Little Milton - Greatest Hits (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection)

Little Milton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 1997)
• Original Release Date: June 17, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fontana Mca
• ASIN: B000005KQV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,112 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #57 in Music > Blues > Chicago Blues
  • #97 in Music > Blues > Modern Blues

Track Listings

1. We're Gonna Make It

2. So Mean To Me

3. Blind Man

4. Who's Cheating Who?

5. We Got The Winning Hand

6. Man Loves Two (Man's Temptation)

7. I Feel So Bad

8. More And More

9. Let Me Down Easy

10. Grits Ain't Groceries

11. Just A LIttle Bit

12. Let's Get Together

13. Poor Man's Song

14. I Play Dirty

15. Baby, I Love You

16. If Walls Could Talk

Editorial Reviews

Milton's horn-heavy mix of blues and R&B (and his big beautiful voice) sounded like nothing else on Chess. Here are We're Gonna Make It; Who's Cheating Who?; Baby I Love You; If Walls Could Talk; I Play Dirty; So Mean to Me , and more of those classics!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of Little Milton's Chess sides, April 8, 2006

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Milton - Greatest Hits (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

Little Milton Campbell arguably recorded his grittiest and bluesiest songs for Sun and Bobbin before signing with Chess Records in the early 60s; tough blues and R&B like "If You Love Me", "That Will Never Do", and "Lookin' For My Baby".

But he cut several excellent sides for Chess as well, as is evident on this 16-song compilation, an expanded version of the 1972 LP "Greatest Hits". Campbell's rendition of "Just A Little Bit" is marred by some of the most hideous organ playing I've ever heard on a Chess waxing, and is much lesser than Magic Sam Maghett's recording of the same song, and the horn section really goes overboard on a couple of numbers, but most of what's here is good or even great.
The swinging, melodic numbers "We're Gonna Make It" and "Who's Cheating Who", and the plaintive but gutsy "Let's Get Together" are among the best songs here; swaggering, three-minute, mid-tempo soul stompers performed with power and conviction.
The lesser-known "We Got The Winning Hand" is another highlight, as is the mournful slowie "Let Me Down Easy", Milton's smooth reading of Chuck Willis' "I Feel So Bad (I Shake My Head And Walk Away)", and of course the classic "All Around the World (Grits Ain't Groceries)".

Little Milton's Chess sides weren't really blues at all. There is some classy R&B here, but this is soul music first and foremost. Soul music with a bluesy edge which sets it apart from that of Chess Records' other soul singers, but soul music never the less.
But that's okay. I would have liked a bit more grit, sure, and MCA could easily have fitted another ten songs onto this disc. But what is here is certainly good early Chicago soul, and the late James Milton Campbell was an excellent, expressive singer and a fine guitarist.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Little Milton, A great blues singer who sings from his guts, July 14, 2005

By 

F. Wells (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Milton - Greatest Hits (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

My favorite songs on this gutsy blues singer's CD are Blind Man, Let's Get Together, and Let Me Down Easy. Listening to Little Milton takes me back to the 60's when we use to have rent parties for a whole weekend, and listen to blues singers while we cooked, partied, and sold food. Also brings back memories of sitting on the back porch at night in the summer, while Little Milton, Bobby Bland, Sam Cooke or some other blues singer from that era played on the record player. Milton's gut-wrenching singing is what I call "soulful blues".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better than expected, February 8, 2007

By 

Cneyt Demrkaya "cuneyt demirkaya" (istanbul, TURKEY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Milton - Greatest Hits (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) (Audio CD)

I bought the album for the song grits ain't groceries, however, the rest of the song are also great for the listeners who like 70's rock and blues music and should be added to collection. I like the album