The King of the Slide Guitar, that's some appellation to obtain. Any man that can earn that title deserves to be heard. Elmore James is one of those early bluesman to come up out of the deep south. He played with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson it's very possible he played with Robert Johnson. Johnson influenced James's blues, along with slide guitarist Tampa Red and Kokomo Arnold. Hanging with those notable blues players really paid off. James's music is amazingly lively, and quite different from the last blues I posted up, Honeyboy Edwards. This is electric guitar, more often than not intensely amplified. He had a deep, crooning voice that can carry the blues right into your chest like smoke from a pipe. When I was kid and I'd yet to learn of the Robert Johnson, Son House or the other early Delta bluesmen, I had an idea of what the blues was and style of Elmore James is basically it. I don't think it is an overstatement to say that this sort of sound has a large share the responsibility in me being such a nerd about music. This is a compilation of songs James did 1959 to 1962 toward the end of his life. He's thought to have improved with age in his guitar playing, which isn't common among blues musicians. It's fifty tracks so I had to split it into two parts for the upload.
To be had here:
Elmore James - King Of The Slide Guitar: The Fire/Fury/Enjoy Recordings [224 kbps] disc 1
disc 2