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Amazon.co.uk Review
T-Bone Walker was the founder of electric blues guitar playing. That's not an opinion, it's a fact, attested by later musicians from BB King and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown on down. What he did, he did within the space of a few years, back at the end of the 1940s, and it is all here, on the four CDs of The Original Source: the original recordings of "Call It Stormy Monday", "T-Bone Shuffle", "Cold, Cold Feeling", "T-Bone Jumps Again" and dozens more. (Ninety tracks, to be precise: his entire issued output up to the end of 1951.) The primer, the first steps, John and Janet Play Electric Blues. Relaxed yet sharp, chordally sophisticated yet blues-rich, Walker's guitar-playing is matched by his singing: his voice drifts over the surface of the music like cigarette smoke, the delivery lazy, the lyrics pungent. "If a woman says she loves you, that don't mean a thing", he advises Confused of Santa Monica. "Tell her you want a Cadillac car and a great big diamond ring". In the background two or three horns respond with mocking riffs: "Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Been there, done that". This is some of the coolest music in the whole blues catalogue, blues so laconic and world-weary that they could have been scripted by Raymond Chandler. --Tony Russell
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SUPERB COLLECTION!!,
By Rob Dylan "Rob Dylan Rodway" (ENGLAND) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Original Source (4CD) (Audio CD)
T Bone walker was the originator of the Electric Blues Guitar and inspired such greats as B.B King. This in my opinion is the most comprehensive collection of the Texas Blues Maestro. Buy this set and you will have no regrets I promise you. The sound quality is superb too.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
T-Bone Walker, The Original Source - A true original,
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This review is from: Original Source (4CD) (Audio CD)
A grand box set from Proper, celebrating one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Never heard of T-Bone Walker? He is generally recognised as the first man to play electric guitar, and his original style inspired all those who picked up an electric guitar in the `50s and `60s, especially Chuck Berry who pretty much built his career on imitating Walker's style.
Recorded between 1930 and 1951, these 90 recordings are an important body of work. But not just of academic interest, they are damn fine tracks well worth a listen by anyone who enjoys guitar driven blues. Fans of Clapton, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, B.B King, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters etc, etc will find much to enjoy here. These are classy an inventive blues, guitar driven and with catchy, well sung lyrics. The most recognisable track is `Stormy Monday' covered by almost everyone, but the rest of the work here is of the same standard. Walker was a real showman, pioneering such tricks as playing the guitar behind his head. The exuberance and showmanship come shining through in all of the tracks. This excellent set collects most of T-Bone's important recordings, and presents them chronologically in a very nicely remastered sound. There are 4 discs in 4 jewel cases, collected into a sturdy card outer, along with a very good booklet with an informative essay and complete personnel and recording date details. An excellent overview of the great man's career. Go on, treat yourself and familiarise yourself with the Original Source!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr Cool,
By
This review is from: Original Source (4CD) (Audio CD)
T-Bone Walker invented electric blues guitar. It's as simple as that. Before T-Bone other guitarists had plugged in, mainly in the jazz domain, but no one had sounded anything like this. Proper's lovingly produced box set takes T-Bone from the beginning, way, way back in 1929 up to 1951 when he was part way through his Imperial period. On the way it picks up everything he did at Black & White. To many critics, the music he produced at both Black & White and Imperial represents much of his very best output.
OK, the rest of us aren't "some critics" so what's it really like? Well the man himself is a consummate guitarist. He may have all the stage tricks, playing his axe behind his head etc. but he didn't really need any of that, his guitar work stood up so well. The accompaniment varies from small group, typically, piano, bass, drums and tenor sax to bigger bands with fuller horn section. Most of the tracks are slow blues (totally unlike modern blues albums where the default track is the up-tempo jumper and there's only the occasional slow blues) but this does make the faster numbers stand out more in contrast. There's the occasional ballad which will sound quite old-fashioned to today's ears. To be honest there is an old-fashioned air about much of the material but given the recording dates it would be surprising if this weren't the case. In terms of vocals T-Bone is definitely Mr Cool. Even Hendrix may have taken something from him. Early versions of several of his classics - "Call it Stormy Monday", "T-Bone Shuffle", "Mean old World", "Strolling with Bones", "Cold Cold Feeling" are contained here. He was to record some of these tracks again and again but there's nothing wrong with the first cuts. This isn't a set for the casual listener but don't let me put anyone off - you could fall for it immediately. For someone who's not really heard the man before I'd recommend starting with his Atlantic material collected on the Sequel album "T-Bone Blues" - this also has recordings of his classic numbers but has a much more up to date sound. However for the serious blues fan, particularly of the Texan variety of electric blues, it's an absolute must have - for that reason I`m going for five stars. Any collection of T-Bone's music should have this set, it's that important. This is where the likes of Gatemouth Brown, Phillip Walker and Long John Hunter learned their blues (not forgetting BB King).
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