What is it about hearing Jimmy Jones' original 1960 version of the song "Handy Man" that makes one feel like James Taylor should have been prosecuted for song desecration in the 1970s? Checking out the 1960 volume in the German Bear Family label's Blowing the Fuse series makes a dead-set, open-and-shut case. This baby has 31 cuts, all of them burners. The thing opens with Buster Brown's "Fannie Mae," and after Jones' cut, Barrett Strong tears the mother down with the original version of "Money"! The blues are here, too, with Jimmy Reed's smash "Baby, What You Want Me to Do." There is just so much here, from the biggest hits -- and there are plenty, like Maurice Williams' "Stay," Fats Domino's "Walking to New Orleans," and Howlin' Wolf's read of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" -- to the near ones -- like Sugar Pie DeSanto's "I Want to Know," the Shirelles' "Tonight's the Night" (speaking of criminals, Neil Young should never have been allowed to write a song or title an album with this moniker; the man has no respect), and Hank Ballard's "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go," to name a few. The '60s dawned with plenty of great music: just check the original of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Pt. 1," by Jessie Hill. All of these tracks were consumed massively before the mass consumption of the transistor radio! Of course, there were real record stores then, and people gobbled up singles because there were so few albums to buy. Of course, it's going backwards now: today everyone picks rock the iPod way, and the culture for that stuff has just blown away like a tumbleweed. Nonetheless, anybody interested in the greatest singles that rock & roll, R&B, blues, and soul had to offer in the '50s and early '60s needs to scope out these platters from Bear Family.

Tracklist:
01. Buster Brown - Fannie Mae 2:56.66
02. Jimmie Jones - Handy Man 2:00.56
03. Barrett Strong - Money (That´S What I Want) 2:33.73
04. Bobby Blue Band - I'll Take Care Of You 2:16.17
05. Dee Clark - How About That 2:39.13
06. Rosco Gordon - Just A Little Bit 2:06.29
07. Dinah Washington & Brook Benton - Baby (You've Got What It Takes) 2:43.46
08. Jackie Wilson - Doggin' Around 2:45.66
09. Jimmy Reed - Baby, What You Want Me To Do 2:25.86
10. Billy Bland - Let The Little Girld Dance 2:19.70
11. Irma Thomas - Don't Mess With My Man 2:17.26
12. Marv Johnson - I Love The Way You Love 2:36.53
13. Etta James - All I Could Do Was Cry 2:54.56
14. Ray Bryant Combo - The Madison Time, Part 1 3:06.64
15. James Brown & The Famous Flames - Think 2:46.26
16. Bobby Marchan - There Is Something On Your Mind, Part 2 2:47.86
17. Jesse Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Part 1 2:17.73
18. Jon Thomas & Orchestra - Heartbreak (It's Hurtin' Me) 2:50.80
19. Fats Domino - Walking To New Orleans 1:59.66
20. Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful 2:42.53
21. The Shirelles - Tonight's The Night 1:56.16
22. Jimmy Charles & The Reveletts - A Million To One 2:30.40
23. Sugar Pie DeSanto - I Want To Know 3:01.06
24. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go 2:25.60
25. Jerry Butler - He Will Break Your Heart 2:46.70
26. Brook Benton - Kiddio 2:37.62
27. Ike & Tina Turner - A Fool In Love 2:51.50
28. Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs - Stay 1:34.73
29. The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me 2:27.49
30. Joe Jones - You Talk Too Much 2:34.44
31. Gary U.S. Bonds - New Orleans 2:48.16

Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.99
MPEG-1 layer 3

MUCH Peace n luv to all my friends at 1337x and blazinseedboxes

ENJOY!!

**tyvm and all due respect to d'Avignon for the flac source and all those who care enough to share