VA - This Is The Blues: Volumes I - IV (2010)

The This Is the Blues series from Eagle Records (there are four volumes thus far) features players from the late-'60s/early-'70s golden age of classic British blues-rock covering, for the most part, songs by Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker, all drawn from a series of tribute albums originally produced by Peter Brown. The fact that everything on these volumes was overseen by the same producer means that there’s an unusual unity of sound throughout the series, and listening to these collections feels a bit like listening to concert recordings at some super all-star British blues festival. The lineup is impressive, including the likes of Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Rory Gallagher, Jack Bruce, former members of Foghat (Lonesome Dave Peverett, Rod Price), and Peter Green, who has several of his own songs also covered in the series. It’s a compelling set, but it’s really more blues-rock than blues (think Cream rather than Muddy Waters), which doesn’t give these volumes lesser appeal but serious blues listeners might find it all a bit too much. If you like Foghat, Cream, Jethro Tull, early Fleetwood Mac, or the Yardbirds, though, these volumes are going to feel like listening to a delightful reunion concert.

~ Steve Leggett, All Music

Track List CD1:

01. J. Beck / E. Green / R. Bailey / D. Hadley - Hobo Blues [5:53]
02. L. McCray / N. Neal / S. McCRay / Tony Z - Black Magic Woman [3:57]
03. V. Converse / I. Sibun / S. Robinson / LJ Frenchwood / G. Joffe / J. Baggott - Rattlesnake Shake [5:29]
04. Savoy Brown - Going Down To Mobile [3:53]
05. M. Taylor / M. Middelton / R. 'Crackle' Ahwai / K. Harada / J. Allen - You Shook Me [10:22]
06. Z. Hooker / J. Johnson / B. Murray / T. Cook / D. Daniel / M. Green / V. Puebla - I Want To Hug You [4:05]
07. L. Mitchell / J. Aston / W. Bascomb / J. Mover - I Loved Another Woman [4:58]
08. H. Mandel / J. Paris / W. Bascomb / D. Duewhite / P. Brown - Long Grey Mare [4:52]
09. R. Gomez / P. McMahon / B. Chouinard 'Even' / S. Levee - Evil Woman Blues [2:05]
10. J. Bruce / G. Moore / G. Husband - I'm In The Mood [6:21]
11. L. Grosvenor / J. Roden / D. Moore / M. Kellie / A. Bender / S. Dolan / P. Brown - Crying Won't Bring You Back [5:16]
12. Tony (T.S.) McPhee - Drop Down Mama [3:04]
13. P. Jones / O. Grand / M. Hobart / S. Wren / C. Lopez / P. 'Jr' Delmas - Play On Little Girl & T-Bone Shuffle [6:05]
14. Tony (T.S.) McPhee / Dick Heckstall-Smith - Ground Hog Blues [5:45]
15. C. Jagger / C. Hart Ed Beane / M. Mortimore / M. Jagger - Racketeer Blues [3:51]


Track List CD2:

01. Rory Gallagher / John Cook / Rich Newman / Spoon - Leaving town blues [6:48]
02. Jack Bruce / Clem Clempson / Dick Heckstall-Smith / Ronnie Leahy / Neal Wilkinson - Send for me [3:30]
03. Dave Peverett / Harvey Brooks / Southside Johnny / Tommy Mandel / Mo Potts / Rod Price - Love that burns [6:13]
04. John Lee Hooker / Randy California / Phillip Chen / Bruce Gary / Booker T. Jones - Red house [4:57]
05. Zoot Money / Jeff Allen / John McKenzie / Bobby Tench - Watcha gonna do [4:01]
06. Savoy Brown - Stop messin' around [3:08]
07. Duffy Power / Dick Heckstall-Smith / Alex Keen - Go down sunshine [4:56]
08. Paul Jones / Pete Brown / Bob Jenkins / Max Middleton / Bobby Tench - Albatross [4:40]
09. Peter Green / Nigel Watson - Travelling riverside blues [4:00]
10. Southside Johnny / Harvey Brooks / Uptown Horns / Tommy Mandel / Dave Peverett / Mo Potts / Rod Price - Baby when sun goes down [4:51]
11. Harvey Mandel / Wilbur Bascomb / Damon Duewhite / Jon Paris - Ramblin' pony [5:20]
12. Nine Below Zero - Nine below zero [3:58]
13. Naked Blue - Closing my eyes [4:58]
14. Pete Brown / Les Davidson / Dick Heckstall-Smith / Bob Jenkins / Phil Ryan / Henry Thomas - Rocks in my bed [3:30]
15. T.S. McPhee /Jeff Allen / Clem Clempson / Dave Hadley / Dick Heckstall-Smith - I'm leaving [5:23]


Track List CD3:

01. Peter Green Splinter Group - Crawlin' King Snake [5:41]
02. Southside Johnny / D. Peverett / R. Price / H. Brooks Mo Potts - If You Be My Baby [4:33]
03. LLC - Bad Like Jesse James [7:05]
04. Savoy Brown - Little Red Rooster [7:41]
05. J. Bruce / G. Moore / G. Husband - Serves Me Right To Suffer [6:25]
06. G. Brooker / A. Fairwether-Low / M. Pegg / H. Spinetti - Little Wheel [5:35]
07. R. Gallagher / J. Cook / R. Newman / Spoon - Showbiz Blues [6:47]
08. Mick Clarke / Lou Martin - One More Mile [5:09]
09. C. Clempson / J. Bruce / M. Feltham / R. Leahy / N. Wilkinson - I've Got News For You [4:54]
10. M. Abrahams / D. Lennox / J. Leverton / G. Walker - The Same Way [3:44]
11. C. Yngstrom / U. Iversson / C. Bjorklund / F. Marstokk - The Supernatural [3:17]
12. Ken Hensley - Hellhound On My Trail [3:14]
13. L. Mitchell / Stu Ham / J. Mover - Fleetwood Mac [2:42]
14. L. Grosvenor J. Roden D. Moore M. Kellie S. Dolan - Merry Go Round [4:36]
15. J. Beck / S. Josiah / E. Green / Kgd Choir / D. Moore / D. Hadley / R. Bailey / P. Brown - Will The Circle Be Unbroken [6:06]


Track List CD4:

01. M. Taylor / M. Middelton / G. McLean / M. Bailey / P. Brown - This is Hip [3:51]
02. The Pretty Things - Judgment Day [3:46]
03. S. White / 'Rabbit' Bundrick / K. Harada / J. Allen - Looking For Somebody [7:14]
04. G. Brooker / A. Fairwether-Low / M. Pegg / H. Spinetti - Baby Lee [4:48]
05. Maggie Bell / Big Jim Sullivan - Blind Man [4:57]
06. I. Anderson / A. Giddings / J. McKenzie / P. Brown - Man Of The World [2:55]
07. A. Brown / D. Heckstall-Smith / R. Ward / M. Williams / G. Scuz / J. Danford / P. Brown - The Green Manalishi [5:07]
08. H. Mandel / J. Paris / W. Bascomb / D. Duewhite / P. Brown - Watch Out [4:30]
09. R. Gomez / T. Turner / B. Chouinard / 'Even' S. Levee - Lazy Poker Blues [2:50]
10. S. Sterling / F. Morroka / C. Wilson / K. Greene / L. Walter - The Business [4:38]
11. T. Topham / J. McCarthy / A. Cleveland - Drifting [6:11]
12. K. Lembo / M. Doyle / C. Lamanna / M. Doyle - A Fool No More [4:28]
13. G. Fame / T. Powell / J. Powell - If You Live [4:23]
14. Miller Anderson - Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood [3:49]
15. B. Sheehan / Roy Z / G. Bissonette / D. van Booven / T. Mandel - Oh Well [7:39]