Larry Davis - I Ain't Beggin' Nobody

Year: 1987/1993
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:44
Size: 91,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. I Ain't Beggin' Nobody (3:03)
2. Sneakin' Around (4:16)
3. Giving Up On Love (5:32)
4. I'm Coming Home (5:48)
5. Little Rock (4:09)
6. Please Don't Go (4:15)
7. Last Night (5:26)
8. I'm A Rollin' Stone (3:49)
9. I've Got My Eyes On You (3:23)

Only bad luck and the follies of the record industry have prevented Larry Davis from being the well-known blues star he should be. Davis has never received either sustained label support or concentrated marketing and thus is only a footnote when he should be a full chapter. His playing is energetic and varied, while his vocals are animated, soulful, and expressive.

He recorded the nine tracks on this '85 date (newly reissued on CD by Evidence) with longtime blues and soul producer and instrumentalist Oliver Sain at the controls, and Davis demonstrated his convincing appeal on Sain's title track, as well as the defiant "I'm A Rolling Stone" (another Sain original), Davis' own anguished "Giving Up On Love," and "Please Don't Go," a Chuck Willis composition. /Ron Wynn, AllMusic

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Various - The Best Of Duke-Peacock Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:25
Size: 115.4 MB
Styles: R&B, Blues
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[2:45] 1. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - My Time Is Expensive
[2:41] 2. Elmore Nixon - A Hepcat's Advice
[2:43] 3. Big Mama Thornton - Let Your Tears Fall Baby
[3:02] 4. Earl Forest - Whoopin' And Hollerin'
[2:31] 5. Johnny Ace - How Can You Be So Mean
[2:47] 6. Rosco Gordon - Keep On Doggin'
[2:45] 7. Andrew Tibbs - Rock Savoy Rock
[2:50] 8. Sonny Parker - She Sets My Soul On Fire
[2:41] 9. Memphis Slim - Living Like A King
[2:48] 10. Little Richard - Little Richard's Boogie
[2:23] 11. Peter Guitar Lewis - Goin' Crazy
[2:35] 12. Little Junior Parker - Drivin' Wheel
[2:40] 13. Larry Davis - Texas Flood
[2:45] 14. Fenton Robinson - Mississippi Steamboat
[2:54] 15. James Davis - Blue Monday
[2:39] 16. Otis Rush - Homework
[4:09] 17. Bobby 'Blue' Bland - Stormy Monday Blues
[2:38] 18. Bobby 'Blue' Bland - Turn On Your Love Light

Interesting collection of sides from this seminal Texas label. Highlights includes tracks by Bobby Bland ("Stormy Monday," "Turn On Your Lovelight"), Otis Rush ("Homework"), Junior Parker "Driving Wheel"), and Larry Davis' original version of "Texas Flood," made popular to a new audience by Stevie Ray Vaughan. ~Cub Koda

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Byther Smith, Larry Davis - Blues Knights

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:14
Size: 124.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1994/2008
Art: Front

[4:00] 1. As The Years Go Passing By
[3:05] 2. I Tried
[5:46] 3. Givin' Up On Love
[2:39] 4. I'm A Honey Bee
[4:33] 5. Addressing The Nation With Blues
[3:25] 6. What Is This
[7:21] 7. Teardrops
[4:27] 8. Killin' Floor
[7:59] 9. That's All Right
[3:05] 10. Don't Make Me Talk Too Much
[4:47] 11. I Don't Have A Mother
[3:02] 12. I'm Broke

Bass – Douglas Watson; Drums – Julian Vaughn; Guitar – Maurice John Vaughn; Guitar, Vocals – Byther Smith (tracks: 4-5, 10-12), Larry Davis (tracks: 1-3, 7-9); Tenor Saxophone – A.C. Reed.

This, despite the appearance, is not a duet album. Instead, this captures a session from November 20, 1985, with guitarists Larry Davis and Byther Smith fronting the same studio band consisting of guitarist Maurice John Vaughn, bassist Douglas Watson, drummer Julian Vaughn, and tenor saxophonist A.C. Reed. As Bill Dahl points out in the liner notes to the 1994 Evidence reissue Blues Knights, the two frontmen keep true to their essential style, with their supple supporting band following suit. As such, the four Davis cuts are pretty relaxed and jazzy, usually quite alluring but at times a little sleepy. The Smith sessions drive harder with some up-tempo shuffles and swinging grooves offering a nice change of pace (and it sounds like the band welcomes shifting the tempo a little bit, too), but that doesn't necessarily make it a greater session; both musicians acquit themselves well by offering a bit of what they do best. This does not mean that they're at their best -- they simply are doing what they do, and since they're good at it, it's pretty enjoyable. Ultimately, this is just a curiosity for fans of either Davis or Smith, and while it's nice to spin once or twice, it's not something they'll put on a whole lot, either. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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Jimmy McCracklin - A Taste Of The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:19
Size: 103.8 MB
Styles: West Coast blues
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[3:40] 1. Boogie On Down
[3:46] 2. Lie To Me
[3:18] 3. How Do You Like You New Love
[4:11] 4. My Answer
[3:34] 5. Help The Bear
[4:57] 6. Yesterday Is Gone
[4:30] 7. I Got Juiced
[5:52] 8. Put Up Or Shut Up
[3:53] 9. Not The Right Thing
[2:43] 10. Outside Help
[4:51] 11. Taste Of The Blues

Now these are the sort of cameos that make a contemporary blues disc work! Lowell Fulson, Larry Davis, Smokey Wilson, Barbara Lynn, and Johnny Otis all guested on McCracklin's most recent album for Bullseye Blues, making it clear that the pianist is no museum piece with their swinging grooves and sharp solos. ~Bill Dahl

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Larry DAVIS - Sooner Or Later

Styles: Modern Electric Texas Blues, Soul-Blues
Recorded: 1992
Released: 1992
File: mp3 @ 320 k/s
Size: 108.55 MB
Time: 46:09
Art: Full

1. How Could You Do It To Me (4:47)
2. I'm Work On It (2:59)
3. Penitentiary Blues (4:11)
4. You'll Need Another Favor (4:22)
5. Help The Poor (3:55)
6. Letter From My Darling (3:53)
7. Goin' Out West (5:58)
8. 102nd St. Blues (4:23)
9. How Long (3:06)
10. Little Bluebird (5:50)
11. Little Rock (2:45)

Personnel: Larry DAVIS - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Thomas Bingham - Rhythm Guitar
James Rudy - Piano
Ron Levy - Organ
George Journigan - Bass
Curtis Steele - Drums
with
Memphis Horns

Notes: Unless someone has the ultimate Larry Davis album still awaiting release somewhere, the late guitarist's final album also looks to be his best. This is first-class Davis set, that skillfully showcased his rich, booming vocals and concise, Albert King-influenced guitar. Sumptuously produced by organist/Bullseye Blues boss Ron Levy with the Memphis Horns providing punchy interjections, Davis roars a finely conceived concoction of covers and his own material ("Goin' Out West," "Little Rock") that represent contemporary blues at its finest. Unfortunately, it came later rather than sooner: Davis died of cancer in the spring of 1994. ~~ by Bill Dahl.

                                                               Sooner Or Later
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Larry DAVIS - Funny Stuff / Sweet Little Angel

Born in Kansas City, Missouri (1936-1994), but raised around Little Rock, Arkansas, Davis played drums with local dance bands, then bass, then began singing. In the mid-to-late '50s he worked with Fenton Robinson first in St.Louis, then in Little Rock, and they recorded for Duke, Davis having a regional hit with 'Texas Flood', a song made more famous 25 years later by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Around 1970 Davis began playing guitar, but in 1972 he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and for much of decade he was only fitfully active. Encouragement from Albert King (a former employer) and the St. Louis producer Olivier Sain rekindled his career, leading to the critically acclaimed album 'Funny Stuff', European tours and further recording

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Album: FUNNY STUFF
Styles: Electric Texas Blues, Soul-Blues
Recorded: 1981
Released: 2001
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size:  99.59 MB
Time: 42:24
Art: Full

1. Funny Stuff - 3:44
2. Teardrops - 6:28
3. Next Time You See Me - 4:12
4. Worried Dream - 5:02
5. Totsy - 2:59
6. Since I Been Loving You - 3:38
7. That Will Never Do - 3:16
8. Walk Out Like A Lady - 4:07
9. Find'em, Fool'em & Forget'em - 4:37
10. Got To Be Some Changes Made - 4:15

Personnel: Larry DAVIS - Lead Guitars, Vocals
Olivier Sain - Piano, Organ, Saxophones;
Paul Westmoreland - Guitar, Bass;
Johnnie Johnson - Piano
Jimmy Hinds - Bass
Billy Gayles - Drums

Note:  Davis is a wonderful singer, yearningly melismatic on slow blues. He also a piercing guitarist, prolific in long, humming sustained notes. Sain's production departs from standard blues practice by foregrounding the vivacious rhythm section, giving the music some of colour of contemporary Southern Soul.

                                                                  Funny Stuff
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Album: SWEET LITTLE ANGEL
Styles: Electric Texas Blues, Soul-Blues
Recorded: 1968/1969
Released: 1999
Bitrate: 320k/s
Size:  118.50 MB
Time: 51:37
Art: Full

1. Whole World Down on You - 2:55
2. The Years Go Passing By - 3:09
3. What They Do To Me - 2:53
4. Three O'Clock Blues - 5:35
5. I've Been Hurt So Many Times - 3:13
6. Rock Me Baby - 2:52
7. Something About You - 3:40
8. For Five Long Years - 2:59
9. You Upset Me Baby - 2:21
10. A Letter To My Darling - 3:41
11. Sweet Sixteen - 7:11
12. Wake Up This Morning - 3:08
13. Driving Wheel - 1:58
14. It Can Only Hurt For So Long - 2:31
15. Sweet Little Angel - 3:22

Personnel: Larry DAVIS - Vocals
Wesley Farmer, Sam Rhodes, Eddie Fisher - Guitars
James Ironhead - Piano
Charles Hayer, Bobby Selby - Organ
Phil Westmoreland - Bass
Isiah Nettles - Drums

Notes: Davis grew up in Little Rock, AR, giving up the drums to play bass. Forging an intermittent partnership with guitarist Fenton Robinson during the mid-'50s, the pair signed with Don Robey's Duke label on the recommendation of Bobby Bland. Three Davis 45s resulted, including 'Texas Flood' and 'Angels in Houston,' before Robey cut Davis loose. From there, Davis was forced to make the most of limited opportunities in the studio. He lived in St. Louis for a spell and took up the guitar under Albert King's tutelage while playing bass in King's band. A handful of singles for Virgo and Kent and a serious 1972 motorcycle accident that temporarily paralyzed Davis' left side.

                                                             Sweet Little Angel
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