Best Classic R&B
UK compilation for the most popular & influential soul singer of the early '70s.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"What talent!"
"Great music - has all of my favorites."
"When I listened to his songs, I realized that I knew a lot more songs."
"The man can still sing, and since my vinyl collection is in storage, I decided to get a cd."
"I'm not a music expert, but I do love and enjoy good music."
"Can't stop listening to it, love it, love it ."
Here are just a few of the memorable jump 'n' jive hits: Outskirts Of Town , What's The Use Of Gettin' Sober , Five Guys Named Moe , GI Jive , Caldonia , Buzz Me , Salt Pork West Virginia , Beware , Stone Cold Dead In The Market (with Ella Fitzgerald), Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie , Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens , Open The Door Richard , Boogie Woogie Blue Plate , Run Joe , Baby It's Cold Outside (with Ella Fitzgerald), Beans And Cornbread , Saturday Night Fish Fry and Blue Light Boogie .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"There are 215 tracks (32 unreleased) with expert tape and 78" transfers by the legendary BEAR FAMILY experts in Germany - great sound throughout despite the vintage. As space is restricted, I've posted a full discography with reference to everything in the box set in a blog (Google Louis Jordan markattheflicks) - it contains the A&B of 99 releases (78's and 45's) with recording details, catalogue numbers, relevant reissues etc (took me a few days that). The info below details the previously unreleased stuff outside of that discography... Disc 1: 27 Tracks, 75:46 minutes (1938 to 1940). Disc 2: 26 Tracks, 74:46 minutes (1940 to 1942). Previously Unreleased - Track 16 "De Laff's On You" (1941), Track 18 "John, Stop Teasin' Me", Track 20 "Teacher (How I Love My Teacher)", Track 24 "Mister Lovingood". Disc 3: 24 Tracks, 68:35 minutes (1942 to 1947). Previously Unreleased - Track 5 "Dirty Snake", Track 8 "De Laff's On You" (1942), Track 12 "The Things I Want I Can't Get At Home", Track 13 "How High Am I", Track 15 "The Truth Of The Matter", Track 16 "Hey! Now Let's Live", Track 20 "Louis' Oldsmobile Song", Track 21 "Your Socks Don't Match" [with BING CROSBY] and Track 23 "My Baby Said Yes (Yip, Yip De Hootie)" [with BING CROSBY]. Disc 4: 27 Tracks, 76:19 minutes (1945 to 1952). Previously Unreleased - Track 6 "Don't Worry `Bout That Mule", Track 8 "Paper Boy" and Track 27 "Open The Door Richard". Disc 5: 26 Tracks, 76:10 minutes (1947 to 1950). Previously Unreleased - Track 9 "Beans And Corn Bread", Track 16 "Chug Chug Boogie" and Track 17 There'll Be No Days Like That". Disc 6: 24 Tracks, 76:49 minutes (1949 to 1951). Previously Unreleased - Track 9 "Love You 'til Your Money's Gone Blues", Track 19 "Louisville Lodge Meeting" and Track 21 "Crazy Baby". Disc 7: 27 Tracks, 77:25 minutes (1951 to 1955). Previously Unreleased - Track 1 "If You've Got Someplace To Go", Track 9 "Happy Birthday Boogie", Track 13 "I Love That Kind Of Carryin' On", Track 17 "Garmoochie", Track 20 "Stop Makin' Music" and Track 27 "Gimme Gimme Blues". Disc 8: 27 Tracks, 77:15 minutes (1952 to 1956). Previously Unreleased - Track 5 "There's Nothing Else That I Can Do", Track 7 "The Soon-A-Baby" and Track 8 "There's Nothing Else That I Can Do" (Alternate Take). Disc 9: 7 Tracks, 20:06 minutes (1946 to 1950). [All tracks are LOUIS JORDAN and ELLA FITZGERALD]. Previously Unreleased - Track 3 "Petootie Me" (Released Version is the October 8, 1945 recording - this is an October 15, 1945 outtake). Jordan road-tested all his new material on live audiences, so when he went into the studio, he wasn't recording songs that might work, he was racking up sure-fire hits."
"In the tradition of Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, Jordan exhibited a brilliant sense of showmanship that, as music critic Leonard Feather explained in his book The Jazz Years, brought audiences first-rate entertainment "without any loss of musical integrity." His sax playing was wonderful, his bands were top notch and his songs still are wonderful in 2014- Wild Bill Davis replaced by Bill Doggett played one of the 1st organs in recorded music while in Jordan's band- There are sides with Ella and Armstrong. If you have not got the $ for this then, look for the wonderful JSP Box Set- a 5CD set of Louis Jordan- "Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five" 1938-1950 (131 Tracks) .Or, check the the Proper Box "Jivin With Jordan" 1938-1951- 104 Tracks, and (better than the JSP):the "Proper" set has a wonderful 40 page booklet. Further sides that are fine are his Aladdin Sides from '54, His rocking Mercury sides from 1956-1957 featuring a smoking band including Mickey Baker on guitar, a series of sessions to capitalize on Jordan as the original Rock and Roller- while dismissed at the time of release, these sides literally smoke and Jordan reprises his great hits from almost 20 years before with a crack band."
"LOUIS JORDAN * LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL contains 215 songs on nine CDs, as well as a beautiful 48-page LP-sized booklet filled with amazing photos, poster, magazine cover and advertising repros, a comic strip, news clippings, hand-written-on-legal-pad session notes, and an exhaustive discography, not to mention a fascinating bio and song commentary. Here were the true beginnings of rock & roll-- 15 years before Elvis or Bill Haley, Louis Jordan and group were rockin' hard."
1993 Manhattan Records release manufactured for BMG Direct Marketing.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"What's going to make your take on"Silent Night" or "I'll Be Home Fro Christmas" (or any number of seasonal classics and/or warhorses) at all special? The more secular tunes like "Silver Bells" and "Winter Wonderland" lend themselves to the Rawls treatment pretty readily. I have heard full gospel choirs do wonderfully imaginative and inspiring takes on all of these carols, so I'm not being a strict traditionalist here. If I had ever heard Rawls perform any of these arrangements in the context of a holiday concert, say, or on a TV special I'm sure I would have loved them. If anyone read all the reviews I post, he or she might recall that I once posted a review of another Lou Rawls Xmas album (MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS) in which I offered mild criticism that its relative lack of sacred songs made for a somewhat breezy listening experience. To be sure, CHRISTMAS IS THE TIME's roster of songs is much more balanced between the spiritual and the worldly and should, theoretically, work better. That includes the title tune, a very nice self-penned modern-day carol (written in collaboration with Jeff Colella) which is the album's sole original number (and every Christmas record needs at least one of those too)."
"I love Lou Rawls music."
"He is a talented and gifted man with such a wonderful voice."
"Who could resist the mellow sound of Lou Rawls?"
"There is no way, that you can't absolutely love Lou !"
"It did meet my expectations."
Best Contemporary R&B
The eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Colored Section, his new release heralds Donnie's foray into a new musical philosophy that mixes soul, funk, rock, hip-hop and the blues into a combustible scoio-political gumbo: The Daily News.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"You can play this while album while driving your grandmother or mother around and not feel embarrassed about the lyrical content."
"One listen, and you'll clearly hear his musical influences (Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway), but unlike other artists whose claims to fame lay in exploiting those styles primarily in the "love music" genre (e.g., Glenn Lewis), Donnie has sought to capitalize on the complete canons of those great soul singers by using his amazing vocal and songwriting abilities to tell his experience as a Black man in this age and time. There is nothing in the way of the production that would mark it as "neo" or anywhere near the class of questionable R&B that runs the pop radio formats (e.g., programmed beats that drown out the other instruments and vocalist)."
"This album is one of my all-time favorites (TOP 5)."
"I gave it a couple listens and am really hooked on the cd from track to track, Donnie does what some have a hard time doing keeping folks interested throughout the whole cd. But you really, really need to have this cd in your music collection."
"This CD is phenomenal. I hope he does not become one of the lost ones who we hear from once and not hear anything again."
Best Soul
Britain's greatest pop diva Dusty Springfield was the finest blue-eyed soul singer of her era, and this landmark Atlantic Records album from 1969 is a masterpiece, a perfect marriage of pop and soul.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Dusty made a debut in the. American South here, The music is exquisite and includes. every superb genre she is so noted for, including the sexy. "Breakfast in Bed", "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" with. its haunting back-up vocals, and the sensual dream of "The. Windmills of Your Mind"."
"I keep listening over and over."
"I really don't know how you don't give this album 5 stars!"
"O c ourse I heard it back then."
"On time and as described.."
"Having Dusty Springfield music playing is worth getting this wonderful compact disc or any of her music. She was truly a timeless voice of our times."
"I returned the lp and will search for a warmer more soothing sounding lp."
Best Funk
PRIMUS - FRIZZLE FRY (REMASTERED) - CD.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I really enjoy this album."
"A Christmas gift for my son, who has only just begun collecting vinyl recordings."
"One of the best albums ever!!!"
"How can any Primus fan not want this (I propose one of their greatest albums) LP on pink vinyl???"
"Great condition and as described."
"This is one accidental pick a long time ago.Remember Columbia house well I was down to the free picks with no selection and got this."
"This is a classic Primus album."
Best General
Endtroducing... is the debut studio album of American music producer DJ Shadow, released on November 19, 1996 on the record label Mo' Wax.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have not listened much to the bonus disc material but for a few spins, it's pretty good, but can't really judge it; it's an alternate version of the album basically, mostly alternate takes of the album songs."
"DJ Shadow's undeniable sampling masterpiece."
"I guarantee that if you do not get into it in the first listen, you will catch on with one song....then the next song......then you will figure out that you liked that one song....then you figure out that the album is meant to be listened to in one go."
"DJ Shadow's Endtroducing is without a doubt the crown achievement in sample based instrumental break beat music."
"My favorite tracks are: #2 "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt". #4 "Changeling". #6 "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)". and, the best song on the album, (#13) "Midnight in a Perfect World"."
"Basically, anyone who's interested in turntablism ought to check this out along with Coldcut's "Journeys By DJ - 70 Minutes Of Madness" and Kid Koala's "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" (though this one not as much)."
"This is the best album by DJ Shadow."
"You'll see certain comparisons pop up again and again: The Dust Brothers produced Beastie Boys' album Paul's Boutique, Tricky's Maxinquaye, Aphex Twin. Of course, it is also different than each of those albums--lacking vocals for the most part and much more musically lush and dense than the sparse and etheral Selected Ambient Works Volume 1. As late great British DJ John Peel said in his intro to the Diminishing Returns import, "you may find this hard to believe but you stand poised on the brink of hearing the mix of the year, fronted by command much given to frank and furious and usually accurate condemnation of the awful beings that inhabit the world of popular music--DJ Shadow--the celebrated San Franciscan weirdo.""