VA - Chess Blues Guitar: Two Decades Of Killer Fretwork, 1949-1969 (2 CD, 1998/FLAC)

 

Chess Records was the home to seemingly every hot guitar player in the Chicago area, and many of them make their appearance here. Besides the usual label guitar hotshots (Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson, Earl Hooker, Otis Rush, Robert Nighthawk, Little Milton), space is given to sideman work from legends like Hubert Sumlin and Robert Jr. Lockwood and great one-offs by lesser-known artists like Jody Williams, Danny Overbea, Eddie Burns, Joe Hill Louis, Morris Pejoe, Lafayette Thomas and others. It seems as if everyone recorded for Chess at one time or another, also explaining the inclusion of tracks by John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore James. If electric blues guitar's your thing, then look no further than this fine two-disc compilation. 

CD 1

1. Robert Nighthawk - Anna Lee

2. Jimmy Rogers - That's All Right

3. Johnny Shines - So Glad I Found You

4. Joe Hill Louis - When I Am Gone

5. John Lee Hooker - Walkin' the Boogie (Alternate)

6. Blue Smitty - Date Bait

7. Morris Pejoe - Tired of Crying Over You

8. Muddy Waters - Sad, Sad Day

9. John Brim - It Was a Dream

10. Danny Overbea - Forty Cups of Coffee

11. Eddie Boyd - Just a Fool

12. Muddy Waters - Loving Man

13. Howlin Wolf - I've Got a Woman

14. Lowell Fulson - Reconsider Baby

15. J. B. Lenoir - Give Me One More Shot

16. Lowell Fulson - Rollin' Blues

17. Bo Diddly - Who Do You Love?

18. Earl Hooker - Guitar Rumba

19. Jody Williams - What Kind of Gal Is That?

20. Earl Hooker - Frog Hop

21. Jody Williams - Lucky Lou

22. Lafayette Thomas - Old Memories

23. Chuck Berry - Guitar Boogie

CD 2

1. Muddy Waters - Walking Thru The Park

2. Eddie Burns - Treat Me Like I Treat You

3. Lafayette Thomas - Claim On You

4. Jimmy Rogers - Rock This House

5. Otis Rush - I'm Satisified

6. Chuck Berry - I Still Got The Blues

7. Buddy Guy - Broken Hearted Blues

8. Elmore James - Talk To Me Baby (I Can't Hold Out)

9. Bo Diddly - My Babe

10. Albert King - Won't Be Hanging Around

11. Bo Diddly - I Can Tell

12. Howlin' Wolf - Hidden Charms

13. Buddy Guy - Buddy's Boogie

14. Little Milton - What Kind Of Love Is This

15. Robert Nighthawk - Someday

16. Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor

17. Buddy Guy - Leave My Girl Alone

18. Clarence Gatemouth Brown - Cross My Heart

19. Hound Dog Taylor - Watch Out

20. Lonnie Brooks - One Sunny Day

21. Little Milton - I Can't Quit You Baby

22. Johnny Littlejohn - She's Too Much