T-Bone Walker - Father of the Blues - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Guitarist, singer and songwriter T-Bone Walker was one of the most important and influential pioneers of the electric blues sound, specially the style most closely associated with the West Coast - he was one of the first to amplify his guitar, which he had done by 1940, and was a key influence on B.B. King and Chuck Berry. This 2014 collection is about as comprehensive an anthology of his most important recordings as it is possible to achieve. It comprises 124 tracks in a terrific value 5-CD set, and effectively encompasses every track he recorded through to the end of the 1950s. Beginning with two early tracks recorded in 1929, it includes important performances from the early '40s with other leaders' bands before the many sessions he recorded under his own name for the Black & White, Capitol, Comet and Imperial labels through to the mid-'50s, along with the tracks from the LP InchT-Bone BluesInch which he recorded for Atlantic in 1956-7, and which many consider his finest work. It naturally includes the blues standards and chart hits for which he is best known, such as InchCall it Stormy MondayInch, InchBobby Sox BluesInch and InchWest End BluesInch. It is a fine showcase for his distinctive guitar style and sound, and an ideal purchase for anyone wanting a thorough insight.

Tracklist Side 1 1 1. Two Bones And A Pick 2 2. Mean Old World 3 3. T-Bone Shuffle 4 5 Side 2 6 1. Stormy Monday Blues 7 2. Blues For Marili 8 9 Side 3 10 1. T-Bone Blues 11 2. Shufflin' The Blues 12 3. Evenin' 13 14 Side 4 15 1. Play On Little Girl 16 2. Blues Rock 17 3. Papa Ain't Salty

This double disc set is well titled, as it contains most of T-Bone's greatest recordings from his glory years. Disc One comes from his Capitol and Black & White period, and includes his best-known song, InchCall It Stormy Monday,Inch along with his other classics, backed by the cream of the Los Angeles players. Disc Two is the best of his Imperial sides, the sides that B. B. King has said were the recordings that were his greatest inspiration, mostly backed by the warm horn charts of Maxwell Davis, who later performed the same function for B. B. The remastering is awesome; this stuff has never sounded cleaner. You can hear every instrument, not easy on recordings from the late 40s-early 50s. The liner notes are literate and informative, and of generous length. Great photos inside too!