Bob's Chat

A chatbox where we can post comments and have discussions on artists & songs. However, if you just want to say thank you for a particular post then please continue using the usual comment box located below each post.

Blues, R&B, Soul & Gospel Records Volume 62 today brings you 21 great tracks dating from 1956 to 1988. As usual a mixed bag of goodies: blues/R&B artists like Johnny Guitar Watson, Bobby Blue Bland, Roebuck Staples, Little Milton & Syl Johnson, to bluesy jazz from Jimmy Smith, Gene Harris & Freddie Hubbard, plus some soul & gospel to round it off.

And Assorted Hillbilly & Country Recordings Vol 119 presents the forth volume in "Train Track Shuffle" titled "Pan American Boogie". A fine mix of artists here, which includes The Carter Family, Grandpa Jones, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, The Monroe Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, James Luther Dickinson along with several other great performers.

It's interesting making up these compilations according to themes as there's so much similarity between the white Hillbilly/Country and the black Country/Pre-War/Acoustic Blues. Both deal frequently with riding trains, having broken hearts, sitting drinking because of broken hearts, feeling sad & lonesome, traveling around from town to town, having bad cases of the blues, singing about Jesus and heaven. Much of the early Hillbilly music was very bluesy, and certainly many of the early blues singers were influenced by the white Country/Hillbilly singers they heard on the radios, and saw singing in films at the local cinemas.

Also as I've mentioned before I make these compilations up in batches, usually batches of 10 or 12 volumes in each genre. When the next batch begins, in about a month, you'll notice a slight change in the titles, which have become rather lengthy, so I've cut them down a bit. For example "Assorted Hillbilly & Country Recordings" will become "Hillbilly & Country", likewise other genres will lose "Assorted" and "Recordings" from their titles.

I'm pleased to report that 'Bob's Cellar' has taken off nicely, most of the old team from 'The Buzzment' have dropped by to share a few things. So don't forget to regularly check it out and help yourselves to whatever takes your fancy. Also don't forget to thank the posters. It only take a few seconds to type "thank you..." and it means a lot to the person who has spent considerable time ripping an album and uploading it. And if you have any requests then fire away, whatever your want list, there's a good chance one of us will have it. Also remember that everyone is invited to share something. So if you have an album that you think others would like to hear then by all means post a link in "The Cellar".

As always my friends, dig in and dig the great music available here.