1 	My Babe 	2:52
2 	Sad Hours 	2:37
3 	You're So Fine 	2:49
4 	Last Night 	3:23
5 	Blues With A Feeling 	3:08
6 	Can't Hold Out Much Longer 	2:59
7 	Juke 	2:47
8 	Mean Old World 	2:57
9 	Off The Wall 	3:01
10 	You Better Watch Yourself 	3:23
11 	Blue Lights 	3:08
12 	Tell Me Mamma 	2:40
+
13	Juke (alternate take)
14	Off The Wall (alternate take)
15	Last Night (first version)

Bass – Willie Dixon (tracks: 4, 10, 11)
Drums – Elgin Evans (tracks: 6, 7), Fred Below (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 9 - 12)
Guitar – David Myers (tracks: 3, 9, 12), Jimmy Rogers (tracks: 6, 7), Leonard Caston (tracks: 1),
     Louis Myers (tracks: 3, 6, 12), Muddy Waters (tracks: 6, 7), Robert Lockwood Jr. (tracks: 4, 10, 11)
Vocals, Harmonica – Little Walter

Little Walter -- aka Marion Walter Jacobs -- wasn't the first great harmonica player in the blues, but the instrument had a whole new force and personality after he was done with it. Little Walter was a technically gifted player with a dark, powerful sound, but he also approached the chromatic harmonica in a new way earlier players had not, and by using a microphone and amplifier to power his harp, he created sounds that were fierce, wild, and dramatic. Walter first rose to fame playing with Muddy Waters' band, but he also became a solo star, cutting his first hit on his own, "Juke," at the tail end of a Waters session in 1952, and becoming one of the few harp players to make it as a headliner. The Best of Little Walter features 12 songs from Walter's years with Chess Records, which remained his recording home from the release of "Juke" until his death in 1968. Selections include "Juke," "Blues with a Feeling," "Sad Hours," "My Babe," and more. ---Mark Deming, AllMusic Review

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

yandex mediafire ulozto

back

1 	Tell Me Mama 	2:46
2 	You're So Fine 	3:02
3 	Last Night 	2:41
4 	My Babe 	2:33
5 	Juke 	2:42
6 	Can't Hold Out Much Longer 	2:59
7 	Mean Old World 	2:52
8 	Sad Hours 	3:09
9 	Too Late 	2:33
10 	Thunderbird 	2:47
11 	I Got To Go 	2:41
12 	Boom, Boom Out Goes The Light 	2:42
13 	Teenage Beat 	2:57
14 	Just A Feeling 	2:53
15 	Shake Dancer 	2:45
16 	Ah'w Baby 	2:48
17 	It's Too Late Brother 	2:37
18 	Just Your Fool 	2:22

Bass – Willie Dixon (tracks: 1, 3, 11, 16, 18)
Drums – Elga Edmonds (tracks: 5, 6), Fred Below (tracks: 1 to 4, 7 to 18)
Guitar – Dave Myers (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 9), David Myers (tracks: 3), Fred Robinson (tracks: 18),
 Jimmy Lee Robinson (tracks: 17, 18), Jimmy Rogers (tracks: 5, 6), Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston* (tracks: 4, 10),
  Louis Myers (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 9), Luther Tucker (tracks: 11 to 18), Muddy Waters (tracks: 5, 6),
   Robert Lockwood Jr. (tracks: 3, 4, 10 to 17)
Piano – Otis Spann (tracks: 18)
Vocals, Harmonica – Little Walter 

The high rating is for the music. Served in a portion as generous as one could typically fit over four slabs of vinyl, these vintage recordings of Chicago blues cannot be denied. "Juke," "Flying Saucer," "Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights."..these are all out and out classics of urban blues, delivered with zest and zeal by an artist who matched flawless and flamboyant harmonica technique and a devastating amplified sound with a vocal style that was mischievous to the point of irritating Rumpelstiltskin. His musical company here is the cream of the crop, killer players all. The interplay between guitars and harmonica is fantastic by itself, while the antics of the rhythm section are a subject for extensive study as well. As a bandleader, Little Walter was an inventive character, meaning that each track has something fresh about its arrangement, often just a little touch or sometimes an entire groove that with that magic combination of familiarity and surprise. There isn't a bum track on this collection, which is why it didn't matter that the tracks on the third and fourth sides of the collection were shuffled like a deck of cards for the '80s version of this two-fer repackage, about which the following competition can be launched: Which of the two-record set covers used for the Boss Blues Harmonica sets is uglier? Is it the '70s version, in which a heavy soaking of toilet-bowl blue coloring fails to hide the fact that almost the entire back cover is taken up with a drawing of a drum set? Or was it the '80s set, featuring a crude drawing of someone who doesn't look at all like Little Walter, standing in front of a bar in what looks like the middle of a vacant field. The earlier set didn't bother to provide a clear listing of session men and discographical information. ---Eugene Chadbourne, AllMusic Review

download (mp3 @VBR kbs):

yandex mediafire uloz.to solidfiles global.files

back

CD 1:
01. My Babe [0:02:34.33]
02. Juke [0:02:43.21]
03. Teenage Beat [0:02:56.70]
04. You're So Fine [0:03:03.30]
05. Tell Me Mama [0:02:46.19]
06. Too Late [0:02:34.56]
07. I Hate To See You Go [0:02:16.30]
08. Off The Wall [0:02:49.00]
09. Sad Hours [0:03:10.57]
10. Mean Old World [0:02:54.13]
11. Who [0:02:23.26]
12. Blues With A Feeling [0:03:05.59]
13. Rock Bottom [0:02:16.73]
14. Oh Baby [0:02:46.33]
15. Last Night [0:02:43.71]
16. Key To The Highway [0:02:46.08]
17. Everything's Gonna Be Alright [0:02:50.35]
18. I Had My Fun [0:02:02.25]
19. Crazy Mixed Up World [0:02:00.28]
20. Break It Up [0:02:27.50]
21. Boom Boom Out Go The Lights [0:02:42.69]
22. Back Track [0:02:49.29]
23. Blue Midnight [0:03:00.06]

CD 2:
01. Your'd Better Watch Yourself [0:03:04.71]
02. Roller Coaster [0:02:54.01]
03. One More Chance With You [0:02:47.71]
04. Mellow Down Easy [0:02:37.34]
05. Thunderbird [0:02:48.44]
06. Tonight With A Fool [0:02:53.39]
07. Temperature [0:01:59.62]
08. Quarter To Twelve [0:03:10.27]
09. Nobody But You [0:02:06.66]
10. Me And Piney Brown [0:02:33.30]
11. Flying Saucer [0:03:03.22]
12. Lights Out [0:02:44.73]
13. It Ain't Right [0:02:55.12]
14. Rocker [0:03:06.61]
15. That's Alright [0:02:48.69]
16. I Just Keep Loving Her [0:02:29.55]
17. I Got To Go [0:02:42.43]
18. Everybody Needs Somebody [0:02:53.17]
19. Don't Have To Hurt No More [0:03:03.60]
20. Confessin' The Blues [0:03:03.16]
21. Take Me Back [0:03:06.26]
22. Ah'w Baby [0:02:52.60]
23. Can't Hold Out Much Longer [0:02:59.38]
24. Blue Light [0:03:16.45]

Little Walter's fiery temperament came out in his searing, jazz-inflected, and always innovative electric harp playing, and whether paired with Muddy Waters or on his own, he was simply the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument in the postwar period. This two-CD, 47-track set collects his essential tracks from the 1950s, and no one seriously interested in the blues harp can be without them. Sides like “Mean Old World,” “You Better Watch Yourself,” “My Babe,” and the title track here, “Rock Bottom,” are classics by anyone’s definition. Oh, and Little Walter was a pretty good singer too, although that usually gets forgotten when he tears off into one of his amazing lead harp lines. ---Steve Leggett, AllMusic Review

Just a quick note to recommend this double CD. Little Walter plays blues harp and sings with a passion and fire that really comes through in these recordings. "Roller Coaster" features some of his most fluid playing, and again the man just puts everything into his performances. I envisioned lightning bolts shooting from his harp! If you want to hear an extremely talented musician playing his guts out, get this collection. You won't regret it. ---Thomas Brugge, amazon.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

yandex mediafire uloz.to solidfiles global.files

back

A1 	It Ain't Right 	2:20
A2 	Rocker 	3:06
A3 	I Got To Find My Baby 	2:43
A4 	Lights Out 	2:45
A5 	One More Chance With You 	2:47
A6 	Crazy Legs 	3:21
A7 	Temperature	2:45
B1 	I Got To Go    (Guitar [Possibly] – David Myers) 	2:41
B2 	Crazy Mixed-Up World	2:00
B3 	Quarter To Twelve 	3:12
B4 	Confessin' The Blues	3:03
B5 	The Toddle 	2:37
B6 	Up The Line	2:07
B7 	Rock Bottom 	2:17
B8 	Mean Old Frisco	2:25

Bass – Jack Myers (B6), Willie Dixon (A1 to A6, B1 to B5, B7, B8)
Drums – Al Duncan (B6), Fred Below (A1 to B1, B3 to B5), George Hunter  (B2, B7, B8)
Guitar – Buddy Guy (B6), David Myers (A1, A4 to A6, B3), Freddie Robinson (B2, B4, B5, B8), Louis Myers (A2 to A4, A6, B3),
 Luther Tucker (A7, B2, B4, B5, B7, B8), Muddy Waters (B7), Robert Lockwood (A1 to A3, A5, A7, B1)
Piano – Lafayette Leake (B6), Otis Spann (A3, B5, B7, B8)
Vocals, Harmonica – Little Walter Jacobs
Baritone Saxophone – Jarrett Gibson
Organ – Billy Emerson

Originally issued as a 15 track LP in 1974, this CD features all of those 15 tracks along with all the original artwork and liner notes that were on the '74 version in terrific sound by MCA/Chess.

The 15 tracks here are further proof that Little Walter was (and still is) the finest blues harmonica player ever. His techniques and tricks are still a mystery to this day and leave the listener wondering `How the hell did he do that'! This CD features 15 rarities that were either `b' sides, album tracks or minor r&b hits but the quality of these songs is exceptional and there is a mix of songs from scorching instrumentals: `Rocker' and `Crazy Legs' to slow pieces: `Lights Out' and `Quarter To Twelve'.

Overall this is a great CD for Little Walter fans and blues harmonica fans but casual fans would probably be better off going for one of the `best of' compilations.

NOTE: There are two versions of this CD available, the USA release features the CD in a standard jewel CD case while another version of this CD features some very attractive `gatefold' covers as part of the 50th anniversary of Chess Records (1947-1974). Both CD's have the same pictures, liner notes and tracks, it's just the CD case itself which is different. ---jez, amazon.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

yandex mediafire ulozto solidfiles global.files

back