Search - Various Artists :: Chess Blues Guitar : Two Decades Of Killer Fretwork, 1949-1969

A great place to begin

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 08/23/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was my first blues CD. I used to listed mainly to rock music, and it was the guitar-angle that caught me....a few hundred blues CDs ago.

If you are relatively new to classic 50s and 60s blues, "Chess Blues Guitar" is an excellent starting place. This double-disc set boasts lots of well-chosen songs by Robert Nighthawk ("Anna Lee", "Someday"), Elmore James ("I Can't Hold Out"), Howlin' Wolf ("Killing Floor", "Hidden Charms", "I've Got A Woman"), Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Little Milton Campbell, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley and many more.
The Muddy Waters songs aren't really among his best, and are obviously chosen for the guitar playing, but the Howlin' Wolf-tracks in particular are not only sublime examples of classic blues guitar playing, "Hidden Charms" and "Killing Floor" are also two of Wolf's best-ever songs, and the former features perhaps the greatest guitar solo ever comitted to tape.

And most of the lesser-known songs are excellent as well, even offering something for the more experienced blues fan:
Blue Smitty's "Date Bait", Danny Overbea's "Forty Cups Of Coffee", Morris Pejoe's "Tired Of Crying Over You", "Give Me One More Shot" by J.B. Lenoir, "One Sunny Day" by Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Burns' "Treat Me Like I Treat You", "Claim On You" by Lafayette Thomas, and Jody Williams' "What Kind Of Gal Is That" are all great songs, and not that easy to find on compact disc.

A fine purchase for novice and veteran alike. Highly recommended."

Killer Fretwork for guitar lovers

Brian Kerecz | 11/23/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Chess was the home of most of the bigger blues legends of the 50's and 60's. This compilation is a must have for any blues guitar lover. Some of the early tracks (the first 10 or so) are country blues and are fairly mediocre, but the rest of the album is 5 stars. Lots of catchy instrumentals from Earl Hooker, Jody Williams, Chuck Berry(even his are good!), Buddy Guy(you can here where Stevie Ray was influenced from-check out Buddy's Boogie)as well as the great Hubert Sumlin on the Howlin Wolf tracks, Otis Rush, Little Milton, and Bo Diddley. This is true blues before the rock influence caught on, so be sure to include it in your collection."

Chess - the definitive source for early Blues

Brian Kerecz | PA, USA | 11/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 2-CD set of the early Chess years is a very nice compilation of early Chess guitar Blues of the 1950's and 1960's. Included on these CD's are some of the most common names in the genre, such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. And lesser known names are also here, names which most people, including those who love the Blues, have probably never heard of.

This is a must have for any Blues lover if for no other reason than the fact that this compendium brings together many names which cannot be found on CD's elsewhere. Want to hear songs by Blue Smitty, Danny Overbea, or Lafayette Thomas? Perform a search on Amazon and you will see that they have no currently available recordings for purchase. That in and of itself makes this CD a must have for the Blues aficionado."