I Am the Blues

Willie Dixon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000293E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,323 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

Originally released in 1970, this disc has the legendary songwriter singing nine of his classics as his hand-picked Chicago band makes the changes. Dixon's nothing special, even if he is the blues personified, since his dryly charming voice lacks tonal inflections and his way with rhythm is less than fluent. Whatever glimmers of expressivity these performances have are due to harp player Carey Bell. In spite of Mobile Fidelity's exemplary sound technology, the instruments at the original session sound like mysterious things thumping on the roof in the dead of night. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Product Description

On this 1970 LP, the quintessential blues songwriter performs his own tunes-every one a classic: I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man; The Little Red Rooster; Spoonful; Back Door Man, and more! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You ARE the blues, an' we are the participants., July 21, 2005

By 

Nathan "Cawntry-fried Calypso Beach Bum" (Charlotte, N.C. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am the Blues (Audio CD)

The person who wrote that editorial review above should be dragged out an' shot (well, maybe not SHOT, but ya'know ridiculed and have his feelings hurt) for callin' Willie "nothing special". From a composition standpoint alone he deserves to rank with the greats. In fact, this album here is worth it for jus' ONE song: 'I Can't Quit You, Baby'. That joint got me OPEN. Jus' listen to that wail he lets loose at the start 'fore the music's even kicked in an' tell me his voice didn't have every bit the power that the more well-known Delta and Chicago blues artists had. I mean this stuff is raw, down-and-dirty BLOOD music; hard-drivin' blues, soft blues, barroom brawl blues, ya jus' can't lose. This the only album'a his that I own, but is' enough for me to tell y'all without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that Willie Dixon was the MAN plain an' simple. C'mon now. Don't even get me started on 'Spoonful' or 'Back Door Man'. The latter in particular will pump more testosterone through your speakers an' out into your body n' soul than all the gangsta rappers out there could COMBINED. Overall, I'm gonna say no other less-than-10 song blues album possesses the consistancy that this one does. This stuff is timeless.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite, December 8, 2001

By 

Michael B. Taylor (Marietta, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am the Blues (Audio CD)

This CD is not valued by blues snobs for reasons that escape me when I think about it and are totally unfathonable when I listen to "I am the Blues". It has the edge you associate with Sonny Boy or Wolf, the drive you find in Freddie King when he was produced by Leon Russell, and the power you feel when you are sitting at 2 am in a local blues bar and your favorite local band starts playing covers and you feel bulletproof. You may hide this CD when your blues loving friends drop by, BUT, this is the one you will listen to as you drive off into the night to raise a little hell.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best blues albums I've ever heard, August 22, 2001

By 

Ren (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am the Blues (Audio CD)

Well, Willie Dixon is definitely one of the most influencial blues musicians ever; he is right up there with Robert Johnson and T-Bone Walker. Willie had written many tunes for Muddy Waters and others, and I Am the Blues is Dixon singing his own songs. He sings them damned well, and the blues are played perfectly. This is an awesome album to get into the blues, and it still holds true today. Standouts are "Back Door Man", "The Seventh Son", and "The Same Thing". Highly recommended for blues fans.