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Editorial Reviews

This critically-acclaimed blues album from ex-New York Dolls frontman DAVID JOHANSEN receives the state-of-the-art sound treatment as the latest in Chesky Records SACD series - one that is bound to become the last word in modern sound reproduction.

Product details

Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 0.39 x 4.92 inches; 2.83 Ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Alliance
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Alliance
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005O12S
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #701,704 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #3,411 in Traditional Blues (CDs & Vinyl)
- #10,064 in Classic Country
- #10,629 in Traditional Folk (CDs & Vinyl)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 44 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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Holds up

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018

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I haven't listened to this album probably since it was released, but I came across it and gave it a whirl. It strikes me as a superior entry in the category of rock musicians returning to the roots. There are a lot of blues songs with relatively meaningless lyrics or that are composed of floating verses that have been used in dozens of songs. Almost all of these songs have a story. Johansen does an excellent job singing them, his gritty voice being appropriate to the content, and the backing musicians are excellent. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking or a "must have," but it's a very solid contribution and an enjoyable record.

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mesa maestro

6 songs good to great; the rest just grate.

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2005

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man i don't know what he was thinking when he recorded some of these songs. the musicianship is, of course, outstanding and his voice is perfect for covering lightning hopkins, furry lewis, son house (shaker lp) but who wants to hear repeated renditions of my old dog blue? i agree with other reviewers who laud "james alley blues" "richland woman" the 2 l.hopkins songs "katie mae" and "darling, do you remember me" muddy waters' "little geneva" and sonny boy williamson's " don't start me to talking." the other songs do not merit a second listening for anything other than historical interest. the "shaker" cd is even worse. son house's "death letter" is above average, maybe even great. the rest is barely listenable. if you love the blues, particularly folk blues you will be infinitely happier with any l. hopkins cd.

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Gregory Stoner

David Johansen Blues venue.

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2019

It's a must have.

New york Doll Sings The Blues (and then some)

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2007

Verified Purchase

If you love the originals you will love these 21st century interpretations

David Johansen has the perfect pipes for this genre, roots music, and the backing is very tasty indeed. Harry Smith must be finger poppin somewhere, his legacy is in safe hands.

This albumn is fast becomming a favourite.

Buy.

One person found this helpful

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Eric C. Petersen

Saw Buster at Newport Folk Festival a few weeks ago

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2001

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and he was the best thing there. Harry Smiths are perfect and Buster just lifted people out of their seats. So then I bought the CD, on Amazon of course. This is a perfect CD with not a bad song on it and well engineered to boot. I probably own just about every blues CD manufactured and this goes to the top of the pile.

6 people found this helpful

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Robert C. Desmarais

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2016

GREAT CD

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2017

When listened to in HD format, this is exquisite listening. The vocals are rich and present before you. The songs are great story telling to boot.

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Winter Maiden

Reinterpretations Better than Re-makes

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2009

The two albums by David johansen and the Harry Smiths are best as a gateway to the blues for rock fans who've never got around to checking out the early stuff. Where Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, et al. mostly mined the urban blues of the forties and fifties, these tracks go back still further, to the Delta blues of the twenties and thirties. There is a good range of items from a variety of different performers on these two albums, and the next step after listening to DJ and the Harry Smiths is to go listen to the originals. These days Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters are widely appreciated, but how many people listen to Son House or Geechie Wiley?

I love the bittersweetness of the "Richland Woman" and "James Alley Blues" covers. The latter, particularly, captures perfectly the appeal of a certain kind of blues: the easy-going little kick of the rhythms not disguising the underlying sadness. The instrumentation on all the tracks is tweaked just enough to make the music more accessible to current listeners. But if you go back to the originals, you'll find that the arrangements are for the most part quite similar--in some cases almost note-by-note remakes.

This is where I have a problem with both albums. Not only do I not see the point in doing a close remake of something instead of reinterpreting it at least a little, but Johansen makes the very un-PC error of reproducing the accents of the original Southern black singers. This comes a little too close to minstrelsy for comfort. "Well, I've Been to Memphis" is a particularly unpleasant example of this, with Johansen's "mushmouthed" spoken bits. The original singers are just being themselves, and singing and speaking in their own vernacular. At the end of the day, David Johansen is a white boy from Staten Island. It is from stunts such as this that come the arguments about whether white people can sing the blues. They can if, like Mary Gauthier or Jim Dickinson, they internalize the blues. Otherwise, you get Peter, Paul, and Mary or, at the other end of the spectrum, David Johansen in blackface, on his knees singing "Mammy."

Still, these two albums are clearly heartfelt tributes by someone who cares about the blues, and some of the tracks are a solid part of my own blues collection. Apart from the songs already mentioned, listen in particular to "Delia" and "On the Wall."

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Load Trash Histo

David Johansen endosse les habits d'un vieux bluesman

Reviewed in France on March 28, 2020

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Oubliez le David Johansen que vous connaissez en tant que membre des New York Dolls ou en tant que chanteur solo ou encore en tant que Buster Poindexter avec ses Uptown Horns avec lesquels il jouait une sorte de jazz, soul, calypso assez unique dans le genre, et pour tout dire assez raté. En 1999, il monte avec 4 superbes musicos appelés les Harry Smiths un groupe qui revisite les standards du blues. Il sort dans la foulée ce premier album, sans titre véritable, qui rend hommage aux légendes du blues, et au blues en général. Il faut dire que la voix caractéristique de David se prête volontiers au jeu et qu'il réussit à passer pour un vieux bluesman aguerri pour lequel la musique du diable n'a aucun secret. Pourtant, l'exercice auquel il se prête n'est pas facile, et, pourtant, il s'en sort haut la main et la relecture acoustique des Lightnin'Hopkins (2 titres), Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt et Sonny Boy Williamson est plus que réussie. De même, lorsqu'il reprend magnifiquement l'obscur "James Alley Blues" de Richard "Rabbit" Brown et le "Somebody buy me a drink" de Oscar Brown Jr., on sent que David Johansen a retrouvé un second souffle qui le fait revivre. Cet album sera suivi d'un 2nd en 2002, intitulé "Shaker", tout aussi recommandable que ce premier.

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Hellenback

White guys "can" sing the blues...

Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2014

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Heard this several years ago when the SACD version seemed to be heading for extinction. I'm glad it's become more readily available at a decent price as this is a great disc. Johansen has a distinctive voice that's very well suited to these classic blues numbers.

While some feel he didn't put enough of his own "stamp" on the arrangements, all I can say is that I'm happy he didn't.

He's paying tribute to some of his roots here and does a very convincing job of it by remaining faithful to the originals. His vocal style itself is enough to breathe new life into these old blues standards.

Truly a five star effort with mastering/recording quality to match...well done David!

joppajobby

Not as good as I remember

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2014

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Heard this album years ago, and seem to remember liking it. It was on sale on Amazon for just over £5,so I bought it. David's voice is not how I remembered it all those years ago, While the album is Ok, I can't imagine it will be getting played very often.

J. G. Tatton

what a great blues singer

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2013

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Who would have thought the former leader of the New York Dolls was such a great blues singer. Well he is and then some. And the Harry Smiths - what a great band.
An all round brilliant record which I am delighted to have added to my collection.

2 people found this helpful

fabio sparvoli

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very Good

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David Johansen & The Harry Smiths

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