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Bobby "Blue" Bland is closing in on sixty years as a professional singer (he cut his first single way back in 1951), and while his technical singing range has shrunk with age, he has more than compensated for it with his elegant sense of phrasing and his intelligent use of appropriate melisma, a trait that any number of contemporary would-be R&B singers (who all too often seem to strangle the ends of melody lines rather than glide naturally through them) would do well to emulate. Starting out as a raw blues shouter, Bland instinctively understood the benefits of balance and refinement, and by the time of his first big hit, "Farther Up the Road," which he cut for Don Robey's Duke Records in 1957, he wasn't just shouting anymore but giving his material real emotional breathing room, and developing his gospel-informed crying style, which put the blue back in the blues. This excellent 22-track selection spans Bland's career, beginning with key sides from his long stay at Duke like "Farther Up the Road," "I Pity the Fool," "Who Will the Next Fool Be?" and his brilliant re-imagining of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues," which was a surprise hit for Bland in 1962, as well as his later hits for the ABC imprint Dunhill Records (Robey sold Duke Records to ABC in 1973 and Bland's contract was included in the deal), "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" and "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treat Me)," both from 1974. Generally presented as a blues singer, Bland is equally at home in the R&B, soul and gospel areas, and when presented with a good pop ballad, he knows exactly what to do with it. Truthfully, there's as much Perry Como in his musical DNA as there is T-Bone Walker, and the mix makes Bland a completely unique singer. The bottom line here is that Bland is a singer's singer, and he has never strangled the life out of a song in his life. That's how you last nearly sixty years in a business that is always looking for the next big thing.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
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DON D. ROBEY, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1957 Geffen Records
Joe Veasey, ComposerLyricist - DON D. ROBEY, ComposerLyricist - DON ROBEY, Producer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1957 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joseph Wade Scott, ComposerLyricist - LaCharles Harper, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1958 Geffen Records
Brook Benton, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1959 Geffen Records
DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Leon Copeland, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1960 UMG Recordings, Inc.
DON D. ROBEY, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer
℗ 1960 UMG Recordings, Inc.
DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - DON ROBEY, Producer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1960 Geffen Records
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Charlie Rich, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1962 Geffen Records
Joe Scott, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Crowder, ComposerLyricist - Earl Hines, ComposerLyricist - Wayne Bennett, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Billy Eckstine, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Skippy Brooks, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer - John "Jabo" Starks, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Hamp Simmons, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joseph Scott, ComposerLyricist - DON D. ROBEY, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Leonard Chess, Producer - Phil Chess, Producer
℗ 1961 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - DON D. ROBEY, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1964 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Al Braggs, ComposerLyricist - DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1964 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Joe Scott, A&R - Joseph Scott, ComposerLyricist - DEADRIC MALONE, ComposerLyricist - Bobby Bland, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Joseph Wade Scott, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Caple Gil, ComposerLyricist - Gilbert G. Caple, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1966 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Pearl Woods, A&R, ComposerLyricist - Dave Clark, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1966 Geffen Records
Andre Williams, Producer - AHMET ERTEGUN, ComposerLyricist - Ahmet Nugetre, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Jay Wellington, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1969 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Michael Omartian, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Price, ComposerLyricist - Dan Walsh, ComposerLyricist - Steve Barri, Producer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1974 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Michael Omartian, Conductor, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Price, ComposerLyricist - Dan Walsh, ComposerLyricist - Steve Barri, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist - Michael Alan Price, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1974 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Fleecy Moore, ComposerLyricist - B.B. King, MainArtist - Johnny Pate, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Sam Theard, ComposerLyricist - Esmond Edwards, Producer - Bobby "Blue" Bland, MainArtist
℗ 1976 Geffen Records
Album review
Bobby "Blue" Bland is closing in on sixty years as a professional singer (he cut his first single way back in 1951), and while his technical singing range has shrunk with age, he has more than compensated for it with his elegant sense of phrasing and his intelligent use of appropriate melisma, a trait that any number of contemporary would-be R&B singers (who all too often seem to strangle the ends of melody lines rather than glide naturally through them) would do well to emulate. Starting out as a raw blues shouter, Bland instinctively understood the benefits of balance and refinement, and by the time of his first big hit, "Farther Up the Road," which he cut for Don Robey's Duke Records in 1957, he wasn't just shouting anymore but giving his material real emotional breathing room, and developing his gospel-informed crying style, which put the blue back in the blues. This excellent 22-track selection spans Bland's career, beginning with key sides from his long stay at Duke like "Farther Up the Road," "I Pity the Fool," "Who Will the Next Fool Be?" and his brilliant re-imagining of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday Blues," which was a surprise hit for Bland in 1962, as well as his later hits for the ABC imprint Dunhill Records (Robey sold Duke Records to ABC in 1973 and Bland's contract was included in the deal), "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" and "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treat Me)," both from 1974. Generally presented as a blues singer, Bland is equally at home in the R&B, soul and gospel areas, and when presented with a good pop ballad, he knows exactly what to do with it. Truthfully, there's as much Perry Como in his musical DNA as there is T-Bone Walker, and the mix makes Bland a completely unique singer. The bottom line here is that Bland is a singer's singer, and he has never strangled the life out of a song in his life. That's how you last nearly sixty years in a business that is always looking for the next big thing.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:02:45
- Main artists: Bobby Bland
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Blues
© 2007 UMG Recordings, Inc. This Compilation ℗ 2007 UMG Recordings, Inc.
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