Essential Collection: The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958

Performer: Otis Rush
Producer: Willie Dixon
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Recorded in Chicago, Illinois between 1956 & 1958. Includes liner notes by Neil Slaven. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Otis Rush (vocals, guitar); Ike Turner (guitar); Big Walter Horton, "Little" Walter Jacobs (harmonica); Harold Ashby (saxophone); Little Brother Montgomery (piano); Willie Dixon (bass instrument); Al Duncan (drums). The title says it all. This is the essential Otis Rush, the singles recorded for Eli Toscano's Cobra label between 1956 and 1958. If Rush had never recorded another note, his legendary status would remain intact based solely on these recordings. Backed by players like Willie Dixon and Little Walter, it's Rush's impassioned vocals and stinging guitar lines that make "I Can't Quit You Baby," "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)," and "Double Trouble" the classics they are. In addition to the A- and B-sides of all eight singles released by Cobra, eight alternate takes are included, four more than the Paula edition of this material released in 1991. Along with a slightly better transfer from the original tapes, this is not only one of the best places to start for someone getting interested in the blues, but a vital part of any blues collection. Outstanding. ~ Sean Westergaard

With his guitar's distinctively shimmering tremolo and a whiskey-soaked, melancholy lilt, Otis Rush provided the bridge between the Delta and urban blues of yore and the 1960s brand of reverent rock championed by the likes of Eric Clapton and John Mayall. Born in Mississippi, his heart in Chicago, Rush signed with Cobra in the 1950s, and even scored an R&B top 10 hit with "I Can't Quit You Baby." While his recordings for Chess, Vanguard, Capitol, and other labels often went unreleased, such travails barely slowed his legend. Save for a brief retirement in the early 1980s, Rush continued to tour up until a non-fatal stroke in 2006.

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