Presentation Set. It plays out as follows:

CD1: 54:56 minutes 

1. Kindhearted Woman Blues (Take 1) 

2. Kindhearted Woman Blues (Take 2) 

3. I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom 

4. Sweet Home Chicago

5. Rambling On My Mind (Take 1)

6. Rambling On My Mind (Take 2) 

7. When You Got A Good Friend (Take 1)

8. When You Got A Good Friend (Take 2)

9. Come On In My Kitchen (Take 1)

10. Come On In My Kitchen (Take 2)

11. Terraplane Blues 

12. Phonograph Blues (Take 1)

13. Phonograph Blues (Take 2)

14. 32-20 Blues 

15. They're Red Hot

16. Dead Shrimp Blues 

17. Cross Road Blues (Take 1)

18. Cross Road Blues (Take 2)

19. Walking Blues 

20. Last Fair Deal Gone Down 

CD2: 51:57 minutes

1. Preaching Blues (Up Jumps The Devil) 

2. If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day 

3. Stones In My Passway 

4. I'm A Steady Rollin' Man 

5. From Four Till Late 

6. Hellhound On My Trail 

7. Little Queen Of Spades (Take 1)

8. Little Queen Of Spades (Take 2)

9. Malted Milk 

10. Drunken Hearted Man (Take 1)

11. Drunken Hearted Man (Take 2)

12. Me And The Devil Blues (Take 1)

13. Me And The Devil Blues (Take 2)

14. Stop Breakin' Down Blues (Take 1)

15. Stop Breakin' Down Blues (Take 2)

16. Traveling Riverside Blues 

17. Honeymoon Blues 

18. Love In Vain (Take 1)

19. Love in Vain (Take 4) 

20. Milkcow's Calf Blues (Take 2) 

21. Milkcow's Calf Blues (Take 3)

US 10-inch sized 78's 

1. Terraplane Blues b/w Kindhearted Woman Blues - January 1937, Vocalion 03416

2. 30-20 Blues b/w Last Fair Deal Gone Down - February 1937, Vocalion 03445

3. I Believe I'll Dust My Broom b/w Dead Shrimp Blues - March 1937, Vocalion 03475

4. Cross Road Blues b/w Ramblin' On My Mind - April 1937, Vocalion 03519 

5. Come On In My Kitchen b/w They're Red Hot - June 1937, Vocalion 03563

6. Sweet Home Chicago b/w Walkin' Blues - July 1937, Vocalion 03601

7. Hell Hound On My Trail b/w From Four Until Late - August 1937, Vocalion 03623 

8. Milkcow's Calf Blues b/w Malted Milk - September 1937, Vocalion 03665

9. Stones In My Passway b/w I'm A Steady Rollin' Man - November 1937, Vocalion 03723 

10. Stop Breakin' Down Blues b/w Honeymoon Blues - March 1938, Vocalion 04002

11. Me And The Devil Blues b/w Little Queen Of Spades - May 1938, Vocalion 04108

12. Love In Vain Blues b/w Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil) - February 1939, Vocalion 04630 [Posthumous Release, died August 1938] 

REISSUED 78"s

1. Terraplane Blues b/w Kindhearted Woman Blues - March 1937 reissue, Perfect 7-03-56

2. Come On In My Kitchen b/w They're Red Hot - July 1937 Reissue, Perfect 7-0757

3. Hell Hound On My Trail b/w From Four Until Late - September 1937 Reissue, Perfect 7-09-56

4.  I Believe I'll Dust My Broom b/w Dead Shrimp Blues - November 1937 Reissue, Conqueror 8871

5. Milkcow's Calf Blues b/w Malted Milk - May 1938 Reissue, Conqueror 8944

The Rolling Stones could probably put out an album's worth of Robert Johnson covers - "Love In Vain", "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" while one of my fave Led Zeppelin outtakes is their take on "Traveling Riverside Blues" - Clapton has done a whole album on RJ and of course Cream's version of "Crossroads" on the 1968 "Wheels Of Fire" double album must have sent hundreds of budding axe-players everywhere into guitar shops. For sure when you play some of the outtakes, there is a 'lot' of cackle and bumps in the 78-transfer night, but then others like "Come On In My Kitchen" are wonderfully clear. Elmore James and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac both bow at the altar that is "Dust My Broom" while Foghat, Canned Heat and even the great discoverer himself John Hammond have had their chops in "Terraplane Blues". 

I'm reading the 2020-published hardback "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson" by Annye C. Anderson with Preston Lauterbach on Hachette Books. Now in her 90s, his baby sister Annye was only 11 when RJ passed, but she has finally made available 'his story' via her remembrances and even produced astonishing unseen photos. Co-author and fellow music traveller Preston Lauterbach has authored "Chitlin' Circuit" - a book I would beg you to buy if you have any love of American Rhythm and Blues from the Forties and Fifties. 

The mystery with regard to Robert Johnson continues to unfold and his legend lives on (you can buy the jewel case 2CD reissue online for less than a fiver). But if you want to know why all the muss and fuss, and if you have the readies - go for the original presentation. His genius deserves no less... 

BIG MAMA THORNTON - "The Complete Vanguard Recordings" – Two Albums "Jail" and "Sassy Mama!" both from 1975 on Vanguard Records, One Live, One Studio, With A Third Previously Unreleased Album From The Same Sessions - Guests Featuring Cornell Dupree, Paul Griffin, George "Harmonica" Smith, Jimmy Johnson, Buddy Lucas and more (2000 UK Ace/Vanguard Masters 3CD 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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"...Rock Me Baby..."

Elvis made "Hound Dog" famous in 1956 (a US No. 1) and Janis Joplin blew the audience away at California's 'Monterey Pop Festival' in June 1967 singing a gut-wrenching version of "Ball And Chain". The originator of both of these loaded tunes was Blues Shouter (and occasional drummer) BIG MAMA THORNTON - born Willie Mae Thornton in Montgormery, Alabama in 1926 – one of seven children. She was the first to record Leiber & Stoller's wonderful "Hound Dog" in 1952 and penned "Ball And Chain" which Janis would put on the 1968 "Cheap Thrills" album by Big Brother and The Holding Company in all its near 10-minute Bluesy glory. 

So by the time she made this trio of albums (one live - two studio sets – the third a stunning unreleased LP) – she was already a 49-year old veteran riding the wave of yet another Blues Revival. But that’s not to say that the goods aren’t here – they are. If anything – her age and experience exude out of these recordings - sounding not unlike Etta James on a good day backed by a crack-band complimenting her guttural Blues (the studio sessions featured Texan guitar wizard Cornell Dupree). Here are the 'snooping-round-the-door' details...

UK released April 2000 (reissued in 2013) – "The Complete Vanguard Recordings" by BIG MAMA THORNTON on Ace/Vanguard Masters 3VCD 175 (Barcode 015707017527) is a 3CD set and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - "Jail" (36:34 minutes):

1. Little Red Rooster

2. Ball And Chain 

3. Jail

4. Hound Dog [Side 2]

5. Rock Me Baby

6. Sheriff O.E. & Me 

7. Oh Happy Man 

Tracks 1 to 7 are the album "Jail" – released 1975 in the USA on Vanguard VSD 79351 (No UK release). Recorded live at two venues - The Monroe State Prison in Washington and Oregon State Reformatory, Eugene in Oregon. 

BIG MAMA THORNTON – Vocals

J.D. NICHOLS – Piano

GEORGE "Harmonica" SMITH – Harmonica

BEE HOUSTON and STEVE WACHSMAN – Guitars 

BILL PORTER – Tenor Saxophone 

BRUCE SIEVERSON – Bass

TODD NELSON - Drums

Disc 2 - "Sassy Mama!" (35:35 minutes):

1. Rolling Stone

2. Lost City 

3. Mr. Cool

4. Big Mama's New Love

5. Private Number 

6. Sassy Mama 

7. Everybody's Happy (But Me)

Tracks 1 to 7 are the album "Sassy Mama!" – released 1975 in the USA on Vanguard VSD 79354 (no UK release). Studio album. 

BIG MAMA THORNTON – Vocals

CORNELL DUPREE – Guitar 

RONNIE MILLER - Guitar on "Big Mama's New Love" only

PAUL GRIFFIN – Keyboards 

BUDDY LUCAS – Tenor Sax 

WILBUR BASCOMB – Bass 

JIMMY JOHNSON – Drums 

Disc 3 - "Big Mama Swings" - (46:08 minutes):

1. Good-Bye Baby 

2. Gonna Leave You

3. Mixed Up Feeling 

4. Special 

5. Going Fishing 

6. Big Mama Swings

7. Happy Me 

Tracks 1 to 7 are a PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED studio album with the following line-up

BIG MAMA THORNTON – Vocals

CORNELL DUPREE – Guitar 

PAUL GRIFFIN – Keyboards

ERNIE HAYES – Piano  

BUDDY LUCAS – Tenor Sax 

WILBUR BASCOMB – Bass 

JIMMY JOHNSON – Drums 

The booklet is a fairly basic 12-page affair (for a 3CD set) with album credits and new liner notes on her career and the recordings by noted writer ED WARD. JEFF ZARAYA has carried out the 20-bit remasters from original tapes using the DCS 900 –and the audio is great – both on the live set and on the polished studio sets. There are three black and white photos of Thornton live and smiling – and even a snap of Janis Joplin in full concert flow (Thornton mentions her in the intro to "Ball And Chain" – Joplin’s loss only recent in the memory). 

The live set opens with an enthusiastic crowd losing their interned marbles to "Little Red Rooster" – a tune where the band gets to stretch out and find their feet – solos from Bill Porter on Saxophone and George Smith on Harmonica. The 7:14 minutes of "Ball And Chain" slows everything down but ups the intensity while "Hound Dog" proves to be a crowd-pleaser. But better is the solo-filled Slow Blues of "Rock Me Baby" where all three lead musicians get their spots and slaughter it (her voice is great on this one – salacious and Bluesy in a way that only a big woman shouter can be). The law-breaking story in "Sheriff O.E. & Me" allows her to tell a tale of wrongful arrest that naturally tickles the audience. She ends the gig on a hand-clapping version of "Oh Happy Day" – sounding like a hoarse Mavis Staples backed up by a Harmonica. 

She opens the very cool studio set with a cover of the Muddy Waters 'I wish I was a catfish' song "Rolling Stone" where she pines for men in a way that's real and not preening for the sake of it. Paul Griffin gives it some wonderful Booker T type organ on the slinky and sexy "Mr. Cool" – jabbing away at his keyboard as she draws out the 7:45 minutes – only to be joined for the second half by Cornell Dupree doing his best B.B. King/Albert King fretboard impressions. Ronnie Miller makes his Guitar known on the Piano Funky Blues of "Big Mama's New Love" (sounds fab too). Things gets Bluesy Mellow with "Private Number" where the operator won't give Big Mama her man's phone number so that she can get monogamous peace of mind (fab Sax solo from Buddy Lucas). Back to Funk-Blues with the hugely likeable "Sassy Mama" - the kind of tune that's going to turn up on a Kent-Soul CD compilation real soon. Proceedings end with the 'blue as I can be' Jeannie Evan’s cover "Everybody's Happy (But Me)" – the Piano and Sax doing battle in left and right speaker coolsville. 

I had expected the unreleased "Big Mama Swings" studio album to be filler – but if anything – it’s probably the strongest set of the three! Superbly produced by ED BLAND and mostly featuring the same band as "Sassy Mama!" with slight alterations – it's that album Part 2 – only better. "Big Mama Swings" opens strongly with the shuffling barroom boogie of "Good-Bye Baby" but then lurches into some fireworks - a nine-minute slow Blues called "Gonna Leave You". Both Ernie Hayes (Piano) and Buddy Lucas (Saxophone) add so much to her whining vocals – later joined by the fluid fretwork of Cornell Dupree on Guitar (stunning track). 

More emotional Funk Blues with "Mixed Up Feeling" because her baby won’t love her 'that way' and she can't find his door in the alleyway (nice Sax work and guitar licks) - while "Special" could be Etta James on Chess circa 1974 – updated and Funky but still anchored in that 60ts R&B sound. We go full-on Catfish Bluesy with the superb "Going Fishing" – 7:21 minutes of slow rolling piano and 'since I've been left behind' lyrics (she wants to know who's tugging on his line now). Hearing both the stepper-boogie "Big Mama Swings" and the killer Blues of "Happy Me" – it's a real wonder as to why this excellent album wasn’t released? At least it's available through this Ace/Vanguard Masters Reissue...

Willie Mae Thornton would have made the History books with "Hound Dog" and "Ball and Chain" alone – but how good is it to know that she had more Blues/Soul/Funk in her in the mid Seventies. Almost last of the big shouters – she passed away in July 1984 aged 58 – and this 3CD set does her legacy proud...