| Track by Track Review
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Sonny Knight– But Officer
With a spoken skit-like beginning, this works out to a track that features wailing saxophone. The vocals on this are sparse and feature a man talking to a police officer. It ends when the jail door closes. |
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Wynonie Harris – Good Morning Judge
A bouncy jam that has a lot of blues and jazz in the mix, this is a fun romp. |
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Frankie Lymon – Jailhouse Rock
This song might be best-known by Elvis Presley, but personally I prefer this version. It’s got a great energy and groove. It just feels so lively and fun. |
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Smiley Lewis – Jailbird
Jazz and blues merge on this bouncy romp. It’s quite strong. |
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Danny Cobb – Hey, Mr. Warden
A fun, rock and roll stomper, this is another highlight of the set. Lyrically this is about using impossible requests for your last meal to avoid the electric chair. |
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Lonesome Sundown – My Home Is A Prison
This is a full on blues tune. It’s also a definitely highlight here. It just oozes emotion and cool. |
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Eddie Boyd – I'm A Prisoner
Guitar blues is on the menu here. It’s a little more downhome in terms of arrangement than the last song was. It’s no less classy, though. |
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Ottilie Patterson – Jailhouse Blues
Slow and mournful, this has a lot of blues in it along with some hints of Dixieland. I like it but it’s a step down from the last couple tunes. |
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Roosevelt Sykes – Jailbait
A driving old school rock and R&B styled number, this is very classy and entertaining. |
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Billy Boy Arnold – Prisoner's Plea
This guitar and vocal rocker has a lot of bluesy style. The guitar is really what sells it for me. It’s always on the move. |
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El Pauling And Royal Abbit – Jail Bird
More of a garage rock kind of number, this is fun. |
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Josh White – Ball And Chain Blues
Acoustic guitar brings this into being. The cut has a real old-school, down-home blues vibe at its core. |
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T-Bone Walker – Prison Blues
From the sailing saxophone to the tasty guitar and mournful vocals, this blues tune just works so well. It’s another highlight of the set. |
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Wynona Carr – Please Mr. Jailer
The jazz and blues vibes at the heart of this are just saturated with style and emotion. This is another highlight of the disc for me. It just has so much passion and class at its heart. |
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AndrĂ© Williams – Jail Bait
The horn and the pleading vocals lend something special to this track. Overall it lands in the vein of jazzy blues. It’s another winner. |
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The Robins – Riot In Cell Block No. 9
Old-school rock and roll and blues merge on this number. It has its charms, but I don’t like it as well as I do some of the other stuff here. |
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Joe Jones – The Prisoner's Song
Classy, bluesy rock and roll is on the menu here. This is fairly strong, but not a standout. |
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Sonny Knight – Jail Bird
Playful and bouncy, this is a poppy rock and roller. I’m not overly impressed with it, but I do like the horn soloing a lot. Overall, the song is solid, but not a highlight by any means. |
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Willie Nix – Prison Bound Blues
Featuring harmonica, this is a guitar oriented blues rocker. It’s another strong tune, too. |
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Magic Sam – 21 Days In Jail
This has some smoking hot energy. It’s a killer retro rock and roller. |
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Theola Kilgore – Chain Gang - The Sound Of My Man
This has a soulful groove. The rhythmic grunts really don’t work at all for me. The strings lend a bit of an over-produced angle, too. This more of a contemporary pop tune. It’s also the weakest thing here in my opinion. If there’s a track to skip, this is it. |
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Fats Domino – Prisoner's Song
The piano and vocals are the featured elements here. This is exactly the kind of bluesy number I expect from Fats Domino. It’s the kind of quality I expect, too. |
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The Prisonaires – A Prisoner's Prayer
A balladic number with blues and gospel built into it, this one doesn’t really do much for me. I think it’s a step up the Theola Kilgore song, but not by much. |
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The Larks – When I Leave These Prison Walls
Piano gets us underway here. Then some doo-wop styled vocals join as that instrument continues. This is more of a ballad, too. It’s an improvement from the last tune, but its contemporary pop vibe leaves me wanting a little more meat and passion |
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