Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five stars - with reservations, December 2, 2003
Why the reservations?
Well, this collection only focuses on Elmore James' recordings for Bobby Robinson in the early 60s. He did remake many of his early hits for Robinson's Fire, Fury and Enjoy labels, and often in even better versions, but a few early-50s classics are missing, so "Shake Your Moneymaker" doesn't really work as a definitive Elmore James-compilation.
But let's forget about what's not here for a moment, and look at what is:
"Shake Your Moneymaker: The Best Of The Fire Sessions" gathers sixteen songs from the "King Of The Slide Guitar" box set, perfectly showcasing Elmore James' incredibly intense, slide guitar-driven electric blues. James was equally at home playing a smouldering slow blues like "The Sky Is Crying", and laying down raw, rollicking numbers like "Look On Yonder Wall" and his magnificent, fiery take on Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom". He always sang like he meant it, and he possessed a huge, emotional wail of a voice, imbuing everything from slow numbers and mid-tempo grinds to up-tempo ravers with passion and power.
The track selection is not 100% perfect, but it's very good, and several of these songs rank among the very best of electric Chicago blues, right up there with the greatest of Muddy Waters' and Howlin' Wolf's songs: "Shake Your Moneymaker", "Sunnyland", "Dust My Broom", "The Sky Is Crying", "Standing At The Crossroads", and a great rendition of Robert Nighthawk's "Anna Lee". ("It Hurts Me Too" is missing, though, which is a crime.)
"The Sky Is Crying: The History Of Elmore James" from Rhino Records remains the ultimate Elmore James-collection, featuring 21 songs and spanning his entire career, but this is a very good overview of his superb Fire, Fury and Enjoy recordings. Just remember that if you opt for this one, you need "The Best Of Elmore James - The Early Years" from Ace Records as well. That terrific 28-track compilation is the best place to go for all of James' gritty early-50s classics for the Meteor, Modern and Flair labels.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mississippi Has Got Just the Prettier Women, November 3, 2001
Elmore James I could listen to every day; there's something very reassuring about him. This is his best stuff, recorded for Bobby Robinson around 1960. Blues don't get no better than "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "Look On Yonder Wall" and "Stranger Blues." For years I've owned various LPs, some of which sound as though they were mastered from records in Denmark...and it's great to have this collection, with excellent sound. My favorite Elmore James moment, though, isn't on this compilation, but you can find it on the Collectables LP "The Complete Fire and Enjoy Sessions, Part 4," something called "Back in Mississippi." Elmore discourses on where to find the best-looking women: "I'm gonna tell you one damn thing, Jack, Mississippi has got just the prettier women than there is any goddamn where in the United States...and brother, I've been around."
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5.0 out of 5 stars
King of the Slide Guitar, January 3, 2009
Elmore James was a blues artist who straddled the old acoustic sound of the original delta blues and the advent of the Chicago blues scene, which saw the rise of the electric guitar. James has one of the best blues voices in blues history and like one reviewer already said--this is a great first Elmore James c.d. As is his, "The Sky Is Crying."
This c.d. is a must have for any serious fan of the blues. I could listen to this c.d. over and over for days on end. Once you listen to Elmore James you can't get enough. Elmore James didn't have a long career but what he did record is top notch and legendary. It's too bad his name isn't brought up as much as Muddy Waters, etc.
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