Robert Lucas - Completely Blue

Size: 121,7 MB
Time: 51:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. I Miss Being High (5:03)
02. 50 Pounds Of Bone (3:21)
03. Dollars & Sense (2:58)
04. Completely Blue (6:14)
05. Party Girl (4:39)
06. I Don't Know Why (3:49)
07. I'm Gonna Whisper (2:48)
08. Pain In Our Cities (5:16)
09. Two For Nothing (5:01)
10. Listen To Me Baby (3:01)
11. I Don't Want You To Go (5:00)
12. Voodoo Chile (4:36)

Right from the bongo drum intro on the first number, it's apparent that this album veers in a different direction for Lucas. Add the eerie organ sounds and the jazzy guitar licks, and this album has great musical depth. Even his songwriting expands topic-wise, whether warning his one night stand the consequences of telling all to his wife, or society's lack of common sense while suffering economic woes, even giving a little snippet of commentary on the O.J. Simpson case. There's some magnificent and expansive keyboard work by Fred Kaplan, both on piano and B-3 organ. Along with co-writer/guitarist David Melton, Lucas' "Two for Nothing" is a nice Stax-sounding duet. Joining Melton on guitar duties is former Mighty Flyer Alex Schultz, who can flesh out equally well on rhythm as well as burn on solos. Rounding out and heading for home, Lucas ends with an acoustic interpretation of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile," which presents how Robert Johnson might have performed it had he lived into the latter half of this century. ~Char Ham

Completely Blue

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Robert Lucas - Layaway

Size: 105,9 MB
Time: 44:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. If You Don't Want Me (4:02)
02. 300 Pounds Of Joy (5:05)
03. Baby Please Don't Go (2:27)
04. Chiropractor Blues (5:14)
05. Never Trust Your Love Again (2:17)
06. Long Train Coming (9:21)
07. Cinderella Blue (3:41)
08. Trust Me (4:11)
09. High Priced Baby (3:33)
10. If You Don't Want Me (Reprise) (4:55)

West Coast vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Robert Lucas forged a path for himself in the blues world after the release of his much-hailed 1990 self-produced debut cassette, Across the River. Based in Long Beach, CA, as a solo artist Lucas recorded for the Audioquest label out of San Clemente. He was also a member of the legendary boogie blues band Canned Heat, singing and playing bottleneck guitar and harmonica with the group off and on starting in 1994.

Lucas was born into a middle-class family in Long Beach and was 14 or 15 when he started getting seriously into blues-rock. He had started to play guitar then, inspired by Jimi Hendrix, but gave up on it, concluding his hands were too small. He started playing harmonica instead, listening to recordings by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers before going back to source material, including the recordings of Little Walter Jacobs, Sonny Boy Williamson, George "Harmonica" Smith, Snooky Pryor, and James Cotton. Lucas began playing the National Steel guitar at 17 when a co-worker at the Long Beach Arena sold him the instrument. Lucas hooked up with guitarist Bernie Pearl and began taking lessons from him. After joining Pearl's band as a harmonica player, he got to play behind the likes of Big Joe Turner, George Smith, Pee Wee Creighton, Lowell Fulson, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Percy Mayfield, and other West Coast bluesmen. He carefully honed his singing and playing, with Pearl's band and on his own, for several years before forming Luke & the Locomotives in 1986.

Lucas' career as a national touring act was launched when his Across the River tape got a rave review in a Los Angeles newspaper. As a result, one of the Audioquest warehouse workers came to see him at a Los Angeles sushi bar. The employee called the company president, who came to hear Lucas that same night. Lucas was a multi-talented harmonica player, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who could do it all: on one recording for Audioquest, Usin' Man Blues, he played solo, and on another, Luke and the Locomotives, he performed with his band. The sound on all of his albums is raw and gritty, with just a few originals on each album. Classic blues fare like Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and John Lee Hooker's "Meet Me in the Bottom" were given new life with Lucas' talented hands and vocal chops.

Lucas paid homage to traditional blues but also carefully crafted his own singing and slide guitar style. These talents are on ample display on his Audioquest albums, including Luke and the Locomotives, Usin' Man Blues, Built for Comfort, Layaway, and Completely Blue, all released during the '90s, as well as latter-day Canned Heat albums on the Ruf and Fuel 2000 labels. Robert Lucas died of a drug overdose in Long Beach on November 23, 2008. ~Richard Skelly

Layaway

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Robert Lucas - Luke And The Locomotives

Size: 101,3 MB
Time: 43:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1991
Styles: Harmonica Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Delta Blues
Art: Full

01. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (4:30)
02. Big Man Mambo (3:58)
03. Slide On Outta Here (3:22)
04. Worried About It Baby (2:52)
05. Shed A Tear (3:43)
06. Feel Like Going Home (6:10)
07. Don't Your Peaches Look Mellow (3:01)
08. Meet Me In The Bottom (3:48)
09. Stranger (4:00)
10. I'm So Tired (4:33)
11. Good-Bye Baby (3:51)

Personnel:
Robert Lucas - vocals, slide guitar, harmonica
Paul "Pops" Bryant - guitar
Al "Bedrock" Bedrosian - bass
Bob "Max" Ebersole - drums

"Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Willie Dixon and I would like to tell you about this blues recording. The blues is music about the facts of life and all the different experiences in life, are what make all the different sounds in the blues. This young man and his band play so many styles of blues that brought back so many good memories to me. From the Mississippi delta to the south side of Chicago, they do it all. The guitar, the harp and the rhythm from the bass and the drums is just beautiful and the wisdom of the words in Lucas' songs are those of a true bluesman. Why this band hasn't made it a long time ago I don't know I but I guess they never got the chance. I don't go out on a limb too often and I'm telling you true, if you love the blues then you'll love this band and you'll have to have this record. Thank you very much." - Willie Dixon July 17, 1991

Luke And The Locomotives

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Various - Blues Quest

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:55
Size: 123.5 MB
Styles: Modern electric blues, Soul blues
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. Terry Evans - Get Up, Get Ready
[5:12] 2. Doug Macleod - One Good Woman
[2:15] 3. Joe Beard - Dirty Groundhog
[4:35] 4. Mighty Sam Mcclain - Too Proud
[4:48] 5. Ronnie Earl - Country Girl
[6:21] 6. Bruce Katz Band - The Prowler
[5:12] 7. Sherman Robertson - Going Back Home
[4:35] 8. Doug Macleod - Old Country Road
[3:21] 9. Robert Lucas - 50 Lbs Of Bone
[3:36] 10. Joe Beard - See See Rider
[5:41] 11. Ronnie Earl - Ronnie's Blues
[4:28] 12. Mighty Sam Mcclain - Somebody Help Me

This album is probably the best SACD recording released to-date. The air around musicians and instruments is simply jaw-dropping; it'll startle you from track 1's Get Up, Get Ready by Terry Evans. By the time you reach track 4 - Too Proud by Mighty Sam McClain, you'll probably be too drowned by the technical perfection of this disc and you'll be having goosebumps already. If you still manage to get to track 9 - 50 Pounds of Bone by Robert Lucas, you may be at the pinnacle of musical orgasm to the point of almost getting emotionally disturbed. I swear there was a moment when I can almost see Mr. Lucas inside the room! Down to the decay of the last note on the last track, when everything suddenly becomes dead silent, it'll take you about 2 minutes to realize that you are only in your room. ~Nick Salsamento

Blues Quest mc
Blues Quest zippy

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Robert Lucas - 2 albums: Usin' Man Blues / Built For Comfort

Lucas' career as a national touring act was launched when his Across the River tape got a rave review in a Los Angeles newspaper. As a result, one of the Audioquest warehouse workers came to see him at a Los Angeles sushi bar. The employee called the company president, who came to hear Lucas that same night. Lucas was a multi-talented harmonica player, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who could do it all: on one recording for Audioquest, Usin' Man Blues, he played solo, and on another, Luke and the Locomotives, he performed with his band. The sound on all of his albums is raw and gritty, with just a few originals on each album. Classic blues fare like Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and John Lee Hooker's "Meet Me in the Bottom" were given new life with Lucas' talented hands and vocal chops.

Lucas paid homage to traditional blues but also carefully crafted his own singing and slide guitar style. These talents are on ample display on his Audioquest albums, including Luke and the Locomotives, Usin' Man Blues, Built for Comfort, Layaway, and Completely Blue, all released during the '90s, as well as latter-day Canned Heat albums on the Ruf and Fuel 2000 labels. Robert Lucas died of a drug overdose in Long Beach on November 23, 2008. ~Richard Skelly

Album: Usin' Man Blues
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 56:18
Size: 128.9 MB
Styles: Acoustic/electric blues
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. Usin' Man
[3:53] 2. Ramblin' On My Mind
[3:37] 3. What Happened To My Shoes
[3:00] 4. If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
[3:42] 5. If You See That Woman
[3:46] 6. Moonshine 1
[5:24] 7. I'm In Jail Again
[3:06] 8. Dancin' With Mr. Jones
[3:04] 9. Keep Your Business To Yourself
[4:23] 10. Me And The Devil
[3:39] 11. Jinx Around My Bed
[3:13] 12. Motherless Children
[4:08] 13. It's Christmas Time Baby
[3:26] 14. New View
[4:02] 15. Moonshine 2

Usin' Man Blues ziddu
Usin' Man Blues zippy

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Album: Built For Comfort
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 45:42
Size: 104.6 MB
Styles: Acoustic/electric blues
Year: 1993
Art: Front

[3:40] 1. Built For Comfort
[3:19] 2. Walking Blues
[3:47] 3. Ringing That Lonesome Bell
[4:30] 4. Just A Kid
[3:44] 5. Blues Man From La
[2:06] 6. Hawaiian Boogie
[4:03] 7. My Home Is Burning
[3:36] 8. Change, Change
[4:28] 9. Sleeping By Myself
[4:27] 10. I Miss You Baby
[3:57] 11. Talk To Me
[4:00] 12. Come On In My Kitchen

Built For Comfort ziddu
Built For Comfort zippy

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