Bobby Bland - The Anthology download mp3

Beginning as a blues shouter and cutting his first record in 1951, the year I was born, Bobbly ‘Blue’ Bland, never content to be a one trick pony, developed an intelligent gospel inspired crying blues and R&B style that was both balanced and refined, understanding the need for emotional grace and reverence, and achieved this by gliding through his songs, giving them a sense of breath, and bestowed those numbers with the musical character known as melisma; being able to move between several different notes in succession. This gave Bobby more than an edge over other singers of the time, certainly making him one of the slow-dance artists I always turned to, feeling that his smooth sophistication and elegance might just rub off on me.This is a stunning collection of songs who’s style is still emulated by contemporary R&B artists, proving that just because it’s fresh and new, doesn’t mean it’s original. And while I’d love to give Mr. Triple B all of the credit, he did manage to assemble amazing backing bands that both understood and appreciated what Bobby was trying to achieve, moving him further on up the road with melodies and musical textures never considered in pop music before ... making him perhaps the greatest singer to emerge from the Memphis scene. Bobby, unlike Elvis, filled his songs with grownup emotions, genuine frailties, and achievable dreams solidly based in the landscape of the times, filled with a power that didn’t so much demand the listener’s attention, more rapturing the souls of all those within listening distance, stopping them in their tracks, and carving out special moments in time that I’ll remember for my entire life. I once read a description of Bobby’s music [to the effect of being] not for the restless, the hormonal adolescents of the suburbs, but for the black working classes and the troubles that visited their lives. And for that reason, standing in the back of a packed Philadelphia, South Street theater on a Wednesday night, I felt both truly inspired and grateful to be hearing this music in a genuine black atmosphere, with appropriate black responses of revelation and joyous rejuvenation.This is R&B with singular longevity, and a compilation well worth your time and consideration. I seldom suggest this, but discovering Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, or simply setting out to develop am outstanding collection of his music, can easily, and most desirably achieved through several compilations, those being: The “3B” Blues Boy, The Blues years; 1952 - 1959, The Voice: Duke Recordings 1959 - 69, the 2001 The Anthology, and the 2007 The Definitive Collection.Review by Jenell Kesler