One of many attempts by a revered blues label to survive in the midst of the sixties rapidly changing zeitgeist. Classic black blues was replaced by white r&b, pop, psych and more experimental stuff on the lists and sales kept dropping. So here they gathered some of their old heroes - Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Frank Kirkland, Sonny Wimberly and Otis Spann - to save the day. I don't have a black blues background and therefore usually don't feel aquainted to the genre, but this is a lot of fun. Right on live in the studio and you can hear they enjoy it. So tight and bursting with emotions I can't help being caught. The groove is just right and there's a friendly wrangle going on between Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters to the rhythm, like it was part of the songs, but it's all spontaneous. And they're doing some of the songs that many a younger outfit had covered before - e.g. "Who Do You Love", "I'm A Man", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" - as they wanted to set it straight and show how it'd be done. The audio comes very natural, seemingly direct in without any further meddling. Guess this recording must have been inspirational to many later black or white practitioners. I can't help thinking that Rolling Stones "Blue And Lonsome" must have been triggered by it in some way. Issued and reissued in US, Canada, Europe and Downunder on vinyl and CD through the years, also cassette and reel. Premiere US on Checker (LP/LPS 3008). German 1992 CD on Chess (CHD 9168) came with three bonus tracks. First UK had label as shown here on heavy vinyl in a laminated flip/back cover.
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