Search - Elmore James :: Sky Is Crying: The History of

THERE'S NOTHIN' LIKE THE ORIGINAL

Patrick Earley | Edmond, Oklahoma USA | 09/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't think of anybody in the history of rock and roll or blues who has had their music covered more than Elmore James. For a man who died almost 40 years ago, his music has held up well with time. James has influenced generations of musicians. From the older blues acts like B.B.King and Jimmy Reed. To the old rock acts like the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. To the newer acts like Stevie Ray Vaughan and especially George Thorogood. And I still never get tired of hearing these great songs. All of the music on here was recorded between 1951-61. The first 6 songs here, including his most famous "Dust My Broom", were all done on prehistoric recording equipment, and the sound quality isn't always the absolute best, but they did an excellent job on here of restoring these early recordings, which were done many times in later years for many different record labels, but they were never as good as the older versions you find on this cd. The rest of these tracks were done after 1954 when recording techniques got much better. That's when his slide guitar prowess really began to shine through, on tracks such as "The Sky Is Crying", I Can't Hold Out", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker". It didn't hurt that he had the Broomdusters, who were probably the smokingest band of backing musicians as there ever was. James had a pretty prolific catalog of music for somebody who died at the young age of 45 from heart disease. There's no telling what he could have done if he had lived longer. The fact that James was an electric slide guitar pioneer was probably as important as his music. Having influenced thousands of would be guitar players to pick up a bottleneck. As for this compilation, I think the older versions of these classic songs are every bit as entertaining and worthwhile as the newer souped up versions. This "History Of Elmore James", along with my Best Of from Little Walter's Chess recordings, are the two best blues compilations from the old guard that I've ever heard. It's all timeless music, and absolutely essential to any serious blues lovers collection."

The best Elmore-collection on the market

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 03/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're wondering which Elmore James-album to start with, look no further. This is the definitive single-disc collection.



Opening with James' first waxing, his magnificent 1951 single "Dust My Broom", "The Sky Is Crying" includes almost all of James' best and best-known songs. Elmore James rocked harder than most other bluesmen...his band, the Broomdusters, was one of the finest that Chicago had to offer, featuring pianist Little Johnny Jones and saxist J.T. Brown, and Elmore himself was an awesome performer with a huge, emotional voice. His fiery slide playing made him the most influential electric slide guitarist of the post-WWII era bar none.



There are two excellent boxs sets on the market which include almost everything Elmore recorded, "The Classic Early Recordings 1951-1956" and "King Of The Slide Guitar" which brings together his later recordings. But I can see why you would want to start somewhere else, and this disc is your best bet. These 21 songs aren't everything you need to know about Elmore James, of course, but it is expertly compiled, superbly annotated, and cross-licensed as well, meaning that it draws from all of the labels that James recorded for. A few of his best Chess sides are missing (the omission of "Whose Muddy Shoes" is the biggest loss), but with so many tremendous songs here you hardly notice.

And the 15-page booklet includes all available recording information, as well as several photos and a thoroughly researched essay on Elmore by Robert Palmer.



Tough blues n' boogie like "I Can't Hold Out" and "Shake Your Moneymaker", swaggering mid-tempo grinds like "Madison Blues", "Look On Yonder Wall", and "Done Somebody Wrong", and smouldering slow blues like "It Hurts Me Too" and the ever-present title track...it's all top-notch, even the lesser-known songs. As the editorial review so rightly states: anyone who wears a bottleneck today owes a debt to Elmore James.

He is here as a sideman as well, wielding the slide behind Big Joe Turner on Turner's lusty "T.V. Mama", and the compilers have included one of his finest instrumental numbers, the up-tempo "Hawaiian Boogie". And listen to the way he solos right through his own vocals in "Sho' 'Nuff I Do", and his interplay with harpist Sam Myers on the gritty "Look On Yonder Wall"...Elmore had it all, the style, the talent, and all the feeling, and even the sheer repetitiveness of the recording process couldn't dim the intensity of his performance. Elmore James gave it his all every time the red light went on.



If you only ever buy a handful of "classic" electric blues albums, make sure this is one of them. This is simply one of the two or three strongest-ever compilations of electric blues music.

Go buy it. Go, go!"

A complete collection of a man who has more than 1 pattern

Bryan E. Newbury | Madison, Georgia United States | 06/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this disc is a good example of why it is such a misconception that elmore james was a "one-riff boogie king." on this cd you get an example of that riff, of course (i.e., "dust my broom"); thankfully, you also get "rollin' & tumblin'" (a superior version), the great single-string work of "hawaiian boogie", fantastic ballad work like "it hurts me too" and "sho' nuff..." and more houserockin' boogie. this disc is in constant rotation on my radio show. a must for anyone who enjoys big city slide guitar, the blues, or anyone who wants to have great music at a laid-back house party."