Second album in the series Rhythm & Blues Hell Raisers Volume Two “Jail Bird” issued by Koko Mojo sees the light of day. Armed with thirty new tracks in an attempt to please listeners with a penchant for traditional rhythm and blues, the songs chosen originates from dark corners of society where rousing rhythm and blues numbers raise a holler and cause a ruckus and lead to nothing but a life as a “Jail Bird”. Despite any negative connotations, the track list of “Jail Bird” contains a smorgasbord of well-known and lesser-known artists who fill the minutes with appealing rhythm and blues songs that speak of life’s downturns and where deviant behaviour often presides. With Mark Armstrong responsible for the tracks chosen, and accompanying liner notes, Rhythm & Blues Hell Raisers Volume Two “Jail Bird” is neatly packaged in a threefold layout digipak. With thirty songs to choose from, and ranging from 1934 through to 1961, the established names certainly drive this album to great heights with the likes of Smiley Lewis (‘Down The Road’), Roy Brown (‘Whose Hat Is That’), Bobby Mitchell (‘No, No, No’), and Fats Domino (‘You Done Me Wrong’). But this wouldn’t be a Koko Mojo record without variety, and Rhythm & Blues Hell Raisers Volume Two “Jail Bird” has plenty of that! Look no further than popular choice right now, Varetta Dillard and quite brilliant ‘Scorched’, to a few samples of doo-wop via The “5” Royales ‘I’m Gonna Run It Down’, The Meadow Larks with ‘Pass The Gin’, and innovative ‘Jack, You’re Dead’ presented by The Aristo-Kats. Further bouts of creativity can be experienced during The Spirits of Rhythm’s ‘Junk Man’, to equally compelling ‘The Last Meal’ from the vocals of Hurricane Harry, the always reliable Richard Berry grabbing the headlines with excellent ‘The Big Break’, and double intrigue of song title and name of artist when it comes to ‘Your Wires Have Been Tapped’ by Pigmeat Markham. An album full of twists and turns, danger and excitement by means of great rhythms and storytelling, Rhythm & Blues Hell Raisers Volume Two “Jail Bird” is simply a must-have album for all connoisseurs of rhythm and blues.
Nathan Olsen-Haines (Koko Mojo)
01 Crawford Brothers I Ain't Guilty (J & C Crawford, Claiborne) Aladdin 1957
02 Sonny Knight with Jack Collier’s Orch. Jail Bird (Morgan) Vita 1956
03 Bobby Smith and Orch. Don’t Shake Those Hips At Me (Smith) Ruby 1953
04 Blow-Top Lynn’s House Rockers with Melvin Smith Rampaging Mama (Lynn) RCA Victor 1951
05 Ivory Joe Hunter I Got Your Water On (Pyles) King 1950
06 Cab Calloway Papa's In Bed With His Britches On (Stone) Okeh 1940
07 Annie Laurie and Paul Gayten I Ain't Gonna Let You In (Toombs) Regal 1950
08 Little Caesar with Eddie Beal’s Orch. Who Slammed The Door (Franklin, Beal) RCA Victor 1956
09 Fats Domino You Done Me Wrong (Domino) Imperial 1954
10 Kid Guitar Thompson and The Scooters My Baby Done Me Wrong (Thompson) Dore 1961
11 Jimmy Nelson I Sat And Cried (Nelson) Kent 1961
12 Wilbert Harrison Women And Whiskey (Herman, Mendelsohn) Savoy 1955
13 Varetta Dillard Scorched (Dillard) Triumph 1959
14 Boogaloo and His Gallant Crew Talk About A Party (Harris) Crest 1956
15 John Greer & Dolores Brown You Played On My Piano (Coben) RCA Victor 1953
16 Three Bits of Rhythm Root Beer Sizzle Sazzle Sizzle (Kovach, Jackson) Modern 1947
17 Hadda Brooks Hip Shakin' Boogie (no credit) Crown LP 1958
18 The Aristo-Kats Jack, You're Dead (Bishop, Miles) RCA Victor 1947
19 The “5” Royales I'm Gonna Run It Down (Pauling) King 1954
20 The Meadow Larks Pass The Gin (Julian) RPM 1954
21 Big Jay McNeely’s Orch. with Jesse Belvin All That Wine Is Gone (Huff) Imperial 1951
22 Pig Meat Markham Your Wires Have Been Tapped (Snead, Battle) Cosmopolitan 1958
23 Roy Brown’s Mighty Mighty Men Whose Hat Is That (Brown) De Luxe 1948
24 The Spirits Of Rhythm Junk Man (Loesser, Mayer) Decca 1934
25 Jimmy Williams Big Legged Woman (Williams) Don-El 1961
26 Harold Thunderbird Ward How Wild Can A Woman Be (Hill, Allen) Allen 1959
27 Bobby Mitchell No No No (Bartholomew, King) Imperial 1956
28 Hurricane Harry The Last Meal (Hammer) Okeh 1956
29 Richard Berry The Big Break (Berry) Flair 1954
30 Smiley Lewis Down The Road (Lewis, Bartholomew) Imperial 1954
