Bobby "Blue" Bland - Blues & Ballads

This compendium of tracks cut over nearly a quarter-century begins with "I've Been Wrong So Long," one of the most dramatic performances of the '60s. This is a hard act to follow, but Bland's output during most of the period covered here--his years with Duke, Dunhill, and MCA Records, ending in the early '80s--is one of the most consistent catalogs in R&B. So Blues and Ballads can focus as much on covers of other singers' hits as on Bland's signature pieces and succeed mightily. The man they call "the Sinatra of the blues" is indeed one of the only artists who could approach the sensitivity of Ray Charles's reading of "Georgia on My Mind"--and he does. --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

great urban r & b.

a compilation of blues and ballads recorded between 1960 and 1983. nobody does this type of material any better than mr bland. his wonderful, sonorous voice is on heavenly display throughout this collection of elegant urban r & b. if you have no bobby bland recordings, you couldn't go wrong to start here. a fine and rewarding compilation, indeed. March 26, 2007

Blues & Ballads - Bobby Blue Bland

Addition to the BB Bland Library
BJ January 3, 2007

He put the BLUE into the Blues

This is by and far one of the best CD's I own, and I own over 400 CD's!

I've purchased the "Greatest Hit's Vol.1" some years ago after having heard some of his Malaco stuff but I wasn't too taken with it.
Sure the voice was there, but the songs didn't, and still don't, really catch my attention too much.

Anyhow, I sort of stumbled upon this CD while browsing Amazon for some Soul music and I was intrigued by the reviews and the idea of an entire CD of blues ballads by Bobby Bland, so I ordered it.

Am I ever glad I did. From the first to the last song, this CD is not so much Blues, but supper club SOUL at it's best!
The power and unadulterated passion in Bobby's voice incredible, as is his interpretation of the material.

Take his reading of the classic "If Loving You Is Wrong". While not as finessed and "pretty" as the original Luther Ingram version, Bobby infuses a sense of reality and urgency into the song that can not be found in the original.
The same goes for the old Country ballad "Share your love with me". There's is nothing Country per se about Bobby's take on the song; however, what we get is the Blues refined to it's most elegant, fagile, and tender in it's essence.

Bobby has often been called the "Sinatra of the Blues" and if ever an album was made that marries the late night sophisitcation of Sinatra with the controlled Soul of Sam Cooke, then this is it.


March 25, 2005

One of Bobby's Best

This is a great compellation of "Ballads and Blues" that is as smooth as the night and sometimes as rough as the morning. Bobby sings these familiar standards with the passion of a lifetime in the business. You know he's sung those words a million times. Like the waters flowing though the Grand Canyon, he follows the same path, yet it is still so good. April 18, 2003

Blues with soul. Great recording!

I bought this recording on a whim. I didn't have any of Bobby Bland's recordings in my collection, and this looked like a good one to try. I was not disappointed, you won't be either! May 29, 2001

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