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From the Vault...
01/13/2013
#1342 |
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info
Jimmy Reed
"Boss Man"
© Recall Records
Year of Release: 1999
Rating:
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track listing
Disc One:
You Don't Have To Go
High And Lonesome
Boogie In The Dark
You Upset My Mind
I Ain't Got You
Come On Baby
Ain't That Lovin'
You Baby
My First Plea
You Got Me Dizzy
Little Rain
The Sun Is Shining
Honest I Do
Ends And Odds
You're Something Else
Down In Virginia
I'm Gonna Get My Baby
Going To New York
Take Out Some Insurance
Disc Two:
Baby What You
Want Me To Do
Hush Hush
Found Love
Big Boss Man
Close Together
I'm A Love You
Bright Lights Big City
Aw Shucks
Hush Your Mouth
Down In Mississippi
Let's Get Together
Oh John
Ain't No Big Deal
Help Yourself
Left Handed Woman
I'm Going Upside
Your Head
The Devil's Shoestring 2
I'm The Man Down There
When Girls Do It
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Jimmy Reed
"Boss Man"
THIS IS THE BLUES...
My first introduction to the music of Jimmy Reed was finding a rare 45 of his from many garage sales I would travel to, as a kid.
The 45 was on the Vee Jay label, "Down In Mississippi"/"Oh John." Liking this 45 so much, I was interested in hearing more of his music.
After discovering the 2 songs from the 45 NOT included on his Classic Recordings (which was also on 2 CDs), I was on the hunt to find
the 2 songs from the 45 on clear sounding CD. His 2-disc set, Boss Man contained both these songs, so it was a must for me to get.
And yes, some of the songs on Boss Man were on the Classic Recordings set, yet you can never have enough of Jimmy Reed, being one of
those blues artists who you never really heard about, and if you did, you'd want to hear more.
If you're a fan of such blues artists as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters (to name a few), Jimmy Reed will be part of your Blues collection.
There isn't one bad song on this set. I can easily hear any of these songs as part of the soundtrack of the Blues Brothers movie. Speaking of
the Blues Brothers, there is one song here that Jake and Elwood did, "I Ain't Got You" (I believe the Yardbirds did their own version as well.)
There are so many good songs on this set, "You're Something Else" is one to highlight, yet to also mention the well-known hits he had, like
"Big Boss Man," "Baby What You Want Me To Do."
In reading the liner notes for Boss Man, Reed's musical roots started in Chicago. Vee Jay Records was stationed in Chicago. After auditioning
for Chess Records, he was declined to record there. Jimmy also wanted to record, playing the guitar and harmonica himself. (Two great instrumentals are
on this set, "Boogie In The Dark," "Ends And Odds.") Thanks to another blues artist, Albert King, he referred Reed, as Jimmy started making records
for the Vee Jay label.
As his recordings were getting popular, (his hits surfaced throughout the years of 1956 - 1963). His songs would be popular by other artists: Elvis
Presley's versions of 2 Reed songs were part of his 1968 comeback special, Baby What You Want Me To Do," "Big Boss Man." "Bright Lights Big City"
would be covered by Country artists, such as Marty Robbins. Other artists who performed Jimmy Reed's music included The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Van
Morrison, The Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, Etta James, Hot Tuna, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Bill Cosby, Steve Miller, Neil Young. Jimmy Reed was
inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
As it happened to many music artists, alcohol was a demon for Jimmy Reed. He also had epilepsy, which was undiagnosed. He would forget lyrics to
his songs, as his wife would whisper the lyrics in his ear, while he recorded. By the mid-1970s, he was living in Califonria, and on his way to a new
record deal, but he passed away in his sleep of respiratory failure, in an Oakland apartment on August 29, 1976, eight days before his 51st birthday.
Most of the songs from Boss Man are on his Classic Recordings. But what makes Boss Man better are the two songs "Down In
Mississipi" and "Oh John" -- the two songs on the Vee Jay 45 I had in my vinyl records collection. Hearing these original songs in clear
sounding CD is exceptional. These two songs are always on repeat, as the memories of my childhood in discovering music and collecting it always brings
a smile.
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