Losing Game

Lonnie Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Obc
• ASIN: B000000XYJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,036 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. New Orleans Blues

2. My Little Kitten Susie

3. Evil Woman

4. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes

5. Moanin' Blues

6. Summertime

7. Lines in My Face

8. Losing Game

9. New Year's Blues

10. Slow and Easy

11. Four Walls and Me

12. You Won't Let Me Go

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

At the tail end of 1960 the ageless soloist recorded this attractive assortment of blues and ballads. His vocals are as rich as Godiva chocolate, and his guitar phrases glide through tempos with the ease, sophistication, and intense feeling that won him the admiration of comrades Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Victoria Spivey decades earlier. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great vocal blues, August 2, 2006

By 

Surf'n blues (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Losing Game (Audio CD)

This recording is very similar in sound to the "Idle Hours" recording with Victoria Spivey. If you like one you'll like the other. Clear, emotive singing, with just his guitar for accompaniment (piano on one song). This album should be higher on the "best selling Lonnie Johnson" list than it is. Note that these are NOT recordings from the 30's and 40's. I've seen some criticism of the ballads (Summertime, What a difference a day makes) but I think they fit on here just fine.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lonnie is his own man, August 27, 2002

By 

Horse Snakes (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Losing Game (Audio CD)

While not as complex as his earlier recordings, Lonnie says just as much here with fewer notes. His voice is suberb. After each phrase he sings, he hold the last note well into the subsequent guitar licks he plays. Truly an instrument of its own. His guitar playing, too, is uniquely his own. I've never heard anyone else play leads like he does, and rarely do you hear an acoustic guitarist play leads without backing accompaniment. Lonnie achieves it without sounding empty, a true feat. What also sets him apart is his truly original lyrics. None of 'em are typical of any other lyricist. Also recommended are his Sings 24 Twelve Bar Blues, an LP he did for King in the 50's with a full band, and The Living Room Sessions, a CD that came out a couple of years ago that has him playing solo on electric guitar at an informal house party in the late 60's. OK, his 20's stuff is incredible, too, but everyone knows that!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The feel of the blues comes through, March 11, 2000

By 

Jostein Berntsen "jostber" (Porsgrunn, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Losing Game (Audio CD)

The feel of the blues comes through in every note on this album. The sixies was an active period for Lonnie, recording 5 albums for Original Blues Classics, and this record is my favourite from this period. Lonnie Johnson's mastery of blues and ballads is evident in the beautiful versions of 'What a difference a day makes' and 'Summertime'. He plays piano on 'Evil Woman', at the rest of the album he does solo performances on guitar. 'Slow and easy' is a groovy instrumental. Take this home and play it!