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about this album
Robert Lee McCollum was one of the major innovators of electric blues. He was a stylish and extremely versatile slide guitarist, and the man behind blues classics such as "Anna Lee" and the definitive reading of "Sweet Black Angel" (a song which is usually associated with B.B. King, who re-named it "Sweet Little Angel"). Nighthawk was a source of inspiration to both Muddy Waters and Elmore James, and it is easy to understand why once you have listened to this album. Producer Norman Dayron recorded Nighthawk for his film "And this is Live" on the corner of Peoria and 14th Street in Chicago, Illinois, on September 24th 1964, and all 125 minutes of recordings are avilable on the excellent box set "And This Is Maxwell Street". That one is a treasure for sure, but slightly more casual fans should be aware that almost all of the recordings featuring Robert Nighthawk are included on this disc, and the remaining sides, which features artists like Big John Wrencher and Arvella Gray, are perhaps more for the truly dedicated. Me, I love the two-hour box set, but I have no doubt that a lot of people will be better served by this condensed version. These sides are certainly terrific no matter how you look at it. Robert Nighthawk is backed by just drums and a rhythm guitar on most of the tracks, although on three or four of them, harpist Carey Bell lends a hand. The sound is surprisingly good, considering the circumstances (you can sometimes hear people talking, applauding and yelli
