Product Notes
2011 collection featuring tracks from Muddy Waters, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Little Feat. The Old Grey Whistle Test has now been synonymous with quality music for 40 years. Although possibly best know as a show for Rock music, the show maintained an amazing variety when it came to choosing its artists, it really only had two criteria, 1, that the artists had released an album and 2 that they produced great music. This collection mostly features artists that appeared on the show but also include artists who for whatever reason didn't or couldn't appear on the show. Rhino.
Product Reviews
The Old Grey Whistle Test was a music performance television series on BBC 2, and over the years the show has featured an amazing variety of artists, from Gram Parsons to Jethro Tull, including several who fell to the blues side of the pop spectrum. This set collects some of those blues tracks, including songs from R.L. Burnside ("Bad Luck City"), Roy Buchanan ("Sweet Dreams"), and Freddie King ("Going Down"), among others. There's also a track by Elmore James here, "The Sky Is Crying," which is a little confusing, since James never appeared on the program. Apparently the selector here, Bob Harris, wanted to include sides from musicians who should have or could have appeared on the program. There is little doubt James should have, but he couldn't have, since he died in 1963 and the first session of the Old Grey Whistle Test didn't hit the airwaves until 1971 (and ran until 1987). It's of little matter, though, since hearing James' roaring slide guitar sounds great whether he should have or could have. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi