Jimmy Reed Albums (12)
'Sings the Best of the Blues'
Release Date 2/13/2006
Tracks 11
Label Pony Canyon
See Album Tracklist and Review
'The Blues Is My Business'
Release Date 9/12/2000
Tracks 12
Label Collectables
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Decent LP with several rarities. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
'T'Aint No Big Thing But He Is...'
Release Date 1/1/1963
Tracks 11
Label Vee-Jay
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
"Shame Shame" is only the tip of the iceberg on this hard-rocking blues classic, which ought to be in the collection of every serious fan of the early Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things etc. By the time he went into the studio in 1963 to record the 11 songs that would make up this album, Jimmy Reed had deteriorated a bit in health since his classic '50s sides -- that's obvious from his voice, which sounds more dissolute than it did on his classic early sides. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, given the nature of his repertory and sound -- the guitars, mostly played by Eddie Taylor with some contributions (most notably on "Shame Shame," as well as two other songs) from Lefty Bates, do sort of dominate, along with Reed's harp and his own guitar playing. And the voice is still expressive, if kind of a little scarily deteriorated in quality at this point. His harp playing was also still interesting to hear, if not quite as free ranging in its sound, or as dexterous as it had been on his first few albums. Jimmy Reed, Jr., who was beginning to get featured with the elder Reed at the latter's concerts, handled the bass chores on three of the songs. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'12 String Guitar Blues'
Release Date 1/1/1963
Tracks 12
Label Vee-Jay
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
This release added yet another wrinkle to Jimmy Reed's mystique. Even most of his fans would concede that Reed's guitar skills were far short of virtuoso level. Yet, Jimmy Reed -- not a celebrated 12-string guitar player like Leadbelly or any of the other renowned instrumentalists who came up in Leadbelly's wake -- cut this acoustic 12-string instrumental album, which has become an enduring classic of the genre. Reed was as skilled at presenting his guitar work as he was as a singer, and his playing on 12 String Guitar Blues is smooth, sinewy, lean, and lyrical, with a tight band behind him. Consisting of recognizable Reed originals and a couple of other blues standards thrown in, the music comes off very well, mixing electric guitar with acoustic 12-string and Reed's harmonica substituting for the vocal parts. The harmonica is on a separate track, making use of a natural sounding stereo separation that keeps the sound of the band -- featuring Eddie Taylor and Lefty Bates on guitar, Marcus Johnson on bass, and Morris Wilkerson and Earl Phillips on drums -- unified. The result is yet another classic album by Reed, and one of the more straightforward and accessible bodies of blues played on 12-string that one can find. This fall 2000 Collectables reissue, licensed through Rhino Records, features impeccable sound and recreates the original album art and jacket notes. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Just Jimmy Reed was originally released in 1962 on Vee-Jay Records and reissued by Collectables in 2000. This short ten-track set doesn't include any of Reed's most beloved hits ("Oh John" being the closest), but it does highlight material that could have been. Reed's patented swamp blues guitar and harmonica lines mixed with his uniquely lazy vocal style are in the forefront of tunes like "Let's Get Together," "Kansas City Baby," "In the Morning," and "Good Lover." There are some unusual touches -- the album opens up with the strangely offbeat, organ-dominated and trumpet- and sax-ornamented "I'll Change My Style"; and Mama Reed shows up on backing vocals on "Take It Slow," adding some variety to the singing. Jimmy Reed, Jr., who was increasingly being featured at the elder Reed's shows, is present on guitar on two tracks and on bass elsewhere. And instead of Eddie Taylor, who played on most of Reed's classic sides, much of the guitar here is played by Lefty Bates. But despite this difference, the best of the material on Just Jimmy Reed -- which is most of the contents -- could easily have qualified for placement on Reed's indispensable first two albums. ~ Al Campbell & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall'
Release Date 1/1/1961
Tracks 23
Label Suite Beat
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In several respects, this is a very strange album, though the music isn't strange at all and is in fact quite typical vintage Jimmy Reed. First, despite what the title might lead you to believe, this is not a live recording; all 23 of the tracks were done in the studio. Not only that, they weren't even performed at New York's famed venue Carnegie Hall, although producer Calvin Carter would later claim they were; instead, everything was cut elsewhere. According to Pete Welding's notes to the record in the year (1961) the double LP was first issued, one-half is devoted to "recreations of some of Jimmy's most celebrated and biggest-selling recordings," while "the second LP here is Jimmy's celebratory recreation of his highly successful appearance at august Carnegie Hall this past May." Even that doesn't really clear up things, however, as it certainly seems as if in many if not all cases where songs were previously issued by Vee Jay on other Reed releases, the versions used here are identical. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to for creating an album that, to be blunt, is pretty deceptively titled and packaged. For all that, however, the music is pretty good, if not exactly essential given that there are more legitimately packaged and logically assembled Jimmy Reed best-ofs. In some ways, it almost does make for a greatest-hits compilation, as it contains most of Reed's most popular tunes -- "Bright Lights, Big City," "Big Boss Man," "Honest I Do," "Hush Hush," "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," "Going to New York," "Take Out Some Insurance," "You Don't Have to Go," "Baby, Want You Want Me to Do" -- though his one big post-1961 hit, "Shame Shame Shame," isn't here. The other songs here don't quite measure up to the standards of the aforementioned tunes, and though Reed's performances of these are reliably consistent, the sometimes criticized similarity of his material also makes them kind of monotonous when heard in such bulk and proximity. If this were the only Reed anthology in existence, though, it would serve as a pretty good overview of his highly accessible brand of R&B/blues. And as it was the best such thing available at its time of release, it was highly popular and influential, making the Top 50 at a time when few blues LPs charted. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
There isn't a bad track on Found Love. Not only are some of Jimmy Reed's biggest hits included -- "Baby What You Want Me to Do," "Big Boss Man," and "Hush Hush" -- but the title track is particularly notable, as it contains a one-note harp wail that proves to be vibrant, heartfelt, and timeless. As with most of Reed's albums of this period -- and most blues albums of this era -- the album contains material from across over a year's worth of sessions, from the spring of 1959 through the summer of 1960, with one track ("I Ain't Got You") pulled from a 1955 session. Eddie Taylor is playing a lot of the lead guitar, but Lefty Bates is also heard on many of the cuts, and Willie Dixon, no less, is playing bass on "Meet Me," "Big Boss Man," and "Come Love." Earl Phillips is responsible for all of the drumming, and Mary Lee "Mama" Reed is heard on the backing vocals of "Baby What You Want Me to Do." Reed's catalog has seen numerous reissues of varying quality across the decades, but the Collectables label did an admirable job in 2000, reissuing both Reed's library and that of John Lee Hooker from the same label with great sound quality and original packaging at a budget price. [Koch re-released Found Love in 2000 and added four bonus tracks.] ~ Al Campbell & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Now Appearing was originally released in 1960 on Vee Jay Records and reissued by Collectables in 2000. This short 11-track set doesn't include any of Reed's most beloved hits but does highlight material that could have been. Reed's patented swamp blues guitar and harmonica lines mixed with his uniquely lazy vocal style are in the forefront of tunes like "Got Me Chasing You," "You Know You're Looking Good," "In the Morning," and "Tell the World I Do." Any of the Jimmy Reed Vee Jay reissues are recommended. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Jimmy Reed's second album was a little bit different from his first, but not in a way that detracted from its value. Oh, as with most blues albums of the period, it consisted mostly of previously released single sides, in this case that he'd recorded and released over the prior seven years; but three of the dozen songs here were new to listeners when they showed up on Rockin' with Reed. And, of course, that opens several possible lines of inquiry -- were the later tracks held back for an anticipated second (or third) Reed LP, or were they just not deemed suitable for singles or B-sides? And what of the 1953 vintage "Rockin' with Reed"? One suspects that the latter, given the slang of the period, might have been considered too raunchy as a title to release in 1953, whereas in 1960 it sounded like it could "pass" for something more innocent. But as the material here came from the very same sessions that yielded the uniformly phenomenal music that comprised his debut album, it's no surprise to say that this album is every bit as enjoyable and equally essential listening, including "Down in Virginia," "Going to New York," and "Take Out Some Insurance," the latter two the latest recordings on this album; and even the one or two seeming throwaways here, the instrumentals "Ends & Odds" and "My Bitter Seed" are worth hearing for what they reveal of the playing on these sessions. Reed's incredibly expressive voice, coupled with his sinewy guitar and virtuoso-level harp playing, is consistently great throughout the dozen songs here. The sound is also a little more consistent here than it was on his first album, as guitarist Eddie Taylor and drummer Earl Palmer (the latter preceded at the skins on the handful of really early tracks by none other than Albert King) are playing with Reed on most of what's here. Slow blues, ballads, boogie numbers, Reed could do it all, and with Taylor's restrained flourishes the impressive playing is spread around these recordings in large, healthy portions, all the better to be appreciated by modern listeners with the remastered sound that's been making the rounds since the end of the '90s on this library. [A Japanese remaster of the 1959 LP was released in 2006.] ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
