The Complete Imperial Recordings: 1950-1954 [Box]

Performer: T-Bone Walker
Producer: Pete Welding (Compilation)
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar); R.S. Rankin, Walter Nelson (guitar); Edward Hale, Wendell Duconge, Lee Gross (alto saxophone); Jim Wynn (tenor & baritone saxophones); Eddie Davis, Maxwell Davis, Lee Allen (tenor saxophone); Herb Hardesty (baritone saxophone); Eddie Hutcherson, Dave Bartholomew, John Lawton (trumpet); Zell Kindred, Marl Young, Willard McDaniel, T.J. Fowler (piano); Buddy Woodson, Billy Hadnott, Frank Fields, Henry Ivory (bass); Robert Sims, Oscar Lee Bradley, Cornelius Coleman, Clarence Stamp (drums). Recorded in Los Angeles, California, New Orleans, Louisiana and Detroit, Michican between 1950 and 1954. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar); Tiny Brown, Baby Davis (vocals); R.S. Rankin, Walter Nelson (guitar); Wendell DuConge, Edward Hale, Lee Gross (alto saxophone); Jim Wynn (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Eddie David, Lee Allen, Maxwell Davis (tenor saxophone); Herbert Hardesty (baritone saxophone); Dave Bartholomew, Eddie Hutcherson, John Lawton (trumpet); Marl Young, Zell Kindred, T.J. Fowler, Willard McDaniel (piano); Clarence Stamp, Cornelius Coleman, Robert Sims, Oscar Lee Bradley (drums). Liner Note Author: Pete Welding. Recording information: Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; New Orleans, LA. Another essential T-Bone Walker collection, Complete Imperial Recordings: 1950-1954 is a two-disc dish with 52 sensational tracks from his stint at Lew Chudd's Imperial Records label. Whether waxing with his own jump blues unit in L.A. or Dave Bartholomew's hard-drivers in New Orleans, Walker always stayed true to his vision, and the proof was in the grooves: "Glamour Girl," "The Hustle Is On," "Tell Me What's the Reason," "High Society," "Cold, Cold Feeling," and the immaculate jumping instrumental "Strollin' with Bones" all date from this historic period of Walker's legacy. ~ Bill Dahl An important (and often underrated) guitarist, T-Bone Walker was a direct influence on B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, and nearly everyone who played the electric guitar in his wake. A pioneer of the fleet, jazzy leads (complete with choppy, syncopated accents, "duck walk" single-note runs, and blazing embellishments) that would come to characterize rock and blues guitar thereafter, Walker's contribution is difficult to overestimate. THE COMPLETE IMPERIAL RECORDINGS is arguably the Walker set to buy since it contains--with the exception of his trailblazing sides for Black and White Records--the bulk of his most important material. Whether on mid-tempo strollers ("Travelin' Blues"), boogie-woogie numbers ("The Hustle Is On"), smoldering slow blues ("Blues Is a Woman"), or jump blues ("Bye Bye Baby"), Walker and his band infuse traditional 12-bar structures with a keen sense of swing, instrumental interplay, and sophistication. At times, as on the energetic "Strollin' with Bone," the sheer vitality of Walker's performance is palpable, and is very close in feel to the rock & roll (especially where Walker's guitar playing is concerned) that would emerge in subsequent years. This dynamic set of early electric blues captures the music at one of its richest, most definitive turning points.

Rolling Stone (11/14/91) - 4.5 Stars - Excellent Plus - "...[For] guitar innovators, Walker wrote the book....catches Walker at his peak...These are timeless performances - there's not a mediocre track in the set..." Down Beat (2/92, p.48) - 5 Stars - Excellent - "..a sampling of Walker's raw and expressive R&B steeped in traditional blues and flavored by swing..." Living Blues (1/92-2/92, p.50) - "...eloquently indicates the monumental significance of T-Bone Walker's classic period..."

Somewhere between the blues-jazz of Lonnie Johnson and Charlie Christian and the electrified blues of B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Guy is Aaron "T-Bone" Walker. During the 1930s through the 1950s, the height of his recording and performing career, T-Bone fused influences of the past and reshaped them into modern guitar blues. A master showman as well as a brilliant guitarist and singer, Walker is a performer whose influence cannot be underestimated: nearly every blues guitarist of the past half-century has paid props to the man. His best-known song, "Stormy Monday," is a staple of every bar band's repertoire.

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