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Various Artists - Hoochie Coochie Men: History of UK Blues and R&B, 1955-2001 (2001)

Track listing:
CD1
  1. I've Got Rocks In My Bed Lonnie Donegan 3:54
  2. Harmonica Blues Chris Barber With Lonnie Donegan Group 2:30
  3. She Fooled Me Blues Incorporated 2:19
  4. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man Blues Incorporated 3:27
  5. Baby What's Wrong The Yardbirds 2:39
  6. Country Line Special Cyril Davies And His R & B All-Stars 2:20
  7. Let It Rock The Yardbirds 2:17
  8. Dimples The Animals 3:27
  9. Sweet Mary Cyril Davies And His R & B All-Stars 2:57
  10. Woke Up This Morning Alexis Korners Blues Incorporated 2:42
  11. Sticks And Stones The Checkmates 2:12
  12. Rosalyn The Pretty Things 2:20
  13. I Wish You Would The Yardbirds 2:20
  14. Help Me The Primitives 3:39
  15. Got Love If You Want It The Kinks 3:45
  16. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter The Brand 2:04
  17. I Got My Mojo Working The Sheffields 2:35
  18. Cops & Robbers The Downliners Sect 2:33
  19. Sugar Baby Jimmy Powell & The Dimensions 2:49
  20. Got To Hurry The Yardbirds 2:36
  21. Bring It To Jerome David John & The Mood 2:11
  22. Stevies Blues Spencer Davis Group 3:16
  23. Let's Make It Pretty Baby The Soul Agents 2:08
  24. I Feel So Good Jo Ann Kelly 2:50
  25. Stormy Monday Blues Little Joe Cook 3:31
  26. L.A. Breakdown The All-Stars- Featuring Jimmy Page 2:06
  27. Telephone Blues John Mayall's Bluesbreakers 3:58
  28. Lord Remember Me Steampacket 4:18
CD2
  1. New York City Blues The Yardbirds 4:18
  2. I'm Your Witchdoctor John Mayall's Bluesbreakers 2:11
  3. Milk Cow Blues The Kinks 3:40
  4. I Tried Savoy Brown Blues Band 2:50
  5. Steelin' The All-Stars Featuring Jeff Beck 2:39
  6. Someone To Love Me T.S. Mcphee 2:18
  7. Choker Eric Clapton & Jimmy Page 1:26
  8. Mary Open The Door Duffy Power 3:35
  9. What's News Pussycat The Cryin' Shames 2:32
  10. Cuttin' In Chris Farlowe 2:59
  11. Keep Your Hands Out Of My Pockets Jo Ann Kelly 2:45
  12. Piano Shuffle All-Stars Featuring Nicky Hopkins 2:59
  13. Goin' Down Slow The Alan Price Set 4:43
  14. Tribute To Elmore Eric Clapton 2:08
  15. Ain't Coming Round No More Duffy Power 1:36
  16. Big Feeling Blues John Dummer Blues Band 2:33
  17. Freight Loader Eric Clapton 2:49
  18. Who's Knocking Jeremy Spencer 2:37
  19. So Much To Say Rod Stewart 3:15
  20. Howlin' For My Darlin' Stuff Smith 3:20
  21. Love That Burns Fleetwood Mac 4:15
  22. Mean Old World Chicken Shack 3:55
  23. Draggin' My Tail Eric Clapton & Jimmy Page 3:09
  24. Roll 'em Pete Dharma Blues Band 2:10
  25. I've Learned To Love (Since I've Been With You) Duster Bennett 3:21
  26. All Night Long Dave Kelly 2:03
  27. Talk To Me Baby Fleetwood Mac 3:38
CD3
  1. Like It This Way Fleetwood Mac 3:11
  2. Ride With Your Daddy Tonight Brunning Sunflower Blues Band 3:29
  3. I Can't Be Satisfied John Dummer Blues Band 3:11
  4. Ridin' The Blinds Top Topham 2:13
  5. Do You Give A Damn For Me Peter Green 3:41
  6. Operator Alexis Korner's Blues Incorparated 4:37
  7. Down And Dirty Simon & Steve 2:41
  8. Water On My Fire Albert Lee & Paul Williams 3:25
  9. Jumpin' At Shadows (Live) Fleetwood Mac 4:05
  10. Key To The Highway Jo And Kelly 1:48
  11. Me And My Woman (Live) Keef Hartley Band 5:22
  12. That Woman's Got Something Juicy Lucy 2:52
  13. Feel So Bad Brunning Sunflower Blues Band 3:47
  14. Hellhound On My Trail Alexis Korner 3:12
  15. Revelation Chicken Shack 5:12
  16. Just Like The Devil Chillii Willi & The Red Hot Peppers 2:48
  17. I've Got To Be With You Tonight Duster Bennett 5:16
  18. Black Rat Swing Jo And Kelly 2:53
  19. Sweet Home Chicago Foghat 3:53
  20. Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee The Pirates 3:11
  21. I Want A Drink Mick Farren 1:43
  22. Frustration The Downliners Sect 2:52
  23. Come See About Me Jo And Kelly 3:45
CD4
  1. One Life To Live John Mayall 5:18
  2. Baby What You Want The Moodymarsden Band 4:44
  3. Rolling And Tumbling The Blues Band 3:10
  4. Let The Good Times Roll The Blues Band 3:11
  5. Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy (Live) Connie Lush 3:27
  6. Not Me (Live) Paul Jones 4:16
  7. Meet Me In The Bottom (Live) Brian Knight & Tom Vines 3:01
  8. I Don't Wanna Sing The Blues No More (Live) Chris Farlowe 4:52
  9. Watch Out Bernie Marsden 3:33
  10. Bad Feeling Mick Abrahams 3:46
  11. If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day Tony Mcphee 3:43
  12. Don't Gimme No Lip Child Nine Below Zero 2:32
  13. Mannish Boy The Groundhogs 3:28
  14. Broke Down Engine Dave Peabody & Brendan Power 5:25
  15. Death Ray Boogie Bob Hall 3:51
  16. Take Your Time Paul Lamb & The King Snakes 4:51
  17. The Libido Blues Chris Jagger 3:30
  18. Strange Situations Stan Webb 3:50
  19. Come Home Big Town Playboys 2:59
  20. Enough Of The Blues Gary Moore 4:48

Notes

This four-CD set purports to cover the years 1955-2001, though the 1950s entries consist of only two tracks, one seminal acoustic blues by Lonnie Donegan and the other a slightly bigger band endeavor by Chris Barber; then its off to 1961 and some raw early tracks, one studio and one live, by Blues Incorporated featuring Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, before listeners arrive in familiar territory with the Yardbirds' version of "Baby What's Wrong." A lot of what follows across this and the other three discs will be familiar to purchasers of various Immediate Records compilations and other British blues discs that have been kicking around bargain bins -- indeed, the vast majority of sides here are from the Immediate and Pye Records libraries. The major difference here is that all of it, even the ubiquitous Immediate sides featuring John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jo Ann Kelly, sounds incredible -- this reviewer has worked with a lot of the material in question as a producer, and none of it ever sounded this good -- and that the producers have reached out to other catalogs. What's more, it's all been assembled not only in a sensible fashion but in an inspired way, so that it hangs together as an audio documentary of a sound and a gradually shifting era, sparked by relevant sides featuring the Kinks, the Animals, the Downliners Sect, the Pretty Things, the Primitives, the Checkmates, the Spencer Davis Group, David John & the Mood, Jimmy Powell & the Dimensions, Chris Farlowe (working under the name Little Joe Cook), Dave Kelly, Chicken Shack, the Alan Price Set, T.S. McPhee, Duster Bennett, Top Topham, Paul Jones, the Pirates, Foghat, Mick Abrahams, the Blues Band, and Gary Moore; and it's of more than academic interest -- some of those relatively little-known outfits, such as David John & the Mood on "Bring It to Jerome," are surprisingly strong on their recordings. It's all accompanied by deep and serious annotation, the 48-page booklet alone justifying 20 dollars of the cost of this set for blues fans, R&B enthusiasts, and British Invasion fans who want to hear a side of the music that wasn't as well known on this side of the Atlantic. This reviewer found the earlier sides on the first two discs to be the most interesting and exciting, but that's purely a personal judgment -- the increasing competency and virtuosity on the later sides also have their merits.