Rhythm Rockin' Blues

by Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm, Ike Turner

Overview

This is the definitive early Ike Turner collection, at least until someone comes out with a box that assembles everything. The 21 tracks here are mostly drawn from Turner's early-'50s sessions with the Kings of Rhythm at the Clarksdale studio, done under the auspices of the Bihari Brothers' Modern, RPM, and Flair labels. Apart from a few well-known numbers like the classic "Rocket 88," much of the material here isn't in other collections, nor has it been assembled in one place before -- some of it has shown up on vinyl, but never together on CD. It consists of Turner working with the Kings of Rhythm, evolving his guitar and piano technique and pumping up the volume and beat on R&B, pushing it toward rock & roll. The highlight for completists is the medley "All the Blues, All the Time," on which Turner, newly confident on the guitar, goes through an extended instrumental medley of B.B. King, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker material. Also included is some hard R&B-cum-rock & roll by the Kings of Rhythm fronted by J. W. Walker, Little Johnny Burton, Dennis Binder, Lonnie "The Cat," and Billy Gayles. The interesting thing is that "Rocket 88," for all of its renown, is just one of the good tracks here -- "Early Times" by Dennis Binder could just as easily have caught the public's fancy with its beat. The sound is somewhat compressed on some of the early material (and, especially, the Johnny Wright/Ike Turner orchestra numbers, although Turner's guitar is real sharp on "The World Is Yours"), but generally it is equal or superior to any other digital incarnation of the individual tracks, and the notes are extremely thorough. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/27/2001
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667155328
Rank:	91748

Tracks

1. Rocket 88
2. The Way You Used to Treat Me
3. I Miss You So
4. Nobody Wants Me
5. Loosely (AKA the Wild One)
6. All the Blues, All the Time (Medley): Feeling Good/ Love My Baby/ ...
7. Sitting and Wondering
8. Early Times
9. The World Is Yours
10. Suffocate
11. Walkin' About Me
12. Walk My Way Home
13. I Ain't Drunk
14. The Road I Travel
15. Night Howler
16. My Heart in Your Hands
17. A Woman Just Won't Do
18. I'm Tired of Being Dogged Around
19. You Got Me Way Down Here
20. Love Is Scarce
21. Nobody Seems to Want Me

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm   Primary Artist
Jackie Brenston   Primary Artist
Johnny Wright   Primary Artist
Ike Turner & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Ike Turner Orchestra   Primary Artist
Ike Turner   Primary Artist,Piano,Guitar,Vocals
J.W. Walker   Primary Artist
Billy Gale   Primary Artist
Billy Gayles   Primary Artist
Dennis Binder   Primary Artist
Bobby Fields   Saxophone
Raymond Hill   Saxophone
Robert Prindell   Drums
Eugene Fox   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Brian Burrows   Package Design
J.W. Walker   Composer
Johnny Wright   Performer
Ike Turner   Composer
Dennis Binder   Performer
Sam Ling   Composer
Jules Taub   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Ray Topping   Art Direction,Liner Notes
John Lee Hooker   Composer
Jackie Brenston   Composer
Billy Gayles   Performer
Al Jackson, Jr.   Composer
Trey Parker   Composer
Billy Gale   Performer