Click Here for Sound Samples! Audio Beat Rated 4/5 Music, 5/5 Sound!
Phenomenal Sound! A Must Have Blues Album!
180 Gram 45rpm Double Vinyl! Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Bernie Grundman! Pressed at RTI!
A Tribute to the Music and Spirit of T-Bone Walker - Roy's Earliest Mentor!
Roy Gaines is the greatest living blues guitarist that you probably donÂ’t know anything about. Not only is Mr. Gaines a sizzling blues guitarist, he also possesses one of the most magnificent blues voices around. The real tragedy is that until very recently this supremely talented musician was almost forgotten by blues fans in the U.S.
Born in Houston in 1937, Roy started playing the guitar as a teenager and soon developed a reputation as an instrumental prodigy. By fourteen, he was actually being invited on stage to play with the legendary T-Bone Walker during the latterÂ’s live gigs in Houston and became known as T-Bone Jr. By his early 20s, Roy was playing and recording with Roy MiltonÂ’s band in LA but returned to Houston to join the Duke / Peacock blues label as a full time session guitarist on such seminal blues recordings as Bobby BlandÂ’s ItÂ’s My Life Baby and Junior ParkerÂ’s Driving Me Mad. He was also the featured guitarist on a whole bunch of singles recorded by Big Mama Thorton for the same label.
After going on the road with Joe Turner, Roy joined forces with the blues great, Chuck Willis. Roy stayed with Willis until the latter passed away in the late 50Â’s. He then moved to NYC and recorded with Jimmy Rushing, as well as doing a jazz album with Coleman Hawkins on Prestige. Roy returned to LA and during the 60s became one of the cityÂ’s leading session guitarists, playing with the Crusaders, Earl Grant, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder as well as continuing his pure blues work with the likes of Bobby Bland, Albert King and Lightning Hopkins for the Jewel label.
The focus of this album is on the music and spirit of the late and very great T-Bone Walker, RoyÂ’s earliest mentor and inspiration as a guitar player. T-BoneÂ’s body of work includes such timeless blues standards as Stormy Monday, Dreamgirl, West Side Baby, T-Bone Blues and IÂ’m in An Awful Mood and many others. This album focuses on the classic tunes and styles from the period of the 40s and 50s.
Produced by Joe Harley and recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Sherman Oaks, CA. by engineer Mike Ross. All mastering was done from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman. All LPs are plated and pressed by RTI, CA.
Winner of the 1998 "Blues Comeback Artist of the Year" award by the monthly blues magazine Living Blues. The award is based on a poll of blues critics conducted by Living Blues, which is one of the main blues magazines in the USA. The Comeback Artist of the Year honor is awarded to the most significant bluesman to rebound onto the scene in 1998.
"A modern blues masterpiece!" - Andy Griggs, Real Blues
"Highly recommended" - Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times
"On this Grove Note release, guitarist Roy Gaines pays tribute to his hero T-Bone Walker. I Got the T-Bone Walker Blues contains the Walker classics 'T-Bone Blues,' 'Stormy Monday,' 'T-Bone Shuffle,' and 'Westside Baby' along with Hank Williams' 'Honky Tonk Blues.' Backed by a full band highlighted by Clifford Solomon and George Parker on tenor saxophones, Will Miller on trumpet, and the Mighty Flyers' rhythm section, Gaines reminds listeners of Walker's role as a leader who wasn't afraid to incorporate swing, jazz, and country into his blues style." - Al Campbell, allmusic.com
"[A]s if great music alone were not quite enough, the quality of the sound is equally impressive... Mastered by Bernie Grundman, the original release featured nine songs cut for 33rpm along with a second 45rpm LP with four 'bonus' tracks. It was a pretty impressive-sounding disc at the time. But Bernie GrundmanÂ’s mastering chain saw some dramatic improvements in the early 2000s. Grundman remastered the session and cut the entire album at 45rpm... The new version is drop-dead gorgeous and its sound is of demonstration quality. I did a comparison of 'The Hustle is On' at 45prm from both releases, and the new one is clearly superior, with more extended highs -- even though the earlier cut was spread out over a half side, while the new one shares a side with two other tunes. It shows what can be achieved with an Ampex ATR-100 two-track recorder, some excellent microphones and a lot of talent. It doesnÂ’t get much better than this." - Dennis Davis, theaudiobeat.com, Music 4/5, Sound 5/5
Click Here to read the entire review!
Features:
• 180 Gram
• 45rpm Double Vinyl
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the Original Master Tapes!
• Pressed at R.T.I.
Musicians:
Roy Gaines, guitar, vocals
Will Miller, trumpet
Clifford Solomon, tenor sax
Andy Kaulkin, piano
Bill Stuve, acoustic bass
Steve Magulian, drums
Brently Kearns, violin
Al Velasco, pedal steel guitar
 | 1. Stormy Monday |
| | 2. T-Bone Shuffle |
| | 3. Dreamgirl |
| | 4. I Got A Break Baby |
| | 5. That Old Feeling Is Gone |
| | 6. I'm In An Awful Mood |
| | 7. The Hustle Is On |
| | 8. T-Bone Blues |
| | 9. Honky Tonk Blues |
| | 10. Westside Baby |
| Bonus Tracks: | |
| | 11. Stormy Monday - acoustic version |
