Various Artists: The Ultimate Blues Collection

Expertly compiled right here in Canada, this set most definitely deserves your consideration. It's in Warner's Ultimate series, which has three Soul volumes, so perhaps we can treat the "ultimate" tag as a marketing device. It is, however, an exceptional 2-CD survey of modern blues, not restricted to the Warner catalogue and except for the presence of only one woman is a far better sampling than many others I could list. There are two Canadian bands per disc: the stomping "Mannish Boy" by Muddy with The Band from The Last Waltz and Colin's James and Linden with "Fixin' To Die" from the great acoustic blues CD of that name on disc one. Downchild with "Almost" and King Biscuit Boy with his marvelous "Step Back Baby" from the aka Richard Newell Stony Plain album that has yet to make it to CD round out disc two. There are other gems here as well: "Ray's Blues" from Ray Charles early days on Atlantic, Ry Cooder's version of Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark is the Night" from his first solo album and Otis Rush's "Gambler's Blues" from Mourning in the Morning to mention but three. It would take a comprehensive collection indeed to rationalize away acquiring this one.
--John Valenteyn , Toronto Blues Society

Tracks

1. Thrill Is Gone -- King, B.B.
2. Mannish Boy -- Band (w/Waters, Muddy)
3. Cold Shot -- Vaughan, Stevie Ray
4. Aint Superstitious -- Howlin Wolf
5. She Caught The Katy And Left Me -- Mahal, Taj
6. Fixin To Die -- James, Colin
7. Rays Blues -- Charles, Ray
8. Messin w/t Kid -- Guy, Buddy/Wells, Junior
9. Blue Jean Blues -- ZZ Top
10. Shake For Me -- Hammond, John
11. Every Morning -- Keb Mo
12. Gamblers Blues -- Rush, Otis
13. Bring It On Home To Me -- Terry, Sonny/McGhee, Brownie
14. Shake Your Moneymaker -- Paul Butterfield Blues Band
15. Dont Start Me Talkin -- Williamson, Sonny Boy
16. Wang Dang Doodle -- Taylor, Koko
17. John The Revelator -- House, Son
18. Boom Boom -- Hooker, John Lee
19. Dallas -- Winter, Johnny
20. My Babe -- Little Walter
21. Spider And The Fly -- Shepherd, Kenny Wayne (w/Cotton, James)
22. Crosscut Saw -- King, Albert
23. Bright Lights Big City -- Reed, Jimmy
24. Back Door Man -- Dixon, Willie
25. TV Mama -- Turner, Big Joe
26. (I Get Everything I Need) Almost -- Downchild Blues Band
27. Blue Monday Hangover -- Collins, Albert
28. T-Bone Shuffle -- Guy, Buddy
29. Stormy Monday -- Walker, T-Bone
30. Step Back Baby -- King Biscuit Boy
31. Dust My Broom -- James, Elmore
32. Dark Is The Night -- Cooder, Ry

Various Artists - The Ultimate Blues Collection - 2004 - Warner WTVD60760