BB King - Midnight Believer/Take It Home CD

Midnight Believer/Take It Home album for sale For years, this album was best known for its beautiful cover, a Maxfield Parrish-style pastiche which regularly shows up in collections of the best album covers of all time. The lilting, quiet folk-rock of this San Francisco band, led by David LaFlamme's swirling violin and Patti Santos' soaring vocals, was out of favor for quite some time, but latter-day fans of Belle and Sebastian, Nick Drake, and the Grateful Dead's rustic Americana period have discovered the gentle, calm feel of this classic of light psychedelia. Starting with the majestically wafting "White Bird," an early high this band unfortunately never quite matched again, LaFlamme, Santos and company create an appealingly drifting, almost narcotic bliss. Of the other excellent tracks, the sultry "Wasted Union Blues" is a particular highlight. Photographer: Bruce Steinberg. It's A Beautiful Day: Patti Santos (vocals); Hal Wagenet (guitar); David LaFlamme (violin); Linda LaFlamme (keyboards); Mitchell Holman (bass); Val Fluentes (drums). Personnel: Hal Wagenet (vocals, guitar); David LaFlamme (vocals, violin, flute); Mitchell Holman (vocals, harmonica, bass guitar); Val Fuentes (vocals, drums); Pattie Santos (vocals, tambourine, percussion, bells); Bruce Steinberg (harmonica); Linda LaFlamme (piano, celesta, electric piano, harpsichord, organ, keyboards).

Midnight Believer/Take It Home buy CD music After 1970's Looking In album, Peverett, Roger Earl, and Tony Stevens left to form Foghat, leaving Kim Simmonds with yet another dilemma. But for Simmonds, things went a little smoother than he might have imagined, picking up piano player Paul Raymond, bassman Andy Silvester, and drummer Dave Bidwell, all from Chicken Shack. He also hired singer Dave Walker, who was the former frontman with the Idle Race, and together the new lineup recorded Street Corner Talking, one of Savoy Brown's finest moments. Gelling almost instantaneously, Walker's cozy yet fervent voice countered with Simmonds' strong, sturdy guitar playing, and an exuberant mixture of British blues and boogie rock prevailed. All of Street Corner Talking's efforts are solid examples of the group's blues-rock power, from the slick cover of Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" to the deep feel of "All I Can Do" to the subtle strength of "Tell Mama," Walker's best-sung tune. The album's blend of sultry guitar blues and upfront rock & roll flavor give it a multi-faceted appeal, with every musician contributing his talents uniformly, which is something that's rather difficult to achieve after there's been a wholesale change to the personnel. Although they stayed together for the Hellbound Train album, Silvester was replaced by Andy Pyle for 1972's Lion's Share release, and a year after that Walker left to join Fleetwood Mac. ~ Mike DeGagne

Midnight Believer/Take It Home songs Recorded in Memphis, Tennessee and Chicago, Illinois between 1951 and March 1959. Originally released on Chess (9195) in 1959. Includes original liner notes by Ralph Bass. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois between June 24, 1957 and May 1961. Originally released on Chess in 1962. Includes original liner notes by Paul Ackerman. Simply put, this disc is indispensable for anyone interested in blues, rock, or good music in general. One of the rare, genuine "deals" on record store shelves, this two-fer compiles Howlin' Wolf's first two full-length albums on one CD and offers twenty-two tracks of the man's absolute finest. These are the essential documents of the man who was the last word in electric Chicago blues--a unique and riveting performer whose voice could loose buildings from their foundations and remove skin from bone. Wolf's visceral impact is overwhelming at times, and his performances on these tunes are definitive. All his best-known and loved are here, including "Shake For Me," "The Red Rooster," "Wang Dang Doodle" Spoonful," "Evil" and "Forty Four." As good, if not better, than any "best of" collection, MOANIN' IN THE MOONLIGHT/HOWLIN' WOLF is a must. 2 LPs on 1 CD. Includes liner notes by Don Kamerer. MOANIN' IN THE MOONLIGHT: Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocals, harmonica); Willie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Jody Williams, Lee Cooper, L.D. McGhee, Otis "Smokey" Smothers (guitar); Adolph "Billy" Dockins (tenor saxophone); Ike Turner, Hosea Lee Kennard, Otis Spann (piano); Willie Dixon (bass); Willie Steel, Earl Phillips, Fred Below, S.P. Leary (drums). HOWLIN' WOLF: Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Willie Dixon (vocals, bass); Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers, Otis "Smokey" Smothers, Willie Johnson (guitar); Abe Locke (tenor saxophone); Johnny Jones, Henry Gray, Hosea Lee Kennard, Otis Spann (piano); Sammy Lay, Earl Phillips, Fred Below, S.P. Leary (drums). Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Willie Dixon (vocals); L.D. McGhee, Lee Cooper, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers , Jody Williams, Otis Smokey Smothers, William Johnson, Willie Johnson (guitar); Abe Locke, Adolph Dockins (tenor saxophone); Henry Gray, Ike Turner, Hosea Lee Kennard, Johnny Jones , Otis Spann (piano); Earl Phillips, Fred Below, Willie Steel, S.P. Leary, Sam Lay (drums). Liner Note Authors: Paul Ackerman; Ralph Bass. Recording information: Chicago, IL; Memphis.

Midnight Believer/Take It Home CD music The band's third album finds guitar hero Mike Bloomfield MIA and replaced by a horn section including the very young David Sanborn. (Ironically, Bloomfield departed to start his own horn band, the ill-fated Electric Flag). Stylistically, the band was inching away from blues purism, and moving toward jazz and r&b, particularly of the Stax-Volt variety, as witness the idiomatic cover of Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign." (The band must have been listening to Motown as well, hence the thoroughly rocked-out re-arrangement of Marvin Gaye's "One More Heartache,") The album title, incidentally, refers to an alias of remaining guitarist Elvin Bishop, who gets plenty of room to work out here, particularly on "Driftin and Driftin'". Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Paul Butterfield (vocals, harmonica); Elvin Bishop (guitar); Dave Sanborn (alto saxophone); Gene Dinwiddie (tenor saxophone); Keith Johnson (trumpet); Mark Naftalin (keyboards); Bugsy Maugh (bass, background vocals); Phil Wilson (drums). Personnel: Paul Butterfield (vocals, harmonica); Elvin Bishop (vocals, guitar); Bugsy Maugh (vocals); David Sanborn (saxophone, alto saxophone); Brother Gene Dinwiddie (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Keith Johnson (trumpet); Mark Naftalin (keyboards); Phillip Wilson (drums).

Midnight Believer/Take It Home buy CD music ENDLESS BOOGIE features a host of session musicians including, interestingly enough, Steve Miller on six cuts. The variety and range these musicians add to Hooker's straight-up blues stylings makes for a textured and interesting combination. Hooker's tunes touch on the traditional themes: feeling down ("Sitting In My Dark Room"), getting a good woman ("I Got A Good 'Un"), money troubles ("House Rent Boogie") and standing at the crossroads ("Standing At The Crossroads"). Hooker's irresistibly gritty guitar and voice, combined with fine session work and the novelty of unusual elements like electric piano, makes this disc one of his best collaborative projects. Recorded at Wally Heider Recording, San Francisco, California on November 10-12, 1970. Personnel: John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar); Mel Brown (guitar, acoustic guitar); Mark Naftalin (guitar, piano); Gino Skaggs (guitar, fretless bass); Dan Alexander, Daniel Alexander, Jerry Perez, Stephen Miller , Jesse Ed Davis (guitar); Dave Berger (harmonica); John Turk, Clifford Coulter (electric piano); Carl Radle (bass guitar, fretless bass); Ken Swank (drums, tambourine); Billy Ingram, Reno Lanzara, Jim Gordon (drums). Recording information: Wally Heider Recording, San Francisco, CA (11/10/1970-11/12/1970). Unknown Contributor Role: John Turk. Personnel: John Lee Hooker (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Mel Brown (acoustic & electric guitars); Cliff Coulter (guitar, electric piano); Dan Alexander, Steve Miller, Jesse Ed Davis, Jerry Perez (guitar); Dave Berger (harmonica); Mark Naftalin (piano); John Turk (electric piano, organ); Gino Skaggs, Carl Radle (bass); Ken Swank (drums, tambourine); Billy Ingram, Jim Gordon, Reno Lanzara (drums).

Midnight Believer/Take It Home songs SING IT! was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Vocal duties are distributed evenly to showcase the expressive capabilities of each, particularly on smokey ballads like "He's Mine" and "You Don't Nothin' About Love," so Ball, Thomas and Nelson each get the chance to display their gifts as vocalists, to exercise their individual phrasing, intonation, and timbre. Their interaction as a trio is excellent as well, churning out thick harmonies with slinky syncopation over the solid grooves of their fine backing band. SING IT! is a rare example of the disappearing entity: a real soul album. Nominated for a Grammy in 1999. /Irma Thomas/Tracy Nelson. Recorded at Ultra Sonic Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana from April to September, 1997. Includes liner notes by Ben Sandmel. Personnel: Marcia Ball (vocals, piano); Irma Thomas, Tracy Nelson (vocals); Michael Toles (acoustic & electric guitars); Ed Petersen, Joe Cabral, Derek Huston (tenor saxophone); Victor Goines (baritone saxophone); Barney Floyd, Jamil Sharif (trumpet); David Torkanowsky (acoustic & electric pianos, Hammond B-3 organ); Davell Crawford (Hammond B-3 organ); Lee Allen Zeno (bass); Raymond Weber (drums, percussion); Scott Billington (tambourine). A trio of R&B divas: Thomas, a long-time New Orleans songstress; Ball, a native Louisianan crooner; and Nelson, lead singer for the blues-rock group Mother Earth since the mid 60's-- team up on this solid collection of dance and sultry soul numbers. Employing Atlantic/Motown-style arrangements and girl-group backing harmonies, these three bring sophisticated craft and well-seasoned throats to the mic for such groove-inducers as "Love Maker, " "I Want To Do Everything For You," and the rhythmic strut of "Woman On The Move."