Bobby "Blue" Bland Two Steps From The Blues CD

This reissue contains two bonus tracks from the original LP sessions.

Recorded between March 12, 1956 and November 12, 1960. Includes liner notes by Bill Dahl and Dzondria Lalsac.

If you are unfamiliar with Bobby Bland, TWO STEPS FROM THE BLUES is the place to start. The album marked a watershed of creative bursts and commercial recognition for the legendary blues singer. The foundation of TWO STEPS' blues was an uptown Texas blues sound, relying more on sophisticated arrangements, horns, and orchestras than gut-bucket Delta guitar heroics. Inside the lush grooves, Bland moved with restraint, crooning seductively, a tried-and-true ladies man. Which is not to say that Bland is all smooth grooves and sweet nothings. No, his gospel roots rise up like thunderclouds at precise moments, erupting to transform the album's ballads into rattling experiences. The undeniable power of Bland's squalls punctuates "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "I Pity the Fool." His trademark mixture of smoky crooning and strangled outbursts has helped place Bobby Bland alongside the best R&B singers of the century.

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

Digitally remastered by Erick Labson (Universal Mastering).

Additional Tracks

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).

Personnel: Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); Wayne Bennett (guitar); Joe Scott (trumpet); Pluma Davis (trombone); Connie Mack Booker, Teddy Reynolds (piano); John Starks, Sonny Freeman (drums).

Recording information: Chicago, IL (03/12/1956-11/12/1960); Houston, TX (03/12/1956-11/12/1960).Q (2/93, p.87) - "...the leanness of the instrumentation and the simple but clever arrangements deepen the pervasive air of plaintive, lonesome melancholy..."