[.ca] Red White And Blues Blues Ma

Van Morrison:
To those who are disappointed about some songs not being the same as what was on the show, I too was saddened to find out that Van's opening song in this series named Rambler's Blues is not available on the cd. I belive that the session shown was done by Mike Frigas? Ane the session was done at the Abbey Road Studios which is called the Abbey Road Sessions. It may be released later but niot as part of Martin's special. Luckily I held off ordering any of the cd's I will attempt to contact Mike to see if that session will be released, only part was shown during the red, white and blues episode, there was more information in the interview after the initial show, I taped it and watched it, so I'll be waiting to see if that session is releaded.

Tom Jones?:
First off I would like to say that Tom Jones can no more sing blues than Paveratti can sing Punk rock. And whose Idea was it to but Jeff Beck on here. When I saw B.B. King Live I first had to Suffer through an Hour of Jeff Beck Just Screwing around on his guitar! Sure he is a good guitar player but he has no taste at all in his playing! This is my least favorite sound track from The Blues PBS Series. Plus this eppisode was so boring I almost passed out!!!

Jones & Beck in top form!:
I watched the special and thought it was great but I think the CD complilation is even better since you get to hear the complete songs not just excerpts. For anyone who loved the British Blues scene of the 60's this is one CD you must add to your collection. The combination of Jeff Beck & Tom Jones on 4 tracks is worth the price of the CD alone. These two guys are just wonderful together. Maybe Van Morrison's contribution (though great)is missing because Van wouldn't give his permission to included it?

Enjoyable cross section of British blues and influences:
I finally managed some time to watch one of the Scorcese series on the Blues, namely Red White & Blues, to compare the content with the soundtrack. The film (and soundtrack) was titled not due to the colours of the English flag but because of a group called the Red White and Blues Band, led by Bryan Ferry, who made quite an impression on the film's director Mike Figgis. Jazz's influence on blues in England is shown with a live performance of Louis Armstrong's "Back O' Town Blues" with some commentary from Armstrong. That's Jack Teagarden on trombone. Miles Davis's "Generique" is also included here to that effect, although it didn't feature in the movie. Big Bill Broonzy was mentioned but none of his music played, and "Black, Brown, and White Blues" is on the racism in job hiring, wage rate, and being denied service: "if you's white, you's all right/if you was brown, stick around/but as you black, oh brother, get back get back." It's a nice piece of country blues that the Brits really got into. Ditto for guitar/vocalist Sister Rosetta Tharpe who shares vocal duties with Marie Knight in the gospel blues of "Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air." The influence that blues had on skiffle, a garage-type DIY, one-chord guitar and washboard folk craze that hit England in the late 50's, is exemplified by Lonnie Donegan's cover of Lead Belly's "Rock Island Line" including the spoken intro explaining what the line is. Of the songs issued for the first time, three artists stand out: Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, and Lulu. Not all the songs came out in the film, including the one I was hoping would be featured. It's Lulu's cover of Julie London's 50's ballad "Cry Me A River" with accompaniment by Beck, done with the same quiet melancholy piano arrangements and a nice sax solo by Peter King. After hearing her soulful rendition of "Drown In My Own Tears," it was clear that her voice has matured and become better with age. Tom Jones and Jeff Beck get together on two songs, including "Goin' Down Slow", a cover of Ray Charles' "Hard Times" and Jones' let's it rip with that robust voice of his. A great example of Beck's guitar virtuosity is shown on "Rollin' & Tumblin'" and Tom Jones does Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." Trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton's instrumental "Bad Penny Blues" has the bouncing rolling Fats Domino-type piano courtesy of Johnny Parker that the Beatles later appropriated for "Lady Madonna." So that's where they got it! Chris Farlowe, a.k.a. Little Joe Cook, covered T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues Parts 1 & 2," which was a hit for him, and even some black people mistook him for someone black, so true and feeling was his rendition. This was in the movie. The impact it had on better known artists/groups such as Steve Winwood, Mick Fleetwood, Eric Clapton, and John Mayall is represented by the Spencer Davis Group's "Hey Darlin'", Fleetwood Mac's rollicking cover of Elmore James' "Shake Your Money Maker" originally on their first album, the group that Peter Green and John McVie were first with, the Bluesbreakers on "Have You Heard", and Cream's live version of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" orig. on Wheels On Fire. The soundtrack has some music that didn't even come out in the movie in vice-versa, but its selections properly emphasize the British role in spreading white electric blues, which in turn gave the attention to the original artists that they so richly deserved.

AMAZON RIPS US OFF YET AGAIN!!:
I would like to second the comments of another reviewer! The CD you get when you order this disc from Amazon does not contain the advertised tracks. I also now have TWO of them, thanks to the incompetent Amazon employee who did not carefully read my complaint either. Neither disc contains the Van Morrison tracks nor the Lulu track, "Cry Me a River." Other discrepencies too numerous to list also exist. This is false advertising in my book and I hope won't end up paying for either disc. I think this is a good example of how Amazon feedback is worthless. There is NO communication, only boilerplate responses that are irrelevant!

• Cream - Crossroads
• Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line
• Otis Redding - I've Been Loving You Too Long
• John Mayall - Have You Hear
• Van Morrison - Rambler's Blues \oNew Recording\c
• Louis Armstrong - Back O' Town Blues
• Big Bill Broonzy - Bad Penny Blues
• Humphrey Lyttleton - Bad Penny Blues
• Billie Holiday - Fine And Mellow \oLive\c
• Jimmy Witherspoon - How Long Blues \oLive\c
• Van Morrison - How Long Blues \oNew Recording\c
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head \oLive\c
• Chris - Stormy Monday Blues \oNew Recording\c
• Ray Charles - Tell The Truth \oLive\c
• Tom Jones & Jeff Beck - Hard Times \oNew Recording\c
• Spencer Davis Group - Hey Darling
• The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck - Train Kept A-Rollin'
• John Lennon with the Plastic One Band - Yer Blues
• Tom Jones & Jeff Beck - Going Down Slow \oNew Recording\c
• Fleetwood Mac - Shake Your Money Maker
• Lulu - Drown In My Own Tears \oNew Recording\c