AVID Roots presents the latest release in our Three Classic Albums Plus series with a second re-mastered 2CD release from Jimmy Reed, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details;
"I'm Jimmy Reed"; "The Best Of Jimmy Reed"; "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" plus 23 bonus singles.
We present our long overdue second outing from the genius of the electric blues guitar Mr Jimmy Reed. Jimmy Reed is another blues legend with a familiar story to tell. Born in Mississippi where he learned to play guitar and harmonica, he joined the black exodus of the 1940s to the industrial cities of the north in search of work away from the farms and cotton fields of the south. Reed arrived in Chicago in 1943 where he was immediately drafted and served in the Second World War. After the war he returned to Mississippi to marry before moving to Gary, Indiana to find work. All the while he was learning his musical craft and by the 1950s he was becoming established as a popular blues musician. Jimmy Reed had many hits over the years, however his alcoholism prevented him from achieving the level of success and career longevity that fellow bluesmen B.B.King and John Lee Hooker had. He was however massively influential to the next generation of mainly white musicians during the great blues revival of the early sixties. Some of those who owe Jimmy Reed a debt of gratitude include The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds (including Eric Clapton), Van Morrison, Steve Miller and even Elvis himself who recorded several Reed numbers. Our three selections include Jimmy's first ever release "I'm Jimmy Reed" a classic of the blues guitar genre up there with B.B and John Lee, the hard to find Carnegie Hall release, a studio recorded re-enactment of Jimmy's famed concert at the renowned venue that due to technical difficulties was never actually recorded at the time . "The Best of" selection contains re-records of some classic tracks performed by the great man himself. These two albums were originally released together as a double vinyl album package in 1961 and have been pretty controversial ever since. The Carnegie Hall set is a facsimile of the real event and the "Best of" re-records has been questioned as to how different the tracks are? We will leave you, dear listener, to make your own minds up, but one thing is for sure, they are all classic Jimmy Reed cuts. And we've added an extra bonus 23 singles to round out the set. As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy this classic set and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across blues, jazz, r&b, and many other musical genres.
Check out:- Jimmy Reed (AMSC1214); Reverend Gary Davis (AMSC1271); Jesse Fuller & Josh White (AMSC1344); John Lee Hooker (AMSC1208 &1382); Lightnin' Hopkins (AMSC1225, 1254 & 1363); Lonnie Johnson (AMSC1207); BB King (AMSC1203 & 1387); Freddy King & Albert King (AMSC1229); Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (AMSC1361); T Bone Walker (AMSC1359); Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters (AMSC1162); Big Joe Williams (AMSC1385); Big Bill Broonzy (AMSC1001 & 1159); Champion Jack Dupree (AMSC1006); Memphis Slim (AMSC1148); Bo Diddley (AMSC1296); Blues Piano (AMSC1398); Classic Blues Masters (AMSC1368); Rural Blues (AVC942).
