Customer Reviews

T-Bone Blues

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3 star:		(1)
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Originally issued by Atlantic Records in 1959, "T-Bone Blues" compiled 11 singles recorded between 1955 and 1957, and the 1994 CD reissue added four bonus tracks, including "Why Not", which Jimmy Rogers would later record as "Walkin' By Myself" and credit to himself, and a soulful rendition of Leroy Carr's "How Long Blues".

Many of these sides are re-recordings of Aaron "T-Bone" Walker's classic 40s sides, like "T-Bone Shuffle", "They Call It Stormy Monday", and "Mean Old World", and while any self-respecting blues collection should include Walker's original Capitol and Black & White singles (Rhino's "Blues Masters - The Very Best Of T-Bone Walker" is a great collection of those early sides), "T-Bone Blues" is perhaps the most satisfying album Walker ever made.

The sound is simply magnificent for mid-50s waxings, wonderfully clear and crisp and realistic, and T-Bone Walker is backed by men like Junior Wells, Jimmy Rogers, Ransom Knowling, legendary arranger/pianist Lloyd Glenn, and saxists John "Plas" Johnson, Jr., Edward Chamblee, Mack Easton, and Earl Hines-cohort Andrew "Goon" Gardner.
And T-Bone's own playing and singing is superb. Just listen to his inspired soloing on "Blues For Marili", "Mean Old World", the classic "T-Bone Blues", and this the definitive rendition of "Papa Ain't Salty". It's a delight to hear him playing with Little Walter Jacobs on the 1955 recordings, which include a swinging "Play On, Little Girl" and the fine bonus cut "T-Bone Blues Special", and Walker's re-recording of "They Call It Stormy Monday" captures the essence of the magnificent original version from 1947, this time with stellar fidelity.

There are a number of amazing instrumentals here, too...T-Bone Walker duels with his nephew R.S. Rankin and highly esteemed jazz guitarist Barney Kessel on the up-tempo scorcher "Two Bones And A Pick", and comes off victorious. He may have been best known for his slow, after-hours blues laments, but T-Bone could cut it with the best of them no matter if the tempo was set at 40 or 140.
The highlights on this disc are too many to mention...among the best of the lesser-known songs are the up-tempo "You Don't Know What You're Doing", sung by Rankin, and the jouyous instrumental "Shufflin' The Blues", but literally everything is worth a listen.
An essential addition to any semi-serious collection of electric blues.

While these recordings did little to re-establish Walker's popularity, they might the quintessential T-Bone. His playing is still hot, Atlantic backed him with excellent musicains, and this music is recorded "state-of-the-art" for mid-50s recordings. Which means, in reality, he's recorded with a crispness and detail that far outshines any previous Walker recordings. If your a fan and don't have this one in your libaray, your missing prime T-Bone.

This recording from the mid-fifties is an absolute must for any blues lover. It fills the gap between jazz and blues in a very clever manner. The sound is absolutely great and it introduced one the most covered blues number of all time : Call it stormy monday. This is a real blues classic : buy it!

Easily the best T-Bone album I've heard out there. You wanna know why he's at the root of most guitar players out there? Take a listen here. Chuck Berry's favorite guitar player. Need i say more. Buy it. You won't be sorry. Unless YOU are sorry! TASTY!

This is T-Bone at his best. With personnel on board such as R.S. Rankin, Barney Kessel, Ray Johnson and Earl Palmer, T-bone Walker lays down some of the greatest tracks in the annals of Rhythm and Blues and in the process shows us how Blues, Jazz and Swing combined was what made his sound so appealing and influntial to almost every Blues guitarist after him, especially Chuck Berry. If you don't dig this, you got a hole in your soul!

one of my favorite blues cd's. the recording quality is superb for a late 50's album. i like his voice, which has a lot of depth and range. however, the main attraction here is his exquisite guitar playing. no wonder he was such an influence on blues guitarists b.b.king, otis rush, buddy guy, and countless others.

My favorite single T-Bone disc. Listen and learn how lead guitar came to be. Incredible groove that never grows old. If I was stranded on an island with 10 CDs this would be one.

This is one of the best blues's CD's I have. The music and vocals are so smooth... I can't seem to stop listening to it. You can't go wrong with this one - check it out!

Most blues fans know that T-Bone was the man. He influenced virtually every blues, jazz, and rock guitar player that came after him, wrote some timeless classics, and had a wonderful, smooth voice. This album consists largely of re-recordings of some of T-Bone's best songs, but don't let this discourage you, because even if you have the sublime originals, this disc is worth every penny and more... and not just for the spectacular tracks unique to the album. His remakes of his own classics are executed with stunning grace and skill. As another reviewer noted, some of these versions are actually the definitive versions, such as "Papa Ain't Salty." The instrumental "two bones and a pick" is a breathtaking duel between three masters, who T-bone, at the very least, gives a heck of a run for their money. Once again, if you have the original captitol/imperial recordings, but don't have this, then your T-bone collection is lacking... this is absolutely essential!

One of the pioneers of the electric guitar,T-BONE WALKER was a prime inspiration for CHUCK BERRY and many others blues and rock stars.MEAN OLD WORLD,T-BONE BLUES,CALL IT STORMY MONDAY and BLUES FOR MARILI remain essential stuff.It is impossible not to think of CHUCK BERRY when you listen to this guy;the guitar technique is virtually the same, but CHUCK is a better lyric writer.SHUFFLIN'THE BLUES is the closest T-BONE song ever came of rock.The quiet man from TEXAS has certainly deserved his place among the true practician of the blues.The sound quality here is good because these are 1955-56-57 recordings and not the original IMPERIAL that are also available.