Blind Dog Radio

Blues Masters (Vol. 18) More Slide Guitar Classics by Various Artists

Label: Rhino Records.
Release Date: July 14, 1998.
Recording Time: 49 minutes.
Release Info: Studio Recording.
Recording Date: December 3, 1927 - 1974.

Styles: Chicago Blues, Electric Delta Blues, Regional Blues, Slide Guitar Blues, Acoustic Blues, Acoustic Texas Blues, Album Rock, Arena Rock, Blues Revival, Blues-Rock, Boogie Rock, Delta Blues, Electric Blues, Electric Chicago Blues, Hard Rock, Modern Electric Blues, Modern Electric Texas Blues, Pre-War Country Blues, Texas Blues.

Rhino's second slide guitar anthology leads off with a couple of dyed-in-the-wool classics with Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" and Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying." But the emphasis on this 18-track disc is much more on little-heard delights that might come as surprises even to knowledgeable blues fans. Earl Hooker's "Wah Wah Blues" shows him playing around with the wah-wah pedal to great effect in late 1968; Boyd Gilmore's 1952 single "All My Dreams" has great raw soloing from Elmore James (spliced in from James' "Please Find My Baby" single); Chuck Berry's "Blues for Hawaiians" reveals a little-noted aspect of his playing; and Eddie "One String" Jones' "John Henry" is a primitive one-string blues that takes the slide back to its diddley bow origins. There's also the strange rockabilly-blues hybrid "Rocking in the Coconut Top" by Hop Wilson, with weird background noises that sound like balloons being rubbed. There are also plenty of quality selections by bigger names like Blind Willie Johnson, J.B. Hutto, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Son House, Tampa Red, and Johnny Winter, with the expected expert liner notes by Cub Koda. - Review by Richie Unterberger.

Credits: James Austin - producer; Steve Banks - photography; Chuck Berry - composer, multi instruments, performer, primary artist; Black Ace - performer, primary artist; Hugh Brown - art direction; J.T. Brown - sax (tenor); Joe Carter & His Chicago Broomdusters - performer, primary artist; Samuel Charters - editing; Leonard Chess - producer; Phil Chess - producer; Ida Cox - composer; Ernest "Big" Crawford - bass; Bob Fisher - remastering; Ray Flerlage - artwork, photography; Boyd Gilmore - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Rachel Gutek - design; John Hammond, Sr. - producer; Ted Harvey - drums; Herman Hassell - bass; Earl Hooker - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Eddie James House, Jr. - guitar, vocals; Son House - composer, performer, primary artist; J.B. Hutto - composer, guitar, vocals; J.B. Hutto & the Hawks - performer, primary artist; Bruce Iglauer - producer; Elmore James - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Blind Willie Johnson - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Eddie "One String" Jones - arranger, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Johnny Jones - piano; Johnny Junious - drums; Frank Kirkland - drums; Ransom Knowling - bass; Cub Koda - liner notes, producer; Bob Koester - producer; Clarence Lewis - composer; Robert Lockwood, Jr. - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, producer, vocals; Pete Lowry - producer; McKinley Morganfield - composer; Odie Payne, Jr. - drums; Paul Oliver - producer; George Paulus - producer; Bobby Robinson - composer, producer; Morgan Robinson - composer; Lee Ivory Semien - composer; Eddie Shuler - composer, producer; Gino Skaggs - bass; Walter "Kid" Smith - guitar; Chris Strachwitz - producer; Tampa Red - performer, primary artist; Jules Taub - composer; Hound Dog Taylor - composer, primary artist; Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers - performer; Theodore Roosevelt Taylor - guitar, producer, vocals; Traditional - composer; Ike Turner - piano; Dick Waterman - photography; Muddy Waters - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, vocals; Hudson Whittaker - composer, guitar, vocals; Willie Williams - drums; John Williamson - bass; Harding Wilson - guitar; Hop Wilson - performer, primary artist; Johnny Winter - composer, guitar, performer, primary artist, producer, vocals.

Tracks: 1) I Can't Be Satisfied - Muddy Waters; 2) The Sky Is Crying - Elmore James; 3) Take Five - Hound Dog Taylor; 4) I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole - Blind Willie Johnson; 5) Hip Shakin' - J.B. Hutto & the Hawks; 6) Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood, Jr.; 7) Rockin' in the Coconut Top - Hop Wilson; 8) Your Leg's Too Little - Black Ace; 9) I'm Worried - Joe Carter & His Chicago Broomdusters; 10) Green and Lucky Blues - Tampa Red; 11) John Henry - Eddie "One String" Jones; 12) Death Letter - Son House; 13) Wah Wah Blues - Earl Hooker; 14) Dallas - Johnny Winter; 15) All in My Dreams - Boyd Gilmore; 16) Blues for Hawaiians - Chuck Berry.