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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This double CD is a reissue of two LPs -- Me and the Devil from 1968 and I Asked For Water, She Gave Me Gasoline 1969 -- and is largely made up of acoustic blues numbers, although some jug band and electric band tracks appear on the latter one.
Me and the Devil features Tony McPhee of Groundhogs fame; Jo-Ann Kelly, quite the best blues singer this country has yet produced; her brother Dave Kelly; the harmonica/guitar duet Steve Rye and Simon Prager; and Andy Fernbach. Bob Hall, a great blues pianist, turns up on one track. Many of the songs are covers, and one can't fault the renderings here, from Rye and Prager's lively 'You Better Mind' through to Fernbach's sombre 'Hard Time Killing Floor'. McPhee's guitar playing is excellent, and best of all, of course, is Jo-Ann Kelly's astounding voice.
Some of those featured are no longer with us. Jo-Ann Kelly died of a brain tumour in 1990, a great loss; Steve Rye died shortly afterwards. Any Fernbach seems to have disappeared, although he did issue a new CD about 15 years back. Dave Kelly I have seen several times in the Blues Band. Tony McPhee has continued to play acoustic blues as well as running the Groundhogs. Simon Prager is still going strong, and indeed I saw him play just a week back.
I Asked For Water... is a rather less satisfactory album for me. McPhee and Jo-Ann Kelly provide some more acoustic blues, but the jug band numbers by Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts don't really work here (although I must add that this band was good fun live). There are some nice moments from Jim James (now in the USA) and Raphael Callaghan (still gigging) and from Graham Hines (also still around), but altogether this album doesn't hang together as well as Me and the Devil. The two tracks from Andy Fernbach's Connexion do not appear on that band's If You Miss Your Connexion, which is an album that deserves to be reissued on CD.
Both CDs are generous in length, and, despite my criticisms, there is a lot of enjoyable material to be heard.
Me and the Devil features Tony McPhee of Groundhogs fame; Jo-Ann Kelly, quite the best blues singer this country has yet produced; her brother Dave Kelly; the harmonica/guitar duet Steve Rye and Simon Prager; and Andy Fernbach. Bob Hall, a great blues pianist, turns up on one track. Many of the songs are covers, and one can't fault the renderings here, from Rye and Prager's lively 'You Better Mind' through to Fernbach's sombre 'Hard Time Killing Floor'. McPhee's guitar playing is excellent, and best of all, of course, is Jo-Ann Kelly's astounding voice.
Some of those featured are no longer with us. Jo-Ann Kelly died of a brain tumour in 1990, a great loss; Steve Rye died shortly afterwards. Any Fernbach seems to have disappeared, although he did issue a new CD about 15 years back. Dave Kelly I have seen several times in the Blues Band. Tony McPhee has continued to play acoustic blues as well as running the Groundhogs. Simon Prager is still going strong, and indeed I saw him play just a week back.
I Asked For Water... is a rather less satisfactory album for me. McPhee and Jo-Ann Kelly provide some more acoustic blues, but the jug band numbers by Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts don't really work here (although I must add that this band was good fun live). There are some nice moments from Jim James (now in the USA) and Raphael Callaghan (still gigging) and from Graham Hines (also still around), but altogether this album doesn't hang together as well as Me and the Devil. The two tracks from Andy Fernbach's Connexion do not appear on that band's If You Miss Your Connexion, which is an album that deserves to be reissued on CD.
Both CDs are generous in length, and, despite my criticisms, there is a lot of enjoyable material to be heard.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
A Pair of British Blues Classics
14 Sep 1998
Format:Audio CD
This disk marks the first appearance on CD of two wonderful anthologies of British country/acoustic blues: "Me and the Devil," and "I Asked For Water, She Gave Me Gasoline." Originally released in 1968 & 1969 in the US on the now defunct World Pacific label, this disk presents excellent performances of pre-war blues by Jo Ann Kelly, her brother Dave Kelly, Tony McPhee, Graham Hine, Andy Fernbach, and several others. Exceptional vocals, superb delta style guitar work, some great piano work from Bob Hall of Savoy Brown, and a generous helping of harmonica. While Clapton and the Stones were learning to play Muddy Waters and BB King, these players were studying Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Memphis Minnie, and early John Lee Hooker. Digitally remastered, with extensive new liner notes. Fans of Rory Block, Corey Hart, and Catfish Keith will enjoy this disk.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Heartfelt music
10 Jun 2003
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is some of the very best of blues born out of real life experience from either side of The Pond.
A treasured favorite in my collection since I first bought the vinyl in 1969,
I was elated to discover it is available on CD! This is like finding GOLD.
One of my favorites is Steve Rye's amazing rendition of Elevator Woman. This really raised the bar for blues harp performance.
Very exciting to listen to - a great voice and wonderfully skillful note-bending mastery of the blues harp.
If you love the blues, you must own this one!
A treasured favorite in my collection since I first bought the vinyl in 1969,
I was elated to discover it is available on CD! This is like finding GOLD.
One of my favorites is Steve Rye's amazing rendition of Elevator Woman. This really raised the bar for blues harp performance.
Very exciting to listen to - a great voice and wonderfully skillful note-bending mastery of the blues harp.
If you love the blues, you must own this one!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
backwards
26 Jan 2011
Format:Audio CD
This is a great blues cd.The only problem is the two cds are labled wrong.The Me and the devil cd is labled as I asked for water,she gave me gasoline, and vice versa.I dont know if theres any others like this,just a heads up.Love it regardless.
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