Big Mama's Door

Alvin Youngblood Hart

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 23, 1996)
• Original Release Date: April 23, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002BJA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #108,014 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What it is to play the blues, November 16, 2004

By	Howlinw (California, USA) - See all my reviews

I don't know much about this guy, except that he's young, is rumored to have been in the coastguard at one point in his life, was involved in the PBS blues TV series somehow, and I believe owned some kind of music shop at one point or another where he sold guitars. Actually that's a lot of info. But it's not the kind of thing I'd expect when I put this record on. What I hear is the voice of a bluesman in his 40s or 50s, possibly older, recording in the 1950s or 60s, who has lived life to the fullest. That is the amazing thing about this record- a *debut* no less- that this young or young-ish guy was able to channel the feel of the blues traditions into the modern day and thoroughly convince me that he must be the ghost of some legendary bluesman of the past coming back to haunt my stereo.

There's not anything close to a weak track here. My favorite, one of my favorites of all-time, is "Things About Coming My Way." It's funny and true, hopeful yet not naive, remorseful but not bitter, simple and straightforward. But as I said, everything here is top-drawer material. There are definitely more famous blues discs out there, but as far as I am concerned, not many better ones at all. Buy it and let it teach you what the blues are meant to be.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HE COULD'VE INVENTED THE GENRE, September 19, 1999

By	Joseph Bonnano ([e-mail]) (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

What, first person to review this CD? I guess "TERRITORY" elicited more passionate reactions. Anyway, "Big Mama's Door" is the superior product of Mr. Hart's two phenomenal releases; simply because it is more cohesive, more of an actual album. "Territory" is my favorite, but it also has a few tracks I can't bear to listen to. This one has nary a clunker in the bunch, but it doesn't reach the off-beat, just-go-with-it heights of his sophomore offering. Who out there is Hart's equal is the acoustic/country tradition? I say no one. Long live Alvin Youngblood.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Blues Tradition, January 16, 2000

By	libbitz (Western Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

I haven't even heard the cd version, only the cassette, once. It immediately struck a nerve as something I'd long been searching for, a modern blues album that you could mistake for one from the twenties or thirties. Hart's virtuoisity recalls that of Son House or Robert Johnson. What really impressed me was the recording style. Recorded raw on 2 tracks instead of polishing the sound with lots of layering. Add it to your collection now!