CD-Charts Position 21

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Matriarch of the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Etta James

Release Date December 12, 2000

CD-Charts Position 22
Average Rating:

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Blues to the Bone

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Etta James

Release Date June 14, 2004
I've been a fan of Etta's for nearly 40 years, and I especially love her blues material, but, frankly, this isn't her best shot at it. Most of the songs are covers of the songs that made me get into the blues in the first place, such as 'Don't Start Me Talking', 'Smokestack Lightnin' and many more, but the sad fact is that she doesn't really seem to put her heart and soul into it, just, well, run through a collection of standards. The only one that really seems to work for me is 'Crawling King Snake', which has a slightly unusual arrangemnet which lifts it out of the ordinary. Her attempt at 'howlin' (like the Wolf) is, frankly laughable. Most of the tracks don't really stack up against the originals, admittedly a pretty tall order since they ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 23
Average Rating:

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Chattanooga Gal

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Bessie Smith

Release Date October 11, 2004
I've been a fan of Etta's for nearly 40 years, and I especially love her blues material, but, frankly, this isn't her best shot at it. Most of the songs are covers of the songs that made me get into the blues in the first place, such as 'Don't Start Me Talking', 'Smokestack Lightnin' and many more, but the sad fact is that she doesn't really seem to put her heart and soul into it, just, well, run through a collection of standards. The only one that really seems to work for me is 'Crawling King Snake', which has a slightly unusual arrangemnet which lifts it out of the ordinary. Her attempt at 'howlin' (like the Wolf) is, frankly laughable. Most of the tracks don't really stack up against the originals, admittedly a pretty tall order since they ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 24
Average Rating:

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Rocks the House

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Etta James

Release Date December 23, 1999
I've been a fan of Etta's for nearly 40 years, and I especially love her blues material, but, frankly, this isn't her best shot at it. Most of the songs are covers of the songs that made me get into the blues in the first place, such as 'Don't Start Me Talking', 'Smokestack Lightnin' and many more, but the sad fact is that she doesn't really seem to put her heart and soul into it, just, well, run through a collection of standards. The only one that really seems to work for me is 'Crawling King Snake', which has a slightly unusual arrangemnet which lifts it out of the ordinary. Her attempt at 'howlin' (like the Wolf) is, frankly laughable. Most of the tracks don't really stack up against the originals, admittedly a pretty tall order since they ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 25
Average Rating:

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Change

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Sue Foley

Release Date August 31, 2004
I've been a fan of Etta's for nearly 40 years, and I especially love her blues material, but, frankly, this isn't her best shot at it. Most of the songs are covers of the songs that made me get into the blues in the first place, such as 'Don't Start Me Talking', 'Smokestack Lightnin' and many more, but the sad fact is that she doesn't really seem to put her heart and soul into it, just, well, run through a collection of standards. The only one that really seems to work for me is 'Crawling King Snake', which has a slightly unusual arrangemnet which lifts it out of the ordinary. Her attempt at 'howlin' (like the Wolf) is, frankly laughable. Most of the tracks don't really stack up against the originals, admittedly a pretty tall order since they ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 26
Average Rating:

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Careless Love: the Empress of the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Bessie Smith

Release Date April 19, 2004
I've been a fan of Etta's for nearly 40 years, and I especially love her blues material, but, frankly, this isn't her best shot at it. Most of the songs are covers of the songs that made me get into the blues in the first place, such as 'Don't Start Me Talking', 'Smokestack Lightnin' and many more, but the sad fact is that she doesn't really seem to put her heart and soul into it, just, well, run through a collection of standards. The only one that really seems to work for me is 'Crawling King Snake', which has a slightly unusual arrangemnet which lifts it out of the ordinary. Her attempt at 'howlin' (like the Wolf) is, frankly laughable. Most of the tracks don't really stack up against the originals, admittedly a pretty tall order since they ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 27
Average Rating:

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Live at the Winterland 1968

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Janis Joplin

Release Date September 30, 1996
This is a great genuinely live album in a way that Cheap Thrills isn't. I love Thrills but its studio augmented\dubbed\enhanced and misses the true buzz of a real live performance. This album buzzes. The accompanying booklet is a great potted history too - something missing from other Janis albums. There's 14 great buzzing tracks as opposed Thrills 7 (Okay - so two takes of Down on Me). It's raw, exciting, encapsulated in that moment of time and truly off the wall.

There's no delicacy here and sometimes Sam Andrew's vocal gets lost in the mix but never Janis' - hers storms out like a twister in a heatwave. Live versions of "Faster than Sound", "Flower in the Sun", "Magic of Love" & "Easy Rider". Shame there's no "Sweet Mary" or it would ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 28
Average Rating:

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Anthology

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Janis Joplin

Release Date June 30, 1997
This collection includes the best racks from Kozmic Blues, Cheap Thrills and Pearl, plus live versions of Down On Me, Bye Bye Baby, Get It While You Can and Ball And Chain, a song first made famous by Big Mama Thornton. My personal favorites include Piece Of My Heart, a juggernaut of a song with Big Brother & The Holding Company, To Love Somebody, her beautiful rendition of the Bee Gees song, Cry Baby, Move Over, Me And Bobby McGee – these three from her masterpiece Pearl. It is interesting to trace the change in her vocal style from Kozmic Blues, through the Big Brother period and finally to Pearl where she found her true voice and to contrast the studio recordings with the raucous live versions of familiar songs. This album would suffice for anybody ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 29
Average Rating:

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Hot Stuff

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Dana Gillespie

Release Date November 27, 1995
this is a classic album, for the fanatical blues and chill out kinda individual. some serious blues, mixed with some gillespie fun and the resultant brilliant album. heart felt lyrics, and brilliant rythms render this an all time amazement of an album, and one that no one should be without.

CD-Charts Position 30
Average Rating:

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Burnin' Down the House

CD-Charts > Music > Classic Female Singers
by: Etta James

Release Date May 06, 2002
this is a classic album, for the fanatical blues and chill out kinda individual. some serious blues, mixed with some gillespie fun and the resultant brilliant album. heart felt lyrics, and brilliant rythms render this an all time amazement of an album, and one that no one should be without.