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The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James

Elmore James Format: Audio CD
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings
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Track Listings

1 Dust My Broom
2 The Sun Is Shining
3 Hawaiian Boogie
4 Sho' Nuff I Do
5 Please Find My Baby
6 T.V. Mama
7 My Best Friend
8 Madison Blues
9 Cry For Me Baby
10 The Sky Is Crying
11 Sunny Land
12 I Can't Hold Out
13 Look On Yonder Wall
14 I Need You
15 Done Somebody Wrong
16 Shake Your Moneymaker
17 The 12 Year Old Boy
18 It Hurts Me Too
19 Rollin And Tumblin
20 Something Inside Me
21 Standing At The Crossroads

Editorial Reviews

Product description

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: JAMES,ELMORE
Title: SKY IS CRYING-HISTORY OF
Street Release Date: 04/06/1993
Domestic
Genre: BLUES TRADITIONAL

Amazon.com

Other post-WWII Chicago bluesmen are better known, but the work of Elmore James holds up as well as any of theirs. If he never had the technical accomplishment of, say, Earl Hooker, he did have as much depth of emotional expression as Muddy Waters; just listen to the sweetness of "I Need You" or the pain of "It Hurts Me, Too." The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James contains some of the most important work of a man who still reigns as the king of slide guitar; anyone who wears a bottleneck today owes a debt to James. Highlights include Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," which James made his signature tune, as well as the title track, which contains some of the sweetest licks in blues history. --Genevieve Williams

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 4.94 x 0.45 inches; 3.6 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Rhino
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 7, 2006
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Rhino
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0000032Z0
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
138 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Louis W Stepter Jr
5.0 out of 5 stars Meaningful Gift
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024
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This particular jazz great is my wife’s youngest son’s favorite and he did not have this CD. We bought it as a gift for him.
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Fred Camfield
5.0 out of 5 stars blues from 1951 to 1961
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2012
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Elmore James was born in 1918 near Richland, Mississippi. His career had a path similar to other bluesmen who started playing in clubs in the Delta, and moved on north. When he was a teenager he played locally with Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson (aka, Rice Miller), and others. By 1939, he had a full band. His style was a lively, jazzy style of blues that would get people dancing, or maybe a woman shakin' it on the dance floor. The 21 tracks on this CD were recorded at various locations between 1951 and 1961. I would highly recommend it for your collection as a good collection of his work. A small booklet providing biographical material and details of the music is included in the jewel case. Elmore James provides vocals(except on track 6) and guitar. The tracks included on this CD are:

1. "Dust My Broom" with Leonard Ware (bass), Frock O'Dell (drums), and Sonny Boy Williamson (harmonica) (Jackson, Mississippi, 1951)

2. "The Sun is Shining" with Homesick James (guitar), Johnny Jones (piano), Henry "Sneaky Joe" Harris (drums), and J.T. Brown (tenor sax) (Chess Brothers Studio, Chicago, 1960)

3. "Hawaiian Boogie" with Johnny Jones (piano), possibly Ransom Knowling (bass), Odie Payne (drums), and J.T. Brown (tenor sax) (Chicago, 1953)

4. "Sho' Nuff I Do" with Ike Turner (guitar), Johnny Jones (piano), possibly Odie Payne (drums), and possibly Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm providing bass, and alto, tenor, and baritone saxes (Canton, Mississippi, 1954)

5. "Please Find My Baby" with Ike Turner (piano) and an unknown drummer (Jackson, Mississippi, 1953)

6. "T. V. Mama" with Joe Turner and His Blues Kings, Big Joe Turner (vocal), Elmore James (guitar), Johnny Jones (piano), Jimmy Richardson (bass), Red Saunders (drums), Sonny Cohn (trumpet), Grady Jackson (tenor sax), Mack Easton (baritone sax) (Chicago, 1953)

7. "My Best Friend" with Johnny Jones (piano), Ransom Knowling (bass), Odie Payne (drums), and J.T. Brown (tenor sax) (Chicago, 1953)

8. "Madison Blues" same information as track two, recorded in the same session.

9. "Cry for Me Baby" with Willie Johnson (guitar), Eddie Taylor (bass guitar), Willie Dixon (bass), Fred Below (drums), and J.T. Brown (tenor sax) (Chicago, 1957)

10. "The Sky is Crying" with Johnny Jones (piano), Homesick James (bass), Odie Payne (drums), J.T. Brown (tenor sax), and an unknown tenor sax (Chicago, 1959)

11. "Sunny Land" with Willard McDaniel (piano), Chuck Hamilton (bass), and Jesse Sailes (drums) (Culver City, California, 1954

12. "I Can't Hold Out" same information as track two, recorded during the same session.

13. "Look On Yonder Hill" with Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (piano), probably Sammy Lee Buley (bass), King Mose (drums), and Sam Myers (harmonica) (New Orleans, 1961)

14. "I Need You" with Jimmy Spruill (guitar), Homesick James (bass), possibly Belton Evans (drums), and unknown saxes (New York City, 1960)

15. "Done Somebody Wrong" same information as track 14.

16. "Shake Your Moneymaker" with Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (piano), probably Sammy Lee Bully (bass), and Sam Myers (drums) - not sure if this listing from the booklet is correct because San Myers is listed as harmonica on the track 13 (New Orleans, 1961).

17. "The 12 Year Old Boy" with Johnny Jones (piano), Wayne Bennett (guitar), possibly Eddie Taylor (guitar), Homesick James (bass), Odie Payne (drums), and J.T. Brown (tenor sax) (chicago, 1957)

18. "It Hurts Me Too" same information as track 17 except Wayne Bennett was not included.

19. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" same information as track 14.

20. "Something Inside Me" same information as track 14.

21. "Standing at the Crossroads" with Riff Ruffin (guitar), Johnny Acey (piano), Johnny Williams (drums), Danny Moore (trumpet), Paul Williams (baritone sax), and unknown bass and tenor sax (New York City, 1960)
12 people found this helpful
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Mary Yousaf
4.0 out of 5 stars Great blues singer
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2019
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I’d had an old home-made tape given to me by a British friend. I wore it out and then ordered a CD. Great blues singer but just didn’t sound at all like the tape I’d had, so while he was a great singer, the CD was not what I was hoping for.
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Robert W. Follett Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars Listen as His Early Hits Mature Before Your Ears!
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2006
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If you are a fan of the famous Elmore James hit, "Dust My Broom", you may be mildly disappointed by the version included on the CD, as it is a very early recording. But don't be shaken by this minor observation! The song is - after all - still the great "Dust My Broom"! See the CD titled "Blues Masters - Slide Guitar Classics" for an outstanding version of that same song.

That is NOT to say that this CD is disappionting, by any means! You will be introduced to many of his less-known songs, and you will hear his guitar style, as well as his voice, mature with his later recordings.

One thing that you will walk away with is a stronger sense of the early roots of electric blues, which did not always keep proper time, and was often plagued with poor recording techniques. Nonetheless, Elmore's guitar gets meaner, and his voice gets sweeter over time.

If you're a fan of early blues, if you need to understand Elmore's music from your PERSONAL perspective (rather than reading some music critic's opinion), if you love the eerie, yet powerful, electric slide than this CD is certainly for you.

Slide it into the CD player, dim the lights, and feel the blues!

Why did I give it get 5 stars? For delivering just what it promised; the history of Elmore James.
6 people found this helpful
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Sarasotan
5.0 out of 5 stars Good work, Rhino, on this great assortment!
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2009
Verified Purchase
Rhino has done an outstanding job pulling together these 21 excellent Elmore James selections from a wide variety of labels and spanning a large part of his career, and with great sound quality.

Of course any single disc omits a lot of great songs of James. If you want to have most of Elmore's best songs, I have found that this CD, together with "Let's Cut It" does the job. I also bought downloads of 8 other songs I wanted, to get all I was after. If you are a completist, look into the box sets that others have mentioned, particularly "The Classic Early Recordings (51-56)" and "King of the Slide Guitar".

With the 18 songs on "Let's Cut It" you get some indispensable additional James hits, such as "Dust My Blues", "I Was A Fool", Blues Before Sunrise", "Goodbye Baby".

Five songs are duplicated between the two, but only Sunnyland" and "Hawaiian Boogie" are the exact same versions. The other 3 are quite different versions ("Sho Nuff I Do", "Standing At The Crossroads", and "My Best Friend"), so not really "duplication". "Sho Nuff I Do" is my personal favorite Elmore James song and IMO one of the greatest blues songs ever, so I don't mind having a couple different versions.
5 people found this helpful
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Colby Jack
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome slide player
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2023
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A must have cd by one of the best slide guitar players ever.
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DANIEL O STARK
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Elmore James Compilation
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
If you're looking for a gift for someone who likes blues, but may not be familiar with Elmo, this is a very nice-- and representative--aggregation of James' material. Obviously, it's not comprehensive; but with all my other Elmore James releases on vinyl, I can pop this CD into the disc player of my car and wail Elmore James tunes on a road trip.
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Ballsy
5.0 out of 5 stars Some of Elmores best, get it if you like old blues !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reviewed in Canada on December 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
VERY FAST shipping !!!!!!!! Thanks for everything, I will be back !!!!!!!!!!!! For more CDs like this SUPER Elmore James CD this is the first CD I bought of his but it will not be the last !!!!
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マック
5.0 out of 5 stars スライド王
Reviewed in Japan on November 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
スライドギターの原点なのだろう。ちょっと前まで「ヤードバーズ時代のジェフベックのスライドのギター音はスゲエ」と思っていたら元曲のエルモアジェイムズが50年代からぶっ飛んだスライドギター音を奏でていた！どれだけ影響を与えたのだろう、フリードウッドマック時代のピーターグリーンはエルモアジェイムズのカバーばっかりしてたしねぇ。でもこの人の影響を強く受けたギタリストたちはみんなみんな良いスライドギターを弾いている。ジェフベック、デュアンオールマン、ジョニーウィンター、そしてブライアンジョーンズ。ああ、死んでる人が多いのが寂しい...
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Scouse Chap
5.0 out of 5 stars Elmore James - Blues legend
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2013
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Elmore James is central to the blues, a monumental figure in the history of the genre. This album is a marvellous show case for the great man's music. Even if you don't recognise the name then it's more than certain you've heard his songs by other artists - The Sky Is Crying (Stevie Ray Vaughan), I Can't Hold Out (Eric Clapton), The Sun Is Shining (Fleetwood Mac featuring Peter Green). James's signature tune, 'Dust My Broom', has become a blues classic.
'The Sky Is Crying: The History Of Elmore James' collects twenty-one songs cut by James - most of them written by him - and featuring a dazzling array of blues legends playing with him including Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny Jones, Willie Dixon, Big Joe Turner, Homesick James, J.T. Brown and many others.
All original tracks cut between 1951 - 1961 and, as the informative accompanying booklet says, recorded 'under wildly varying conditions and technologies'. But the music is so powerful and robust it shines through the situations in which it was recorded to make for a stunning expression of the blues. Beautiful to listen to and as vital as on the days these tracks were first laid down.
And of course you can hear George Harrison name check Elmore on 'For You Blue' from 'Let It Be'. What better recommendation can you have!
One person found this helpful
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Jazzrook
5.0 out of 5 stars An ideal introduction to the blues of Elmore James.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful cross-section of the recordings of blues singer and guitarist Elmore James(1918-1963) made between 1951 & 1961 for various labels including TRUMPET, CHESS, FLAIR, FIRE & CHIEF.
Elmore's impassioned vocals and his compelling slide guitar riffs are all here on classics such as 'Dust My Broom', 'The Sky Is Crying', 'It Hurts Me Too', 'Shake Your Moneymaker' and 'Standing at the Crossroads' along with less frenetic performances such as 'My Best Friend' and 'Sunny Land'.
All in all, this 21-track compilation is an ideal introduction to the great bluesman, Elmore James.
3 people found this helpful
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KTNK
5.0 out of 5 stars 懐かしいけど、それだけじゃない
Reviewed in Japan on September 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
同時代人でもないし、アメリカ人でもないのに妙に懐かしい気分になるのは、
やはり後世のミュージシャン達に多大なる影響を与え、その影響された音楽を
聴いてきたから・・・ですかね。

でも、聴き古した感は全くないです。むしろ、今でもカッコいいし、全然廃れてない。
その辺が「使い捨ての音楽」とは違うんでしょうね。
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