Truckin' with Albert Collins

Truckin' with Albert Collins is an album by the American musician Albert Collins, released in 1969.[1][2] It was originally released as The Cool Sounds of Albert Collins, in 1965.[3] It was reissued by MCA Records in 1991.[4]

Truckin' with Albert Collins
Studio album by
Released1969
Recorded1962, 1963, 1965
StudioGold Star (Houston, Texas)
GenreBlues
LabelBlue Thumb
ProducerBill Hall
Albert Collins chronology
Alive and Cool
(1969)
Truckin' with Albert Collins
(1969)
There's Gotta Be a Change
(1971)

Production

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Produced by Bill Hall, the album was recorded at Gold Star Studios, in Houston, Texas.[5] Nine of the tracks, recorded in 1962 and 1963, had already been released as singles; "Icy Blue", "Kool Aide", and "Shiver 'n Shake" date to April 1965 sessions.[6][5] The initial Blue Thumb release was channeled for stereo sound.[7] Many of the tracks employ a horn section.[8] Collins used open D-minor and F-minor tunings and played without a pick.[9][10] He sings on "Dyin' Flu", perhaps his first recorded vocal performance.[6]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [11]
The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD     [6]
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide     [12]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings    [13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [14]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues     [15]

The Detroit Free Press opined that "the dynamic levels, moods, metronomic speeds, and rhythms ... are so very similar that it's practically impossible to tell one selection from another."[16] The Province said that Collins has "striven for an instrumental approach that, while acknowledging the profound influence of [T-Bone] Walker and [Albert] King, is an immediately recognizable, wholly personable mode of expression."[17] The Edmonton Journal praised the "hard-drivin, fast-rollin contemporary blues... Easily the best modern interpreter of old-style 'truckin'' blues."[18]

The San Francisco Examiner stated that the 1991 reissue "restores a crucial classic of the literature."[4] AllMusic wrote that "his trademark sound is in place—his leads are stinging, piercing and direct."[11] The Rolling Stone Album Guide noted the "eerie tone clusters."[14]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Frosty" 
2."Hot 'n Cold" 
3."Frost Bite" 
4."Tremble" 
5."Thaw-Out" 
6."Dyin' Flu" 
7."Don't Lose Your Cool" 
8."Backstroke" 
9."Kool Aide" 
10."Shiver 'n Shake" 
11."Icy Blue" 
12."Sno-Cone II" 

References

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  1. ^ Oliver, Myrna (25 Nov 1993). "Albert Collins; Award-Winning Blues Guitarist, Recording Artist". Los Angeles Times. p. A22.
  2. ^ Gregory, Hugh (2003). Roadhouse Blues: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Texas R&B. Backbeat. p. 180.
  3. ^ Richmond, Dick (Aug 10, 1984). "Blues in the Night with Albert Collins". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 3C.
  4. ^ a b Selvin, Joel (Dec 8, 1991). "Pop CDs". Datebook. San Francisco Examiner. p. 51.
  5. ^ a b Bradley, Andy; Wood, Roger (2010). House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios. University of Texas Press. p. 129.
  6. ^ a b c Hadley, Frank-John (1993). The Grove Press Guide to the Blues on CD. Grove Press. p. 47.
  7. ^ Sunier, John (Jul 4, 1970). "Truckin' with Albert Collins". Daily Independent Journal. p. TV8.
  8. ^ Brewer, Steve (Jan 24, 1992). "CD Revival Brings Blues Back to Life". Albuquerque Journal. p. C4.
  9. ^ Lawson, Terry (Nov 1, 1979). "'The cool sound': That's Albert Collins' guitar style". Journal Herald. Dayton. p. 25.
  10. ^ Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick (2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press. p. 112.
  11. ^ a b "Truckin' with Albert Collins Review by Thom Owens". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  12. ^ MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 86.
  13. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 129.
  14. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 152.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues. Virgin.
  16. ^ Ashby, Dorothy (Jul 20, 1969). "Record Reviews". Detroit Free Press. p. 8D.
  17. ^ Darrell, Wayne (Aug 15, 1969). "Collins goes truckin' to success". Grooves. The Province. p. 10.
  18. ^ Harvey, Lana (Sep 5, 1969). "Popular Records". Edmonton Journal. p. 58.