Life Love & The Blues

Etta James | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 4, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
• ASIN: B002HMHRLE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,609 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Blues > Vocal Blues
  • #96 in Music > R&B > Soul > General AAS

Track Listings

1. Born Under a Bad Sign

2. I Want to Ta-Ta You Baby

3. Here I Am (Come and Take Me)

4. Running Out of Lies

5. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)

6. Spoonful

7. Life, Love & the Blues

8. Hoochie Coochie Gal

9. Cheatin' in the Next Room

10. If You Want Me to Stay

11. The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)

12. I'll Take Care of You

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid but not Spectacular, March 28, 2003

By 

loce_the_wizard "loce_the_wizard" (Lilburn, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Life Love & The Blues (Audio CD)

There are far worse ways to spend an hour than letting Etta James wail and croon her take on the blues and R&B numbers she appropriates on "Life, Loves, & the Blues." Still, one has to concede that her takes are not really all blues or all R&B but a hybrid propelled by lots of bluesy sounding guitar riffs and plenty of horns to fill out the songs. Her band and guests musicians cook up a thick gumbo that bubble along mostly in the background.

Solid throughout but never quite spectacular, this session is largely driven by formula, for neither Ms. James nor her band take many chances with the arrangements and delivery no such chestnuts as Spoonful. A few tracks, such as the overly long reworking of Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues and Hoochie Coochie Gal, overstay their welcome.

On the other hand, Ms. James and her band sound vital and fresh on the title track, the one original number. And it's impossible not to tap along with the infectious energy of If You Want Me to Stay. Even if this recording does not win Ms. James many new fans, it should satisfy her core fans and make a few converts.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't stop listening to this CD. It is SUPERB, April 30, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Love & The Blues (Audio CD)

Of every 10 blues CD's in buy, I usually hate 9 and like the tenth, simply due to the diversity of the music and artists. This Etta James album is a work of art and only came my way, due to a chance listening at a friends drunken party. Thankyou to that friend for playing it that night and to Etta for a truly magnificent album, where EVERY single track is listenable and 5 are truly awesome. Put this one in your shopping cart ahead of all others...... it is simply one of the very very best.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best female blues recording ever produced!, April 4, 2002

By 

"impaulw" (North Palm Beach County, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Love & The Blues (Audio CD)

5 STARS IS NOT ENOUGH!! There is no greater blues recording by a female artist than this! I have played it over & over again and still, a year later, I listen to it every day. It is in my car, my wife has it it her car. I have it in both of my CD jukeboxs in my home stereo systems (bedroom and main room). Everyone who hears it wants to have it. I have an extensive Blues & Jazz collection and have been an avid blues fan since the early 60's. I recommend that you don't even think about buying another blues recording until you own this. People who don't enjoy or listen to the blues always ask what it is that I am playing. If I stop at a traffic light, pull into a parking lot or just drive down the road I constantly have to answer the same question. WHO IS THAT??? I turned a friend of mine onto this recording. She works nights in a convienience store and plays it continuously. She told me that the customers rave about the music. They stop in their tracks frequently and hang out listening until a song or the CD ends. This is the BEST. This is Etta James at her best. The recording is "Life, Love & The Blues". Simply stated, if you have LIFE and are still breathing, whether or not you know LOVE or the BLUES, you will be deeply moved by this recording.