James is called a young man on this CD, but he'd already played with Muddy Waters for a time. Recorded in 1967, it showcases his vocals and harp well. The recording, done at Montreal's Penelope Cafe, is a pretty accurate depiction of James Cotton's raw power and force. The sound quality is OK for the time and really captures the feel of a live performance. Cotton has long been one of the greatest of the Chicago blues harp stylists, and his energy, enthusiasm and sincere love for the blues jumps right out at you from start to finish. The idea of a blues musician doing a recording in a static and heavily controlled atmosphere like a studio seems odd; amplified electric Chicago blues really should be both played AND heard in a loud, raucous, dark, smoky bar-type environment. You can smell the smoke and feel the beer being spilled on you while listening to this CD.

James Cotton's third solo release on Telarc, Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes picks up where 35th Anniversary Jam of the James Cotton Blues Band left off. The strongest of these 13 tracks find Cotton and associates digging back to the '30s for inspiration: Doc & Merle Watson assist on Leroy Carr's "How Long Blues," "Stealin' Stealin'" with Dave Alvin, "Key to the Highway" featuring Odetta, and a bluesy take on the Jimmie Rodgers country standard "Muleskinner Blues." This is mainly a mid-tempo, laid-back session with plenty of Cotton's harp virtuosity, which shines brightest on the instrumentals "Coach's Better Days," "Blues for Jacklyn," and "Friends." Also making contributions to the album are Peter Rowan, C.J. Chenier, Rory Block, Jim Lauderdale, and Marcia Ball…

The music featured here is actually all right, but the set suffers due to its odd patchwork assembly. Five of the tracks come from a 1963 acoustic session recorded at an apartment on the South Side, featuring Elvin Bishop on guitar, Cotton on vocals and harmonica, Paul Butterfield on harmonica, and Billy Boy Arnold on harmonica (hence the title 3 Harp Boogie). The other four selections are taken from his 1967 Verve album James Cotton Blues Band.

Four great blues harmonica players (James Cotton, Billy Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, and Sugar Ray Norcia) are featured in various combinations on this spirited disc, backed by a four-piece rhythm section (with guitarist Kid Bangham and pianist Anthony Geraci). Cotton and Norcia have solo pieces, seven numbers feature two harmonicas, and the lengthy low-down blues "Harp to Harp" has all four of the harmonica players taking turns soloing. Much of the material is jazz-oriented, including "The Hucklebuck," "TD's Boogie Woogie," and "Route 66," and the majority of the selections are instrumentals. Each of the harmonica players sounds inspired and the results are consistently exciting and swinging.

Deep in the Blues is a fascinating jam session between James Cotton, guitarist Joe Louis Walker, and jazz bassist Charlie Haden. The trio runs through a number of classic blues songs written by Muddy Waters, Percy Mayfield, and Sonny Boy Williamson and a few originals by Walker and Cotton. The sound is intimate and raw, which is a welcome change from Cotton's usual overproduced records.

Muddy Waters had his second coming 30 years ago, when longtime friend and disciple Johnny Winter and his Blue Sky label returned him–after a series of listless recordings aimed at the rock audience–to the raw, powerful authenticity of his timeless Chess material with a series of powerful albums. Beginning with 1977's acclaimed Hard Again, a subsequent tour produced Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live, recorded onstage in Detroit, New York, and Philadelphia with Muddy's band, Winter, and harmonica player/vocalist James Cotton. Enough live material remained for Legacy to release an expanded version with an entire second disc of unissued concert material. It seems even that wasn't the end. This collection returns again to those remarkable concerts, featuring Muddy on five tracks, among them a rousing "I Can't Be Satisfied," "Trouble No More," "Caldonia," and the closing "Got My Mojo Workin'." Winter and Cotton are no less powerful, Cotton redoing Jackie Brenston's hit "Rocket '88'" and Winter ripping up John Lee Hooker's "I Done Got Over It" and "Mama Talk to Your Daughter."

Four Chicago harmonica greats, one eminently solid album. Teamed with Junior Wells, Billy Branch, and Carey Bell, Cotton sings Willie Love's Delta classic "Little Car Blues" and Charles Brown's "Black Night." Wells trades harp solos and vocals, standing front and center on a fine rendition of Sonny Boy II's "Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets" and the tailor-made "Somebody Changed the Lock" and "Broke and Hungry," obviously relishing the camaraderie between himself and his fellow harmonica giants. Meanwhile, Branch's showcases are the apt original "New Kid on the Block" and a deft cover of Little Walter's "Who."

The years have ravaged James Cotton's once booming voice but his powerful harp playing hasn't lost a step, as one spin of Giant will confirm. His return to the Alligator label that released two Cotton albums in the mid-'80s and another with him as one fourth of 1990's classic Harp Attack! harmonica quartet is a chugging contemporary blues set that allows "Mr. Superharp" plenty of room to blow. Since guitarist Slam Allen handles the vocals, Cotton can play during the singing, something that eludes all other harmonica playing/lead vocalist frontmen. Allen is a competent if not terribly distinctive singer, but he delivers the tunes with adequate enthusiasm. The set is a mix of covers, including three relatively obscure ones from Cotton's ex-employer Muddy Waters and originals that don't expand the blues genre but sit comfortably within its parameters…

Blues harp maestro James Cotton was 77 at the time of this album's release. He can barely sing anymore, and the years of playing and touring have left his voice a hoarse croak, but make no mistake, he can still play the harp, and his stunning, overdriven blasts on the instrument are as powerful and as immediate as ever. He's the living embodiment of the Chicago blues, and one of the genre's last surviving founders of it, having mentored with the great Sonny Boy Williamson, and he recorded, played, and toured with Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, cutting his first sides at the age of 19 for Chess Records. He's done this a long time, and as this delightful, joyous, stomping, and vibrant set shows, he doesn't need to sing to command the stage…

Collection of The James Cotton Band - 100% Cotton (1974) and The James Cotton Band - Live & On The Move (1976).
100% Cotton (1974). The ebullient, roly-poly Chicago harp wizard was at his zenith in 1974, when this cooking album was issued on Buddah. Matt "Guitar" Murphy matched Cotton note for zealous note back then, leading to fireworks aplenty on the non-stop "Boogie Thing," a driving "How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong," and the fastest "Rocket 88" you'll ever take a spin in.
Live And On The Move (1976). Originally released on two vinyl platters in 1976 by Buddah, this set was digitally unleashed anew by the British Sequel label…

Taken from the high-energy harpist's first three albums for Verve following his split from Muddy Waters (including the entirety of his fine eponymous 1967 debut), this 20-track anthology is a fine spot to begin any serious Cotton collection. In those days, Cotton was into soul as well as blues – witness his raucous versions of "Knock on Wood" and "Turn on Your Lovelight," backed by a large horn complement. Compiler Dick Shurman has chose judiciously from his uneven pair of Verve follow-ups, making for a very consistent compilation.

This is the best contemporary James Cotton album gracing the shelves, thanks to its ingenious formatting: half the set places Cotton in a traditional setting beside guitarist Magic Slim, pianist Pinetop Perkins, and a solid rhythm section; the other half pairs him with a contemporary combo featuring guitarist Michael Coleman's swift licks and a three-piece horn section. Both combinations click on all burners. High Compression includes the scorching theme song "Superharp."