Blues Masters, Vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics

Blues Masters (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 14, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 14, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000007RQB
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,668 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Off the Wall

2. Odds and Ends

3. Cotton Crop Blues

4. Keep It to Yourself

5. Help Me

6. Born in Chicago

7. I Hear You Knockin'

8. Jump the Boogie

9. Come Back Baby

10. Pawnshop Bound

11. Baby Scratch My Back

12. The Briar Patch

13. All Night Boogie (All Night Long)

14. Shake the Boogie

15. Whammer Jammer

16. Hootin' Blues No. 2

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for hamonicists and harmonophiles, January 16, 2002

By 

Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blues Masters, Vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics (Audio CD)

This power-packed CD is a must for both players and lovers of the harmonica, particularly of the blues-harp variety.

Most all of the tunes here are listenable, but some mighty powerful stuff abounds. On Howlin' Wolf's number, he sounds as if he's playing 2 harps at once. Junior Wells, in his rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Help Me," does a moving tribute to Sonny II both vocally and harmonically (as Sonny II died shortly before this was recorded). Sonny I is well represented here with "Shake Your Boogie" (although his harmonica is drowned out by the other instruments in parts of this song).

The king of Country blues harmonica, Sonny Terry, does an amazing turn with "Hootin' Blues Pt. 2" which defies written description. Wisely, Magic Dick Seltzer's classing "Whammer Jammer" is also included, as it sounds as if this tune may have been inspired by the above-mentioned Sonny Terry tune (listen and compare).

So for anyone who likes good harmonica music, listen and enjoy. For aspiring harmonicists, you may have think you've got it down pat, but listen to this to see how far you still need to go.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine sampler, August 5, 2004

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blues Masters, Vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics (Audio CD)

You've heard that saying about a hundred monkeys clattering away at a hundred typewiters for a hundred years...I don't know excactly how it goes in English. Anyway, it seems that an ape called Jo Jo ended up writing a review rather than the collected works of William Shakespeare.
I mean, honestly...what do you think an album titled "Blues Masters vol. 16 - More Harmonica Classics" is?!

Well, never mind.
This is a very nice companion volume to Blues Masters vol. 4 ("Harmonica Classics"). Most longtime blues fans will own much or even all of this material already, of course, but beginners or "mid-level" blues fans should delight in the wealth of excellent material on this disc - aggressive up-tempo freight train harmonica and slow, smouldering fills and solos.

Most of the really big guns are here, like James Cotton, Slim Harpo, Little Walter Jacobs, Sonny Terry, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells, white boy Paul Butterfield, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, and Aleck "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II).
And most of the more obscure stuff is very interesting as well: William Clarke's "Pawnshop Bound", Lazy Lester's rendition of "I Hear You Knockin'", a great, swaggering "The Briar Patch" by Gary Primich, Papa George Lightfoot's thumping "Jump The Boogie", a raw early electric blues with a gritty sandpaper vocal, and Doctor Isiah Ross' tough, energetic "Come Back Baby".

This is far from everything you need to know about blues harmonica, of course, and a couple of tunes were chosen for the harp playing rather than their overall musical quality, I guess.
But there is a lot of quality stuff here, making "More Blues Harmonica" a really good buy for all but the most hardcore blues fans (they'll own 9/10 of this stuff already).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blues Harp, July 18, 2008

By 

D. Foster (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blues Masters, Vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics (Audio CD)

An excellent compilation of blues harp playing. Buy this if you are looking to hear the best and learn some of the best techniques ever!