Albert Collins - Collins Mix: The Best

Great, Great CD!!!

Albert rocks, his tone and licks are amazing! He's got a good sense of humor and the band is great too! Not all that great as a lyricist, but he writes what he knows and it works. I dig this CD! May 25, 2007

HOT ICEMAN!

I can't tell you that this is Collins best release but I can tell you that it's worth the money, if only for the first solo he plays on the track 'If Trouble Was Money', wow! THAT is how a slow blues was meant to be played. Great sound, killer vibrato and deep emotion, and I don't even play guitar!
That solo gives me goosebumps every time.
One of my all time favorite guitar players, Gary Moore, also does a solo on that track and I think it is one of his best. It's not his usual fire and brimstone attack but a very smooth and understated solo, very tasty indeed.
'Mastercharge' is a great funky toe-tapper of a number featuring a great solo by the Iceman. This is a real nice disc and you can't go wrong here.

[...] March 27, 2007

One of the greatest bluesmen of all time!

What separates a good player from a master is the little things. Albert Collins was a true master of the blues whose piercing playing could send chills down the spine. One of the few players who could rival the intensity of Albert King, Collins like King (who cited Collins as his favourite player) forged his own unique style that countless guitarists have tried to emulate (including yours truly) but none have successfully duplicated it.

Of course that was the idea as Albert saw it - create your own means of expressing yourself through the instrument. This album captured Collins in excellent form covering a retrospective of songs spanning thirty odd years of his career. Guests on the album include the great BB King (on one of Albert's signature instrumentals 'Frosty'), Gary Moore (on the slow burning 'Time is Money'), and old Tonight Show band frontman Branford Marsalis trades licks with Albert on 'Honey Hush'. Without prejudicing the other tracks on this album, some of the standouts to me include (other than the ones already listed) 'Tired Man' (a slow shuffle blues with harmonica accompanyment), 'The Moon is Full' (Albert's solid backing band is particularly funky on this one), Mastercharge (a funny song with possibly my favourite Collins guitar solo on this album), and 'Collins Mix': a musical mosaic of how to let one's guitar do the talking - few could compare to Collins in this area. I know some of the reviewers have personal album favourites of theirs but in my opinion this is the best Collins album because it is a solid retrospective. And unlike a lot of "greatest hits" compilations, this one lives up to its billing and showcases a legend who never received the degree of acclaim that he should have. For lovers of good music, 'Collins Mix' belongs on your music rack. September 3, 2002

misleading title

This is not the best of Albert Collins, but a bunch of re-recordings of his best songs made at the end of his career. If you're new to Albert Collins buy Ice Pickin' or Cold Snap for a more rockin' sounding Collins. This is more for the completist. October 11, 2000

If you are a true blues fan...

This CD is great, yet if you are expecting a real blues of Mr.Collins this is not the one. For a true blues fan I recommend "Alive and Cool" in stead of this CD. February 4, 2000

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