Search - Elmore James :: 1951-1953

****1/2 - essential early Elmore

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 09/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc gathers slide guitar legend Elmore James' urgent early sides for the Trumpet, Meteor and Flair labels.

Most of these are also available on the 28-track "The Best Of Elmore James - The Early Years" from Ace Records, and that 79-minute 45-second disc may have a slight edge over this one (and slightly superior annotation as well), but you really can't pick up a bad collection of early Elmore - or any other kind of Elmore. And besides, given the history of the French Jazz Classics label, there may be a second volume before too long.



The excitingly titled "1951-1953" opens with Elmore James' first waxing, one of many readings that he would do of Robert Johnson's "(I Believe I'll) Dust My Broom", with harmonica legend Sonny Boy Williamson (II) lending a hand. But that is just one of many, many highlights...James brought everything to every recording he ever did, as is obvious on the lesser-known but totally compelling "I Held My Baby Last Night", a very different version of "Dust My Broom" titled "She Won't Do Right", and the rarely heard but completely magnificent "Whose Muddy Shoes", one of Elmore's best-ever waxings.

Elmore James is featured as a sideman a few times as well, but he is up front and center for the vast majority of these smouldering recordings, from the slow grind of "Sinful Woman" to the magnificent up-tempo boogie "Baby What's Wrong".



Other highlights include the extremely gritty "Hand In Hand", all dirty, reverberating slide guitar and clanging piano, and the tough-as-nails "My Best Friend" and "One More Drink", but there are no bad song here at all, actually. A great collection of music by one of the greatest of the genre, the king of the slide guitar."