1949 - Blowing the Fuse: 27 R&B Classics That Rocked the Jukebox

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: MSI Music Distribution

Notes: Germany's Bear Family Records doesn't do anything half-assed, and the dozen or so volumes in the label's Blowing the Fuse series (which chronicles R&B sides year by year starting with this entry for 1949) are generous (each disc has well over 20 selections), fascinating and full of half-forgotten gems. This volume is no exception, as 1949 was the year that launched John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" into the world as well as Stick McGhee's immortal "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee," just two of the enduring sides to be found here. Anyone who still needs proof that the world was rockin' long before rock & roll officially hit, look no further. ~ Steve Leggett Blowing the Fuse is a killer series of compilation CDs issued by Germany's premier archivist label, Bear Family. Subtitled "R&B Classics That Rocked the Jukebox," each volume is compiled by year. 1949 was a boom year for jukeboxes across the United States. This volume, like most of the others, contains 28 affirmed classics of the early postwar years though some of these titles have been obscured a bit by history. Assembled by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth, the sequencing of these tracks has proved invaluable in this series. Sound quality is routinely excellent. Some of the more relatively obscure titles here include Todd Rhodes' "Pot Likker," T.J. Fowler's "T.J. Boogie," and Sugar Chile Robinson's "Numbers Boogie." More well-known performers including John Lee Hooker (yes, the original "Boogie Chillun'" is here), Dinah Washington ("Baby Get Lost"), Bull Moose Jackson ("Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me"), Roy Brown ("Rockin' at Midnight") and T-Bone Walker ("T-Bone Shuffle") are here, among over a dozen others. Colin Escott's detailed liner notes -- a set for each cut -- are in his usual form, authoritative and engaging, and the photographs in this handsome digipack are just beautiful. ~ Thom Jurek

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