Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: The Best of the Blues

Performer: Various Artists
Engineer: Max Feldman; Steve Durkee; Pat Thrall
Producer: Andy McKaie; Steve Jordan; Don Law; Frank Driggs; Gabriel Mekler; John Porter; Mike Vernon; Rick Hall; Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble; Tom Dowd; Tom Hambridge; Bill Szymcyzk; John Hammond; Bonnie Raitt; Chas Chandler; Andy McKaie (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Full title: Martin Scorsese Presents: The Best Of The Blues. Includes liner notes by Mark A. Humphrey. Personnel: David Hidalgo, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Lee Schell, Keb' Mo', Muddy Waters, Robert Cray, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Son House, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Susan Tedeschi, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt (vocals, guitar); Howlin' Wolf (vocals, harmonica); Ray Charles (vocals, piano); Gregg Allman (vocals, electric piano); John Mayall (vocals, organ); Jeff Scott Young (vocals, keyboards); Etta James, Janis Joplin, Shemekia Copeland, Bessie Smith, James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Cassandra Wilson (vocals); Danny Kortchmar, Dickey Betts, Marvin Sewall, Eric Clapton, Sam Andrews, Hubert Sumlin, Hugh McCracken, Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Rogers , Jody Williams, Kevin Breit, Louie P�rez, Albert Lowe, Cesar Rosas (guitar); Duane Allman (slide guitar); Charlie Dixon (banjo); Al Wilson, Little Walter (harmonica); Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey (clarinet); Floyd Newman, Aaron Varnell, Charles Chalmers (saxophone); David "Fathead" Newman (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Don Wilkerson, Terry Clements , Andrew Love (tenor saxophone); Jim Horn, Steve Berlin, Cornelius "Snookey" Flowers (baritone saxophone); Gene Miller, Joe Bridgewater, Riley Webb, Luis Gasca, Ben Cauley (trumpet); Joe "Fox" Smith (cornet); Jimmy Harrison, Jack Hale (trombone); Dewey Oldham (piano, organ); Dr. John, Fletcher Henderson, Otis Spann (piano); Ivan Neville, Carl Banks, Richard Kermode, Tom West (organ); Paul "Harry" Harris (keyboards); Pete Thomas (drums, percussion); Chris Layton, Steve Jordan , Roger Dawkins, Earl Phillips, Fred Below, William Peebles, Jaimoe Johnson, Ricky Fataar, Tom Hambridge, Hughie Flint, Herb Lovelle, Mitch Mitchell, Maury Baker, Lonnie Castille, Butch Trucks (drums); Jeff Haynes, Victor Bisetti, Cougar Estrada (percussion). Audio Mixer: Niko Bolas. Liner Note Authors: Mark A. Humphrey; Martin Scorsese. Recording information: Boston, MA (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); Burbank, CA (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); Chicago, IL (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); Grafton, WI (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); London, England (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); Miami, FLMuscle Shoals, AL (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); New York, NY (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); Salute To The Blues Concert, Radio City Music Hall, New (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); San Antonio, TX (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); SIR Studios, New York, NY (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); The Fillmore East, New York, NY (03/02/1927-02/07/2003); The Knitting Factory, Los Angeles, CABrookline & Watert (03/02/1927-02/07/2003). A massive media campaign comprising seven documentary films broadcast on public television and released as a DVD box set, plus accompanying soundtrack albums, a 13-part radio series, a companion book, 12 individual artist compilations, and a five-CD box set, The Blues, executive produced by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, threatened to be even more all-pervasive than Ken Burns' Jazz project, after which it was clearly patterned. And you might say it all boiled down to this single-disc distillation, which draws upon the vaults of major labels Universal and Sony. Even if all of that other material didn't make it clear, the absurdity of reducing the blues to a one-hour, 17-track album would be obvious anyway. But the way one judges this disc may depend upon whether it is trying to be "the best of the blues" or "the best of 'The Blues.'" It hasn't much hope of being the former, but as a one-CD sampler of the five-CD set, it does just fine. At the very least, it contains many indisputably classic blues performances by some of the indisputably major blues artists. Purists may object reasonably that it covers a very wide range, from the rural blues of Robert Johnson to the Southern rock of the Allman Brothers Band and the -- what can one call it? -- designer blues of Keb' Mo'. But that is in keeping with the series of films on which the five-CD set and this highlights disc are based. If the album doesn't really work as a collection, despite the individual talents and performances included, that may suggest that "the blues" has long-since become an umbrella term covering many different musical styles, not all of which work well together. And that only demonstrates its pervasive influence. ~ William Ruhlmann When 2003 was officially proclaimed "The Year of the Blues" by the United States government, famed film director Martin Scorsese produced a PBS documentary series entitled THE BLUES. A series of compilations were released in conjunction with the shows, and THE BEST OF THE BLUES collects some of the finest tracks from those more in-depth titles, serving as both a convenient sampler and an excellent introduction to the genre as a whole. While a single disc can only present the briefest overview of a style that has spanned more than a century and birthed both jazz and rock & roll, the collection does a good job of hitting several of the most pivotal and legendary blues and blues-rock tracks, from Skip James's chilling "Devil Got My Woman" to Stevie Ray Vaughn's Texas roadhouse classic "Pride and Joy." In addition, the album finishes up with several new recordings from contemporary artists who are deeply indebted to the blues, offering insight into the music's continued influence in the 21st century.

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