DIXON, WILLIE - I Am the Blues (180 Gram) [Import]

Personnel: Willie Dixon (vocals, bass); Johnny Shines (guitar); Walter "Shakey" Horton (harmonica); Sunnyland Slim, Lafayette Leake (piano); Clifton James (drums).
Reissue producer: Lawrence Cohn.
Includes liner notes by Pete Welding.
Digitally remastered by David Mitson (Sony Music Studios, Los Angeles).
This is part of Legacy's Roots N' Blues series.
Titling an album I AM THE BLUES might seen like an unseemly boast, but if there is anyone in blues history who can stand up to that piece of bravura, it's Willie Dixon. Over the course of his career, and in particular during his tenure at Chess Records in the '50s and '60s, he produced most of the best work of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and a host of other greats. He also penned a suitcase full of tunes that defined Chicago blues, easily the most influential strand of the blues in the post-war era.
Here, he tears into nine of them along with his crack band of Chicago All-Stars, including phenomenal blues harmonica player Shaky Jake. The result is as close to a blues master class as you're likely to hear.

• Released: 2012-03-13
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Blues