John Hammond - Big City Blues (Remastered) (1964/2019) [Hi-Res]

John Hammond's second album of stripped down, raw, urban R&B is a product of its time. Released in 1964 on the crest of the R&B explosion, it delivers the goods in the form of authentic musicianship, enthusiastic vocalizing, and excellent choices of material, from Leroy Carr's haunting "Midnight Hour Blues," to Willie Dixon's steady-rolling "I Live the Life I Love." Hammond's sincerity and love for the blues shines through on every track here, and it's to his credit that the performances still sound ground-breaking, exciting, and energetic today, avoiding any hint of pedantry or fakery. Hammond and company play throughout as if to the manner born (which, as the son of John Hammond Sr., discoverer of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and countless others, Hammond arguably was).