Track Listing

1. Down in the Bottom
2. Long Distance Call
3. Who Do You Love?
4. I Want You to Love Me
5. Judgment Day
6. So Many Roads, So Many Trains
7. Rambling Blues
8. O Yea!
9. You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover
10. Gambling Blues
11. Baby Please Don't Go
12. Big Boss Man

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57169 in Music
• Brand: Hammond
• Released on: 1993-03-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
A cast of rock & blues superstars on this album recorded in 1965, including Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson & Levon Helm (The Band), Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Mike Bloomfield on piano & Duane Allman on guitar. Includes 12 bonus tracks taken from the same sessions, 'I Wish you Could', 'Travelling Riverside', 'They Call it Stormy Monday', 'Statesboro Blues', 'Keys to the Highway', 'I Just Got Here', 'I'm A Man', 'Backdoor Man', 'Baby, Won't You Tell Me', 'I CAn't Be Satisfied', 'Shake for Me' and 'I'm Leaving You'. Deluxe gatefold Digipack. Vanguard/Akarma release. 2001.

Customer Reviews

Great Classic Blues and Robbie Robertson's best playing!
This is one of my favorite blues CD's and much of the reason is Robbie Robertson's incredible edgy guitar playing, which I don't think he ever equaled in his work with The Band or elsewhere. Other members of The Band are also on this CD -- Garth Hudson, Levon Helm -- as well as the already mentioned Mike Bloomfield (inexplicably on piano, but I don't think even he could have surpassed Robertson on guitar in this set) and Charlie Musselwhite. John Hammond's dramatic vocals are great as is his choice of some of the best blues tunes in existence. Highly recommended for all fans of blues, and blues-guitar.

Kick ___ white boy blues!
John Hammond's strength is not songwriting. Rather, his strength is effectively covering and interpreting old blues songs into a more contemporary setting. This is John Hammond's best early album from 1965. The record features ace players such as Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica as well as future Band members Levon Helm and Garth Hudson. The playing is strong and Hammond gives his best white boy blues growl. The record is pure electric blues, none of the acoustic wimpy stuff. Hammond's vocals may seem a bit parodical because it sounds like he is trying too hard, but it is good music nonetheless. Check out his version of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?"

AWFUL sound--DON'T BUY THE 1993 REISSUE
Unfortunately, I can't yet comment on the quality of the music on this 1993 reissue--there is so much crackling and distortion throughout EVERY SINGLE song that the entire CD is totally unlistenable. And I bought it new! I'm not someone who nitpicks a whole lot about quiet or flat or "old" remasters, but the faults with this edition are overwhelming. I couldn't even make it through, the distortion was too overbearing and distracting. What were they thinking allowing this to reach the shelves of stores? I immediately returned my copy to Amazon.com, and luckily received my money back.

Now, as to a reissue that is actually listenable, I sampled a few of the songs on iTunes and they sounded fine; it's still the same label (Vanguard) but the release date is 2005. I haven't yet purchased the 2005 reissue from Amazon yet, but will be sure to comment when I do. Unfortunately this review will probably show on both due to Amazon's dim-witted review system AI. Whatever you do, don't buy the slightly cheaper 1993 issue!