Baby Face Turner

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We continue to explore the southern field trips made by Joe Bihari and Ike Turner for Modern Records, this time focussing upon the March 1952 sessions. The stellar blues names here include Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore, Houston Boines and Drifting Slim. by Chris Bentley Released just before this wonderful summer, "The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol 1" (CDCHD 876) attracted impressive reviews. Writing in Juke Blues #53, Mark Harris described the CD as a "heavyweight collection... exuberant, ebullient and energising... an indispensable issue". In Blues & Rhythm #180, it was rated CD of the Month, with reviewer Ray Templeton noting that it is "as promising a start as you could wish for from what is potentially as exciting and as valuable a series of downhome blues on CDs as any ever attempted". Living Blues topped them all by stating "This disc is an absolute must-have". And yet I hear that the sales of the first volume are 'sluggish'. What a travesty, especially considering that you could buy many, many CDs from the rich Ace catalogue for the price of just ONE of the original 78 rpm releases (if you can find them). However, the good people at Ace Records are never content to rest on their laurels, so no sooner said than done, here's Volume 2. The message is "same strokes, same folks" with veteran blues researchers John Broven and Dave Sax taking charge of the compilation. To whet your appetite as an aperitivo, there is more of the same incredibly researched and highly

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