"The Real ***NITTY***GRITTY!" | 2009-02-13 |
| - Reviewed By onyx575 |
ETTA JAMES ROCKS THE HOUSE is one rip-roaring CD that has become one of my favorite "live" albums next to Live and More and Live Concert at the Forum--both by two other divas.
Anyway, I only knew of Etta James through her standard "At Last" (At Last!) and let me tell you that, that was only the tip-of-the-iceberg. In fact, I didn't even know Ms. James was still alive until all of the brouhaha over Beyonce performance of "At Last" came up and that brought me to this CD.
Etta rocks and rolls through two performance dates recorded in 1963 at The New Era Club in Nashville, TN. Her voice is a powerhouse and she snarls, scats, howls, and croons through all eleven tracks.
I love her take of "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Something's Got A Hold On Me." And you hear the crowd hooting and hollering their appreciation at this magnificent performer that you can't help stamping your foot and cheering, too!
Her take on "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" rivals Tina Turner's version with Ike, and yet Etta's voice can be equally effective on the lament "All I Could Do Is Cry."
If you enjoy those steel-belted divas with power house voices that hold nothing back and can really get down, ETTA JAMES ROCKS THE HOUSE is an album/CD that is a must have! |
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"Wow!" | 2008-06-17 |
| - Reviewed By barb3122 |
| I really hadn't listened to Etta James before, but recently heard a couple of her songs on [...] - well, I liked them and decided to get a cd. This woman really does Rock the House! What a voice! She reminds me a little of Tina Turner when she was with Ike. I think Janis Joplin may have been influenced somewhat by Etta James. I'm very happy with my purchase. |
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"Etta James Rocks the House" | 2008-06-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1E6RAJW2LY5O9 |
| An absolute masterpiece. I listen to it over and over and I am still amazed at the energy and creativeness she puts in each song. There is one slow song on the cd that kind of breaks the rockin' mood, but it is still an awesome cd, one of my all time favorites. |
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"Hot! Front row seats to see Etta James, 1963!" | 2007-05-20 |
| - Reviewed By sweethomechicagoinjapan |
One of the greatest live club recordings in Blues, and the only one from Etta's early career. You can feel the party; folks are screaming, Etta's steaming, the whole country was still reeling from her '61 At Last! recording that will also knock your shoes off and have you rocking the house yourself. Oh, Etta sings some beautiful blues, you know, but she can rip out some heart-wrenching gutteral gospel, too; it's all here in this one-night show. Just 25 years old and in full power, Live.
The audience is up screaming and dancing from the first number and Etta immediately slides into the sexiest version of Jimmy Reed's Baby, Any Way You Want Me To Do, giving the song all new meaning. Just four years earlier Ray Charles topped the charts with What I Say, and Etta belts it out true to form with all the flavor Ray gave it, and the audience is absolutely enthralled. You are right there with them on this recording.
She puts The Beatles to shame on Money (That's What I Want), and beat them to it here, rocking out to the tune originally recorded by Motown writer Barrett Strong in 1959. The Beatles made a hit out of it in '63 only after this show. They've Etta James to thank for warming Americans up to the beat.
The house stays on their feet keeping the floor wet though a rocking bluesy Seven Day Fool and they don't get a rest till the guitarist gets to put on a show of his own with Sweet Little Angel; a B.B. King classic, sung by Etta "with a feeling" as Little Walter wrote and Paul Butterfield so famously quoted and promoted. Oh, what a feeling. The first set ends here and we break for drinks!
Encore time! Ooh Poo Pah Doo gets the fans all riled up and dancing again. You can imagine a mixed crowd of revelers, drinks and smokes set down now, see 'em Twisting in front of the band and throughout the aisles. Back to B.B. King for Woke Up This Morning in rockin' double time, and Etta finishes off her party sending everyone home sweaty and in the mood with another Jimmy Reed classic, Ain't That Lovin' You Baby.
Oh, Baby, what a night! |
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"Best Etta James CD Out There" | 2007-01-03 |
| - Reviewed By hkshane |
| Years ago a friend had this on cassette. I finally found it on Amazon.com. What a woman! What a voice! I recommend this CD to anyone who likes Etta James. This CD always gets me moving and smiling. |
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"****1/2 actually" | 2005-06-11 |
| - Reviewed By docendo |
This 1963 live album finds Etta James at 25, catering to the crowd at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee. And she is great vocal shape, backed by a tough R&B combo which features saxist Gavrell Cooper and his brother Vonzell on keyboards, and a great David T. Walker on guitar.
Some listeners might find James' vocal improvisations a little bit annoying at times, and a couple of songs are on the sloppy side. But most of this album is just plain great, from the opener "Something's Got A Hold On Me" to the three bonus tracks which include a driving "I Just Want To Make Love To You". Gavrell Cooper and the tough, supple rhythm section drive along the wonderful soul stompers "Woke Up This Morning" and "Seven Day Fool", and James shows her versatility on a lovely rendition of the almost-too-cute "All I Could Do Was Cry". And Etta James have the crowd in the palm of her hand on Jessie Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".
Fans of Etta James probably own this album already. It is one of the highlights of her career, and if you don't have it already, get it right away. This is why record companies bother to release live albums. |
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