T-bone Walker - T-Bone Blues ((Vinyl))

Personnel includes: T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar); Earl Palmer, Eddie Chamblee.
Producers: Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun.
Recorded between 1955 and 1957.
The last truly indispensable disc of the great guitar hero's career, and perhaps the most innately satisfying of all, these mid-'50s recordings boast magnificent presence, with T-Bone Walker's axe so crisp and clear it seems as though he's sitting right next to you as he delivers a luxurious remake of "Call It Stormy Monday." Atlantic took some chances with Walker, dispatching him to Chicago for a 1955 date with Junior Wells and Jimmy Rogers that produced "Why Not" and "Papa Ain't Salty." Even better were the 1956-1957 L.A. dates that produced the scalding instrumental "Two Bones and a Pick" (which finds Walker dueling it out with nephew R.S. Rankin and jazzman Barney Kessel). ~ Bill Dahl

• RSD Release Date: DDD