The Singles As & Bs 1952-1960 ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED SET

Little Walter was the greatest Chicago harp player ever. To be even more accurate, he created the Chicago style of blowing the harp into a harmonica cupped in your hands (as shown on the cover of this CD).There are claims that others played in this style before Walter, but I've never heard any recordings that substantiate that claim.Walter's greatness is such that all other Chicago-style players are forced into a second-rank that needs to be broken up into good/better/best. I'd put Walter Horton in the "best" category, for example, James Cotton in the "better", and Junior Wells in the "good", though if you listen to different recordings you might be inclined to reverse my listing.Too bad Walter became a low-life drunk. A friend saw him playing in England in the 1960s and said he stank of cheap wine, though he played very well--and my friend being a good harp player himself, he was in a position to judge. (Of course, Walter Horton was a drunken wreck too: fortunately, Cotton and Wells avoided this fate).MELLOW DOWN EASY has to be one of the most exciting and accomplished harmonica blues ever recorded. And Walter excels when he's playing both complicated licks (ROLLER COASTER) and relatively simple ones (BLUES WITH A FEELING).Too bad he wasn't a better vocalist, though I doubt he would have done any better if he had been; you listened to Walter for that stunning harp playing--period!He died of a heart attack after a street brawl: what an ignominious ending for a master musician. Makes you think of Mozart being dumped into a public pauper's grave ....

Little Walter Jacobs was not the first harmonica player to use amplification--many before him played into the PA for greater volume--but he was the first to employ an amplifier. This innovation allowed him to vastly broaden the instrument's timbral and dynamic range.An unruly child, Walter rode the blinds from his home in Alexandria, Louisiana, at the age of twelve. he made his way to Helena, Arkansas, where he recieved some instruction from the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson #2. After stopping in Memphis and Saint Louis he ended up in Chicago in 1947, playing for spare change in the Maxwell Street Market. It was there that he caught the attention of Muddy Waters who hired him. He first appeared on Waters' Chess recordings in 1950, playing unamplified harmonica. It was during a Waters session two years later that the band recorded an instrumental called "Your Cat Will Play." Leonard Chess liked what he heard. A few days later he was listening to a playback of the tune. A woman standing at a bus stop in front of the building heard the song and started dancing to it. The song, retitled "Juke," was rushed into release and became Walter's first big hit. With this first record Chess found a winning formula for Walter: a vocal number on one side of the record and an instrumental on the other. This collection of singles compiles the best of them. Some of the supporting musicians include Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Willie Dixon and Fred Below.Five out of five for this one. This is as good as Chicago blues ever got in the fifties.

There is nothing I can write that has not already been written about Little Walter. I'll just say that Little Walter was to blues harmonica what Jimi Hendrix was to rock guitar, the greatest ever. Walter scored 14 top 10 hits on Billboard's R&B chart between the years 1952 and 1958 with two, Juke and My Babe, going to number one in 1952 and 1955 respectively. This set has all 12 songs on the classic album, The Best of Little Walter (released in 1957) plus 38 more. In the 1950s Chicago blues was a singles medium. All of the Chess blues albums released in the 50s, with the exception of Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy , were collections of previously released singles so this 2-CD set amounts to all of Little Walters released recordings from that decade, both the A and B sides, under his own name. If you are starting your blues collection from the ground up or you are a fan of blues harp, this is an essential purchase.

Arrived quickly, was as described. I recommend this seller!

Musicians on this are legendary. and they include Willie Dixon (bass), Jimmy Rogers (guitar), Muddy Waters (guitar), Bo Diddley (guitar), and the great blues piano player, Otis Spann. Little Walter influenced the British rock and blues bands in the sixties and is still influencing blues musicians to this day. Heartily recommend this set because it is full of good music! If you like great Chicago style blues, this is it. Fifty great blues songs by one of the greatest and most covered blues musicians in history.

What can be said that has not already be said about Little Walter. This 2fer from Jasmine is full of sparkling blues numbers that set Little Walter apart from his contempories. There is the famous cut "Juke" and one of my favorites "Better watch yourself" along with many other hits and obscure B sides that show the intensity, power and talent of this great performer. Jasmine has done a good job of remastering and offers solid sound reproduction.John Walsh

I thought this was very good. I would be interested in more early blues harmonica players.

Great collection of Little Walters work. If you play harp, you know Walter. There are many great harp players, but Little Walter just couldn't be improved on, everyone digs him.

'The Best of Little Walter' on the distinctive red and yellow PYE R & B label was one of the first blues LPs I bought in the early 1960s.All the tracks on that famous album can be found on this excellent 2-CD, 50-track compilation which is a collection of all his CHECKER/CHESS singles, 'A' & 'B' sides, recorded in Chicago over the period 1952-1962.The great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis was an admirer of Walter's thrilling and expressive harmonica playing which can be heard on these 50 tracks along with stellar sidemen such as Robert Lockwood Jr., Luther Tucker, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon & Fred Below.CD1 contains most of his hits while CD2 features his lesser-known material. The only blemish is the inclusion of a 1960 remake of 'My Babe' with an overdubbed chorus.The hugely influential bluesman Little Walter Jacobs was a volatile and violent character and, sadly, died after a street fight when he was just 37.This 2-CD set is a fitting memorial to him and an ideal introduction to his work.

This is an excellent compilation of Little Walter singles released by Chess Records between 1952-1960.All his best known material is here along with many lesser known, but very worthwhile, recordings.The sound is good and, at the time of posting, the price is reasonable for a 2 CD, 50 track, set (about $22 Cdn)

This is a good double cd selection of Little Walter's early recordings. He was perhaps somewhat better on his later recordings with Muddy Waters but I am not keen on the heavier overall sound of the Waters' band. I consider Sonny Boy Williamson isto be a better player.I would recommend this album to anyone interested in urban blues.