Few blues pianists have been as influential as Eddie Boyd (1914-94), with this gritty two disc set well demonstrating the various shades of blues and boogie that still resonate to this day. His most important singles from his itinerant days at RCA, J.O.B., Herald, Chess, Keyhole, Mojoe, Art-Tone and Bea & Baby are all put together here, with gritty and low ceilinged accompaniment provided by the likes of “Robert Crowder/ts, Willie Dixon/b, Percy Walker/dr, Robert Lockwood/g and Purcell Brockenburgh/ts setting the smoky moods.
Boyd’s piano work is not ignored here, as he jumps and jives on pieces such as “The Tickler” and the swinging “”Back Beat,” but its his moaning voice that sends a shiver down your spine. His classics such as “Five Long Years,” “24 Hours” and “Third Degree” are absolutely ominous, while lesser known pieces such as “What Makes These Things Happen to Me” just as foreboding. It’s also interesting to hear how his style slightly evolves from the jumping blues of “I Had to Let her Go” and “Rosa Lee Swing” from post WWII to dark shadows of the Eisenhower years of “I Gotta Find My Baby” and finally giving a hint of Chuck Berry styled rock on the late 50s-early 60s of “Come On Home” and “Operator,” all of it with the voice, timing and attitude of a Times Square Rolex watch salesman. This is one with dirt under the nails!