VA - Screaming And Crying: 75 Masterpieces By 35 Blues Guitar Heroes [3 CD, 2012/FLAC]

Rarely has the primal excitement of the electric blues guitar been so voraciously and expertly illustrated on one compilation than on Screaming And Crying, renowned British blues buff Neil Slaven s monumental homage to the music which shaped both his life and a whole generation. Over three discs and 75 tracks, the set straddles the spectrum of the electrified blues which fuelled the British R&B boom of the 1960s and beyond, mixing much-feted names such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley with more deliciously obscure outings by the likes of Doctor Ross and Guitar Shorty. Slaven s liner notes outline the story behind the roughshod classics which bust out of the set, whether screaming with the joy of musical release, or crying in a pool of despair, both amplified through jacked-up guitar strings. Selections are explained using a thread which shows how the trail-blazing T-Bone Walker (represented by tracks which avoid overlap with Fantastic Voyage s much-lauded T-Bone collection You re My Best Poker Hand, FVTD099) influenced the likes of Pee Wee Crayton, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Johnny Copeland and Johnny Guitar Watson, whose aptly-named Space Guitar was obviously a big influence on Hendrix (as were many of the names on show). Noted guitar abusers are present and incorrect, including over-loading Pat Hare in James Cotton s band, Johnny Otis Pete Guitar Lewis distorting through Midnight In The Barrel House , while the mighty John Lee Hooker and Elmore James display their inimitable axe attacks on several outings. The fearsome triumvirate of Kings - B.B., Albert and Freddie - get three tracks apiece, as do Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry, whose lesser-known Mad Lad is a lesson in controlled virtuosity. Other guitarists very much plugged in through the fifties to the sixties include Buddy Guy, Little Milton, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Tiny Grimes, Earl Hooker, Hop Wilson, Magic Sam, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy Reed s Eddie Taylor, Mickey Baker, Guitar Slim, Goree Carter and Ike Turner (showing how underrated his savage guitar style was). Neil Slaven has constructed a veritable dizzbuster of a collection, exuding the kind of glow and continuity which can only come from knowledge and passion. As he says in his notes, Some of these recordings have become cornerstones of a long life and not one of them has diminished with the ensuing years. That s something for you to look forward to.



CD1
01. You Upset Me Baby (B.B. King)
02. Midnight In The Barrel House (Johnny Otis feat. Pete Guitar Lewis)
03. First Time I Met The Blues (Buddy Guy)
04. Cotton Crop Blues (James Cotton feat. Pat Hare)
05. Lookin For My Baby (Little Milton)
06. Rock Me (Muddy Waters)
07. The Stumble (Freddy King)
08. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (Otis Rush)
09. Chicken-Hearted Woman (Clarence Samuels feat. Johnny Copeland)
10. The Story Of My Life (Guitar Slim)
11. Atomic Energy (Clarence Gatemouth Brown)
12. Pretty Thing (Bo Diddley)
13. You ve Taken My Woman (John Lee Hooker)
14. Coming Home (Elmore James)
15. Three Hours Past Midnight (Johnny Guitar Watson)
16. Bye Bye Johnny (Chuck Berry)
17. Tiny s Boogie (Tiny Grimes)
18. Travelin Blues (T-Bone Walker)
19. I Walked All Night Long (Albert King)
20. Louisiana Hop (Pete Guitar Lewis)
21. Screaming And Crying (Morris Pejoe)
22. Blues In D Natural (Earl Hooker)
23. My Woman Has A Black Cat Bone (Hop Wilson)
24. All Your Love (Magic Sam)
25. Don t Knock At My Door (Eddie Taylor)

CD2
01. Let Me Love You Baby (Buddy Guy)
02. Reconsider Baby (Lowell Fulson)
03. She s Dynamite (B.B. King)
04. Texas Hop (Pee Wee Crayton)
05. If You Love Me Baby (Little Milton)
06. The Boogie Disease (Doctor Ross)
07. Cool Lovin Mama (Rudy Green)
08. Ho...Ho (Ike Turner)
09. Ain t That Lovin You Baby (Jimmy Reed feat. Eddie Taylor)
10. Blues Is A Woman (T-Bone Walker)
11. Nursery Rhyme (Bo Diddley)
12. I ve Made Nights By Myself (Albert King)
13. Strollin With Nolen (Jimmy Nolen)
14. A Letter To My Girl Friend (Guitar Slim)
15. Spinnin Rock Boogie (Mickey Baker)
16. Jumpin In The Heart Of Town (Lafayette Thomas)
17. I Can t Hold Out (Elmore James)
18. Mad Lad (Chuck Berry)
19. Have You Ever Loved A Woman (Freddy King)
20. Double Trouble (Otis Rush)
21. Dirty Work At The Crossroads (Clarence Gatemouth Brown)
22. Bull Corn Blues (Goree Carter)
23. Wobbling Baby (John Lee Hooker)
24. Irma Lee (Guitar Shorty)
25. Space Guitar (Johnny Guitar Watson)

CD2
01. Gotta Boogie (John Lee Hooker)
02. Through With Women (T-Bone Walker)
03. Blue Guitar (Earl Hooker)
04. You ve Got To Love Her With A Feeling (Freddy King)
05. Blow Wind Blow (Muddy Waters)
06. Rockin The Blues Away (Tiny Grimes)
07. The Sun Is Shining (Elmore James)
08. Honey, Where You Going (Jimmy Reed feat. Eddie Taylor)
09. Sam s Drag (Lafayette Thomas)
10. I Found Me A New Love (Little Milton)
11. When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer (B.B. King)
12. After Hours (Jimmy Nolen)
13. I m A Stranger (Hop Wilson)
14. Look Whatcha Done (Magic Sam)
15. Mumblin Guitar (Bo Diddley)
16. Chuck With The Boys (Lowell Fulson)
17. Ooh-Ee Baby (Albert King)
18. The Big Push (Cal Green)
19. Hoy-Hoy (Goree Carter)
20. So Many Roads, So Many Trains (Otis Rush)
21. A Frosty Night (Pee Wee Crayton)
22. Please Tell Me (Larry Dale feat. Mickey Baker)
23. You Don t Treat Me Right (Guitar Shorty)
24. You ll Always Have A Home (Eddie Taylor)
25. Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry)