|
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Editorial Reviews
Blues, Vocal, Female
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
These 26 essential tracks that Big Maybelle recorded for Okeh records are the real McCoy. Her reputation as one of the most exciting female vocalists to ever sing the Blues is more than ably demonstrated here, and these tracks are the purest Blues she ever recorded. Unlike some of her pop and jazz records - and Big Maybelle excelled in all of these styles - almost all of these tracks have the distinction of bearing the unmistakable stamp of pure Blues music, something that is mighty rare among female practitioners of the art. The music world abounds with many female vocalists who were labeled "Blues" singers without their ever fully indulging in the form. While Big Maybelle herself made some excellent R & B and even pop records, when she sang the Blues, she went all the way, as some others did not. And if you want proof, one listen to these excellent tracks is all you will need.
Her sound is as big as she was, and her phrasing and delivery are as earthy as the Blues can get. At times, she sounds quite a bit like her mentor, Bessie Smith, whose style she clearly loved and emulated - if you listen carefully to her rendition here of Please Stay Away From My Sam, you could almost swear you're listening to the Empress, come back and recorded on better equipment. But Big Maybelle also bears the marks of a true original - she is always true to her own voice and vision, which is every bit as powerful as her phrasing is divine.
If you are not familiar with her, these tracks will grow on you immediately. If you have any of her other recordings, you will understand why these sessions are essential. The musicians who back her up are excellent, and all are totally in sync with her style.
In reality, anyone who loves Jazz, R & B or Blues can appreciate Big Maybelle. The few "pop" numbers among the material presented here showcase her diversity brilliantly. Her rendition of "You'll Never Know" is quite unlike any other version I've ever heard before, in both style and presentation, and a prime example of what a true "torch" singer can do with a sad song. The same is true of the wonderful ballad Ain't No Use, which seems to have an identical first bar to Percy Mayfield's Please Send Me Someone to Love, then veers off into one of the most effective torch songs I've ever heard. Ditto for You'll Be Sorry, a tune that sound like something Irma Thomas may have done in her early years, which of course came after these tracks. And Ocean of Tears is pretty much in a class by itself; a true Blues song that doubles as a torch song, Big Maybelle's wailing will convince you that she has the pain in her heart that the lyrics say she does. But I don't mean to get caught up on the ballads; the barrelhouse Blues numbers are the real attraction here - just one listen to Ain't To Be Played With, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show or even Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On will confirm that. The more I listen to Big Maybelle, the more she surprises me with every phrase of every song.
The tracks contained on this album showcase one of the most sadly neglected artists of all time, at her prime. Music like this is priceless, but priceless doesn't necessarily mean expensive. This album is modestly priced, and considering it contains 26 glorious tracks of one of the greatest blues singers who ever lived, it's a downright bargain.
Highly recommended.
Her sound is as big as she was, and her phrasing and delivery are as earthy as the Blues can get. At times, she sounds quite a bit like her mentor, Bessie Smith, whose style she clearly loved and emulated - if you listen carefully to her rendition here of Please Stay Away From My Sam, you could almost swear you're listening to the Empress, come back and recorded on better equipment. But Big Maybelle also bears the marks of a true original - she is always true to her own voice and vision, which is every bit as powerful as her phrasing is divine.
If you are not familiar with her, these tracks will grow on you immediately. If you have any of her other recordings, you will understand why these sessions are essential. The musicians who back her up are excellent, and all are totally in sync with her style.
In reality, anyone who loves Jazz, R & B or Blues can appreciate Big Maybelle. The few "pop" numbers among the material presented here showcase her diversity brilliantly. Her rendition of "You'll Never Know" is quite unlike any other version I've ever heard before, in both style and presentation, and a prime example of what a true "torch" singer can do with a sad song. The same is true of the wonderful ballad Ain't No Use, which seems to have an identical first bar to Percy Mayfield's Please Send Me Someone to Love, then veers off into one of the most effective torch songs I've ever heard. Ditto for You'll Be Sorry, a tune that sound like something Irma Thomas may have done in her early years, which of course came after these tracks. And Ocean of Tears is pretty much in a class by itself; a true Blues song that doubles as a torch song, Big Maybelle's wailing will convince you that she has the pain in her heart that the lyrics say she does. But I don't mean to get caught up on the ballads; the barrelhouse Blues numbers are the real attraction here - just one listen to Ain't To Be Played With, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show or even Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On will confirm that. The more I listen to Big Maybelle, the more she surprises me with every phrase of every song.
The tracks contained on this album showcase one of the most sadly neglected artists of all time, at her prime. Music like this is priceless, but priceless doesn't necessarily mean expensive. This album is modestly priced, and considering it contains 26 glorious tracks of one of the greatest blues singers who ever lived, it's a downright bargain.
Highly recommended.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Mabel Smith (1924 -- 1972) learned music as a child singing gospel in Jackson Tenessee. She was a large woman, over 250 pounds, with a big voice to match. She received the nickname "Big Maybelle" at the time of the recordings on this CD.
Big Maybelle made a few recordings in the 1940s, but became well-known only during her years of recording for the Okeh label from 1952 -1955. Following her years with Okeh, she recorded for a number of other labels, appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958, and acquired a large following among lovers of the blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, and,near the end of her career, rock and roll. Big Maybelle's career was hampered throughout and cut short by a severe drug addiction.
This recording includes the 26 tracks Big Maybelle released for Okeh during 1952 -- 1955 and shows the singer at the height of her powers. The songs are in a variety of styles, but they are predominantly the "jump" or "swing" blues, that became popular in the later 1940s and early 1950s for dancing. These songs include a back-up band of 5 to 7 musicians featuring piano, guitar, bass, drum, and sax. The back-ups for Big Maybelle on these recordings are excellent, especially the wailing sax on many tracks.
But the main attraction of this CD is Big Maybelle herself. She was gifted with a powerful, gravelly voice that she projected with her ample heart and body in whatever she sang. She could be gritty and forceful, a woman version of a "shouter" and yet could sing with sweetness and tenderness. Her voice was full of vibrato, purring, growling, and passion. Big Maybelle was a lady blues singer in the worthy line of Bessie Smith.
The tracks I particularly enjoyed on this CD includeed "Rain Down Rain", with Big Maybelle's passionate singing accompanied by a honking sax, the slow, wailing "Maybelle's Blues", the uptempo and rhythmical "I've got a feeling (somebody's trying to steal my man)", "Ain't no use," another slow ballad, and "Don't Leave Poor Me." Some of the songs on this CD that achieved popularity include the "Gabbin' Blues" with its trading of insults (called dirty dozens), "One Monkey Don't Stop no Show" which has been covered many times and "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going on" which, with honk-tonk piano not prominent on Maybelle's recording, Jerry Lee Lewis made famous.
This CD is deservedly included in a list of 50 essential blues CDs in a recent excellent overview of the blues,"The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues" by David Evans. In addition, Evans includes Big Maybelle's recording of "My Country Man" from this CD as one of 50 individual essential blues recordings. Evans offers a detailed account of Maybelle's rendition of this song and concludes that "[t]he performance is tight and professional representing the best of jump blues." (p.180)
I am pleased to see many thoughtful and appreciative reviews of this CD and this site. This CD is an excellent introduction to a great lady blues singer who remains too little known and a good way to expand your knowledge of the the unique American art form of the blues. The CD includes detailed liner notes by Peter Grendysa.
Robin Friedman
Big Maybelle made a few recordings in the 1940s, but became well-known only during her years of recording for the Okeh label from 1952 -1955. Following her years with Okeh, she recorded for a number of other labels, appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958, and acquired a large following among lovers of the blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, and,near the end of her career, rock and roll. Big Maybelle's career was hampered throughout and cut short by a severe drug addiction.
This recording includes the 26 tracks Big Maybelle released for Okeh during 1952 -- 1955 and shows the singer at the height of her powers. The songs are in a variety of styles, but they are predominantly the "jump" or "swing" blues, that became popular in the later 1940s and early 1950s for dancing. These songs include a back-up band of 5 to 7 musicians featuring piano, guitar, bass, drum, and sax. The back-ups for Big Maybelle on these recordings are excellent, especially the wailing sax on many tracks.
But the main attraction of this CD is Big Maybelle herself. She was gifted with a powerful, gravelly voice that she projected with her ample heart and body in whatever she sang. She could be gritty and forceful, a woman version of a "shouter" and yet could sing with sweetness and tenderness. Her voice was full of vibrato, purring, growling, and passion. Big Maybelle was a lady blues singer in the worthy line of Bessie Smith.
The tracks I particularly enjoyed on this CD includeed "Rain Down Rain", with Big Maybelle's passionate singing accompanied by a honking sax, the slow, wailing "Maybelle's Blues", the uptempo and rhythmical "I've got a feeling (somebody's trying to steal my man)", "Ain't no use," another slow ballad, and "Don't Leave Poor Me." Some of the songs on this CD that achieved popularity include the "Gabbin' Blues" with its trading of insults (called dirty dozens), "One Monkey Don't Stop no Show" which has been covered many times and "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going on" which, with honk-tonk piano not prominent on Maybelle's recording, Jerry Lee Lewis made famous.
This CD is deservedly included in a list of 50 essential blues CDs in a recent excellent overview of the blues,"The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Blues" by David Evans. In addition, Evans includes Big Maybelle's recording of "My Country Man" from this CD as one of 50 individual essential blues recordings. Evans offers a detailed account of Maybelle's rendition of this song and concludes that "[t]he performance is tight and professional representing the best of jump blues." (p.180)
I am pleased to see many thoughtful and appreciative reviews of this CD and this site. This CD is an excellent introduction to a great lady blues singer who remains too little known and a good way to expand your knowledge of the the unique American art form of the blues. The CD includes detailed liner notes by Peter Grendysa.
Robin Friedman
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
These recordings are by far her best. Big Maybelle's powerful vocals are matched by very few (Bessie Smith may be the only serious challenger in the power catagory). Check out these recordings and be prepared for some of the most awesome vocal blues ever. A severely under rated talent, Big Maybelle left us way too soon. Had she been with us today, she would clearly be the queen of the blues. I love Big Maybelle!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Big Maybelle...Big Delight
The music of Big Maybelle bridges great African American female singers from the early days of the recording industry to the giants who dominated the entire pop industry after her... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Socrates Stewart
Big Maybelle/Big Songs/Big Power/Big Bargain
I don't know what to say that the other folks haven't said yet. Except check out Lavay Smith and her Skillet Lickers. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mark Schlesinger
awesome
Big Maybelle is a big woman with a big voice ! She is SOOOO AWESOME!
LOIS
LOIS
Published on December 1, 2008 by lois/shortcakes
I wish I could have given it 5 stars but..
someone used very bad judgment when they included a false start in the best track : Whole Lotta Shakin'Goin'On. Read more
Published on September 19, 2008 by Deacon Mo
Words will not do it justice.
I am stupified by how fantastic this turned out to be. There is nothing better in this world that you could do with ten bucks than to treat yourself to this music. Read more
Published on March 27, 2008 by Sara Simmons
My Favorite R & B Female Vocalist
Big Maybelle could stand and shake the building with the growl in her voice, or she could sing light and charming and jumping hot. Read more
Published on August 15, 2007 by JK8
Her Name Is Maybelle
She was born Mabel Louise Smith in 1924; she became the singer Big Maybelle in 1952 after Fred Mendelsohn "discovered" her (something Dave Clark had previously done in 1936) and... Read more
Published on January 10, 2007 by Truth
Great Maybelle
To hear a great voice (I try to avoid the superlative)in a wonderful setting look no further : this is IT! Read more
Published on October 9, 2005 by D. Weers
one of the best
If you don't already know about Big Maybelle, brother, are you in for it. She had it all, but messed up her life with an addiction to heroin, but boy, could she belt out a song. Read more
Published on September 14, 2005 by COMPUTERJAZZMAN
Rockin', boppin', jump blues and r&b from the 50's
This is an exellent cd, that reissues all the Okeh master takes by a great r&b jump blues dive of the 50's. Read more
Published on April 27, 2004 by rock'n'bopper
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
