LP1 Side 1:
01. Bright Lights, Big City
02. I'm Mr Luck
03. Baby What's Wrong
04. Found Joy
05. Kind Of Lonesome
LP1 Side 2:
01. Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth
02. Tell Me You Love Me
03. Blue Carnegie
04. I'm A Love You
05. Hold Me Close
06. Blue, Blue Water
Download LP1 from here:
http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/4EFIeH9w/file.html
LP2 Side 3:
01. Baby What You Want Me To Do
02. You Don't Have To Go
03. Hush Hush
04. Found Love
05. Honest I Do
06. You Got Me Dizzy
LP2 Side 4:
01. Big Boss Man
02. Take Out Some Insurance
03. Boogie In The Dark
04. GoingTo New York
05. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
06. The Sun Is Shining
Download LP2 from here:
http://www39.zippyshare.com/v/vCfV7pwE/file.html
I can remember exactly where and when I bought this double album. It was in 1976 (or was it 1977 - oh dear) and it was on sale in a small local electronics shop in the area of Glasgow's South Side where I grew up. I had just returned from a year working in France and I was surprised to find that during my absence my parents' house had mysteriously filled up with imported US Country and Western cut out LPs. The place was choc a bloc with platters by the likes of Boxcar Willie, Porter Waggoner, Charlie Pride and Buck Owens.
One of the local shops had been taken over by an electronics retailer and music fan and he had installed some record browsers from where he dispensed the said cut outs (plus a load of cassettes) which were mostly of the Hicksville persuasion. My dad was already a bit of a C&W fan, and like a junkie living next to a newly opened pharmacy, he had started feeding his habit on an all too regular basis. Don't get me wrong, there was some good stuff in his collection once you got past the Bobby Bare albums. I'm thinking of Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, early Doctor Hook & The Medicine Show ("I Got Stoned And I Missed It") and even a double album of The Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons.
Anyway in among the racks of Yee-Hah discs in the shop was this BluesWay double album in a thick cardboard sleeve (non gatefold) with a hole punched through one corner. A genuine blues album with not a stetson or rhinestone in sight. After the usual pre-purchase agonising I paid up, carried Jimmy Reed off in triumph, and was delighted by the sounds contained on these discs. It was the only Jimmy Reed vinyl I ever bought, so I missed out on those Charly LPs which appeared in the 1980s.
This 1973 BluesWay double album is a reissue of the 1961 Vee-Jay 2LP set "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" which, despite its title, is a studio album. The 2LP set was originally released as Vee-Jay LP 2-LP 1035 in August 1961. The second disc in the set was re-released as "The Best Of Jimmy Reed" (Vee-Jay LP 1039) in February 1962.
Nine of the eleven tracks on LP1 were recorded especially for the LP: "Bright Lights, Big City", "I'm Mr Luck", "Baby What's Wrong", "Found Joy", "Kind Of Lonesome", "Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth", "Tell Me You Love Me", "Blue Carnegie", and "I'm A Love You." These were recorded in Chicago in 1961 (exact date unknown) by the following personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed 2nd vocal on "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Baby What's Wrong."
The remaining two tracks on LP1 are earlier unissued tracks. "Blue, Blue Water" was recorded in Chicago on August 25th, 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Phil Upchurch (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
"Hold Me Close" was recorded in Chicago on March 14th, 1960. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Lee Baker (guitars); Curtis Mayfield (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).
Above: Vee-Jay promo offer for record dealers, February 1962. The "Best Of Jimmy Reed" was a reissue of the 2nd LP in the "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" set. Contrary to the wording in this ad, the LP did not consist of re-recordings. The recordings on the album were in fact from original single releases.
The tracks used on LP2 were originally released as follows:
You Don't Have To Go / Boogie In The Dark were released on Vee-Jay 119 in December 1954. Recorded in Chicago, mid-1953. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn (guitars); Albert King (drums).
Ain't That Lovin' You Baby was released on Vee-Jay 168 in February 1956. Recorded in Chicago on 5th December 1955. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Vernell Fournier (drums).
You've Got Me Dizzy was released on Vee-Jay 226 in November 1956. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd October 1956. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
The Sun Is Shining was released on Vee-Jay 248 in June 1957. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd April 1957. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Honest I Do was released on Vee-Jay 253 in August 1957. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd April 1957. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar) Remo Biondi (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Take Out Some Insurance was released on Vee-Jay 314 in April 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 26th March 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, guitar); William "Lefty" Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Going To New York was released on Vee-Jay 326 in September 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 11th September 1958. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar) Remo Biondi (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Baby What You Want Me To Do was released on Vee-Jay 333 in November 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 7th August 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Eddie Taylor (guitars); Marcus Johnson (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).
Found Love was released on Vee-Jay 347 in May 1960. Recorded in Chicago on 15th December 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, guitar); William "Lefty" Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Hush Hush was released on Vee-Jay 357 in August 1960. Recorded in Chicago on 25th August 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Phil Upchurch (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).
Big Boss Man was released on Vee-Jay 380 in March 1961. Recorded in Chicago on 29th March 1960. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Eddie Taylor (guitars); Willie Dixon (bass); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).
"The Best Of Jimmy Reed" (Vee-Jay LP 1039) can be downloaded from the excellent Blues Years blog here:
Remember if you download - tell 'em Boogie Woody sent ya! Or just say "Hi" even if you don't download.
Finally, although I missed out on those Charly LPs (some of which you can find on "The Blues Years" blog), here are the covers of some CDs I bought back in the '90s.
Above: from 1992, "Bright Lights, Big City" was subtitled "His Greatest Hits." Reed recorded for Vee-Jay from 1953 to 1965 during which time he had 18 R&B Top 20 hits (10 of them in 1955-57), and 13 singles in the Hot Hundred chart. "Honest I Do" and "Baby What You Want Me To Do" made it to the Top 40 in 1957 and 1960 respectively. "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" spent 31 weeks on the US Album charts, peaking at number 46. In 1964 "Shame, Shame, Shame" reached number 46 in the UK charts.
Reed had considerable commercial success while with Vee-Jay. Although he built up sales to the mainly white, middle class "Folk Blues" crowd, he also maintained healthy R&B sales. In 1957 he was the 9th top selling R&B artist with hits like "Honest I Do" and "You've Got Me Dizzy." This collection has 20 of his top sellers.
Above: from 1994, "Take Out Some Insurance" was a 20-track collection of Reed's lesser known sides for Vee-Jay. A good companion set to "Bright Lights, Big City."
Above: from 1993, "Bad Boy" was a rousing 15 track collection of sides by Jimmy Reed's long-time collaborator, guitarist Eddie Taylor. Reed himself, along with drummer Earl Phillips, is present on those tracks which were recorded at Reed sessions. Stalwarts on other tracks include Johnny Jones (piano) and Hubert Sumlin (guitar).
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