Search - Little Walter :: Best of Little Walter

Blues At It's Best!!!

chris meesey Food Czar | The Colony, TX United States | 10/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In his twenty-odd year career as a blues icon, Little Walter moved fast, lived hard, and died young. Because of his hard drinking, hard brawling nature, he was already an old man when he died at 38, and he had not made a good recording or played a decent gig in years. It's a tribute to this incredibly powerful musician and his abilities that he was able to give us so much truly great music. In his two biggest hits, "My Babe" and "Juke," you find rock and roll taking it's first baby steps. "Last Night" is one of those very rare songs that works just as well as an instrumental as it does with vocals. The bouncing percussion of "Tell Me Mama" heralds a situation that has been told in countless other blues songs from "Meet Me In The Bottom" to "Running Shoes," that of the lover making his escape out the back door while hubby is coming through the front. Overall, the sound on this album is stark, with both the Myers brothers and Muddy Water's band giving Walter plenty of room to show off his incredible harp improvisations. And don't ignore Walter's fine vocals: cautionary on "You Better Watch Yourself," soulful on "Last Night." After you get this CD, spend a little more money and get the book Blues With A Feeling: The Little Walter Story by Tony Glover as an accompaniment. That way, you can read about Walter's often sad life while jamming to his ultimately joyous music. This is truly blues at it's best!"

CD Version of a 1958 Vinyl LP

08/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1986 12-selection CD replicates the 1958 Checker LP 1428 which pulled together eleven of his R&B hits plus one uncharted flipside [track 11].



A much better bet is the 1997 Chess 50th Anniversary Collection, also available through Amazon, and which I also review, but in more depth. What you DO get here, however, is his 1954 hit You'd Better Watch Yourself and its flipside, Blue Light, neither of which was included in the 50th Anniversary collection.



This does contain one page of liner notes by Bob Schneiders and two by the renowned Studs Terkel, author of Giants of Jazz, which provide additional interesting background on Little Walter. If you can find a copy it makes a nice companion to the afore-mentioned Anniversary collection."