Best of the Vanguard Years collects Junior Wells' material from the Chicago! The Blues! Today! various-artists series, live and studio tracks from the albums It's My Life, Baby! and Comin' at You, and a smattering of rare and/or unreleased cuts. As a Wells retrospective, it's irredeemably incomplete, covering as it does his output for only one label, but the fine-quality material does make it an engaging listen, and it may be a good way for some collectors to plug holes in their Wells d   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Wells sings with a salty edge and clarity that are convincing and engaging, and he maintains his good humor even when saddled with less than first-rate material. He provides winning renditions of Ray Charles' "The Train," Merle Haggard's "Today I Started Loving You Again" and Jimmy Reed's "Honest I Do," plus a good reworking of his own "Messin' With The Kid" and "Goin' Home." But the song that tears the house down is "Oh, Pretty Woman," featuring flashy, exciting guitar from Rico McFarland   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

This 1998 CD reissue of Wells' debut recordings for the States label adds four previously unheard tracks along with the original 13-track vinyl lineup. Wells' legacy begins with these landmark sides, featuring Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Johnnie Jones, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and the Aces in the lineup at various points. Whether it's a slow one like his original take on "Hoodoo Man" or a jump number like "Cut That Out," the grooves are classic Chicago and a mile deep. Most   [ read more ]

CD $12.33

Following his recorded debut as a leader for States Records, Junior Wells signed with Mel London, producing a number of sides for the producer's Chief and Profile imprints. Perhaps best-known for his spectacular harmonica playing, this period, documented on Calling All Blues, saw Wells emerging as an outstanding vocalist as well. A consummate performer with a firm grasp of the range of emotions the music can produce, Wells wrings every drop of feeling out of the lyrics. The singer gr   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Junior Wells' penchant for clowning around sometimes conflicts with his craftsmanship, but he's all business on Come on in This House, his most unadulterated blues record since his highly acclaimed Hoodoo Man Blues of more than 30 years vintage. This is what has come to be known as an "unplugged" session -- that is, predominately, although not exclusively, acoustic instrumentation. Producer John Snyder's concept was threefold: to team Wells with some of the era's top younger traditional   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Junior Wells' penchant for clowning around sometimes conflicts with his craftsmanship, but he's all business on Come on in This House, his most unadulterated blues record since his highly acclaimed Hoodoo Man Blues of more than 30 years vintage. This is what has come to be known as an "unplugged" session -- that is, predominately, although not exclusively, acoustic instrumentation. Producer John Snyder's concept was threefold: to team Wells with some of the era's top younger traditional   [ read more ]

SUPER-AUDIO CD $18.03

Another eminently solid outing by the legendary harpist that captures his trademark barroom bravado in a studio setting. The band is quite tight -- Buddy Guy and Lefty Dizz are the guitarists, Douglas Fagan plays sax, and Clark Terry, believe it or not, occupies a third of the trumpet section -- and the set list is dominated by oldies from both Sonny Boys, Willie Dixon, and John D. Loudermilk (Junior invests his "Tobacco Road" with a lights-out toughness that the Nashville Teens c   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Makes his prior Telarc offering look like a masterpiece by comparison. A passel of superfluous guest stars -- Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Sonny Landreth -- unite to produce the most worthless Wells album ever down in Louisiana rather than in Wells's Chicago stomping grounds. Why he wanted to remake songs from the songbooks of WAR and Bill Withers is a mystery better left for future generations to ponder. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

CD $11.38

CD $35.13

One of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s, and one of the first to fully document the smoky ambience of a night at a West side nightspot in the superior acoustics of a recording studio. Wells just set up with his usual cohorts -- guitarist Buddy Guy (billed as "Friendly Chap" on first vinyl pressings), bassist Jack Myers, and drummer Billy Warren -- and proceeded to blow up a storm, bringing an immediacy to "Snatch It Back and Hold It," "You Don't Love Me," "Chitlin con Carne,"   [ read more ]

SUPER-AUDIO CD $30.38

CD $12.33

Although It's My Life, Baby! was decent mid-'60s electric Chicago blues, coming so soon after Junior Wells' 1965 classic Hoodoo Man Blues -- one of the greatest blues LPs ever -- it was something of a disappointment. Wells' chief right-hand man for Hoodoo Man Blues, guitarist Buddy Guy, was still on board for these recordings, but the band arrangements weren't quite as tight. More crucially, the material wasn't as good or innovative, giving far more weight to slow blues with stand   [ read more ]

CD $11.38