A1 	Touch Of The Blues	3:15
A2 	Set Me Free	2:33
A3 	That Did It	3:38
A4 	Road Of Broken Hearted Men	2:25
A5 	Sweet Loving	2:35
B1 	Driftin' Blues	3:25
B2 	Sweet Lips Of Joy	2:35
B3 	Sad Feeling	3:10
B4 	Shoes	2:37
B5 	One Horse Town	2:40

Bobby 'Blue' Bland - vocals
Reggie Young - guitar
Tommy Cogbill - bass

During his Duke tenure, Bobby "Blue" Bland's rich, creamy voice was at its stark, dramatic peak. Like his other label releases, even when he got overly sentimental or just plain corny material, or the songs were overarranged, Bland's smashing leads made everything work. ---Ron Wynn, allmusic.com

B.B. King was preaching the blues to psychedelic kids at the Fillmore Auditorium; Otis Redding turned them on at the Monterey Pop Festival and made a quantum songwriting leap in the folk-soul majesty of “The Dock of the Bay.” But vocal lion Bobby “Blue” Bland spent his 1967 standing tall and still, belting these 10 tracks of heartache and bedroom triumph as if he’d just turned the calendar page on his ’57 smash “Farther Up the Road” and the ’61 hits “I Pity the Fool” and “Turn On Your Love Light.” There were hints of modernism: the Stax-like gait of “Sweet Loving”; Bland’s heated exchange with a female vocalist in “Sad Feeling,” suggesting the call-response dynamite of Sly and the Family Stone. But the best moments, like the immolation of Charles Brown’s 1945 chestnut “Driftin’ Blues,” were robust purism – the reason why white fans like Eric Clapton and the Grateful Dead adored and covered Bland, doing his crossover work for him. ---rollingstone.com

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01. Bobby Bland & B. B. King - 3 O'Clock Blues - 3:25  
02. Bobby "Blue" Bland - It's My Own Fault - 4:14  
03. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Driftin' Blues - 5:08  
04. Bobby "Blue" Bland - That's The Way Love Is - 3:55  
05. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'm Sorry - 9:54  
06. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'll Take Care Of You - 3:49  
07. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Don't Cry No More - 2:43  
08. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Don't Want A Soul Hangin' Around - 3:49  
09. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Medley Good To Be Back Home - 14:07 
10. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Everybody Wants To Know Why I Sing The Blues - 6:18  
11. Bobby Bland & B. B. King - Goin' Down Slow - 5:12  
12. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Like To Live The Love - 6:02

Personnel: 
B.B. King (vocals, guitar); 
Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); 
Michael Omartian (keyboards).

Although the duo of Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King was one of the most popular touring acts of the '70s and '80s, their first duet album -- appropriately titled Together for the First Time ... Live -- doesn't quite live up to expectations. Both musicians are in fine form, but rarely do any sparks fly. Occasionally, King turns out a good solo and Bland sings with passion, but usually the vibe of the record is too relaxed to be truly engaging. It's a pleasant record, just not the essential listening that it should have been. -- Thom Owens, allmusic.com

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CD 1 
1. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Stormy Monday Blues (4:10)
2. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Lovin' Blues (3:18)
3. Bobby "Blue" Bland - It's My Life Baby (2:45)
4. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Woke Up Screaming (2:48)
5. Bobby "Blue" Bland - You've Got Bad Intentions (2:34)
6. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Smell Trouble (2:38)
7. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Farther Up The Road (2:59)
8. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Little Boy Blue (2:39)
9. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'm Not Ashamed (2:37)
10. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'll Take Care Of You (2:26)
11. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Lead Me On (2:06)									
12. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Cry, Cry, Cry (2:45)								play
13. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I've Been Wrong So Long (2:21)
14. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Pity The Fool (2:43)
15. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Don't Cry No More (2:29)
16. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ain't That Lovin' You (2:34)
17. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Who Will The Next Fool Be? (2:29)
18. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Stormy Monday Blues (4:10)
19. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Turn On Your Love Light (2:35)
20. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Yield Not To Temptation (2:32)
21. Bobby "Blue" Bland - 36-22-36 (2:49)
22. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Call On Me (2:27)
23. Bobby "Blue" Bland - That's The Way Love Is (2:34)
24. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ain't Nothing You Can Do (2:25)
25. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Share Your Love With Me (2:40)
26. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Blind Man (3:20)
27. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ain't Doin' Too Bad, Pt. 1 (2:38)
28. Bobby "Blue" Bland - These Hands (Small But Mighty) (2:18)
29. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I'm Too Far Gone (To Turn Around) (2:33)
30. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Good Time Charlie, Pt. 1 (2:31)

CD 2 
1. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Poverty (Single Version (Stereo)) (2:09)
2. Bobby "Blue" Bland - You're All I Need (Single Version) (2:54)
3. Bobby "Blue" Bland - That Did It (Single Version) (3:30)
4. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Driftin' Blues (Single Version (Stereo)) (3:28)
5. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Save Your Love For Me (Single Version) (3:33)
6. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Rockin' In The Same Old Boat (Single Version) (3:35)
7. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ask Me 'Bout Nothing (But The Blues) (Single Version) (3:41)
8. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Chains Of Love (Single Version) (3:17)
9. Bobby "Blue" Bland - If You Got A Heart (Single Version) (2:42)
10. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Do What You Set Out To Do (Single Version) (3:31)
11. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Goin' Down Slow (Single Edit) (3:45)							
12. Bobby "Blue" Bland - This Time I'm Gone For Good (8:55)
13. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City (Single Version) (3:53)
14. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me) (Single Version (Stereo)) (3:19)
15. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Yolanda (Single Edit) (3:10)								play
16. Bobby "Blue" Bland - I Take It On Home (3:34)
17. Bobby "Blue" Bland - It Ain't The Real Thing (Single Version) (3:21)
18. B.B. King - Let The Good Times Roll (Live (Coconut Grove) Single Version) (5:29)
19. Bobby "Blue" Bland - The Soul Of A Man (Single Edit) (3:05)
20. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Soon As The Weather Breaks (Single Edit) (3:27)
21. Bobby "Blue" Bland - Recess In Heaven (Single Version) (4:37)

Personnel includes: 
Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); 
B.B. King (vocals, guitar); 
Roy Gaines, Clarence Holliman, Auburn "Pat" Hare, Wayne Bennett, Gerald Sims, Freddy Robinson, Spence Bean, Ray Parker, Jr. (guitar); 
Johnny Board, Bobby Forte, Jimmy Beck, Bill Harvey, Rayfield Davers, Melvin Jackson, Theodore Arthur, Jerome Richardson, Red Holloway (saxophone); 
Joe Scott, Melvin Jackson, Henry Boozier, Joseph Harden, Tommy Ferguson, Snooky Young (trumpet); Pluma Davis, Al Thomas (trombone); 
Connie Mack Booker, Skippy Brooks, Teddy Reynolds (piano); 
Hamp Simmons, Phil Upchurch, Charles Green (bass); 
Sonny Freeman, John "Jabo" Starks, Harrell Porter, Charles Polk (drums); 
Anita Kerr Singers (background vocals).

Over the 1952-82 time-span covered here, Bobby "Blue" Bland united tough-as-pavement blues singing with heartbroken Southern R&B, and helped to create chitlin-circuit soul as we know it now. Too raw for most oldies radio, Bland was a major presence in his time: 30 of these 50 songs hit the pop charts, and almost all of them were significant R&B hits. The first disc-and-a-half documents his long-running Duke Records collaboration (in Chicago, Texas, and Nashville) with trumpeter Joe Scott, who wrote ambitious arrangements that ran from tender love-man pop to howling, honking blues terrorism, but usually gave Bland a chance to emote harder than his microphone could handle. The remainder finds Little Boy Blue on his own in L.A. in the '70s, spicing up smoother blues-inflected soul (and even a stab at light disco, "It Ain't the Real Thing") with the famous squall in his voice. --Douglas Wolk, Editorial Reviews

As the quintessential chitlin' circuit R&B/blues star, Memphis-based singer Bobby "Blue" Bland's career has been relatively well-documented on CD. Still, until this 2001 double set, all 25 of his Top Ten R&B hits have not been available in one package. The Anthology is still not a complete career overview though, as it ends in 1982 before his prolific years at Malaco. It does, however, cover a remarkably prolific 30-year period, starting with his first recordings for Duke in 1952 and touching base at Dunhill and MCA, all conveniently located under the current Universal Music label umbrella. Die-hard fans of Bland during this period likely own the three double-disc sets MCA released in the mid-'90s but, for those who don't need the warts-and-all treatment yet want something more in depth than skimpy single-disc collections, this is certainly the way to go. Soul expert Bill Dahl's excellent liner notes provide anecdotes along with the major events that shaped Bland's life and ultimately these recordings. The 16-page book lists detailed and comprehensive individual track information, noting specific musicians on each of the 50 cuts. The overall effect is startling in its consistency. Bland's style and voice are immediately identifiable throughout, and the songwriting -- even on the later tracks -- typically suits his grits-and-honey approach. A previously unreleased live eight-minute 1973 version of "This Time I'm Gone for Good," which demonstrates how effectively Bland extended his songs in concert, is the only collectable track here, but this chronologically arranged set is not geared toward that segment of the audience. Sonically, The Anthology is the best this material has ever sounded, with the '60s songs absolutely stunning in their remastered definition. While he experienced a significant career resurgence in the '80s, which is where this sets stops, these are the classic songs that form the basis of any serious blues collection. As such, it's an essential document of one of America's most talented, and creative, blues singers. ---Hal Horowitz, allmusic.com

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1.This Time I’m Gone for Good - 3:36
2.Up and Down World - 3:36
3.It’s Not the Spotlight - 3:56
4.(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right - 3:55
5.Goin’ Down Slow - 5:37
6.The Right Place at the Right Time - 3:00		play
7.Help Me Through The Day
8.Where My Baby Went - 3:22					play
9.Friday the 13th Child - 3:17
10.I’ve Got to Use My Imagination - 4:14

Personnel:
Bobby “Blue” Bland (vocals);
Ben Benay, David Cohen, Larry Carlton, Mel Brown, Dean Parks (guitar);
Chuck Findley, Paul Hubinon, Dick Hyde, Ernie Watts, Jack Kelson Jr. (horns);
Michael Omartian (piano, organ);
Wilton Felder, Max Bennett (bass);
Ed Greene (drums);
Ginger Blake, Julia Tillman, Maxine Willard (background vocals).

Bobby "Blue" Bland is a master of the sly blues: just when you think a song is going to slip into a predictable blues groove, he cocks back and roars or tosses off a throaty growl that grabs at the base of your spine. It's always magic in person, nearly always magic on records. This CD is NOT his best work and it left me cold on the first few listens; it has a definite 70's quality (hey, it was recorded in 1973) that sometimes edges toward disco arrangements, but as I said, Mr. Bland is such a great master, he rescues it. "If Loving You is Wrong," a song that would (and should) bomb by any other artist is somehow twisted into a tight blues riff by Bland. Overall though, after leaving this in my stereo for several days, I've come to love the CD, despite the 70s song selections, and occasionally corny backing orchestrations, Bland's style and command of his voice rescues it. If you're buying your first Bland CD, look for his recent "Live on Beale Street" or classic "First Class Blues" but if you like a soft blues listen with great horns, give this a try. Not Bland at his best, to be sure, but you just have to love this guy's authenticity. Oh, and if you're a Van Morrison fan (as I am) you'll learn where Van finds a LOT of his horn and backing vocal arrangements. Van only borrows from the best. --- Jeff Wignall "The Joy of Digital Photography"

Bland, who’s in exceptionally good voice here, simmers his way through some cover songs that suit his impassioned delivery to a T, including Gladys Knight’s “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” Luther Ingram’s “I Don’t Want to Be Right,” and Gerry Goffin’s “It’s Not the Spotlight.” The album’s high point, however, is the opening “This Time I’m Gone for Good,” a beautiful, modern soul-blues plaint sung by Bland with just the right amount of intensity and regret. “Six Degrees of Bobby Bland” trivia: Trip-hop folkie Beth Orton covered “Spotlight” on the soundtrack to the 1999 Kevin Bacon film A Stir of Echoes.

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1.	Two Steps From the Blues  
2.	Cry Cry Cry  	
3.	I'm Not Ashamed	
4.	Don't Cry No More  	
5.	Lead Me On  	
6.	I Pity the Fool  	
7.	I've Just Got to Forget You	
8.	Little Boy Blue  	
9.	St. James Infirmary  	
10.	I'll Take Care of You  
11.	I Don't Want No Woman  	
12.	I've Been Wrong So Long	

Recorded between March 12, 1956 and November 12, 1960.

Personnel includes: 
Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); 
Wayne Bennett, Clarence Holloman (guitar); 
Robert Skinner, L.A. Hill (tenor saxophone); 
Rayfield Devers (baritone saxophone); 
Joe Scott, Melvin Jackson (trumpet); 
Pluma Davis (trombone); 
Connie Mack Booker, Teddy Reynolds (piano); 
Hamp Simmons (bass); 
John "Jabo" Starks, Sonny Freeman (drums)

Without a doubt, Two Steps from the Blues is the definitive Bobby "Blue" Bland album and one of the great records in electric blues and soul-blues. In fact, it's one of the key albums in modern blues, marking a turning point when juke joint blues were seamlessly blended with gospel and Southern soul, creating a distinctly Southern sound where all of these styles blended so thoroughly it was impossible to tell where one began and one ended. Given his Memphis background, Bobby "Blue" Bland was perfectly suited for this kind of amalgam as envisioned by producer/arranger Joe Scott, who crafted these wailing horn arrangements that sounded as impassioned as Bland's full-throated, anguished vocals. It helped, of course, that the songs were uniformly brilliant. Primarily from the pen of Deadric Malone, along with Duke head Don Robey and Scott (among others), these are the tunes that form the core of Bobby "Blue" Bland's legend and the foundation of soul-blues: "Two Steps from the Blues," "I Don't Want No Woman," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I'm Not Ashamed," "Lead Me On," "Little Boy Blue" -- songs so good they overshadow standards like "St. James Infirmary." These are songs that blur the division between Ray Charles soul and Chess blues, opening the doors for numerous soul and blues sounds, from Muscle Shoals and Stax through the modern-day soul-bluesman. Since this, like many blues albums from the late '50s/early '60s, was a collection of singles, it's possible to find the key tracks, even the entire album, on the numerous Bobby "Blue" Bland collections released over the years, but this remains an excellent, essential blues album on its own terms -- one of the greatest ever released. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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   1. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
   2. I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
   3. Lovin' on Borrowed Time
   4. When You Come to the End of Your Road
   5. I Ain't Gonna Be the First to Cry
   6. Dreamer
   7. Yolanda
   8. Twenty-Four Hour Blues
   9. Cold Day in Hell
  10. Who's Follin' Who?

Personnel: 
Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); 
Ben Benay, Larry Carlton, Dean Parks (guitar); 
Sid Sharp Strings (strings); 
Paul Hubinon, Jim Horn, Tony Terran, Ernie Watts, Lew McCreary,
 John Kelson, Peter Christlieb (horns); 
Michael Omartian (piano, organ, Clavinet, synthesizer); 
Wilton Felder (bass); 
Ed Greene (drums); 
Ginger Blake, Julia Tillman, Maxine Willard (background vocals).

Dreamer album by Bobby "Blue" Bland was released Jul 24, 2002 on the Beat Goes On label. Bobby Bland entered the '70s with the blues in his heart and two women on each arm. Having established himself as one the nation's top bluesmen decades before as a gritty crooner with a disarming effect on the ladies, Bland fully embraced his amorous side on DREAMER. There is a noted hedonistic edge to his blues here and a more relaxed sense of passion Dreamer songs. Gone are the dark nights and the uptown sophistication. They are replaced with sultry grooves that seem to bubble with the excess and indulgence so often associated with the '70s. The album's strongest tracks ("Ain't no Love in the Heart of the City," "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog [The Way You Treated Me]," and "Yolanda") revolve around love gone wrong, each featuring a dynamic performance from Bland. However, no matter how much heartbreak Bobby Bland conveys on DREAMER, there is the sense that the next girl is not far behind. ---cduniverse.com

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