RIP Etta James

[jowcol]

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of singer Etta James.  Although I felt that most of the material in her catalog was overproduced, she definitely had the ability  of any good blues man or woman to cut open a vein and spill out raw feeling.  She also had an approach to scat singing that was more earthy than a typical  jazz singer.

if there is any one album of hers to have, it would be the "Rocks the House", a live date.  While most of the chess albums had heavy production, this album was done spontaneously with an aim of capture her at her most ferocious and, as I've heard, it was recorded shortly before here first stint in rehab.  While the backing band is nothing to get excited about, there are a few tracks on this album where she truly becomes a force of nature, and ranks among some of my all time favorite blues vocals.

I'm sure there is a story about the dorky guy on the right....
http://www.youtube.com/v/MQ3iQVYNLJk

Her scatting at the end of this one is miles away from Ella Fitzgerald- although  I love them both.
http://www.youtube.com/v/IHqr4PhiaWo


http://www.youtube.com/v/gl-WQntUAXU



As she once said, "You're never alone with you have the blues."