Jimmy Reed Live At Carnegie Hall CD

Despite the title, JIMMY REED AT CARNEGIE HALL is not a live album, but a recreation of a Jimmy Reed Carnegie Hall performance. The songs are not the original recordings, but new versions recorded in 1961.

While the title is something of a misnomer, LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL is nonetheless an essential part of the Jimmy Reed catalog. It was made in the wake of (and intended to capitalize on) Reed's highly publicized Carnegie concert in 1961, but was in fact was recorded entirely in the studio. Whatever its origins, it stands as a stellar batch of Reed's greatest tunes, including "Baby What You Want Me To Do," "Bright Lights Big City," etc. This release takes the career-summary angle even further by appending Vee-Jay's BEST OF JIMMY REED to the CARNEGIE tracks. Appropriately, this was the album that introduced much of the world to the blues giant's laid-back charms.

Interestingly, JIMMY REED AT CARNEGIE HALL is not a concert album (technical and contractual difficulties prevented taping the actual event), but a studio recreation of the Carnegie Hall set Reed and his band played several days before the recording. Still, the album has the loose, spontaneous feel of a live session, with Reed's simple, propulsive guitar playing, keening harmonica, and behind-the-beat singing in exceptional working order. Abetted by guitarist "Lefty" Bates, drummer Earl Phillips, and Reed's wife, "Mama" (whose sweet backing vocals are an integral thread in the fabric of the music), Reed turns in a wonderful performance.

The generous 23-song set list, nearly all Reed originals, includes some of the performer's best tunes, including the chugging "Bright Lights, Big City," the insistent "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," and the slow-burning "You Don't Have to Go." The music is steeped in the primal, hypnotic rhythms of the Delta tradition, with a dash of savvy electric Chicago blues for balance, but the overall vibe is warm and mellow. The set is characterized by Reed's trademark muted, swampy sound, which would go on to influence a generation of young bluesmen and rockers.Dirty Linen (p.59) - "[This] provides the strongest overview of Reed's work currently available on a single CD."