Saturday, February 24, 2024

 Albums That Deserve Another Listen

Elmore James - The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul (United Superior US 7716)

01. Dust My Blues 
02. Sunnyland 
03. Mean And Evil 
04. Dark And Dreary 
05. Standing At The Crossroads 
06. Happy Home 
07. No Love In My Heart 
08. Blues Before Sunrise 
09. I Was A Fool 
10. Goodbye Baby


Originally released in 1960 as "Blues After Hours" by Elmore James & The Broom Dusters (Crown Records CLP 5168), this LP contains 10 tracks recorded between 1953-1955, with supporting musicians such as Maxwell Davis, Little Johnny Jones, J.T. Brown, Ransom Knowling, Earl Palmer, Boyd Atkins, Willard McDaniel & Odie Payne. It was the first Elmore James LP I ever owned, though my copy was the United Superior edition, released in 1963 and retitled "The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul".

They say that when the Rolling Stone Brian Jones first heard Elmore James it was as if the world tilted on its axis, and Brian was never the same again. I understand fully the effect hearing Elmore for the first time had on Brian because my own experience was very similar. I came home with this LP, put it on my turntable and stood there stunned as Elmore launched into "Dust My Blues". I listened to side one, flipped it over, then back again. I think I listened to the entire album at least 2 or 3 times that evening. It instantly became a top favorite blues LP and I remember bringing it with me to my friends' homes telling them they just had to hear it.

But all that was back in the late 1960s. Of course today everything Elmore ever recorded has been issued, and re-issued, and issued again. Nonetheless "The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul" remains my favorite Elmore James album, one of my most favorite blues LPs, and is most definitely an album that deserves another listen.


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8 comments:

  1. reb.jukeboxFebruary 25, 2024 at 1:15 AM

    thank you Bob, a great blues man

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  2. RepromanFebruary 25, 2024 at 1:18 AM

    Thanks Bob, i will give it a first listen because of your great review and story and because i love the Blues!! Mike. ✌️🎢

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  3. Crab DevilFebruary 25, 2024 at 6:31 AM

    Thank you very much for the write-up. I have this album already, but I also enjoy hearing what you have to say about the material. In my case, the first time I ever heard Elmore James was when I was maybe 13 or 14 (in the early 1970s). That was by way of a great survey album titled "Story of the Blues," compiled by Paul Oliver. The track in question was listed as "Sunnyland," though it's not the same as the song included in your share (and I'm pretty sure it should actually have been listed as "Sunnyland Train"). But it was definitely representative for Elmore James -- and it blew me away with its intensity. Funnily enough, I later on had a friend who, although he did like blues music in general, claimed to detest that same, familiar Elmore James pattern (presumably because he'd gotten sick of hearing it played so often by more contemporary bands). As the expression goes, though, there's no accounting for taste!

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  4. Bob MacFebruary 25, 2024 at 8:38 AM

    Hi Crab Devil, thanks for your most interesting comment. Yes the track on Story of the blues is actually Sunnyland Train. The lyrics are the same as Sunnyland, but of course a totally different arrangement. Obvious the tracks were recorded at different sessions, on different dates, using different musicians. Unlike your friend I never tired of hearing the Elmore James Dust My Blues/Broom riff. In fact I'd be delighted if they play it at my funeral. Maybe the live Please Find My Baby, with Ike Turner band. Or the Trumpet recording with SBWII. 😁

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  5. Persistente ConchaFebruary 26, 2024 at 3:31 PM

    Thanks so much, Bob! ( ´ ▽ ` )οΎ‰

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