Jackpot !
Curtiss Clarke | Calgary, Alberta Canada | 08/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ace have done it again. What a find. This 2-CD set may appeal more to collectors than the average blues reissue fan, nevertheless it contains almost 150 minutes of knockout 1950's electric Memphis area blues from the shortlived Meteor label. Essentially it is a complete reissue of all of Meteor's blues and R&B-like sides (plus several gospel items) from 1952 to 1957. Meteor was in some sense, a competitor to Sun records, and as the liner notes point out, Sam Phillips (owner of Sun records) decided to have a second start in the recording business due to the early success of Meteor.
Meteor started out as a subsidiary of Modern Records (Modern was based in L.A.) and it was run by Lester Bihari, the somewhat estranged partner of his 3 brothers. Lots about the Bihari family feud in the notes to this set. In fact, the liner notes (28 pages), weigh almost as much as the 2 CD's and the jewel case. It took me a week to read them - jam packed as they are with fabulous photos of the original issue 78's and 45's, and of the contributing artists.
By the way, for a set of this vintage, the mastering is superb.
In this set we are treated to some of the greatest early material by the Elmore James Broomdusters band, with J.T. Brown, the tenor player just about blowing the band out of the studio. Also included are fine sides by J.T. himself as a leader (as Bep Brown), with Elmo playing rhythm guitar.
Perhaps the real star of this set is sometime one-man band Joe Hill Louis (recording under the pseudonym Chicago Sunny Boy) playing his beautiful and distorted full-toned amplified harp in Little Walter style, but not imitating Walter in the least. Other great highlights of this compilation are the Little Milton Campbell titles where Milton's huge vocal talents are beginning to emerge. Not to be overlooked, are the two rare and fine titles by the under-rated Fenton (Fention) Robinson. Previously, these titles have been available only on expensive Japanese reissues and cruddy bootlegs.
Meteor also managed to scoop the Texas-based Smokey Hogg for a couple of sides. Unlike many of the very "country-sounding" titles that Smokey recorded, these present him in an urbane and sophisticated setting showing that Smokey had the stuff to compete with the Chicago sound that Muddy and Wolf were cranking out at Chess records.
Other bonuses include Shakey Horton accompanying drummer/singer Willie Nix, Buster Smith (from the famous Oklahoma City Blue Devils band), sides by Al Smith (later to become Jimmy Reed's manager and partner), and of course, Rufus Thomas.
Essentially, this set is a collector's dream. Ace has created another treasure chest of blues reissue history at a decent price.
"
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1