Search - Lonnie Johnson :: Sings 24 Twelve Bar Blues

Buyer Beware!

Eugene J. Casey | USA | 07/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The legacy of the great King Records is in flux, limbo, a twilight zone of mishandling and uncertainty. Shame, because this indie label boasted arguably the greatest roster of blues, R&B, country artists in the 40s and 50s. This disc, mastered in 1988 is a disgrace and disservice to the legendary Lonnie Johnson, who scored several R&B chart makers in his 1947--52 tenure with Syd Nathan's label. The disc offers 24 tracks of gold: blues, ballads all with great singing and guitar playing. However, for SOME reason these tracks are truncated, edited, spliced to all fit in under two minutes, and whole sections of intros, bridges and solos are omitted. A travesty. Perhaps someone will offer a reasonably priced box set of Lonnie's King output. It's great stuff. Pass on this unless you have no other option."