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    Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

    01/01/1996

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    Lyrics from Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

  • I Wonder (Where Are You Tonight) - Aretha Franklin
  • I Smell a Rat - Big Mama Thornton
  • Why I Sing the Blues - B.B. King

    • All Music Guide Review

    A four-CD, 80-song box set that, in line with similar Smithsonian productions, outlines the history of blues spanning over 50 years, with cuts by major performers who represent its stylistic evolution. The set is stuffed with classics by the likes of Muddy Waters, Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Little Walter, Big Mama Thornton, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy, with plenty of slightly lesser-known artists like Lil' Son Jackson, Billy Branch, Big Maybelle, J.B. Lenoir, Doctor Clayton, and Junior Kimbrough. The selections are a tad conservative (if very good), and it's likely that serious blues fans will have a good share of the tracks in their collections already. The set also concentrates much more heavily on 1940-1970 material (which takes up about 75 percent of the contents) than blues from the 25 years from 1970 onward. If your interest falls somewhere between casual fan and dedicated collector, though, it's a good survey of major blues performers and genres, with an excellent historical overview and notes about each performer in the accompanying 92-page booklet. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

    Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994 Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • Artist
  • time
  • lyrics
  • 1
  • Ma Rainey
  • Memphis Minnie
  • 2:35

  • 2
  • I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
  • Jordan, Louis [1] & His Tympany Five
  • 2:42

  • 3
  • Mean Old Frisco
  • Crudup, Arthur "Big Boy"
  • 2:28

  • 4
  • Bourgeois Blues
  • Leadbelly
  • 2:16

  • 5
  • Mean Old World
  • Walker, T-Bone
  • 2:45

  • 6
  • Evil Gal Blues
  • Washington, Dinah
  • 2:42

  • 7
  • I Wonder
  • Gant, Cecil
  • 2:33
  • Lyrics for I Wonder from Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

  • 8
  • Blood on the Moon
  • Page, Hot Lips
  • 2:14

  • 9
  • Chicago Breakdown
  • Merriweather, Big Maceo
  • 2:47

  • 10
  • Angels in Harlem
  • Doctor Clayton
  • 2:54

  • 11
  • Billie's Blues
  • Holiday, Billie
  • 3:25

  • 12
  • Hoodoo Hoodoo
  • Williamson, Sonny Boy [I]
  • 2:46

  • 13
  • Good Rockin' Tonight
  • Brown, Roy [1]
  • 2:56

  • 14
  • Chicken Shack Boogie
  • Milburn, Amos
  • 2:42

  • 15
  • Trouble Blues
  • Brown, Charles [1]
  • 2:15

  • 16
  • Crawlin' King Snake
  • Hooker, John Lee
  • 2:52

  • 17
  • When Things Go Wrong With You (It Hurts Me Too)
  • Tampa Red
  • 2:53

  • 18
  • Cairo Blues
  • Jackson, Lil' Son
  • 2:44

  • 19
  • Black Angel Blues (Sweet Black Angel)
  • Nighthawk, Robert
  • 2:55

  • 20
  • Mardi Gras in New Orleans
  • Professor Longhair
  • 2:45

  • 21
  • Every Day I Have the Blues
  • Fulson, Lowell
  • 2:24

  • 22
  • Double Crossing Blues
  • 2:40

  • 23 (2)
  • Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 1
  • Waters, Muddy
  • 2:52

  • 24 (2)
  • Mother Earth
  • Memphis Slim And The Houserockers
  • 2:35

  • 25 (2)
  • Please Send Me Someone to Love
  • Mayfield, Percy
  • 2:46

  • 26 (2)
  • Dust My Broom
  • James, Elmore
  • 2:39

  • 27 (2)
  • How Many More Years
  • Howlin' Wolf
  • 2:35

  • 28 (2)
  • Black, Brown and White
  • Broonzy, Big Bill
  • 2:37

  • 29 (2)
  • Rocket 88
  • Brenston, Jackie And His Delta Cats
  • 2:41

  • 30 (2)
  • Juke
  • Little Walter And His Night Cats
  • 2:35

  • 31 (2)
  • Five Long Years
  • Boyd, Eddie
  • 2:38

  • 32 (2)
  • Mean Old World
  • Little Walter And His Night Cats
  • 2:45

  • 33 (2)
  • I Smell a Rat
  • Thornton, Big Mama
  • 1:40
  • Lyrics for I Smell a Rat from Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

  • 34 (2)
  • Gabbin' Blues (Don't Run My Business)
  • 2:36

  • 35 (2)
  • (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
  • Waters, Muddy
  • 2:39

  • 36 (2)
  • The Things That I Used to Do
  • Guitar Slim And His Band
  • 2:54

  • 37 (2)
  • Eisenhower Blues
  • Lenoir, J.B.
  • 2:54

  • 38 (2)
  • Okie Dokie Stomp
  • 2:31

  • 39 (2)
  • Come Back Baby
  • Charles, Ray And His Orchestra
  • 2:59

  • 40 (2)
  • How Long, How Long Blues
  • Rushing, Jimmy
  • 4:48

  • 41 (2)
  • Cherry Red
  • Turner, Big Joe [50s]
  • 3:16

  • 42 (2)
  • San Francisco Bay Blues
  • Fuller, Jesse
  • 2:38

  • 43 (2)
  • I Can't Quit You Baby
  • Rush, Otis
  • 3:01

  • 44 (2)
  • Three Hours Past Midnight
  • Watson, Johnny [1] "Guitar"
  • 3:23

  • 45 (3)
  • Freight Train
  • Cotten, Elizabeth
  • 2:44

  • 46 (3)
  • Junker Blues
  • Dupree, Champion Jack
  • 3:01

  • 47 (3)
  • Sweet's Blues
  • Witherspoon, Jimmy
  • 5:03

  • 48 (3)
  • Livin' With the Blues
  • 2:52

  • 49 (3)
  • Shake 'Em on Down
  • McDowell, Mississippi Fred
  • 2:31

  • 50 (3)
  • Spoonful
  • Howlin' Wolf
  • 2:37

  • 51 (3)
  • Pardon Denied Again
  • Williams, Robert [2] Pete
  • 4:34

  • 52 (3)
  • Freddie
  • Lipscomb, Mance
  • 2:33

  • 53 (3)
  • Hide Away
  • King, Freddie
  • 2:30

  • 54 (3)
  • Going Back to Florida
  • Hopkins, Lightnin'
  • 3:10

  • 55 (3)
  • Trust My Baby
  • Williamson, Sonny Boy [II]
  • 2:36

  • 56 (3)
  • Driving Wheel
  • Parker, Junior
  • 2:30

  • 57 (3)
  • Bright Lights, Big City
  • Reed, Jimmy [1]
  • 2:36

  • 58 (3)
  • Stormy Monday Blues
  • Bland, Bobby
  • 4:00

  • 59 (3)
  • Tongue Lashing
  • Collins, Albert [1]
  • 2:50

  • 60 (3)
  • Worry, Worry (Live)
  • King, B.B.
  • 6:13

  • 61 (3)
  • Baby Scratch My Back
  • Harpo, Slim
  • 2:46

  • 62 (3)
  • Think
  • McCracklin, Jimmy
  • 2:27

  • 63 (3)
  • Wang Dang Doodle
  • Taylor, Koko
  • 2:54

  • 64 (3)
  • Early in the Morning
  • Wells, Junior
  • 4:36

  • 65 (3)
  • Sweet Home Chicago
  • Shines, Johnny
  • 3:19

  • 66 (4)
  • Crosscut Saw
  • King, Albert
  • 2:27

  • 67 (4)
  • Every Night and Every Day
  • Magic Sam [1]
  • 3:00

  • 68 (4)
  • Why I Sing the Blues
  • King, B.B.
  • 8:30
  • Lyrics for Why I Sing the Blues from Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

  • 69 (4)
  • Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Pt. 1
  • Taylor, Little Johnny
  • 3:10

  • 70 (4)
  • Little Bluebird
  • Little Milton
  • 6:28

  • 71 (4)
  • Your Turn to Cry
  • Johnson, Jimmy [1]
  • 5:38

  • 72 (4)
  • Down Home Blues
  • Hill, Z.Z.
  • 5:01

  • 73 (4)
  • Your Husband Is Cheatin' on Us
  • LaSalle, Denise
  • 4:30

  • 74 (4)
  • How Long This Must Go On
  • Barnes, Roosevelt "Booba" And The Playboys
  • 3:55

  • 75 (4)
  • Jr. Blues
  • Kimbrough, Junior
  • 6:30

  • 76 (4)
  • Big Legged Mamas Are Back in Style
  • Mahal, Taj
  • 4:06

  • 77 (4)
  • Stubborn Woman
  • Jones, Tutu
  • 3:16

  • 78 (4)
  • Cities Need Help
  • Guy, Buddy
  • 5:21

  • 79 (4)
  • You
  • Branch, Billy
  • 7:12

  • 80 (4)
  • Between Midnight and Day
  • Harris, Corey
  • 3:19

    • Credits of Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994

    • Leadbelly
    • Vocals, Guitar (12 String), Performer
    • Jimmy Reed
    • Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Performer, ?


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