Customer Reviews

Joe's Blues

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The original recording is obviously priceless, but the transfer to CD is just awful- especially in the first few cuts. I thought something was wrong with my CD player at first. They really ruined this recording for any kind of aficionado. You can tell by the price that it has been treated as a throwaway. They should go back to the original master and do it again now that the process is more bulletproof these days.

One of the best albums of Joe Pass that I have. With Herb Ellis,they "talk" to each other not using words but guitar melodies. Joe and Herb,Herb and Joe,all the time playing together, accompanied by drums and bass.Just Imagine It!!! In general, this album is a must to everyone who wants to have a unique ,rich in inspiration and improvisation, jazz guitar masterpiece.

If you love Joe Pass, you'll enjoy this recording. Similar to other Pass recordings, this one sounds very spontaneous and it is fun to listen to. It does sound rough at times in terms of the production of the CD, especially the drums, however the quality of the jam is outstanding. Playing a mix of old time standards including such favorites as Ray Charles'"Sweet Georgia Brown," Pass and Ellis weave catchy, blues based solos,playing off each other brilliantly. The two compliment each other effectively, each pushng the other to greater improvisational heights. What emerges is a fun and simple jam between two guitarists who are not afraid to stretch the boundaries of their styles.

I agree with everyone else; the music on this album is completely magical. Two masters at work with a great rhythm section, very spontaneous-sounding contrapuntal harmonies, unbounded joy in every tune, and some interesting arrangements.

This is also the worst-sounding CD (or LP, for that matter) that I have ever heard. It sounds worse than lo-res MP3s played over the Web; I have recordings of 78s that sound better. I cannot believe that even Laserlight would release this. I have other Laserlight Cds and none of them sound this bad. If they remastered this and made it sound better, I would buy it again. That's the only reason for 4 stars rather than 5.

Still, it's worth getting if you can listen past the horrible sound quality.

The playing of all involved is excellent. Unfortunately, the recording is not at the same high level. It sounds like the guitar signals were too hot, thereby causing some distortion. Also, the cymbals sound funny. Still worth it...because the playing is so great.

On the whole, I am not a big Joe Pass fan. When he wants to, he can dazzle you with his technique, and he seems to want to do that a lot. About fifteen minutes of that, and I'm ready for something else. But this album is something else.

The title is "Joe's Blues," and there's a picture of Joe on the cover, by himself. The only clue to what is going on is the subtitle, "Joe Pass With Herb Ellis."

The other musicians on this date were a bassist, a drummer, and Herb Ellis on guitar. I was surprised to see Herb Ellis on a date with Joe Pass. (In fact they have made several albums together.) I remember Herb Ellis from the Sixties. I thought he had dropped out of sight.

The combination is just superb. Clearly a few bits were rehearsed, and they had an understanding that one of them would take the lead on certain choruses. Beyond that, it appears to be entirely improvised, and they were improvising simultaneously. How they did this so effectively, complementing one another without interfering with one another, is one of life's happy mysteries.

I suspect that if he had chosen to, Joe Pass could have outshone Herb Ellis. He chose not to; it's share and share alike. Except for the fact that the guitarist on the right (I assume Joe Pass) was miked a little louder, it would take a better ear than mine to tell them apart.

The tunes are mostly standards. I seriously doubt that Alexander's Ragtime Band ever sounded so good.

If you listen to this with a good pair of headphones, as I did the first time I heard it, it *will* blow your mind.

If you like what you hear on the samples you will love the cd. It grows on you and these masters are having a great time playing

Just to reiterate the previous review. The playing and recording of the guitars is very good, but something is dreadfully wrong with the recording of the drums. The cymbals sound like sleigh bells! I played it for a friend and we almost died laughing.