Various Artists – Chicago Blues At Home – Testament Records TCD 5028

Testament Records was established in the early 1960s by Pete Welding, a magazine editor, writer, historian, and archivist who was known for his work at Down Beat Magazine, a publication that itself indicates that is devoted to “jazz, blues and beyond.”  Welding’s work was also in demand by other music periodicals including Rolling Stone. 

It was in 1962 that Welding made a move to Chicago to chronicle the work of Black musicians, a relocation that is said to have been inspired by the great American blues and jazz authority Bob Koester and his label Delmark Records label’s efforts.

Welding produced blues recordings for a top-shelf roster of artists including Otis Spann, Dr. Ross, Big Joe Williams, Charlie Musselwhite, J.B. Hutto, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Eddie Taylor, Johnny Young, and Robert Nighthawk, among many others. 

In 1994, Welding sold the Testament Records catalog to Hightone Records.

On this expanded 18-track 1995 re-release of an original Advent Productions LP from 1977 that included 12 selections, a veritable cream-of-the-crop roster of Chicago bluesmen are featured, including Louis Myers, Johnny Littlejohn, Eddie Taylor, Bob Myers, Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Shines, and Homesick James.  Louis Myers leads the list with five cuts.

All the selections offered were recorded between August, 1970 and early 1976 in Chicago, Illinois, Hollywood, California, and Los Angeles (possibly Glendale), California in informal locations.  And therein lies the magnificence of this collection.  The bluesmen showcased are heard in a format not normally enjoyed by a blues fan base more accustomed to full electric band recording outings.

There are earthiness and individuality components that shine brightly in the laid-back ease of these blues submissions, and the open doors to those glimpses of individualism are fascinating.

This compilation stands as a captivating document not to be missed.  If you like the electric full-group work of these blues titans, undoubtedly you will find much here to appreciate.

Highly recommended!