Review of James Cotton : Superharps
It's harmonica heaven as a quartet of hard-blowing harpists with experience stretching from the classic Muddy Waters band to contemporary rocking-blues units strut their stuff in a friendly competition. The legendary James Cotton is the main attraction, and he lives up to his reputation, ripping through his individual showcase "The Hucklebuck" and dueling successfully on the group cuts. Fellow veteran Charlie Musselwhite, who displays another side of his talent by playing guitar on the acoustic "If I Should Have Bad Luck," is also in fine form. The younger members of the quartet, Chicago stalwart Billy Branch and former Roomful of Blues frontman Sugar Ray Norcia, hold their own, especially when they pair up on their originals "Mean Little Mama" and "Put My Baby Out." But there's more than just harmonicas as former Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Kid Bangham and stylish boogie-woogie pianist David Maxwell spice up things between harp solos. With material including everything from the vintage rock of "Route 66" to the Tommy Dorsey big-band hit "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie," the disc offers a rare and well-rounded overview of the harmonica heroes, concluding with more than 11 minutes of the four musicians going head-to-head on "Harp to Harp." --Michael Point

Users's Reviews - James Cotton : Blues harp class
This CD explores blues harmonica playing, almost in the form of a harp master class, and delivers in wonderful production, band and frontmen. Essentially, Sugar Ray Norcia is the main man here, playing on 7 of the 11 tunes, and he proves to be the best player AND singer. I have never heard him play as well on record before and he outplays the other players throughout. James Cotton also plays better than in a long time, which is nice to hear. Charlie's 3rd position playing, including his signature odd tuning work can also be heard and as far as I can pick up 1st, 2nd and 3rd position playing is covered on the CD. The playing by Billy Branch is good, but I have heard him better, especially on Johnny Winter's PointBlank releases where he is simply oozing. What makes this CD so enjoyable is the backup band, led by guitarist Kid Bangham, formerly of Sugar Ray's Bluetones and Fabulous Thunderbirds, providing excellent backup. This not just a harp record, it delivers nice guitar, piano, bass and drums. I can wholeheartedly recommend this CD to all blues lovers, but you have to love or enjoy harmonica.

Your latest reviews - James Cotton : Cotton or Polyester?
I first saw James Cotton perform in the early 1960's. It was a memorable concert that repeatedly comes to mind even after 30 plus years. Since that time I have purchased many Cotton CD's and have, on the whole, been relatively happy with my selections. Prior to this purchase, it had been approximately 5 years since my last Cotton CD.

After buying the CD I took it to work and yes, popped it into my computer. After listening intently I was instantly disappointed. In my opinion, this performance falls far short of Cotton's earlier CD's, most notably "High Compression". A couple of days later, I read an article in a blues magazine which indicated that Cotton had recorded this disc shortly after throat surgery. The disc was not highly recommended (I hate when that happens!).

Out of curiosity, I visited this site to see what others thought of the CD. As expected there were mixed reviews. Like with pepperoni pizza, individual taste in music varies. I did however, read with curiosity the suggestion by one reviewer that the CD would sound appreciably better (5 stars) by playing it on an audiophile quality system. Perhaps a smooth jazz snob crossing over to bluesland.

Blues music you see, was born in the fields, on back porches and in juke joints with makeshift instruments and low quality recording devices. The music went and goes well with whiskey, beer and bar-b-que. Most blues musicians learned the songs by ear, often by playing 45's and vinyl lp's on portable record players. Would the great Robert Johnson sound better on a high quality stereo? Is it really the size of a man's speakers that matter? I think not!

In any event, I took my CD to a friends house. Stereophonically speaking, he is very well endowed. I loaded the Cd on his Meridian 500 CD player and listened through his Klipsch LaScala speakers. Not surprisingly, the CD did not sound any better. Perhaps the cables need upgrading! In any event, I recommend "High Compression" as a better alternative. Its been tested in my car, york boom box, dell computer and my friends HIFI system. It sounds consistently good on any system. Check it out.