Magic Sam - Raw Blues! Live 1969 CD (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-Float 6151
“Where has this set been? It should have come around 1982 in the wake of Delmark's "Alex Club/Ann Arbor set. This is certainly, at the least, the equal of any other live Magic Sam issue.
First, to save us all time, if you liked the Ann Arbor set, you may as well buy this one now. It is the same band, slightly better sound quality, and a similar (but expanded) set list. In addition, I feel that the performance here is even better!
There are three great BB King covers, including "I've Got Papers" which was deleted from the CD issue of Ann Arbor. The version here is stronger. Sam performs three Freddie King instrumentals; "San Ho Zay" is stronger and more together than at Ann Arbor, and both "Just Pickin'" and " Hideaway" are tremendous. There are two Albert Collins covers as well - they both smoke. One is mistitled: "You Were Wrong" but I cannot remember Albert's title (sorry!).
Sam's vocals are amazing, and his guitar work is on fire. Rock/blues fans: this is how smoking blues guitar should sound. Yes, SRV fans should enjoy this - just pretend it's Stevie doing an all-blues set and you'll be enraptured.
The liner notes feature the history of Magic Sam; I would have preferred the history of the show and these tapes; that was a huge part of the "Alex Club/Ann Arbor" release.
This is a great release. I know many folks have complained about the sound on other Magic Sam live releases; while this beats Ann Arbor, if you cannot listen to that, you'll be unhappy here. For any fans of Sam, the prior live releases (two on Delmark, one on Black Magic/Black Top), or hot blues - grab it now. I have no insider knowledge, but it always seems that releases like this vanish, like Magic Sam, far too soon.”
- LabelFloating World
- UPC805772615120