Search - John Hammond :: Big City Blues

Best of the white blues men

Chris Ringwood | 06/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This and the other early Vanguard blues albums by Hammmond backed by a superb band including Charlie Musselwhaite & Levon Helm are simply the best renditions of the classic Chigago/Urban blues sound by a white practitioner. So authentic is Hammond's voice that I'd wager even an Afro-American would have trouble with ethnic ID! Some might say that his phrasing is a little exaggerated, but Hammond is so good that often his covers transcend the original, say this "Prejoodiced Whahte Bouy"! The backing band and the recordings are both absolutely top notch and all these albums REALLY COOK. Even if you're not a blues fan, Hammond could convert you! It's a wonder these albums did not catch on when first released - this was way back in '64 or so. After all, J.Lee Hooker's Dimples made the top 10 in UK(Where I hail from).The CD is Almost as good as the Vinyl as well, so my old LP's can take a break!"

John Hammond Tour De Force!

John Compton | Vermont | 12/31/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Hammond delivers a Tour De Force! With such blues classics as "Back Door Man", "I'm A Man" and "No Money Down" - John Hammond delivers the powerfully sensual and poetic lyrics in an incredible Mick Jagger-ish style fusing with this HOT BAND and in doing so, setting a High Water Mark for all of us to look at and marvel upon. 35 YEARS LATER, this recording soars with POWER, GRACE and DETERMINATION - inducting it for this writer into 'The Greatest Gospel/Soul Recordings of All-Time' along side with Aretha Franklin's historic Muscle Shoals Sessions and Laura Nyro's 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'."

Great Seminal White Boy Blues Album

scoop25 | Ridgefield, CT United States | 06/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the record, the band backing Hammond on "Big City Blues" is King Curtis's group; NOT the Hawks aka The Band, who didn't record with him until "So Many Roads." The latter's another great white electric blues album, unfortunately marred by the unspeakably lame harp playing of Charlie Musselwhite. Since Hammond could play circles around Musselwhite on the harp on his worst day, it's a mystery why he let the guy play on the album and bugger it. But then Hammmond's always been remarkably generous to struggling new musicians; and Charlie recorded on Vanguard at the time, which may have had something to do with the studio line-up decision.

SEPARATELY, when is Vanguard/Elektra/Atlantic going to WISE UP and issue a REMASTERED version of this great album so hard-core fans who don't have turntables anymore can enjoy the original, distinctive, exquisite recording?

Get with the program, hip record execs."