ELMORE JAMES/TO KNOW A MAN S7-63224/25 (-69) UK

 

  Elmore James (born Elmore Brooks 1918-63) was one of the first and certainly most influential electric guitarists. His songs and riffs have been covered, copied and sampled ever since and he's been acknowledged and praised by later guitar celebrities like Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, George Harrison and Frank Zappa. His full story is too much for this blog, so for that I recommend  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmore_James#Biography . This 2-LP set is probably not his most fully fledged vinyl, but in a way one of the more historical as it was his last session, recorded live in the studio by a three-piece late 1962. You do get a number of sincerely performed blues numbers, old favorites as well as new stuff, but also alternate takes, false starts and conversations between the musicians. Perfect for us who want that "being there" feeling from a studio recording, cause here you're there for sure. As I understand this record is considered valuable mostly by "Blue Horizon" collectors who're just after the label, but to me it's a lot more than that. A chance to visit his last session, as it was.  Also originally released on vinyl in Holland (same number) and 1983 in Germany (Line OLDLP 8018 DX), but to my knowledge never on CD.  (BLÖH*)