Mississippi born and raised,
Elmore James learned his trade in the Delta in the 1930s, emerging in the early 1950s as the godfather of modern electric guitar, and no guitarist who ever plugged an instrument into an amp is free of his influence. Not only did he create the template for electric slide players everywhere, he also reworked his amps until they delivered a raw, overdriven sound that became endemic in pop and rock music a decade later, and no punk band ever sounded more ragged or passionate than Elmore James in full stride. James recorded for some dozen labels during his short recording career (he died in 1963 of a heart attack at the age of 45), and he is one of those rare artists whose recorded output was seamless from the first to the last.
His first recording, one of many versions he would do of Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom," was made for Lillian McMurray's Trumpet label in 1951, and the raw power, swooping slide runs and impassioned singing that track displayed were repeated time and time again on his subsequent releases. This wonderful three-disc set includes that first version of "Broom" along with a half-dozen other versions (and a half-dozen more under different titles) that James recorded for Trumpet, Mel London's Chief Records, and Bobby Robinson's Fire label between 1951 and 1963. But James wasn't a one-trick pony, and aside from recycling killer version after killer version of "Dust My Broom," this set also contains his classic takes on the majestic "It Hurts Me Too," "The Sky Is Crying," "Rollin' and Tumblin'," and his rewrite of another Johnson standard, "Standing at the Crossroads." Check out the distortion, dirt and tone of his guitar on little known tracks like "Got to Move" and "Find My Kind of Woman," or the ragged yet elegant drive of "Can't Stop Loving My Baby" or "Elmore Jumps Up (Up Jumped Elmore)," to hear why he remains a guitarist's guitarist to this day. And don't forget James as a vocalist, either. He sang like his life depended on it every second, which is why there is literally no Elmore James collection that won't deliver the goods. This box set is no exception.
Disc 1
01. Dust My Broom (I Believe My Time Ain't Long)
02. Country Boogie
03. I See My Baby
04. She Just Won't Do Right
05. My Best Friend
06. Whose Muddy Shoes
07. The Twelve Year Old Boy
08. Coming Home
09. It Hurts Me Too
10. knocking At Your Door
11. Elmore's Contribution To Jazz
12. Cry For Me Baby
13. Take Me Where You Go
14. Bobby's Back
15. The Sky Is Crying
16. Baby Please Set A Date
17. Held My Baby Last Night
18. Dust My Broom
Disc 2
01. The Sun Is Shining
02. I Can't Hold Out
03. Stormy Monday Blues
04. Madison Blues
05. The Sun Is Shining
06. Strange Angels
07. Rollin' And Tumblin'
08. Done Somebody Wrong
09. Something Inside Me
10. I'm Worried
11. Fine Little Mama
12. I Need You
13. She Done Moved
14. I Can't Stop Loving You
15. Early One Morning
16. Stranger Blues
Disc 3
01. Stranger Blues
02. Anna Lee
03. Standing At The Crossroads
04. My Bleeding Heart
05. My Kind Of Woman
06. Got To Move
07. So Unkind
08. Person To Person
09. One Way Out
10. Go Back Home Again
11. Look On Yonder Wall
12. Shake Your Moneymaker
13. Mean Mistreatin' Mama
14. Mean Mistreatin' Mama
15. Sunnyland Train
16. You Know You're Wrong
17. Mean Mistreatin' Mama
18. You Know You Done Me Wrong
19. My Baby's Gone
20. Find My Kind Of Woman
21. Look On Yonder Wall
22. Find My Kinda Woman
Disc 4
01. It Hurts Me Too
02. Dust My Broom
03. Pickin' The Blues
04. Everyday (I Have The Blues)
05. I've Got A Right To Love My Baby
06. The Twelve Year Old Boy
07. She's Got To Go
08. I Gotta Go Now
09. Talk To Me Baby
10. Make My Dreams Come True
11. Hand In Hand
12. Hand In Hand
13. Conversation (Back In Mississippi)
14. Hand In Hand
15. I Can't Stop Loving My Baby
16. Up Jumped Elmore
17. I Believe
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