“Blues After Hours”, originally released on LP by Crown
in 1960, was Elmore James' first long-playing record. Made up of singles
released on the Modern Imprints Meteor and Flair, for many it was their first
introduction to the fiery slide guitarist, and the crunchy garage sound of
James' arrangements (backed variously by the Broomdusters in Chicago, the
Maxwell Davis Orchestra in Los Angeles, and the J&M Studio house band in
New Orleans), coupled with his passionate edgy vocals, quickly made him one of the
most influential blues artists of his time.
Mastered from the original LP tapes and augmented with eight bonus tracks (which include three additional singles relevant to the LP and five tracks from the Chicago sessions), this expanded version of “Blues After Hours” has great sound, and the rough explosive nature of James' music is front and center and never lets up from the second he steps into the famous slide riff on "Dust My Blues," which opens the set. That roaring riff is repeated many times on this disc, since labels constantly demanded it, and James delivered it under a range of different titles, and amazingly, no one ever seems to get tired of it.
But James was more than a one-trick pony, and he didn't just play slide. He was also an impassioned singer, and gifted enough to trade lines (both vocally and on guitar) with horn sections, giving songs like "Dark and Dreary" the illusion of being both raw and smooth at the same time. Truthfully, James never recorded a lame track (even if dozens of them were variations on "Dust My Broom"), always pouring all his energy into the performance, so it really doesn't matter which collection of his you pick up, but this one has the advantage of being a fleshed-out facsimile of his very first album (right down to the cover art), giving it a kind of historical and archival appeal.
Mastered from the original LP tapes and augmented with eight bonus tracks (which include three additional singles relevant to the LP and five tracks from the Chicago sessions), this expanded version of “Blues After Hours” has great sound, and the rough explosive nature of James' music is front and center and never lets up from the second he steps into the famous slide riff on "Dust My Blues," which opens the set. That roaring riff is repeated many times on this disc, since labels constantly demanded it, and James delivered it under a range of different titles, and amazingly, no one ever seems to get tired of it.
But James was more than a one-trick pony, and he didn't just play slide. He was also an impassioned singer, and gifted enough to trade lines (both vocally and on guitar) with horn sections, giving songs like "Dark and Dreary" the illusion of being both raw and smooth at the same time. Truthfully, James never recorded a lame track (even if dozens of them were variations on "Dust My Broom"), always pouring all his energy into the performance, so it really doesn't matter which collection of his you pick up, but this one has the advantage of being a fleshed-out facsimile of his very first album (right down to the cover art), giving it a kind of historical and archival appeal.
“Blues
After Hours” , lansat inițial pe LP de Crown în 1960, a fost primul disc de lungă
durată al lui Elmore James. Alcătuit din
single-uri lansate pe inregistrarile de la Modern Imprints Meteor și Flair,
pentru mulți a fost prima lor introducere a chitaristului infocat de slide și a sunetului
crocant de garaj al aranjamentelor lui
James (susținute diferit de Broomdusters din Chicago, Maxwell Davis Orchestra din
Los Angeles, și trupa J&M Studio din New Orleans), împreună cu vocalele
sale pasionante si brute, l-au făcut repede unul dintre cei mai influenți
artiști de blues din vremea sa. Imbunatatit din benzile originale ale LP-ului
și amplificat cu opt piese bonus (care includ trei single-uri suplimentare
relevante pentru LP și cinci piese din sesiunile de la Chicago), această
versiune extinsă de “Blues After Hours” are un sunet extraordinar și natura
brută explozivă a lui James ” muzica este în față și în centru și nu te
dezamageste niciodată din secunda in care paseste in faimosul riff de la „Dust
My Blues”, care deschide setul. Acea scufundare se repetă de mai multe ori pe
acest disc, de vreme ce compania de inregistrare o cerea în mod constant și
James a livrat-o sub o serie de titluri diferite și, uimitor, nimeni nu pare să
se plictiseasca. . Dar James era mai mult decât un om cu un singur talent și nu
canta doar slide. . El a fost, de asemenea, un cântăreț entuziasmat și
suficient de talentat pentru a schimba linii (atât vocal, cât și la chitară) cu
secțiuni de suflatori, oferind melodii precum „Dark and Dreary”,cu iluzia de a
fi în același timp brute și netede.
Adevărat, James nu a înregistrat niciodată o piesă nesatisfacatoare (chiar dacă
zeci dintre ele au fost variații pe „Dust My Broom”), întorcându-și mereu toată
energia în performanță, așa că nu contează cu adevărat ce colecție alegi de la
el, dar aceasta are avantajul de a fi un facsimil plin de viață al primului său
album (chiar până la copertă), oferindu-i un fel de atractie istorica și
arhivistica.
List of tracks
1.
Dust My Blues 3:11
2.
Sunnyland 3:19
3.
Mean and Evil 2:16
4.
Dark and Dreary 2:48
5.
Standing at the Crossroads 2:47
6.
Happy Home 2:46
7.
No Love in My Heart 2:24
8.
Blues Before Sunrise 2:45
9. I
Was a Fool 2:51
10.
Goodbye Baby 2:59
11.
Late Hours at Midnight 2:48
12.
Quarter Past Nine 3:31
13.
Strange Kinda Feeling 2:32
14.
Make My Dreams Come True 2:44
15.
So Mean to Me 2:28
16.
Long Tall Woman 2:55
17.
Wild About You (aka Wild About You Baby)
2:42
18.
Elmo's Shuffle 2:34
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