Combining sessions that blues pianist Sunnyland Slim and blues guitarist Johnny Shines recorded separately on the same day in Chicago in 1968 for the Blue Horizon imprint, this interesting little set shows two blues veterans doing what it was they did, which was, in part, to push and pull the Delta blues one small step closer to being in the modern urban world. The Slim sides, several of which are new to digital disc, are a bit more interesting than the Shines sides, but only by degree. Slim's songs can appear on the surface to be tossed-off exercises in the usual blues clichés, but they were actually carefully written, while Shines worked similar territory, giving old blues figures a slightly ironic twist. Since both played at one time or another with Robert Johnson, and both straddle the old and new worlds of the blues as it transfigured into an electric and urban form, it makes perfect sense to stick these two sessions together in one package.

A remarkable 1964 session produced by Horst Lippmann behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany that found Sumlin trying for the first time on record to sing. He played both electric and acoustic axe on the historic date, sharing the singing with more experienced hands Willie Dixon and Sunnyland Slim (Clifton James is on drums). All three Chicago legends acquit themselves well.

Slim cut this session in May 1968 in Chicago (with Mike Vernon producing) as a member of the Chicago Blues All Stars, an ad hoc touring group that consisted of Willie Dixon, Johnny Shines, Walter Horton, and Clifton James. With all that to recommend it, it's still a pretty workmanlike set - no real sparks of any kind, just competently played blues by five old veterans who could knock this stuff out in their sleep, and probably did.

The last of Slim's great band-backed albums, cut with yeoman help from his longtime combo (guitarist Steve Freund and drummer Robert Covington share the vocals). At the heart of the matter are Slim's rolling 88s and still-commanding vocals, invested with experience beyond all comprehension.

This CD reissues a variety of recordings cut by the veteran blues pianist/vocalist Sunnyland Slim during 1981-83 for his private label Airway Records. In his mid-70s at the time, Slim's energetic vocals and powerful piano playing belie his age. As is typical of the pioneer Chicago bluesman, he allocated plenty of solo space to his sidemen (which include Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor, Lurrie Bell or Magic Slim on guitar) although there was never any doubt about who was in control. The intelligent lyrics, high musicianship, mood variation (including two excellent instrumentals) and spirited playing make this a highly enjoyable and recommeded date.

Pianist/singer Sunnyland Slim (1909-1995) was a major force in Chicago blues for over 50 years. A professional by the late '20s, he was based in Memphis for a time before moving to Chicago in 1939. A powerful pianist and an expressive singer, he recorded for many labels through the years, having his own company (Airway Records) in the 1970s. She Got a Thing Goin' On reissues the best selections from those dates. In addition to numbers that showcase Slim's vocals, he is heard backing singers Zora Young, Bonnie Lee, and Big Time Sarah, all of whom sound inspired by his presence. Teamed with top-notch musicians, the pianist plays with the energy of someone half his age. In addition, there are two selections from a 1979 date with Kansas City Red and Honeyboy Edwards that was released on this CD for the first time. Highly recommended as a fine retrospective from the later years of Sunnyland Slim.

For more than 50 years, the towering and beloved Chicago piano patriarch Sunnyland Slim has rumbled the ivories around the Windy City, playing with virtually every local luminary imaginable and backing the great majority in the studio at one time or another. On this album originally recorded in Seattle on May 7th, 1976, he's joined by the rousing vocalist and dynamic entertainer 'Big Time' Sarah, who is among the more enterprising contemporary blues performers. She moved to Chicago from Coldwater, MS as a child, and sang in South Side gospel choirs before debuting as a blues vocalist on stage at Morgan's Lounge at 14. She later worked with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Johnny Bernard and Sunnyland Slim.

This is a later recording from the legendary pianist made for the German L & R label and now re-released on Evidence. The first nine songs are from a studio set feature Slim with a terrific band including Carey Bell on harmonica, Hubert Sumlin on guitar and Odie Payne on drums. These songs are the best on the CD as Slim and the band run through a set mixing slow blues with up-tempo songs, including several instrumentals. The last six songs are pulled from a series of live recordings that are decent but not spectacular.

You wouldn't think that transporting one of Chicago's reigning piano patriarchs to Englewood Cliffs, NJ would produce such a fine album, but this 1960 set cooks from beginning to end. Sunnyland Slim's swinging New York rhythm section has no trouble following his bedrock piano, and the estimable King Curtis peels off diamond-hard tenor sax solos in the great Texas tradition that also mesh seamlessly. Slim runs through his standards - "The Devil Is a Busy Man," "Shake It," "It's You Baby" - in gorgeous stereo, and two unissued bonus cuts (including another of his best-known tunes, "Everytime I Get to Drinking") make the CD reissue of Slim's Shout even more appealing.

JSP, one of the U.K.'s most active historical reissue labels, presents an outstanding postwar Chicago blues anthology packed with essential recordings made between 1947 and 1955 by Sunnyland Slim & His Pals. Out of the 104 tracks (not 97 as stated on the front of the packaging), 60 are "by" Sunnyland Slim; the other 44 were released under the names of Johnny Shines, Robert Lockwood, Floyd Jones, Leroy Foster, J.B. Lenoir, Jimmy Rogers, and St. Louis Jimmy. Sunnyland sat in on each of these dates; the enclosed discography denies his presence on the Johnny Shines date, although his piano is clearly audible…

Probably the first thing you should know about this album is that the Chicago Blues Festival of 1974 did not actually take place in Chicago; it was, instead, the name of European tour of American bluesmen. This live concert comes from the Blues Reference series of the good folks at Black and Blue. We have an interesting collection of Chicago musicians that includes 7 more tracks from 'Big Voice' Odum as well as 13 from pianist Sunnyland Slim. Fine guitar work from Jimmy Dawkins provides fireworks throughout the show.