Otis Rush - Otis Rush 1956-1958 Cobra Recordings (USA 1989)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Double Troube (2:43)
2. Jump Sister Bessie (2:34)
3. Checking On My Baby (2:57)
4. Sit Down (2:22)
5. Love That Woman (3:01)
6. My Baby Is A Good 'Un (2:40)
7. If You Were Mine (3:06)
8. All Your Love (2:38)
9. It Takes Time (2:50)
10. Violent Love (2:31)
11. I Can't Quit You Baby (3:07)
12. Little Red Rooster (2:22)
13. My Love Will Never Die (3:08)
14. Groaning The Blues (3:04)
15. Three Times A Fool (2:51)
16. She's A Good 'Un (2:49)
17. Keep On Loving Me Baby (2:21)
18. I Can't Quit You Baby (3:40)
19. Double Trouble (5:10)
20. She's A Good 'Un (3:16)

 This compilation of classic Chicago blues, appears to be the first in a long line of reissues of these classic sides the young Otis recorded for Cobra at the dawn of his patchy career. The first thing that struck me as I listened to some of this last night, was the muddy sound of the recordings, which put me off a bit. After a couple of listens over the course of the morning I recognised several of the songs either from having heard Otis's original versions or from other peoples versions and over the course of the day I got more and more of the appreciation of the slow burning quality of these blues. A pretty laid back feeling permeates these sides of soulful blues and careful attention brings out their beauty to full effect, especially on my headphones. Otis's guitar playing is understated and  perfect and after my last revision of this compilation, I can confidently award it 4/5. For a better sound, all the above cuts and more can be  found on another release, "The Essential Otis Rush The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958"