Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Senie Zelie - Angélique Kidjo
2. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Mavis Staples
3. Gamblin' Man
4. Love in Vain - Keb' Mo',
5. Sitting On Top of the World - Alison Krauss, , James Blood Ulmer, James Blood Ulmer
6. Jim Crow Blues - Odetta
7. St. Louis Blues - Natalie Cole, Odetta
8. Men Are Just Like Street Cars - Ruth Brown, Natalie Cole, Mavis Staples
9. I Can't Be Satisfied - Buddy Guy
10. Strange Fruit - India.Arie,
11. Hound Dog - Macy Gray
12. Midnight Special - John Fogerty
13. Where'd You Get That Sound

Disc 2:

1. Okie Dokie Stomp - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
2. Coming Home - Bonnie Raitt
3. Sky Is Crying - Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes
4. I'm a King Bee - Joe Perry, Steven Tyler
5. First Time I Met the Blues - Buddy Guy
6. Big Chief - Neville Brothers
7. I Pity the Fool - Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray
8. Killing Floor - David Johansen, Hubert Sumlin
9. Turn On Your Love Light - Solomon Burke
10. Down in the Valley - Solomon Burke
11. Voodoo Child - Buddy Guy, Angélique Kidjo, Vernon Reid
12. Minnesota Blues (aka Black Jack Blues) - Mos Def
13. No Boom Boom - Chuck D, Fine Arts Militia
14. Sweet Sixteen - B.B. King

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42286 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2004-09-21
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Live, Soundtrack
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .27 pounds

Album Description
Lightning in a Bottle

Amazon.com
This soundtrack to the movie features an astonishing array of blues artists from three generations. Recorded during one long night at NYC's Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 7, 2003, the electricity is in the air and on stage. While it may not have been the finest blues show in history, the collection of founding fathers such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Buddy Guy, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Larry Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Solomon Burke, and the ubiquitous B.B. King along with their spiritual offspring (Gregg Allman, John Fogerty, and Steven Tyler) and some usual suspects like Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, and Keb' Mo', makes it arguably the most significant blues session ever captured on film.

Beginning acoustic, the double disc builds momentum and volume as we hear the blues mutate to electric and finally hip-hop with Chuck D. exploding on a rap version of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom." The crackling house band led by drummer Steve Jordan provides foundation for gritty, roof-raising pieces like the unusual collaboration between former New York Doll David Johansen and guitarist Sumlin on Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor." Not all of the film's music is included but there are enough magnificent performances for established blues fans and to entice those first experiencing the genre's abundant riches. --Hal Horowitz

Customer Reviews

If you enjoy the blues, you need this cd
Great music, good mix of artists. Could have done without a rapper trying to turn "boom boom" into an anti-war statement.

Deep Roots to Rock - A Great Compilation
(So you know the source, I've been listening to the blues and blues-rock for decades, I'm a budding guitarist, and have been influenced by my brother who's played rock and blues for three decades.)

The only "flaw" in this CD set is that it doesn't include the songs found as bonus tracks on the DVD (there you will find an electric blues piece by Buddy Guy, another one by Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, and a piece by 21st Century Blues - all three of which are scorchers and well worth having). Shame on the producers for not including those gems on this set. That said, the rest of it is a combination of a lesson in the blues punctuated with some amazing pieces. However, to get the full impact you might have to view the DVD. The Billie Holiday piece "Strange Fruit" is counterpointed by stills and videos of blacks hanged and left to rot in the south; The Buddy Guy rendition of his teacher's "I Can't Be Satisfied" (Muddy Waters) has lead-in still, movie and audio of children singing the original song that preceded it (as well as the well-worn tale of Guy's first attempts to make a guitar); there is footage of Guy talking about being invited to play with Muddy Waters, and of meeting and playing with Hendrix; the piece by 21st Century Blues is remarkable; Tyler and Perry burn the place down with their two performances. Gamblin' Man by Edwards is great, as is Turn on Your Love Light by Solomon Burke. Burke's recounting of having been hired to play for a KKK rally is chilling. Again, some these references are to the DVD and its bonus material. The CD would make it much easier to manage the songs.

If you're looking for recycled blues with hex-fuzz renditions of old mountain blues or Muddy Waters tunes, without the soul, feel or phrasing, then borrow the CD or rent the DVD before you buy. But, if you like the blues at their roots, I'm betting this compilation will have a well-worn place on your CD/DVD shelf.

Lightening in A Bottle
Awesome! If you love Memphis Blues, real down to earth, Soul, this CD, DVD, is a must own item. My Husband is 65, I am 67, we play the DVD, sometimes two or three times in a row, and the music forces up to get and up and rock out, like we did in the fifties, when we were both in our teens.The two disc CD is a constant out of my 6 CD's in my car.