ROBBEN FORD
''ANTHOLOGY: THE EARLY YEARS, DISC ONE''
MARCH 6 2001
142:34
DISC ONE
1/Sweet Sixteen
Joe Josea / B.B. King/12:34
2/You Drive a Hard Bargain
Robben Ford/5:44
3/Raining in My Heart
Boudleaux Bryant / Felice Bryant/10:32
4/Blue and Lonesome/8:27
5/Red Rooster
Willie Dixon / Big Mama Thornton/4:26
6/Eighty-One
Ron Carter / Miles Davis/8:09
7/Miss Miss
Robben Ford/8:59
8/Sunrise
Robben Ford/11:29
DISC TWO
1/Oh Gee/6:33
2/You Don't Know What Love Is
Gene DePaul / Don Raye/8:51
3/Everyday I Have the Blues
Peter Chatman/5:28
4/It's My Own Fault
John Lee Hooker/10:29
5/Ladies' Choice
Robben Ford/6:33
6/Hawk's Theme
Robben Ford/6:25
7/S-K Blues
Sonny King/3:45
8/Low Ride
Robben Ford/2:29
9/Softly Rolling
Robben Ford/7:30
10/Stella and Frenchie
Robben Ford/8:05
11/Goin' Down Slow/6:06
Jim Baum /Drums
Robben Ford /Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Sax (Tenor), Vocals
Paul Nagle /Keyboards
Stanley Poplin /Bass
Jimmy Witherspoon /Guest Artist, Vocals
REVIEW
by Alex Henderson
Robben Ford has always been a very eclectic musician; therefore, the people who get the most out of his recordings tend to have eclectic tastes themselves. If you're the sort of broad-minded listener who holds blues, rock, and jazz in equally high regard, Anthology: The Early Years is a musical feast. This two-CD set, which Avenue Jazz provided in 2001, looks back on recordings that the singer/guitarist/saxman made from 1972-1976 (when he was in his early to mid-20s). Even then, Ford was difficult to categorize -- those who insist on pigeonholing musicians wondered if he was really a blues-rock singer or a jazz instrumentalist at heart. And, truth be told, he wore both hats equally well. Anyone who loves down-and-dirty blues-rock cannot help but applaud his gutsy versions of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" and B.B. King's "Sweet Sixteen." But Ford is equally convincing as a jazz instrumentalist on "Softly Rolling," "Miss Miss," and Miles Davis' "Eighty One." Many of the instrumentals are shining examples of 1970s fusion, but Ford favors more of a post-bop approach on the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is" (which is one of the tunes that finds him on tenor sax and is very John Coltrane-minded). Anthology: The Early Years isn't the last word on Ford in the 1970s, but Avenue Jazz' picks are generally excellent -- and it is certainly among the places to go if you're exploring his early output for the first time.
BIOGRAPHY
by Scott Yanow
Robben Ford has had a diverse career. He taught himself guitar when he was 13 and considered his first influence to be Mike Bloomfield. At 18 he moved to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford Band (named after his father, who was also a guitarist) and was soon hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite for nine months. In 1971, the Charles Ford Blues Band was re-formed and recorded for Arhoolie in early 1972. Ford played with Jimmy Witherspoon (1972-1973), the L.A. Express with Tom Scott (1974), George Harrison, and Joni Mitchell. In 1977 he was a founding member of the Yellowjackets, which he stayed with until 1983, simultaneously having a solo career and working as a session guitarist. In 1986, Ford toured with Miles Davis and had two separate periods (1985 and 1987) with Sadao Watanabe, but he really seemed to find himself in 1992 when he returned to his roots: the blues. Ford formed a new group, the Blue Line, and subsequently recorded a couple of blues-rock dates for Stretch that are among the finest of his career. In 1999, he released Sunrise on Rhino and Supernatural on Blue Thumb. Ford signed to the Concord Jazz label in 2002 and released Blue Moon that same year, followed by Keep on Running in 2003 and Truth in 2007. That same year, he was a billed special guest on Larry Carlton's Live in Tokyo. He followed this with the predominantly live Soul on Ten in 2009. In 2013, Ford began his label association with Provogue, and issued the studio album Bringing It Back Home, comprised mostly of blues and R&B covers played by an all-star band.
''ANTHOLOGY: THE EARLY YEARS, DISC ONE''
MARCH 6 2001
142:34
DISC ONE
1/Sweet Sixteen
Joe Josea / B.B. King/12:34
2/You Drive a Hard Bargain
Robben Ford/5:44
3/Raining in My Heart
Boudleaux Bryant / Felice Bryant/10:32
4/Blue and Lonesome/8:27
5/Red Rooster
Willie Dixon / Big Mama Thornton/4:26
6/Eighty-One
Ron Carter / Miles Davis/8:09
7/Miss Miss
Robben Ford/8:59
8/Sunrise
Robben Ford/11:29
DISC TWO
1/Oh Gee/6:33
2/You Don't Know What Love Is
Gene DePaul / Don Raye/8:51
3/Everyday I Have the Blues
Peter Chatman/5:28
4/It's My Own Fault
John Lee Hooker/10:29
5/Ladies' Choice
Robben Ford/6:33
6/Hawk's Theme
Robben Ford/6:25
7/S-K Blues
Sonny King/3:45
8/Low Ride
Robben Ford/2:29
9/Softly Rolling
Robben Ford/7:30
10/Stella and Frenchie
Robben Ford/8:05
11/Goin' Down Slow/6:06
Jim Baum /Drums
Robben Ford /Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Sax (Tenor), Vocals
Paul Nagle /Keyboards
Stanley Poplin /Bass
Jimmy Witherspoon /Guest Artist, Vocals
REVIEW
by Alex Henderson
Robben Ford has always been a very eclectic musician; therefore, the people who get the most out of his recordings tend to have eclectic tastes themselves. If you're the sort of broad-minded listener who holds blues, rock, and jazz in equally high regard, Anthology: The Early Years is a musical feast. This two-CD set, which Avenue Jazz provided in 2001, looks back on recordings that the singer/guitarist/saxman made from 1972-1976 (when he was in his early to mid-20s). Even then, Ford was difficult to categorize -- those who insist on pigeonholing musicians wondered if he was really a blues-rock singer or a jazz instrumentalist at heart. And, truth be told, he wore both hats equally well. Anyone who loves down-and-dirty blues-rock cannot help but applaud his gutsy versions of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" and B.B. King's "Sweet Sixteen." But Ford is equally convincing as a jazz instrumentalist on "Softly Rolling," "Miss Miss," and Miles Davis' "Eighty One." Many of the instrumentals are shining examples of 1970s fusion, but Ford favors more of a post-bop approach on the standard "You Don't Know What Love Is" (which is one of the tunes that finds him on tenor sax and is very John Coltrane-minded). Anthology: The Early Years isn't the last word on Ford in the 1970s, but Avenue Jazz' picks are generally excellent -- and it is certainly among the places to go if you're exploring his early output for the first time.
BIOGRAPHY
by Scott Yanow
Robben Ford has had a diverse career. He taught himself guitar when he was 13 and considered his first influence to be Mike Bloomfield. At 18 he moved to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford Band (named after his father, who was also a guitarist) and was soon hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite for nine months. In 1971, the Charles Ford Blues Band was re-formed and recorded for Arhoolie in early 1972. Ford played with Jimmy Witherspoon (1972-1973), the L.A. Express with Tom Scott (1974), George Harrison, and Joni Mitchell. In 1977 he was a founding member of the Yellowjackets, which he stayed with until 1983, simultaneously having a solo career and working as a session guitarist. In 1986, Ford toured with Miles Davis and had two separate periods (1985 and 1987) with Sadao Watanabe, but he really seemed to find himself in 1992 when he returned to his roots: the blues. Ford formed a new group, the Blue Line, and subsequently recorded a couple of blues-rock dates for Stretch that are among the finest of his career. In 1999, he released Sunrise on Rhino and Supernatural on Blue Thumb. Ford signed to the Concord Jazz label in 2002 and released Blue Moon that same year, followed by Keep on Running in 2003 and Truth in 2007. That same year, he was a billed special guest on Larry Carlton's Live in Tokyo. He followed this with the predominantly live Soul on Ten in 2009. In 2013, Ford began his label association with Provogue, and issued the studio album Bringing It Back Home, comprised mostly of blues and R&B covers played by an all-star band.
