Various - Confessin the Blues

https://www.discogs.com/release/12774929-Various-Confessin-The-Blues

This is an amazing collection of blues songs, compiled by the Rolling Stones. The compilation weaves though Chicago blues, Delta blues, and toher forms of electric blues and R&B, and a little sprinkle of early rock.

It's probably the most impressive physical vinyl set I own, next to maybe Tool's Fear Inoculum or the White Zombie It Came from NY Collection.

It's on 5, 10" LPs, in a sort of "book". The records provide a few pages and then there's an actual small book about the blues in the middle, with a couple more record pages to follow. It's really well put together.

Every song on this album is a fantastic selection that represents one form of blues or another.

LP1

Opening with Muddy Water's "Rollin Stone" (imagine that?!), it rolls right into Howlin Wolf. This album introduced me to Wolf and while he's straight up blues and not experimental in a major way - i can't help but get Tom Waits feelings from Wolf. Or maybe it's Wolf feelings i get from Waits and I'm just experiencing things in reverse? Both have distinct raspy voices, both had substance abuse problems but cleaned up and became family men, and both sing about the down and out.

I'll comment on Slim Harpo's - I'm a King Bee and apply this to most of the songs on here. There's a lot of tracks I don't have a lot to say about, but they're just straight up fun.

Chuck Berry's Little Queenie is included. Most people are probably used to the music and melody as it was re-used in Run Run Rudolf.

Side B

Opening with John Lee Hooker, intermixing the talking/singing over a riff would be a common staple in rock music, especially notable in tracks like One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. (also, covered by John Lee Hooker but made most popular by George Thorogood). The track goes on about how he's got the 'boogie' in him and has to get it out. It's pretty amusing.

Little Walter– I Hate To See You Go is up next, and like many tracks on here it was later covered by the Rolling Stones on their blues cover album "Turning Blue".

The LP rounds out with Robert Johnson who was the first member of the "27 club" as a Delta Blues musician. Legend has it that as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. One of the legends often told says that Johnson was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The Devil played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This story of a deal with the Devil at the crossroads mirrors the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous. This is. story we'd see echoed in the blues movie Crossroads.

LP2

More Howlin Wolfe is always welcome, especially as an LP opener. Bo Diddley's " You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover" keeping the tempo up with a follow-up

Little Walter– Just Your Fool on Side B is, to use words the kids use these days, an absolute banger of a song. And you can see why the Stones chose this as their opening cover on Turning Blue.

LP3

The guitar work on Blue & Lonesome, by Little Walter is the highlight of LP3. It's a slow moving song using blues noodling as "fills" between lines in the verses and is a beautiful track.

Robert Johnson is back with Stop Breaking Down Blues immediately after.

Side F contains the one song I've heard before ever buying this album or hearing Aerosmith or the Stones cover these songs. Muddy Waters's I Just Want to Make Love to You is probably the biggest hit on the whole collection and rightfully so

Bo Diddley makes another round with Mona. Boy Blue's Boogie Children follows and it's the one song so far that I can't stand. The vocals just grate on me.

LP4

Chuck Berry is back with "carol". And while not the exact same music as Queenie or Run Rudolf Run, there's little bits here and there immediately recognizable as from those songs. I've always thought of Berry as a one or two trick pony, but his tricks work.

I'm kind of amazed it took so long to get to BB King but following Berry is King's "Rock Me Baby". It's a strong enough. track that it should have been on the first LP.

Bo Diddley's Crawdad follows. This is the song that educated me about the Bo Diddley beat. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Diddley_beat). the beat and song structure of Crawdad specifically, as well as the melody on the hook , you can tell was ripped off by the Strangeloves in the 80s pop hit "I. want candy".

Side G ends with Muddy Waters and Side H opens with Howlin Wolf's I Want to be Loved. I think every LP or sie should open with a Holwin Wolf track. I could listen to his voice all day.

Another side opening with Howlin' Wolf, this time his "little baby" which I could listen to on repeat.

This side endcaps with Little Johnny Taylor– Everybody Knows About My Good Thing and it's one of the few songs on here I knew before every purchasing this album. Sadly enough,I probably came across this in a commercial.

LP5

Side 1(I) is kinda non-descript, IMHO.

Side 2(J) if this LP rounds out with MuddyWater's Mannish Boy, Howlin Wolf' Commit a Crime, Buddy Guy's Damn Right I've got the Blues and Jay Mcshann/Walter Brown's Confessin the Blues with the entire back side of the last LP going out with a bang

All in all it's an enjoyable listen. It works as a compilation you pay attention to, as much as it is a good one to set a mood for a nice get together.

I'm not a blues expert or a "blues man". As noted in other reviews, my specialities probably come into 90s alt-rock, nu-metal, 90s pop punk, Eminem and such. So this and most of the stuff I'm reviewing, I'm a man out of his element. But this. is one of my favorite purchases over the last 2 years.