AMG Review of Blues Legends [Universal]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

It's hard to argue that most of the ten featured artists on MCA Special Products' Blues Legends are anything other than legendary. That doesn't mean that the featured cuts themselves are legendary, or even illustrate why these guys are legendary -- in fact, many of the tunes here aren't the artists' signature songs, and when the tunes are familiar, it's not necessarily through these versions. That said, it's hard to argue with any disc that features T-Bone Walker ("Call it Stormy Monday"), Willie Dixon ("Walking the Blues"), Little Milton ("We're Gonna Make It"), Big Joe Turner ("Corina, Corina"), John Lee Hooker ("Tantalizing with the Blues"), Albert King ("Calling on My Darling") and Muddy Waters ("Hard Loser"). Even when they're performing subpar material, they're still listenable. True, these songs won't give casual fans on a tight budget an accurate impression of any of the artists, but it's good enoguh, considering that it's a budget line disc.