Search - Sonny Terry, Brownie Mcghee :: Blowin the Fuses

Great recording of classic tracks by the masters of blues

ninkasi | Brighton East, Vic Australia | 09/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine two friendly old guys sitting on a couple of chairs on a porch down south. It's a lazy, warm summer's day and you're with friends and family lying in front of the house, under the shade of some trees, listening to Sonny & Brownie play and sing the blues as they should. Sonny plays the harmonica, Terry the guitar, and both take turns singing. The first six tracks of this CD come from a live set at the Los Angeles Troubadour in 1962. Although it's an old recording, it's been carefully restored and the resulting sound is as good as many studio recordings of the time and every track is pure gold. The next two tracks were recorded in the studio that same year - again, excellent sound (actually better, but that's only to be expected/hoped for).The last four tracks are called "Archival Bonus Tracks" - they feature Sonny with Woody Guthrie, Alec Seward, and Cisco Houston. Although interesting, unfortunately whoever worked their magic on the first eight tracks was unable to do the same thing with these so they are fairly muffled and really only of historical interest. Frankly, when I heard the first of these ("Chain Gang Special") I kept thinking about the Legendary Stardust Cowboy singing "Paralyzed". Ah well, you can't have everything and they *are* interesting.Sonny & Terry started playing together in the early 40's and continued until the late 70's. Sadly, Sonny died in 1986 from cancer and Terry ten years later - also from cancer. Although this isn't a "best of" CD so it perhaps doesn't have some of their more well-known songs, these are some classic blues recordings - don't be put off by the cheap price or my comments about the bonus tracks. Definitely recommended."