(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best blues music

He changed mine too. I'll never forget the process of how I found out about Leadbelly. I was about 10 or 12 years old in the mid 1980s. At the time I was pretty heavily into Led Zeppelin. One day, I noticed that the track "Gallows Pole" on III was credited to someone named "Leadbelly".

My best friend's parents had a very diverse and interesting music collection (also how I found out about Ravi Shankar, but that's another story) which included a few compilation albums with some Leadbelly tracks - Midnight Special and Goodnight Irene being the ones that stand out in my memory. After that I was hooked on him - there was no going back.

A quick look at my iTunes library today shows I have since amassed 25 albums totaling 434 tracks of his songs (probably a few dupes in there). I also have a copy of the Paramount Pictures presentation of the Gordon Parks film "Leadbelly" - you can't bury a black legend like Leadbelly! It's actually a pretty fun film with a great soundtrack by Fred Karlin and has a very early appearance of Ernie Hudson (billed as Earnest L. Hudson).

I just wish that that film was widely available to buy/rent/stream/whatever so I could talk about it with other Leadbelly fans. Seems like it was buried because of the blaxploitation aspect of the film.

So, now I play the album Leadbelly Sings For Children for my 1 year old son. A new generation will come to know and love Leadbelly if I have anything to say about it!

Well for the past couple of years I've been doing more web development; it's very difficult to make a living playing music. Extremely. And I have a young son that I'm trying to remain in town for. Plus...swinging sticks until 2am for a room full of tourists has sort of lost it's luster; so the web thing is sustaining me for the moment. So glad I have that! Going to work at a "normal" job is just something I don't even think I'm capable of.

When I was 12 my career started in wedding bands and then I went on to playing clubs with rock bands. Mostly cover stuff. I left home (Jackson, MS) at 17 and moved to Tampa, FL to play with a band. It was largely hit/miss, as it was an original music group.

At 20 I moved to California and started to work on the club scene here, as well as recording albums. All I wanted to do was play drums, so that's what I put my premium on. I did not deal with the business stuff; in hindsight that's what I'd have done differently.

Over the past 20+ years I've recorded on about 150+ albums, one of which won a Grammy award. Did the grammy thing help? A little...my phone rings with better gigs but in the end, "Until you're walking on stage, the gig is not on".

I still travel with some of the bands I've played with in the past; This year I was in the UK and Italy with Earl Thomas and the Kings of Rhythm (Ike Turner's old band, of whom I'm a member) I'll be in Paris Jan. 24-29 at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club and in Amsterdam Mar. 13-16 playing with Ernest Lane for a boogie woogie piano festival.

As far as signed goes...I've been in bands with development deals and can tell you that the first CD is the kiss of death. Add to that a guy who babysits the entire creative process and shoots down your idea for "what the label feels is best for the project"...and reminds that the "recording deal is merely a high-interest loan"...That'll suck the life from your muse if you allow it.

Nowadays there's so many groups out there, and many of them are rather good; music is indeed ubiquitous and it's hard to even GIVE YOUR STUFF AWAY. As a result it gets harder and harder to survive unless you've got a sturdy following.

One can make it, but really you have to be good at many things. I can play any style of music convincingly so if a jazz gig or a country gig or a blues gig calls in, that's some bread.

Overall this entire experience has taught me much. The most important thing I've learned is that "If you are doing what you truly are intended to do, then somehow you'll survive." Notice I said "survive". You may or may not get wealthy, but as far as playing music for what amounts to as a lifetime, that will bring you riches beyond the scope of mere money.

I've smoked hookahs with Bedouins in Saudi Arabia, jammed with legends, met Paul McCartney, lived in Asia for a bit, on a cruise ship in Alaska, and smelled more cigarette smoke and dog farts from a bunch of smelly guys crammed in a van for thousands of miles.

Music will keep you young, if not for the hustling one must do to survive!

Great, well Chic and Diana Ross would more fit into the Disco genre, even Eath Wind and Fire could be labeled a Disco band depending what era of the band we are referring to.
Since by the start of the 80s Disco music was basically dead, i presume you would be into what people nowadays call "post-Disco" or "Boogie" (i like Boogie more :)).
Its a style of Funk/RnB which evolved after Disco faded away it took some elements from George Clintons raw psychedelic P-Funk and mixed it with some Disco elements.
Bands/Artist you should check:
Mtume
S.O.S. Band
Roger Troutman and Zapp
Gap Band
Midnight Starr
Mary Jane Girls
D-Train
Atlantic Star
Shalamar
Change
Lakeside
Rene and Angela
and so many more, if i were you i would pick any compliation with 80s Boogie out there and start with that. I used to love this compilation when i was in High School . Just go from there and if you dig a song just look the band up, or look up who produced that song and just find more work by that artist/Producer.

When it comes to Jazz-Funk its way more complicated to give you any good advice since that genre is sooooo wide in range that you would have to post some songs you like so i could take them as a reference point.
I for example like George Duke who was a master piano/synth player, who basically die everything from raw p-funk inspired songs like Reach for It to really smooth silky AOR songs (a genre i think you would enjoy as well) like Give Me Your Love.
If you want something more contemporary check Jamiroquai and Incognito, they are 2 great Jazz-Funk bands from the UK (even though they call it Acid-Jazz and not Jazz-Funk).
If you are more into psychedelic Jazz-Funk check Miles Davis later work (after he went electric), also check Roy Ayers and Dexter Wansel both guys are brilliant.

If you want even more "new" Funk music, you should dig into the so-called Modern-Funk scene. Guys like Dam-Funk who is just an amazing artist and such a great source of music knowledge. Go from there and check guys like Sasac, Henning, Xl Middleton, Starship Connection etc. etc...the scene is still quiet young and developing.

P.S. You should check /r/silkysmoothmusic they usually have stuff that should be right up your alley :).

See that's the thing -- I kind of love all of it, even the so-called "crap" stuff from the decade. I love the rock stuff and the disco stuff and the soul stuff. All of it. (well, mostly)

For lesser-known soul stuff, I like the What It Is! box set. And there's some amazing stuff in the 70s-era part of the Quincy Jones box set. But as far as straight-up groups, Earth Wind & Fire and Sly & the Family Stone are where it's at for me.

Rock stuff, I have a soft spot in my heart for Big Star, but I'll take the more popular stuff, as well, like Bowie and Zeppelin and former Beatles' solo stuff, or even the so-called "lighter" Doobies or Steely Dan. And goddam if Loggins & Messina's "Sittin' In" isn't just the most blissful. And holy crap, of course there's Harry Nilsson and his entire catalogue.

But the thing I love most about the 70s is discovering all these bands that are relatively under the radar these days, or groups that artists were in before they got big. Relatively recent discoveries for me include the band Lake and Klaatu and Brian Protheroe.

But I'm honestly equally happy putting on the 1970s station and listening to Brandy or Amie or Angie Baby or pretty much whatever.

EDIT: cleaned up some links

Benny Carter. The National Endowment for the Arts honored Benny Carter with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 1986. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, winner of the Grammy Award in 1994 for his solo "Prelude to a Kiss", and also the same year, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000 awarded the National Endowment for the Arts, National Medal of Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton.

>http://www.amazon.com/Benny-Carter-Songbook-Tribute/dp/B000000FQH/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1280288455&sr=1-4

Benny Carter's Songbook features 13 different singers on 15 compositions.

I think one of my favorite players is Ronnie Earl, and my favorite album of his is "Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters: Blues Guitar Virtuoso Live in Europe." Here's the link for the CD on Amazon. And here's the link at the iTunes Music Store.

Ronnie Earl is probably the most under rated, first rate blues guitar player playing today. His playing will really open up your ears. He has a "Hot Licks" DVD, recorded years ago (on VHS, no doubt) that is really good to watch. I can't say I stole any licks from it, but his discussion of playing soulfully and doing more with less is something I find really inspirational.

Another really good blues player that you may or may not of heard of is Tab Benoit, who is like the guitar mayor of New Orleans right about now. I really like his album "These Blues Are All Mine." Here is the CD at Amazon and here it is on iTunes. He plays with a really good mix of major and minor pentatonic scales, and combines them in a very lyrical and soulful way.

Give these two albums a listen and see what you think.

I LOVE YOU!!

You got me the greatest most well-packaged gift I have ever received in my life in the history of christmas. Okay, slightly exaggerating. But seriously. Nothing feels better than coming home from a long day of work and realizing you have a secret admirer (of sorts).

Some pictures to prove it:
http://imgur.com/pnhyK

And a little video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PJyR7koREQ

The record was "Chester and Lester".
http://www.amazon.com/Chester-Lester-Chet-Atkins/dp/B000ROAL8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291865928&sr=1-1
Two of my favorite players and clearly an amazing record.

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!! :-D

If you listened to The Stanley Brothers, they were a combination of the brother harmony groups that were popular immediately prior to bluegrass, old-tyme or mountain music (Ralph is a clawhammer player as well as a three-finger player) and bluegrass (the Stanley Brothers were Monroe fanatics in their younger days). While Ralph gets a lot of attention, it was Carter Stanley that had the voice of an angel, in my opinion.

Some people you may enjoy.

Larry Sparks - Larry Sparks replaced Carter Stanley for a period of time and is one of the closest voices to Carter. Strays to the 'country' side a little, but I love Larry Sparks, and his close ties to the Stanley Brothers, I always include him.

Skaggs and Whitley - Very specifically, this CD. Keith Whitley is also another singer that was compared heavily with Carter Stanley. And there was a period of time when these two were in Ralph Stanley's band. Whitley eventually went to country then became an alcoholic (followed in the path of Carter, unfortunately), and Skaggs became what he is today (no comment from me).

Reno and Smiley - very similar harmonies and mountain sensibilities to the Stanley Brothers, in my opinion. Don Reno's banjo playing was very different from Ralph. But Red Smiley had a similar voice. He followed in Carter's path as well and drank himself to death.

Gillis Brothers - these two are hardcore back mountain boys, and huge Stanley Brothers FANATICS. Get their older stuff when they were still together. It is rough and hardcore, and likely some of the most similar stuff you will hear to the Stanley Brothers that I can think of.

Johnson Mountain Boys - Dudley Connell has an incredible voice. While not mountain boys (mostly from the Washington D.C. area), they were Buzz Busby 'students.' Their voices and instrumention is a little more 'cleaner,' so it might not be exactly the stuff you're looking for.

Speaking of Buzzy Busby - HUGE influence on the Washington D.C. including Dudley Connell, Eddie Adcock, Charlie Waller, Scotty Stoneman. If you're interested, get his Going Home collection. He was a Bill Monroe fanatic originally from the Louisianna area, but it has a little bit of the Stanley Brothers feel sometimes.

Oh, and the Lily Brothers

And Vern Williams

Of that little group, if there are specific ones that strike your fancy, tell me which ones and I can likely recommend more.

Let's include a few more

Junior Sisk and Joe Mullins - this is a pretty new CD, Junior Sisk has his own band, Junior Sisk and Rambler's Choice, but this CD is a little closer to the older bluegrass.

Kentucky Colonels

James King - which always leads me to Longview

Do you want to do this right so you play blues, but so you know what you can get away with?

Listen to this then listen to everything on this compilation (not all guitar work necessarily, but still really important) (youtube or spotify), then go with the other stuff that other people are listing from that pre WWII era. It'll help you pick out the syncopated rhythms and the blue notes (microtonal notes, you have to bend to them with the guitar, or slide to them with a slide, usually).

Then you probably want Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and that entire Chicago Blues scene. After you get there you probably want to take this modern, so The Yardbirds, then Hendrix, then SRV, then you're going to go backwards to Kokomo Arnold then to Jack White, then you're going to go Jelly Roll Morton in which case you probably know where you can go.

It doesn't have to be in this order, but that's the way that I would recommend it. Other than that Open tunings are helpful as are slides.

Sorry if this all was a lot, it's a neat sound, but it's easy to play, but hard to feel. This helps you with the later, or at least will get you on that path.

If you want some interesting jazz that is not your typical run-of-the-mill stuff, I would recommend an album called "Both Sides Now" - it's a little gem that hardly gets any attention. It's by Carli Muñoz (pianist) and Eddie Gomez (double bassist) and I would describe the music as traditional jazz infused with latin hip hop. I have owned this album for many years and never tire of listening to it.

You seem eclectic in your music tastes so I'll recommend two more.

I enjoy listening to Sade and recently picked up her Lovers Live album. Very impressed with both the audio recording quality on the CD and the vocals. She is hard to describe. Soul, R&B, blues, jazz all mixed into one.

My final recommendation is anything done by the Flobots.
Progressive rock band out of Colorado. They've got a funky rhythm and I love the messages in their music. Their first album (Fight With Tools) is perhaps my favorite.

Thanks for setting up the giveaway. Enjoy the music!

As fun and interesting as the dancing is, the music behind the dance is just as great:

Jump Blues links:

http://www.stuve.com/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_blues

This is where rock and roll came from; if you like rock and roll, you'll probably love this stuff. For folks looking for some good Jump samplers, the best I've ever come across are the two CDs from the Blues Masters collections, volumes 5 and 14:

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Masters-Vol-Jump-Classics/dp/B0000032X7

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Masters-Vol-14-More/dp/B0000032XN/ref=pd_sim_m_1

A lot of the songs were originally written and recording in the 1920's-30's. This is certainly an amazing movie, and the soundtrack is incredible to boot, but I would highly recommend checking out some of Alan Lomax's field recordings. Truly amazing. "Popular Songbook" is by far my favorite compilation and features the original version of "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby."

This is great but like someone else said, everything with his playing is great. For fun check out G. E. Smith play his guitar here

Chronological order!

Start with the mixtapes DJ Screw was making with the Screwed Up Click and the affiliated members' projects. From there move into early Swishahouse tapes by Mike Watts that were coming out of the northside. Then, and you'll "see" it happen, follow some of OG Ron C's projects. From there, find a few of the Rap-A-Lot DJs' album work for artists signed with them. Here's part of the story in a song Chamillionaire put out: H-Town Dreams If it's worth anything, this link was my last edit. I forgot about the song until just now, but I like the parallel in the links.

SUC Era: DJ Screw started as a battle DJ so heavy cuts and scratches show in his mixing work. For an example of his style before "screwing" it up, check out Botany Boys - Botany Is The Block from the group which featured not only his little bother Al D, but also 1 or 2 other crucial members of the S.U.C. I can't find a link to the Screwed version of the song, but it appeared on their double-disc album "Thought of Many Ways", which, if you ask me, is a highly underrated classic.

Similar to how the Botany Boys featured a Screwed version of a hit on their album, first did ESG on his 1995 album "Sailin' Da South" with his hit "Swangin' and Bangin'". Screwed. ESG was largely responsible for validating freestyling on albums and was the crowned freestyle king until Lil' Keke came on the scene. He also wrote Wanna Be A Baller after this beat debuted, but was in prison so Lil' Troy and Fat Pat did it. Lil' Flip, who raps on the last link for 7 minutes straight, was eventually crowned the freestyle king of Houston.

Now watch this video to understand how freestyling plays a huge part in Houston's rap culture and to see a few of the prominent members of the SUC. This is the kind of shit they did every day.

The major influences on Houston came from the Bay Area on account of the drug trade. So when the Screw tapes started coming out, they featured artists like Spice 1, Ant Banks, Too Short, and E-40 alongside national acts. If you think you can deal with freestyles and funky gangsta rap, then listen to Chapter 1: Done Deal. The chaptered Screw Tapes are referred to as the "Diary of the Originator". For a more polished and "deep" album, 3 'N The Mornin' part 2: Blue. ...Red Features more Cali rappers over Houston rappers. The cover on the "...Red" link is wrong, FWIW. "...Blue" hasn't left my deck in my car[s] for over a decade. I hear something new every time I hear "Elbow's Swangin'".

Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of official Screwed and chopped versions of early SUC rappers' albums made. Mostly, their songs featured on Screw's mixtapes and they put verses down on the instrumentals he let ride, but he did hold special sessions or make special tapes for people like D-Mo's famous June 27th tape. The "screwed and chopped" disc 2 era was at the end of Screw's life and is what Mike Watts capitalized on. That being said, keep a pen handy and make a list of featured Houston artists and freestyle guest spots on the DotO tapes. Just to throw some names out there: Al-D, C-Note, E.S.G, Lil' Keke, Big Moe, Fat Pat, HAWK, Lil' Flip (his freestyling on tapes was fun, his albums not so much...), Z-Ro, Big Mello, Los, Grace, PSK-13, Point Blank, and a bunch more.


There was also a presence in South Park, most notably the South Park Coalition; they were more about following the Geto Boys' style than the Screw movement, though some members did appear on Screw tapes or existed in both spheres.

On to...

Mike Watts and the northside rap cliques:

So Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C both DJ'd on 97.9, a radio station that catered to rap fans, before teaming up and giving the northside rappers a camp. Watts said he could screw and chop too and so started releasing mixtapes featuring northside rappers, either with a few screwed and chopped tracks or as 2 disc releases, the second being screwed and chopped. The Choppin' 'Em Up series has a good selection of freestyles over 9 installments. It's important to note that Watts, more so than Ron C, was inclined to show off his chopping prowess more so than to slow songs to the tempo that Screw had. Personally, I don't like it, but with the sea change in hip hop that was happening, it gave people something unique that could be played in clubs. Remember, they were radio DJs. Ron C was releasing his "Fuck Action" (18) mixtapes at the same time, which were mostly screwed and chopped R&B. Other series include: The Day Hell Broke Loose ( 2 disc), Before The Kappa, and After The Kappa. They've done a good job keeping their tapes off of youtube. Check out Somethin' to Smoke to if you can find it.

What was important was that Swishahouse specialized in remixing entire albums, even for artists that weren't in the camp. Rap-A-Lot artists got their artists' albums remixed before they had really developed in-house talent for the job. Notable musicians of the Swishahouse era include: Mike Jones, Magno, J-Dawg, Archie Lee, Coota Bang, Slim Thug (formerly a southside rapper who worked with ESG), and Lil Keke, who signed on to the camp in the mid 2000s. Chamillionaire and Paul wall were in and out of the camp at different times, but got their start together, along with Cham's brother and a few others, as the Color Changin' Click. Both Watts and Ron C remixed albums and freestyle mixtapes by the CCC. There were a lot of collaboration projects going on in Houston at this point in time.

Paul Wall, in his movement into the production side of music, screwed and chopped a few albums. He touched Lil' Wayne's "Dedication 1" and Ron C did Dedication 2.

It's worth mentioning that some of the members of the SUC managed to produce remixes as the "Wreckshop" to entire albums of SUC members before and in the wake of Screw's death. DJ D-Reck was responsible for most of it. This freestyle did not appear on the original City of Syrup but is a perfect example of the southside style surviving the death of Screw, thanks to Wreckshop. I think it's one of the best throwback tracks out there.

Eventually...

The Rap-A-Lot camp started remixing albums by their artists. DJ Domo and DJ D have screwed and chopped for Rap-A-Lot, but they also work independently. DJ D did a good remix of "The Foundation" by the Geto Boys and a lot of Devin The Dude's work has been remixed by Rap-A-Lot.

Final note: The Mo' City camps like to screw whole albums and do no chopping. They pitch control and bass boost for the S(low) L(oud) A(nd) B(angin') remixes. A lot of Trae and Assholes by Nature and Guerilla Maab stuff gets the treatment. This is a big south (Hiram Clark) and south west (Mo' City, Stafford) trend because we just like slowed music. The record shop I used to hang at in The 'Clark would get people askin' to slow a whole tape they brought in. 10 minute job, $10 a tape. No DJing.

~~

Summary:

If you want music that could be in the background but tells enough of the DJ's own story through the loops and track selection, bang DJ Screw. He really was the best. Whole tapes/albums only.

If you want Screwed and chopped culture in your raps, and can dig freestyles but want something to actively engage you, Mike Watts makes edgier, albeit less cerebral mixtapes and remixes of whole albums. His cross fading isn't spectacular because he tries to cut viable remixes of single, popular songs.

If you want something more like DJ Screw but focused on one or a few artists and not as slow, an OG Ron C remix of an album is where it's at. He's the middleground between "cool" artist DJ Screw and business man Mike Watts. Singles and whole albums.

If you want to hear the DJ express himself as if he were a slightly different version of the original artist, pick up something done by Rap-A-Lot. Whole albums.

If you want to knock pictures off the wall, SLAB remixes.

Hard Again is an amazing album, get it. Also, if you are interested in the roots of the blues, I highly recommend this Chess Blues Box Set. Some amazing stuff on there, from both the greats and incredible artists who did not get much recognition. It gives you a great historical perspective, too, the discs are organized by time period. Just awesome stuff.

For a beginner, the best choices are

1. B. B. King - The Ultimate Collection
   http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Collection-B-B-King/dp/B0007QJ1PM/
   It's a recent release, notes are VERY easy to pick out, aren't frustratingly hard, but just challenging enough (especially his vibrato) to keep you coming back
   
   
2. Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign
   http://www.amazon.com/Born-Under-Sign-Albert-King/dp/B00BCMT4RA/
   Everything I said about BB, I can say about Albert. The difference is that he "worries" every note in a way that will teach you how to "feel" a solo.
   
   
3. Howlin Wolf - The definitive Collection
   http://www.amazon.com/Definitive-Collection-Howlin-Wolf/dp/B000O5905M
   Jimi Hendrix said that Hubert Sumlin was his favourite guitar player. Indeed, I'd say his rhythm guitar playing is unmatched especially in how he works in fills.
   
   These should give you an excellent foundation in blues licks. After that, move on to
   
   
4. Freddie King - Ultimate Collection
   http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Collection-Freddie-King/dp/B00005B2XZ
   
   
5. Magic Sam - West Side Soul and Black Magic
   http://www.amazon.com/West-Side-Soul-Special-Magic/dp/B004B3PBEC
   http://www.amazon.com/Black-Magic-Sam/dp/B000004BIP
   
   
   When you can play all of that, note for note, you will likely be my favorite guitarist :)

I started with Ultimate Collection. This gave me the hits and an overall feel for his music.

Since BB King came from an era before studio LPs were really a big thing, most of his best work was released as singles. King of the Blues is a brilliant, very comprehensive box set that helps in tidying things up, although since it was compiled in 1992 it omits some of his surprisingly good recent work such as Blues on the Bayou, his collaboration with Eric Clapton and One Kind Favor

He must have about 20 live albums out there, almost all are good but Live at the Regal is the most popular. He's (understandably) lost a bit of his touch live recently but it's hard to go wrong with any pre-2000's live album.

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I feel like someone needs to say:

• WipeOut
  
• WipeOut XL
  
  So...I'm saying it.
  
  I love the good ol' Nintendo classics also - but this was one of the first game soundtracks that I bought in a retail store.

Wish it had the Wipeout XL tracks. And soundtrack:

https://www.amazon.com/Wipeout-Xl-Various-Artists/dp/B000003RYJ/

Also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWTSgpTTyI (part 1 of 5)

Chester and Lester

And their album

edit

Oh, and here's Les at 90 years old

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