VA - Topcat Records: 20th Anniversary Blues Extravaganza!

Size: 200,2+185,6 MB
Time: 85:03+78:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front & Back

CD 1:
01 Jesse Thomas - Blue Goose Blues (6:33)
02 Johnny Nicholas - Kind Hearted Woman (4:19)
03 Edwin Holt - Down To The Bone (4:19)
04 Muddy Waters - Long Distance Call (Feat. Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones & Willie Big Eyes Smith) (6:33)
05 George Harmonica Smith - Mississippi River Blues (3:36)
06 Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog (3:06)
07 Big Walter Horton - My Babe (Feat. Ronnie Youngblood Earl & Johnny Nicholas) (3:54)
08 Jimmie Vaughan - Texas Flood (5:19)
09 Curly Barefoot Miller - The Curly Stomp (4:36)
10 Bobby Chitwood - C-Jam Blues (3:55)
11 The Texas Topcats - Jump My Baby (2:30)
12 The Tu-Tones - Pawnshop Bound (3:54)
13 Josh Alan - Rollin' And Tumblin' (2:55)
14 Hollywood Fats & The Paladins - Tear It Up (3:55)
15 Cricket Taylor - Guitar Man (6:44)
16 Alex Rossi & Phil Guy - Rock Me (4:40)
17 Robert Ealey - I'm Coming Home (4:14)
18 Curly Barefoot Miller - Butter Beans (3:39)
19 Johnny Nicholas - John The Revelator (3:40)
20 Hash Brown - Boogie (2:33)

CD 2:
01 Calvin Owens - True Blue (Feat. B.B. King) (4:21)
02 Bugs Henderson - She Feels Good (4:45)
03 Solon Fishbone - What's On Your Mind (3:54)
04 Texas Slim - Welcome To The Game (2:55)
05 Holland K. Smith - Walking Heart Attack (4:04)
06 Rocky Athas - Texas Girl (3:32)
07 Fernando Noronha - White Trash (5:29)
08 T. Buck Burns & Slip Clay - Saint Peter Have Mercy (3:51)
09 Keller Thomas - Leopard Skin Mini Skirt (3:04)
10 Bob Kirkpatrick - Remember (5:27)
11 Cold Blue Steel - The Girl That Radiates (2:47)
12 Kenny Traylor - Sneakin’ Around (3:53)
13 Jim Suhler & Alan Haynes - Oh My Baby’s Gone (3:43)
14 Big Gilson - Tribute To Roy Buchanan (3:27)
15 Robin Sylar - Heart Of Stone (3:38)
16 Mike Morgan - Well All Right Then (3:36)
17 Pat Mason - Queen Of The Boucherie (4:39)
18 Johnny Mack - Sugar Bee (3:15)
19 U.P. Wilson - Cross Road (3:38)
20 Tutu Jones - The Thrill Is Gone (4:32)

A double-disc set celebrating the two-decade anniversary of Topcat Records, this 40-track compilation shines a spotlight on the various releases the Texas-based blues label have released over the years. This set mixes up old, archival tracks reissued by the label along with newly commissioned recordings, some of the cuts sounding compressed and trashy, others big and bold. This discrepancy in audio quality can create some whiplash, but it does fit the slapdash nature of the whole project; it's hard to tell why each cut was chosen for inclusion as there are no real liner notes to speak of: the booklet does take note of the players on each track, which is nice, but it'd be even nicer to have some sort of context for each of the cuts here. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable enough sampler of modern Texas blues in its many permutations, from simple guitar and voice to full-bodied blues shuffles. ~by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Topcat Records

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Edwin Holt - Second Time Around

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 120.1 MB
Styles: R&B, Texas blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. I Don't Think I'm Going To Make It
[3:46] 2. Second Time Around
[4:15] 3. Red Clay Back Road Mama
[3:22] 4. You're In For A Big Surprise
[4:58] 5. Back Line
[4:09] 6. Somebody's Gettin' It
[3:05] 7. Steal Away
[4:13] 8. Jack About Nothin'
[4:00] 9. I Want To Walk You Home
[4:22] 10. Down To The Bone
[4:31] 11. The Right Reverend Of The Blues
[4:21] 12. Higher Ground
[3:56] 13. One More River To Cross

Edwin Holt is an East Texas native on the verge of a breakthrough, a man who became immersed in the blues at 18 after attending a blues festival in Mississippi and who has been a mainstay in South Dallas' juke joints, opening for legends like Bobby "Blue" Bland, Johnnie Taylor and the Rev. Al Green himself.

He may be white, but he's definitely got soul. "Let me start from the beginning, so you have a good understanding of what I'm trying to do." Mr. Holt, 38, states by phone in his straightforward Texas twang. "My goal is to be the first white man to cross over into the black blues market. I don't play the white bars; I've spent the last 15 years learning and playing with blacks. I also sing gospel at the Bon-Air Baptist Church in Oak Cliff." White blues players usually sing to a white crowd. A black blues player will sing for both since they're able to cross over from market to market. As far as I know, a white blues player has never crossed over; it's very difficult to do." All indications are that Mr. Holt is on the right path. His warm vocals carry all of the raw passion of the blues, intertwined with that inescapable East Texas twang.

Cuts from his TopCat Records debut, Second Time Around, features players from the late Johnnie Taylor's backup band and have also earned the stamp of approval from his loyal fan base. "I have so much support coming from South Dallas that it's incredible. It was, like, 'OK, Edwin's on the move; let's get behind him and make it happen.' It's just as much their album as it is mine." He wrote the songs closest to his heart: "I wrote about my wife, Jennifer, in 'Red Clay Back Road Mama,' and then there's one about R.L. Griffin called 'The Right Reverend of the Blues.' "Mr. Holt says the local blues club owner, singer and former drummer for the 1960s era Big Bo Thomas combo is "a legend here in Dallas, very underrated and he's been like a mentor for me."

Second Time Around also impressed the folks with The Blue Shoe Project, an organization focused on developing an education-based blues music curriculum for schools. "Some people think that blues musicians are just bar acts, but Edwin conducts himself like a true showman. He dresses the part," says Michael Dyson, vice president of The Blue Shoe project. "His music tells a story and he's got more soul than a tennis shoe. I thought it was time to let Dallas and the world know that Edwin has arrived. All I can say is that the music moves ya, it'll hook ya."

Second Time Around mc
Second Time Around zippy

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