Bob Corritore & Friends — “Early Blues Sessions” — VizzTone Label Group
If there’s any type of blues that makes me sit up and listen these days, it’s the classic sound of real-deal electric blues.
And that’s just what Bob Corritore has conjured up with his latest “From the Vaults” compilation, the magnificently curated “Early Blues Sessions.” Corritore has been recording tracks such as these for years, and his thoughtful productions are keeping the essence of this great music alive and breathing hard.
The 16 songs here, remixed and previously unreleased, span the years 1984 to 2007, and feature artists who’ve helped fire the molten core of the blues. including Lowell Fulson, Little Milton, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sam Lay, Henry Gray, Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin and others. Corritore’s harp work weaves righteously throughout, ??? each song???
The first searing track is Corritore’s previously unreleased 2002 collaboration with the legendary Little Milton, “I Wanna Be the One,” written just for that session. It kicks off the album with appropriate down-home juice, with Henry Gray blending his gusty blues piano seamlessly into the effort, while Corritore takes a fierce solo.
Blues drummer Sam Lay contributes the slow-drag, down-home “So Glad I’m Living,” with its belt-buckle polishing invitation. On a side note, in an example of musical cross-pollination, Lay was the drummer Bob Dylan chose when he introduced his electric self at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
Dave Riley offers a shuffling “On My Way,” then Jimmy Rogers creates a jazz-like “She Loves Another Man” that highlights one of the blues’ many facets. Chico Chism digs deep into the classic deep-blue “Five Long Years.” Robert Lockwood Jr. puts his snappy guitar work front and center on the intrumental “The Naptown Blues,” with some elegant organ work midway. Lil Ed brings his nasty slide guitar to “Hip Shakin’,” and Henry Gray returns with the hard-driving “Showers Of Rain.”
The magic of this fine blues journey continues through a lineup that include Lockwood’s memorable “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” Tomcat Courtney, Clarence Edwards, King Karl, Jimmy Dotson and Lowell Fulson, whose closer, “West Texas Blues,” leaves you ready for Volume 2.
“Early Blues Sessions” is a remarkable collection of musicians and their music that highlights the electric essence of classic American blues. Its historical value is exceeded only by the pure joy of the music. Let’s hope that Bob Corritore has more of the same.
Here’s the unreleased 2002 studio track “I Want To Be The One” with Little Milton.
Tracklist:
01. I Want To Be The One (feat. Little Milton)
02. So Glad I’m Living (feat. Sam Lay)
03. On My Way (feat. Dave Riley)
04. She Loves Another Man (feat. Jimmy Rogers)
05. Five Long Years (feat. Chico Chism)
06. Naptown Blues (feat Robert Lockwood Jr.)
07. Hip Shakin’ (feat. Lil Ed)
08. Showers Of Rain (feat. Henry Gray)
09. I Wonder (feat. Tomcat Courtney)
10. Coal Black Mare (feat. Clarence Edwards)
11. Hear That Rumblin; (feat. Clarence Edwards)
12. Cool, Calm, Collected (feat. King Karl)
13. My Fault (feat. Sam Lay)
14. Ramblin’ On My Mind (feat. Robert Lockwood Jr.)
15. Tired Of Being Alone (feat. Jimmy Dotson)
16. West Texas Blues (feat. Lowell Fulson)
Blues Roadhouse 