Elmore James - Blues Masters: The Very Best of Elmore James

This rocking trove of stylistic innovation spans Elmore James's peak recording years, from 1951 to 1963. In the charging fury of his slide guitar and his screaming voice one hears the echo of fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robert Johnson, whose local Delta performances in the mid-1930s first inspired young Elmore to play guitar. Johnson's "Dust My Broom"--which became James's signature song and the foundation of his recording career--kicks things off here with the slashing guitar work that helped define the electric-blues idiom, followed by his instrumental showpiece "Hawaiian Boogie." Drenched in Delta-driven emotion, his fiery vocals are well represented on "It Hurts Me, Too" and "The Sky Is Crying", and the classic "Shake Your Money Maker" is one of several dance numbers powered by the raw, driving intensity that marked James's recorded legacy and influenced every slide guitarist working in his wake. --Alan Greenberg Amazon.com

Among the very best of Elmore James

Nice introduction to bluesman Elmore James! The liner notes emphasize his important role in the development of the blues. He died way too early, at 45, because of heart trouble.

His vocals were strong, with a straight out blues sound; his guitar playing was exceptional, too. The liner notes that that "". . .it was Elmore and his signature crashing licks that sliced the deepest and influenced the most from the moment he recorded his first immortal treatment of `Dust My Broom.'"

And so it makes sense to talk a bit of that iconic song. "Dust My Broom" was one of his great hits (the liner notes suggest that he adopted the song's sensibility from Robert Johnson. The guitar sound is classic blues. Sonny Boy Williamson (II) does some nice work on harmonica. James' blues voice is great. A hallmark tune of his, well rendered in this cut.

"Hawaiian Boogie" is a rollicking instrumental. James' guitar work is nice indeed. The song is very much unlike "Dust My Broom," suggesting the range of work by James.

"Twelve Year Old Boy" features raw blues vocals and raw instrumentation. Fine blues work. A poignant line from the singer's perspective:

"I'm just as sad as I can be
I feel bad, I feel terrible. . .
A boy 12 year old takes my baby away from me."

"Cry for Me Baby" features excellent saxophone work from J. T. Brown. Willie Dixon is on bass and the redoubtable Fred Below plays drums. James' growling vocals work well, and the guitarist (maybe Willie Johnson?) shows off some nice guitar licks. One odd line:

"But you love him
And stick to him like glue."

This CD is a nice way of learning more about Elmore James, who died long before his time. This is a work that is worth listening to.
May 12, 2007

bluesman

This is all the songs you heard but didnt know who actually wrote them, all those darn stevie ray vaughan and allman brothers songs came from this man. Very great slide player and a very nice collection of his songs November 4, 2006

Excellent Retrospective.

I was a little kid when Elmore James cut most of these tunes and I heard them way back then from a variety of friends and family that picked up the 45 rpm singles. After a while, I moved on and only occasionally was reminded of what a great catalog of rockin' blues Elmore compiled. Then, in the late 60's, I kept hearing more and more bands covering Elmore's tunes. Jimi Hendrix on Bleeding Heart, for example. Then in the 70's the Allman Brothers on Done Somebody Wrong. A few years later, it was George Thorogood on It Hurts Me Too, then Stevie Ray on The Sky Is Crying. This is plenty of proof of just how enduring Elmore's influence is. Each time I heard a cover, it took me back to those old records. Now Rhino has this compilation with most but not all of my favorites and in pretty decent sound - excellent considering the vintage of these recordings. Great stuff. June 21, 2004

****1/2. A fine Elmore compilation, but not quite the best

This Blues Masters release from Rhino Records is probably the second best available Elmore James compilation - at least if you want to stick to the single disc overviews.
It includes sixteen of James' best songs, including the fiery blues n' boogie of "Dust My Broom" and "Shake Your Moneymaker", and the smouldering slow blues "The Sky Is Crying" and "It Hurts Me Too". A few of these selections may be debatable...I would have preferred "Standing At The Crossroads" and the funky "No Love In My Heart" to a couple of the songs on this album, but that's a minor complaint.

All of the songs included here are really good, and most of them are great. Elmore James and his band, the Broomdusters, played an incredibly tough, hard-rocking brand of blues, dominated by his fierce slide playing and huge voice, and spiced up by the addition of saxist J.T. Brown, pianist Little Johnny Johnson, and Elmore's cousin "Homesick" James Williamson on second guitar.
The reason I say that this is only the second best available single-disc Elmore collection is that Rhino's other Elmore James compilation, "The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James", features 21 supremely well-chosen songs from every one of James' record labels, and thus gets the nod over this one.
There's nothing bad about this CD, the music is great and so are the liner notes. The Rhino disc is just that little bit better. March 10, 2003

One of the Founding Fathers of Rock & Roll & Boogie Music

This album is all the classic Elmore James cuts;starting with the ORIGINAL version of "Dust My Broom" with Sonny Boy Williamson on Harmonica. If you really want to hear one of the founding fathers of Rock & Roll & Boogie Music;you got to get this CD!!! August 11, 2001

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