Search - Bobby Blue Bland :: Definitive Collection

Perfect!

Peter Kodada | Slovakia, Europe | 05/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best CD's I have ever bought (next best are Chess Pieces: The Very Best of Chess Records and Blues Gold)! The sound is excellent; first seven tracks are in mono, rest in stereo. Here you can find original versions of familiar tunes: Further Up the Road (indespensable part of Eric Claptons' concerts), I Pity the Fool (staple of Buddy Guy), Turn on Your Love Light (covered by Them Them Again , The Blues Brothers Blues Brothers 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Bill Wyman's Rhytm Kings, ...), Ain't Nothing You Can Do (Van Morrison It's Too Late to Stop Now) and brilliant versions of Stormy Monday, Call on Me... Each song is a gem. I knew Bobby Bland only from the duet with B.B. (the last song on this disc) before I have noticed this compilation and now I am happy that I have got this one. Andy McKaie (producer) and Eric Labson (remastering) did a perfect job - as usual. And of course, Bobby Blue Bland is GREAT.

Get this one and play it loud!"

In the Middle of the Night

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 10/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While his name was familiar, I didn't really listen to Bobby "Blue" Bland until I found a scratched vinyl copy of His California Album in a vintage shop in Wilmington NC recently. When that voice popped out from the speakers in my living room, I turned down the sound on the TV basketball game & listened. Eventually, I turned off the TV and held the cover & sat on the sofa enraptured.



This Geffen release is my first dive into vintage Blue. I don't think there are any weak tracks on this disc. The remastering is excellent, making the music jump alive. Charlie Rich's "Who Will the Next Fool Be?" is classic soul, ironic because of the country roots, "After all is said & done, you won't be satisfied with anyone; So now after you get rid of me baby, who will the next fool be?" "Turn On Your Love Light" from 1961 went to #2 on the Billboard R&B charts & bubbles here, "I get a little lonely in the middle of the night; I need you, darling, to make things all right; Come on, baby." "Call On Me" has the horns galore with its rumba-flavored beat, "When you need a good loving, when you need a good kissing, call on me." "That's the Way Love Is" flew to #1 on the R&B charts and plays well 46 years later, "That's the way it's always been." From Bland's first #1 song "Farther Up the Road" in 1957 to his #3 song in 1974, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)," this is one powerful collection filled with classic soul vocals, record after record. If you're like me and just discovering how marvelous this singer is, "The Definitive Collection" is a great starting point. Enjoy!

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