Classic Female Vocal Blues

Artist: Odetta
Though Odetta hasn't exactly been inactive, Blues Everywhere I Go is her first studio recording in 14 years. It's been worth the wait--this is an incredibly strong album, from one of the most gorgeous folk-blues voices ever. Odetta's voice has aged well, acquiring a depth of maturity without losing one whit of emotional expression. Among the album's highlights are "Oh Papa," a slow, bittersweet work of art, and a take on "Careless Love" that must rival the best versions of this often-covered song. What's frequently astonishing is how Odetta breathes new life into old material, giving it new relevance; this is especially evident on "TB Blues" and "Homeless Blues." Liner notes from blues writer Robert Gordon add a bit of history and interpretation to the material. --Genevieve Williams

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Blues to the Bone

Artist: Etta James
Californian Etta James decided against accepting filmmaker Martin Scorcese's personal invitation to sing at The Blues gala in New York in early 2003. The well-celebrated soul and blues queen makes amends here with what is one of the most blues-centered recordings in her expansive discography, bringing her big, no-nonsense voice and her feisty, proud woman's point of view to bear on classics, many identified with Chicago. The likes of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'," Jimmy Reed's "Hush Hush," and Muddy Waters's "Got My Mojo Working" may be hackneyed choices, but she seizes each of a dozen as her own, and clearly, as she says herself, these are the blues songs that touch her the deepest. No argument here. --Frank-John Hadley

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Songs That Got Us Through WW2, Vol. 2

Artist: Various Artists

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The Essential Etta James

Artist: Etta James
Etta James is the dues-paying blues mama. Throughout her tragic and storied career, Miss Peaches has successfully delivered her growling soul and soaring vocals to everything from Chicago blues to pop. Her voice is one of the most distinctive in the entire blues canon and The Essential Etta James captures it in its prime; 44 tracks cover her best Chess Records work from 1960 to the early '70s. And though her early R&B hits for Modern like "Roll with Me Henry" are not here, just about everything else is: the supreme balladry of "All I Could Do Was Cry" and "At Last," the sassy bump of "Seven-Day Fool" and "Pushover," the raucous soul of "In the Basement," and even bell-bottomed funk of "All the Way Down." But the finest evidence of James's versatility can be heard in her outstanding Memphis soul covers of "Tell Mama" and "Security." There's a lot of Etta James out there, but this is likely the best compilation of her work you're going to find. --Ken Hohman

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Etta James Rocks the House

Artist: Etta James

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Love Songs

Artist: Etta James
She's no stranger to the towering highs and lows of the heart, and Etta James's soaring, gospel-tinged pipes match up well with the rigors of unabashed bliss. Happily, the good people at Chess Records recognize this, and they have thoughtfully collected some of the best examples into one tidy record. Kicking off with her classic treatment of "At Last," the collection moves through the lilting strings of "My Dearest Darling" on into the expressive tones of "I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)" with grace and emotional candor. James can be simultaneously tender and deeply honest and her ability to express the desperate joy that is the soul of love remains one of life's marvelous pleasures. --Matthew Cooke

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Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Christmas

Artist: Various Artists

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At Last!

Artist: Etta James
This is Etta James's first full-length album, recorded for Chess Records' Argo subsidiary in 1960. It taps all aspects of her then-blossoming talent. There's the crooning rock ballad "My Dearest Darling" and the elegantly symphonic "Sunday Kind of Love." Her classic, brokenhearted "All I Could Do Was Cry" follows the sweet title track and the bawdy blues stomper "I Just Want to Make Love to You." And there's a version of Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather," which Lena Horne made famous. James's fine way with such a wide embrace of material wouldn't again be this well displayed on a single album until she was united with producer Jerry Wexler for 1977's Deep in the Night. --Ted Drozdowski

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Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday

Artist: Billie Holiday
Lady Day: The Best Of Billie Holiday is an ideal introduction to the Voice of Jazz in all its enduring glory. This incomparable collection draws on the 10-CD boxed set Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) (CXK 85470), representing not only her finest work, but American jazz and pop singing at its zenith. Accompanied sublimely by a Who's Who of the Swing Era (including her soulmate Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Jo Jones, and pianist-arranger Teddy Wilson, who was often at the helm when Holiday entered the studio), Billie Holiday masterfully renders a host of mostly-classic pop tunes. Fans are drawn to her musical triumphs and personal tragedies. She is a mysterious icon in the same vein as Miles Davis. Columbia possesses the first and finest recordings of her entire career! This material has never sounded clearer and more intimate!