"Life, Love & the Blues" is modern classic, which no blues collection should be without. It's a Magnum Opus from a woman who has lived the life she sings about. Etta was there at the birth of rock 'n roll, performing from the age of 15 with Johnny Otis, the Moonglows, Chuck Berry and others too numerous to mention. Her career hasn't stopped since, despite battling heroin adiction, abusive relationships and being cheated out of songwriting royalties for such standards as "Dance With Me, Henry". She has taken the best and the worst the world has offered, survived both, and has stayed true to her music! She does one thing better than anyone else in the world and that's belt out the blues. Take a ride with Etta James and get educated.

Etta James is fantastic. She has made a great contempory Blues album while still retaining an authentic rootsy sound. Only someone with the experience and chops of the very talented lady could pull this off. She is backed by musicians equally talented and experienced on this Cd. Bobby Murray plays a wide variety of styles and always sounds tasteful. Great stuff, keep it up!

5 STARS IS NOT ENOUGH!! There is no greater blues recording by a female artist than this! I have played it over & over again and still, a year later, I listen to it every day. It is in my car, my wife has it it her car. I have it in both of my CD jukeboxs in my home stereo systems (bedroom and main room). Everyone who hears it wants to have it. I have an extensive Blues & Jazz collection and have been an avid blues fan since the early 60's. I recommend that you don't even think about buying another blues recording until you own this. People who don't enjoy or listen to the blues always ask what it is that I am playing. If I stop at a traffic light, pull into a parking lot or just drive down the road I constantly have to answer the same question. WHO IS THAT??? I turned a friend of mine onto this recording. She works nights in a convienience store and plays it continuously. She told me that the customers rave about the music. They stop in their tracks frequently and hang out listening until a song or the CD ends. This is the BEST. This is Etta James at her best. The recording is "Life, Love & The Blues". Simply stated, if you have LIFE and are still breathing, whether or not you know LOVE or the BLUES, you will be deeply moved by this recording.