Etta James - Rocks The House

Searing stuff -- easily one of Etta James' greatest albums! The set is a non-stop jam, recorded live at the New Era Club in Nashville before a small and screaming crowd -- a perfect performance all the way through, one that showcases Etta as she rarely sounded on vinyl during the 1960s. The whole album runs away like a train on fire, and it's filled with incredibly lively readings of tracks like "Something's Got A Hold On Me", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Money", "Seven Day Fool", and "Woke Up This Morning" -- all taken at versions longer than the usual under-3 minute single takes!
Though the studio albums Etta James made for Chess in the 1960s usually had the blues singer surrounded by lush production and string-heavy arrangements, this live date finds her performing with only a rhythm section, organist, guitarist, and tenor saxophonist. The singer seems to respond to both the stripped-down setting and the enthusiastic audience with noticeable abandon. In fact, James the classy balladeer, a role she sometimes plays on her studio albums, is nowhere to be found on this blazing set. The only time the band slows down is on the tearjerker story-song "All I Could Do Is Cry" (though what the tune lacks in tempo it makes up for in emotional intensity).
The rest of the set is straight-edged blues and R&B, including covers of some hits of the day, like "Money (That's What I Want)" and Ray Charles's "What'd I Say." Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (on which James does a growling, harmonica-imitating vocal solo) steps up the blues quotient, as does the band's finale of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want To Make Love to You," with James's gospel-drenched pipes wailing all the while. ETTA JAMES ROCKS THE HOUSE indeed.

Year:
Recorded live at The New Era Club, Nashville, Tennessee on September 27 and 28, 1963.
Label:
Chess/MCA
Quality: Bitrate:
flac
Scans - Artwork:
full scans 
Total Size:
302mb

Album Info & Personnel:

Etta James (vocals);
David Walker (guitar);
Gavrell Cooper (tenor saxophone);
Vonzell Cooper (organ);
Marion Wright (bass);
Freeman Brown, Richard Waters (drums).

Tracklist:

01. Something's Got A Hold On Me
02. Baby What You Want Me To Do
03. What'd I Say
04. Money (That's What I Want)
05. Seven Day Fool
06. Sweet Little Angel
07. Ohh Poo Pah Doo
08. Woke Up This Morning
09. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby  (previously unreleased)
10. All I Could Do Is Cry   (previously unreleased)
11. I Just Want To Make Love To You  (previously unreleased)

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