Robert Nighthawk - Bricks In My Pillow

Size: 100,0 MB
Time: 38:01
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1998
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Crying Won't Help You (2:47)
02. Take It Easy, Baby (2:45)
03. Seventy-Four (2:54)
04. Maggie Campbell (Alternate) (2:58)
05. The Moon Is Rising (2:46)
06. Nighthawk Boogie (2:37)
07. Kansas City (2:37)
08. You Missed A Good Man (2:35)
09. Bricks In My Pillow (2:59)
10. Seventy-Four (Alternate) (2:17)
11. U/S Boogie (3:03)
12. Feel So Bad (2:49)
13. Maggie Campbell (2:49)
14. The Moon Is Rising [Incomplete Take] (1:58)

This 14-song collection, consisting of tracks recorded on July 12, 1951, and October 25, 1952, completely transforms the landscape where Robert Nighthawk's music is concerned. Up to now, apart from seeking out his prewar, unamplified work as Robert Lee McCoy (or McCullum) on Bluebird or grabbing a few tracks from some Chess reissues, there hasn't been a lot of Robert Nighthawk in one place. Now there are 14 hard-rocking tracks, cut for United Records in Chicago and showing Nighthawk in his prime and loving it, playing a mean slide underneath some boldly provocative singing that could have given Muddy Waters a run for his money. The style is there, and the voice and the guitar are there, so why didn't Nighthawk hit it big? Based on this collection, his style with an electric guitar just wasn't as distinctive as Waters' playing; additionally, he just didn't have Waters' (or Chess songwriter Willie Dixon's) way with a catch phrase -- there are some OK songs here ("Kansas City," "You Missed a Good Man," "Bricks in My Pillow"), but nothing as catchy or instantly memorable as "I Can't Be Satisfied," "Hoochie Coochie Man," or "Got My Mojo Working." A pair of instrumentals, "Nighthawk Boogie" and "U/S Boogie," both driven by Nighthawk's guitar and a romping piano, pretty much make this collection worthwhile and show the man in his peak form. Included on this collection are a pair of previously unissued tracks, an alternate take of "Seventy-Four," and a loud, crunchy, but, alas, unfinished version of "The Moon Is Rising." The sound is surprisingly clean and rich, especially given the 1951-1952 origins of the tapes. ~by Bruce Eder

Bricks In My Pillow

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VA - Blowin' Up A Storm!: Harmonica Blues Classics 1920s-1940s

Size: 139,0 MB
Time: 58:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Harmonica Blues
Art: Front

01 Sonny Boy Williamson - Sonny Boy's Jump (2:47)
02 Jed Davenport & His Beale Street Jug Band - Save Me Some (2:45)
03 Sonny Terry - Fox Chase (2:01)
04 State Street Boys - Crazy About You (3:01)
05 Georgia Cotton Pickers - She's Coming Some Cold Rainy Day (2:58)
06 Alfred Lewis - Friday Moan Blues (3:11)
07 Will Shade & The Memphis Jug Band - Sun Brimmers Blues (3:22)
08 Jazz Gillum - Key To The Highway (2:35)
09 Mississippi Sarah & Daddy Stovepipe - Greenville Strut (3:28)
10 Bobby Leecan & Robert Cooksey - Need More Blues (3:11)
11 Noah Lewis - Chicksaw Special (3:16)
12 Chuck Darling - Harmonica Rag (2:15)
13 Hammie Nixon & Sleepy John Estes - Down South Blues (3:05)
14 Robert Nighthawk & Big Joe McCoy - What Will I Do (3:07)
15 De Ford Bailey - Davidson County Blues (3:19)
16 Rhythm Willie & His Gang - Bedroom Stomp (2:55)
17 Robert Cooksey - Shortin' Bread (2:38)
18 Martin & Robert - Maxwell And Peoria Blues (2:56)
19 George Clarke - More Blues (2:26)
20 Ashley & Foster - Bay Rum Blues (2:55)

Blowin' Up A Storm!

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Robert Nighthawk - Live On Maxwell Street 1964

Size: 159,3 MB
Time: 69:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Electric/Acoustic Blues, Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Cheating And Lying Blues ( 5:00)
02. Juke Medley ( 1:37)
03. The Time Have Come ( 5:13)
04. Honey Hush ( 3:37)
05. I Need Your Love So Bad ( 5:25)
06. Take It Easy Baby ( 4:09)
07. Anna Lee / Sweet Black Angel ( 6:57)
08. Big World Blues ( 3:08)
09. Maxwell Street Jam ( 2:21)
10. I Got News For You ( 4:23)
11. All I Want For Breakfast / Them Kind Of People ( 4:10)
12. Mama Talk To Your Daughter ( 6:06)
13. The Real Mccoy ( 3:21)
14. Interview (13:32)

Recorded by Norman Dayron live on the street (you can actually hear cars driving by!) in 1964 with just Robert Whitehead on drums and Johnny Young on rhythm guitar in support, Nighthawk's slide playing (and single string soloing, for that matter) are nothing short of elegant and explosive. Highlights include "The Maxwell Street Medley," which combines his two big hits "Anna Lee" and "Sweet Black Angel"; a mind-altering 12-bar solo on "The Time Have Come," which proves that Nighthawk's lead playing was just as well developed as his slide work; and a couple of wild instrumentals with Carey Bell sitting in on harmonica. Nighthawk sounds cool as a cucumber, presiding over everything with an almost genial charm while laying the toughest sounds imaginable. One of the top three greatest live blues albums of all time. The 2000 CD reissue on Bullseye Blues & Jazz adds five previously unreleased bonus tracks, although Nighthawk doesn't have a lead vocal on any of these. "The Real McCoy" is an instrumental, Young sings on "Big World Blues" and "All I Want for Breakfast/Them Kind of People," Bell sings "I Got News for You," and J.B. Lenoir takes a guest lead vocal on "Mama Talk to Your Daughter" (though Peter Gurlanick's liner notes express doubt that the singer is actually Lenoir). ~Review by Cub Koda

Live On Maxwell Street 1964

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Robert Lee McCoy (aka Robert Nighthawk) - Bluebird Recordings 1937-1938

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Blues
Time: 63:02
Size: 144,6 MB
Covers: Full

Personel:
Robert Lee McCoy - vocals & guitar
Joe Williams - guitar
Henry Townsend - guitar & piano
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson - harmonica
Speckled Red - piano

(3:06) 1. Tough Luck
(2:35) 2. Lonesome World
(2:34) 3. G-Man
(2:32) 4. Don't Mistreat Your Woman
(3:04) 5. Prowling Nighthawk
(2:43) 6. Sweet Pepper Mama
(3:07) 7. My Friend Has Forsaken Me
(2:43) 8. Mean Black Cat Blues
(3:17) 9. Brickyard
(3:06) 10. Mamie Lee
(2:30) 11. Take It Easy Baby
(2:54) 12. I Have Spent My Bonus
(3:21) 13. CNA
(3:18) 14. Every Day and Night
(3:15) 15. Ol' Mose
(3:26) 16. You're All I've Got to Live For
(3:20) 17. She's Got What It Takes
(2:44) 18. Next-Door Neighbor
(3:07) 19. Big Apple Blues
(3:04) 20. Freight Train Blues
(3:05) 21. Good Gamblin'

Robert Lee McCollum, born in 1909 in Arkansas, learned to play guitar from his cousin Houston Stackhouse. They played together at country dances and Robert was rapidly developing his skills. Legend goes he played at Muddy Waters first wedding and the music was so hot the dancing got so uninhibited that the floor of the two-room shack gave way beneath the dancers. In the mid-'30's Robert Lee left the South for St. Louis and changed his name in Robert Lee McCoy (his mother's maiden name) to avoid some trouble with the police. In St. Louis McCoy worked with John Lee Williamson, Walter Davis and Big Joe Williams. All three men recorded for Bluebird on May 5, 1937 in Aurora, Illinois; in what has become a legendary session. All three played on each other's tracks and all of McCoys tracks were released. Six months later McCoy returned to the Bluebird studios for another session. The sound is different and fuller, thanks to the addition of piano player Henry Townsend. He kept busy and appeared on numerous sessions as sideman with Walter Davis, Sleepy John Estes, Baby Doo Caston, Peetie Wheatstraw, Henry Townsend, Walter vincson, Kansas Joe McCoy. After leaving Bluebird label, he cut some sides for Decca in 1940. Back in Helena, he performed on radio station KFFA doing a radio program sponsered by Bright Star Floor (and becoming a rival for Rice Miller, who pas pushing King Biscuit Flour! McCoy didn't stay long at one place, traveling throughout the South as Robert Nighthawk. In Chicago he visited his old friend Muddy Waters and Waters recommended him to the Chess brothers at Aristocrat, for whom he cut a session. "Black Angel Blues" became a hit and riding on the success of this 45, he recorded a new session for United. But Nighthawk moved again and it was in 1964 he recorded his last session for Pete Welding's Testament label. Robert Lee McCollum aka Robert Lee McCoy aka Robert Nighthawk died in the fall of 1967 of heart troubles.

Bluebird Recordings 1937-1938
Bluebird Recordings 1937-1938 artwork

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Various - The Aristocrat Blues Story (2-CD set)

While never as world-renowned as Chess, the label it would later evolve into, Aristocrat was nevertheless significant in the nurturing and promotion of many key blues acts in the late Forties. It may have had a short life span, but nobody can deny its prolific output – a magnificent 264 titles were recorded for release. Judging by the calibre of the acts on this superb 2 disc compilation including Laura Rucker, Clarence Samuels, Muddy Waters and Robert Nighthawk, the label richly deserved its nickname of The Aristocrat of Records!

Album: The Aristocrat Blues Story - CD 1
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:51
Size: 121.0 MB
Styles: R&B
Year: 2014
Art: Full

[3:00] 1. Muddy Waters - Rollin' And Tumblin' (Part 1)
[2:42] 2. Sunnyland Slim - My Baby, My Baby
[2:52] 3. Robert Nighthawk - Jackson Town Gal
[3:19] 4. Little Johnny Jones - Shelby County Blues
[2:56] 5. Andrew Tibbs - I Feel Like Crying
[3:19] 6. Forest City Joe - Memory Of Sonny Boy
[2:41] 7. Clarence Samuels - Boogie Woogie Blues
[2:28] 8. LeRoy Foster - Locked Out Boogie
[2:55] 9. St. Louis Jimmy - Florida Hurricane
[3:09] 10. Tom Archia & George Kirby - Ice Man Blues
[2:39] 11. Muddy Waters - You're Gonna Miss Me
[3:07] 12. Andrew Tibbs - Toothless Woman Blues
[2:53] 13. Five Blazes & Ernie Harper - Chicago Boogie
[3:19] 14. The Famous Blue Jay Singers Of Birmingham, Alabama - I'm Bound For Canaan Land
[2:41] 15. Laura Rucker - Crying The Blues
[3:01] 16. Tom Archia & Sheba Griffin - Mean And Evil Baby
[2:53] 17. Robert Nighthawk - Six Three O
[2:51] 18. Sunnyland Slim - Johnson Machine Gun

thank you mrwalker.
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Album: The Aristocrat Blues Story - CD 2
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:18
Size: 119.8 MB
Styles: R&B
Year: 2014
Art: Full

[3:14] 1. Robert Nighthawk & Robert McCullum - Annie Lee Blues
[2:47] 2. Clarence Samuels - Lollipop Mama
[3:07] 3. Muddy Waters - Screamin' And Cryin'
[2:46] 4. Sunnyland Slim - She Ain't Nowhere
[2:49] 5. Forest City Joe - A Woman On Every Street
[2:53] 6. Tom Archia - Drinkin' Blues
[3:03] 7. St. Louis Jimmy - So Nice And Kind
[2:49] 8. Duke Jenkins' Aristocrats - Baby I'm Sick Of You
[2:49] 9. LeRoy Foster - Shady Grove Blues
[3:06] 10. The Dozier Boys - She's Gone
[2:31] 11. Andrew Tibbs & Tom Archia - Married Man Blues
[3:03] 12. Robert Nighthawk & Robert McCullum - Black Angel Blues
[2:35] 13. Sunnyland Slim - Fly Right Little Girl
[2:50] 14. Tom Archia & Sheba Griffin - Cherry
[3:09] 15. Forrest Sykes - Tonky Boogie
[2:55] 16. Little Johnny Jones - Big Town Playboy
[2:54] 17. Andrew Tibbs - Bilbo Is Dead
[2:49] 18. Muddy Waters - I Can't Be Satisfied

thank you mrwalker.
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Various - This Is Blues (2-disc set)

There are countless blues compilations out there, and at first glance, this two-disc, 30-track selection doesn't seem to be anything special, but a closer look reveals that it covers a fairly wide spectrum, both in the number of blues styles it includes (prewar country-blues to Chicago blues, jump blues, folk-blues and more) and in the years it considers (disc one covers 1927 to 1950, while disc two carries things from 1950 through 1973). It also features relatively rare tracks even when the artist is well known (Muddy Waters is represented by "Mean Red Spider," for instance, rather than one of his better known songs like "I Can't Be Satisfied"), which doesn't necessarily make this collection essential, but it does make it more likely to fill in some cracks for listeners who may already have a large blues library. ~Steve Leggett

Album: This Is Blues (Disc 1)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 42:45
Size: 97.9 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:54] 1. Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
[3:05] 2. Charley Patton - High Water Everywhere, Part Ii
[2:55] 3. Helen Humes - Garlic Blues
[2:48] 4. Mary Johnson - Morning Sun Blues
[3:22] 5. Jimmy Rushing - Goin' To Chicago
[2:08] 6. Lead Belly - How Long Blues
[2:51] 7. T-Bone Walker - Mean Old World Blues
[2:51] 8. Dinah Washington - Chewin' Mama Blues
[3:01] 9. Julia Lee - Dream Lucky Blues
[2:20] 10. Muddy Waters - Mean Red Spider
[2:45] 11. Martha Davis And The Esquires - Lovin' Blues
[2:27] 12. The Maxin Trio - Confession Blues
[3:04] 13. Robert Nighthawk - She Knows How To Love A Man
[3:00] 14. Big Mama Thornton - Bad Luck Got My Man
[3:08] 15. Big Jay Mcneely - Midnight Dreams

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Album: This Is Blues (Disc 2)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 46:07
Size: 105.6 MB
Styles: Assorted blues
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:40] 1. Memphis Slim - Mother Earth
[2:52] 2. Bobo Slim Thomas - Catfish Blues
[2:18] 3. Elmore James - Everybody's Fishing
[2:37] 4. Big Joe Williams And His 9 String Guitar - Delta Blues
[2:04] 5. Howlin' Wolf - Smile At Me
[3:05] 6. Arthur Big Boy Crudup - Make A Little Love With Me
[2:37] 7. Sonny Boy Williamson Ii - From The Bottom
[2:20] 8. Junior Wells - Come On In This House
[5:12] 9. B.B. King - You've Done Lost Your Good Thing Now
[3:08] 10. Buddy Guy - Broken-Hearted Blues
[2:58] 11. Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand
[3:00] 12. Roosevelt Sykes - 44 Blues
[4:16] 13. The Groundhogs - Little Dreamer
[2:52] 14. Mississippi Fred Mcdowell - You Got To Move
[4:01] 15. Charles Brown - Driftin' Blues

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Various - Maxwell Street & Friends Vols 1&2

NOTE: The following review is for the album "And This Is Maxwell Street' (1998) from which this 2-disc issue is based.

This two disc set features the street recordings from the 1964 Mike Shea film documentary, And This Is Free, plus a bevy of previously unreleased performances of equal landmark merit. Hard-core blues fans and slide guitar aficionados will be familiar with some of this material because a handful of these performances were issued in 1980 on Rounder as Robert Nighthawk Live On Maxwell Street -- 1964. At the time of their release these recordings were incorrectly credited. It turns out that the performances themselves were also edited. For the record, it's the otherwise unknown guitarist Little Arthur King -- not Night Hawk -- playing the bebop instrumental medley; he also pops up on this set backing both Carey Bell and Big John Wrencher. Johnny Young, listed on the Rounder package as the second guitarist does appear on these recordings, but only in a frontman role on two tracks. Carey Bell once again appears on the tracks from the original release plus some others, but he shares the harmonica duties with Big John Wrencher, the one-armed blues wizard who was a mainstay of the Maxwell Street area and evidently a regular of Night Hawk's informal Sunday group. The drummer is Jimmy Collins, who seems hell-bent on finishing every number -- even the slow blues -- at a much faster tempo than where it was originally started. The other previously unidentified guitarist on these recordings turns out to be none other than Shea's close friend Mike Bloomfield. Deemed "unauthentic" by Shea, none of Bloomfield's work was filmed and all of his off-mike lead work with Night Hawk was consequently edited out of the Rounder album. Here, Bloomfield takes the lead on the two Johnny Young numbers and also shows up on Night Hawk's version of "Dust My Broom" and on the now longer medley of "Annie Lee"/"Sweet Black Angel," swapping licks with the old master. In the middle of all these blues performances are equally stellar ones from the gospel side of things, courtesy of James, Fannie Brewer and Carrie Robinson. Ultimately, Night Hawk's performances form the centerpiece of these landmark recordings. If the original Rounder package was an eye-opener as to what Night Hawk was truly capable of in a live setting, this new package is twice as illuminating, making him present on 22 of the 30 selections on here. Start your Robert Night Hawk collection with this two-disc collection and you'll never have to look back; these recordings will end up becoming his crowning legacy. It seriously belongs in every blues fan's collection. ~Cub Koda

Album: Maxwell Street & Friends Vol 1
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 60:50
Size: 139.3 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:09] 1. Johnny Young - The Sun Is Shining
[5:25] 2. Big John Wrencher - Can't Hold Out Much Longer
[1:42] 3. Carey Bell - That's All Right
[1:17] 4. Robert Nighthawk - That's All Right
[2:11] 5. Robert Nighthawk - Red Top/Ornithology
[2:37] 6. Carey Bell - Maxwell Street Jam
[5:19] 7. Big John Wrencher - Lucille
[2:06] 8. Arvella Gray - Corinna , Corinna
[2:31] 9. Arvella Gray - Power To Live Right
[4:54] 10. Robert Nighthawk - Cheating And Lying Blues
[3:54] 11. Robert Nighthawk - Honky Tonk
[4:50] 12. Robert Nighthawk - Dust My Broom
[3:19] 13. Robert Nighthawk - Peter Gunn Jam
[7:12] 14. Robert Nighthawk - I Need Love So Bad
[5:22] 15. Johnny Young - All I Want For My Breakfast
[3:55] 16. Robert Nighthawk - Take It Easy, Baby

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Album: Maxwell Street & Friends Vol 2
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:40
Size: 141.2 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[6:17] 1. Robert Mojo Elem - Mama, Talk To Your Daughter
[2:45] 2. Carey Bell - I'm Ready
[2:06] 3. Carey Bell - Carey'n On
[5:53] 4. James Brewer - When The Saints Go Marching In
[5:11] 5. Robert Nighthawk - Back Off Jam
[7:02] 6. Arvella Gray - John Henry
[8:33] 7. Robert Nighthawk - Sweet Black Angel
[4:32] 8. Big John Wrencher - Love You Tonight
[5:27] 9. Robert Nighthawk - The Time Have Come
[2:12] 10. Carey Bell - Cruisin' In A Cadillac
[3:48] 11. Robert Nighthawk - Honey Hush
[5:57] 12. Robert Nighthawk - I'll Fly Away
[1:51] 13. Fannie Brewer - I Shall Overcome

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