Blues Anytime

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Blues Anytime
BluesAnytimeI.jpg
Vol. 1 British cover (2006 reissue)
Compilation album by
Various Artists
Released1968–1969
Genre British blues
Label Immediate Records
Producer Mike Vernon
Alternate cover
BluesAnytimeII.jpg
Vol. 1 American cover (2006 reissue)

Blues Anytime: An Anthology of British Blues is a series of compilation albums featuring tracks from various British blues artists. Three volumes were released by Immediate Records in 1968, followed by Blues Leftovers in 1969.

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s, and reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s, when it developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar and made international stars of several proponents of the genre including The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin.

Immediate Records record label

Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.

Contents

The albums feature various tracks from such artists as John Mayall, Tony McPhee, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Jo Ann Kelly, Jeremy Spencer, Cyril Davies, Stuff Smith, Albert Lee, Dave Kelly and Rod Stewart and were also the first release of several exclusive tracks recorded for Immediate between 1965 and '67. These include recordings by Jimmy Page with Jeff Beck, Nicky Hopkins and the All-Stars, [1] plus seven instrumentals recorded by Page and Eric Clapton, [2] backed by members of The Rolling Stones (Bill Wyman, bass, Mick Jagger, harmonica and Ian Stewart, keyboard) [3] and the only recorded output by Santa Barbara Machine Head.

John Mayall English blues musician

John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, guitarist, organist and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band which has counted among its members some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians. They include Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Hughie Flint, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Johnny Almond, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Kal David, and Buddy Whittington.

Tony McPhee English blues guitarist

Anthony Charles McPhee is an English blues guitarist, and founder of The Groundhogs. An early version of this band backed Champion Jack Dupree and John Lee Hooker on UK concerts in the mid-1960s. He is often credited as 'Tony (T.S.) McPhee'. He was given this name by the producer Mike Vernon who suggested adding 'T.S.' to his name when McPhee released a duet single with Champion Jack Dupree in 1966 called Get Your Head Happy, in order to make it look more like an official blues name. It stands for Tough Shit.

Savoy Brown, originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, are an English blues rock band formed in Battersea, south west London in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring.

Reissues

When Immediate initially released the original Blues Anytime albums in the USA, the first two volumes were simply titled An Anthology of British Blues, [4] [5] with the third volume renamed as The Beginning: British Blues. [6]

The Blues Anytime tracks were released again by Immediate in 1969 as two double albums titled Anthology of British Blues, albeit presented in a different running order. The first was made up of Vol. 1 side A, Leftovers side A, Vol. 3 side A and Vol. 2 side B, [7] with the second being Vol. 1 side B, Leftovers side B, Vol. 2 side A and Vol. 3 side B.

In 1970, after the dissolution of Immediate Records, RCA Victor reissued the original Blues Anytime albums under the name British Archive Series: Blues for Collectors Vol. 1–4,. [4] [5] A compilation of tracks from this series was released by RCA as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page: Guitar Boogie (1971)

<i>Guitar Boogie</i> (album) 1971 compilation album by Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page

Guitar Boogie is a blues rock compilation album featuring Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page together with the Allstars and members of The Rolling Stones.

In 1986, Line Records in Germany released the complete four-album-series as box set [8]

A box set or boxed set is a set of items traditionally packaged in a box and is offered for sale as a single unit.

1986's White Boy Blues, Volumes 1 and 2 (Castle Communications), is largely made up of Blues Anytime.

In 1996, Charly Records released a 3CD box set titled The Immediate Blues Anthology; the first two discs covering the tracks from Blues Anytime Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 and Leftovers presented in their original running order, with the third disc made up of other assorted tracks from the Immediate archives. [9]

The original series was reissued again in 2006 by JVC in Japan, released across two CDs presented in mini LP sleeve replicas with obi strips. The first, titled Blues Anytime I, combined the tracks from the original Blues Anytime Vol.1 and Vol. 2, using the original British artwork from Vol. 1 as its cover art. [10] The second, Blues Anytime II, combined the tracks from the original Blues Anytime Vol. 3 and Blues Leftovers, but used the original American cover art from Vol. 1 on the front and the cover from Leftovers on the back. [11]

Track listings

Blues Anytime Vol. 1

Immediate IMLP 014
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."I'm Your Witchdoctor" John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers 2:11
2."Snake Drive" Eric Clapton 2:29
3."Ain't Gonna Cry No More" T.S. McPhee 3:06
4."I Tried" Savoy Brown Blues Band 3:03
5."Tribute to Elmore"Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page 2:09
6."I Feel So Good" Jo Ann Kelly 2:53
7."Telephone Blues"John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers3:57
8."You Don't Love Me"T.S. McPhee2:24
9."West Coast Idea"Eric Clapton2:19
10."Ain't Seen No Whisky"Jo Ann Kelly2:58
11."Flapjacks" Stone's Masonry 2:43
12."Cold Blooded Woman"Savoy Brown Blues Band3:50
Total length:34:06

Blues Anytime Vol. 2

Immediate IMCP 015
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."On Top of the World"John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers2:49
2."Someone to Love Me"T.S. McPhee2:21
3."Can't Quit You Baby"Savoy Brown Blues Band3:38
4."Draggin' My Tail"Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page 3:08
5."Dealing with the Devil" Dharma Blues Band 3:16
6."Who's Knocking" Jeremy Spencer 2:35
7."Freight Loader"Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page2:48
8."Look Down at My Woman"Jeremy Spencer3:04
9."Roll 'Em Pete"Dharma Blues Band2:09
10."Choker"Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page1:26
11."True Blue"Savoy Brown Blues Band4:03
12."When You Got a Good Friend"T.S. McPhee2:32
Total length:33:49

Blues Anytime Vol. 3

Immediate IMLP 019
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Someday Baby" Cyril Davies and the All-Stars 2:50
2."Steelin'"The All-Stars featuring Jeff Beck 2:39
3."L.A. Breakdown"The All-Stars featuring Jimmy Page2:06
4."Chuckles"The All-Stars featuring Jeff Beck2:24
5."Down in the Boots"The All-Stars featuring Jimmy Page3:26
6."Piano Shuffle"The All-Stars featuring Nicky Hopkins 3:00
7."Miles Road"Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page2:26
8."Porcupine Juice" Santa Barbara Machine Head 3:15
9."Albert"Santa Barbara Machine Head3:21
10."Rubber Monkey"Santa Barbara Machine Head2:39
11."Howlin' for My Darling" Stuff Smith 3:25
Total length:31:31

Blues Leftovers

Immediate IMLP 024
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."The Next Milestone" Albert Lee 3:55
2."Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight" Earl Vince and the Valiants 2:49
3."New Death Matter" Dave Kelly 3:31
4."Back Water Blues"Jo Ann Kelly3:16
5."So Much to Say" Rod Stewart 3:15
6."Married Woman Blues"Dave Kelly3:41
7."Water on My Fire"Albert Lee3:30
8."Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets"Jo Ann Kelly2:47
9."Alabama Woman"Dave Kelly3:49
10."Crosstown Link"Albert Lee3:50
11."All Night Long"Dave Kelly2:05
12."Down and Dirty"Simon and Steve2:43
Total length:39:11

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References

  1. Jimmy Page. "Blues Anytime Vol. 3 liner notes". Immediate Records, reproduced at CyrilDavies.com.
  2. whereseric.com: "Early Years" Eric Clapton CD Compilations (1963 to 1966)
  3. Jon Tiven. "White Boy Blues liner notes". Castle Communications, reproduced at FleetwoodMac.net.
  4. 1 2 Blues Anytime Vol. 1 at Discogs (list of releases)
  5. 1 2 Blues Anytime Vol. 2 at Discogs (list of releases)
  6. Blues Anytime Vol. 3 at Discogs (list of releases)
  7. Anthology of British Blues Volume 1 at Discogs (1969 double album)
  8. Blues Anytime: An Anthology of British Blues at Discogs (1986 Line Records box set)
  9. The Immediate Blues Anthology at Discogs (1996 Charly Records box set)
  10. Blues Anytime I at AllMusic (2006 JVC release)
  11. Blues Anytime II at AllMusic (2006 JVC release)