Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970

Disc 1
1	Nashville Jumps / Cecil Gant 2:57
2	Buzzard Pie / Rudy Green Orchestra 2:43
3	Skip's Boogie / Kid King's Combo 2:56
4	L&N Special / Christine Kittrell 2:33
5	Sittin' Here Drinking / Christine Kittrell 3:31
6	Just Walkin' in the Rain / The Prisonaires 2:45
7	If You and I Could Be Sweethearts / The Varieteers 2:20
8	Baby Let's Play House / Arthur Neal Gunter 2:46
9	Christene / Little Hank & The Ryhthm Kings 2:46
10	It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day) / Louis Brooks 2:41
11	Rollin' Stone / The Marigolds 2:55
12	You Can Make It If You Try / Gene Allison 2:10
13	Rockin' the Joint / Esquerita 2:02
14	Let's Trade a Little / Audrey Bryant 2:07
15	Say You Really Care / Roscoe Shelton 2:26
16	Somebody, Somewhere / Larry Birdsong 2:36
17	Pipe Dreams / Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra 2:16
18	Royal Crown Hair Dressing Ad / Little Richard Bonus Track 0:29
19	White Rose (Theme) / Earl Gaines Bonus Track 2:02
Disc 2
1	John R Theme/Ernie's Record Mart Commercial/Monkey Doin' Woman / John Richbourg Bonus Track 3:13
2	Monkey Doin' Woman / Shy Guy Douglas
3	What'd I Say / Etta James Live 3:17
4	Really, Pt. 1 / Johnny Jones & The Imperial 7 2:13
5	Just Like Him / Frank Howard & The Commanders 2:35
6	Anna (Go to Him) / Arthur Alexander 2:50
7	Snap Your Fingers / Joe Henderson 3:00
8	Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean / Ruth Brown 2:58
9	Something Tells Me / Sam Baker 2:25
10	Sunny / Bobby Hebb 2:48
11	I Want To (Do Everything for You) / Joe Tex 2:09
12	Bigger and Better / The Hytones 2:24
13	Since I Met You Baby / The Avons 2:42
14	The Chokin' Kind / Joe Simon 2:42
15	She Shot a Hole in My Soul / Clifford Curry 2:26
16	Gotta Get Yourself Together / The Valentines 2:32
17	Soul Shake / Jo Jo Benson 2:26
18	Reconsider Me / Johnny Adams 3:50
19	Everlasting Love / Robert Knight 2:59

Barnes & Noble

For those unaware of Nashville's rich history as a hotbed of R&B back in the day, this two-disc set from the Country Music Hall of Fame label will be an enlightening adventure. And even for those in the know, Night Train to Nashville's 37 tracks will not only evoke fond memories but also make a welcome addition to the archives, given that this music has never before been collected on one set, with some of it impossible to find anywhere in the CD era (and for much of the vinyl era as well). Disc 1 features the earliest tracks in the time frame, including Louis Jordan–like jump blues such as Rudy Green & His Orchestra's "Buzzard Pie"; Kid King's Combo's raucous "Skip's Boogie"; Christine Kottrell's mesmerizing slow blues lament from 1952, "Sittin' Here Drinking"; and the red-hot 1958 workout "Rockin' the Joint" from Esquerita, a major influence on Little Richard. Disc 2 cooks mightily on the strength of more familiar material by top-drawer artists: Arthur Alexander's "Anna" (later covered by the Beatles), Bobby Hebb's enduring "Sunny," Joe Simon's "The Chokin' Kind," Joe Tex's impassioned "I Want to (Do Everything for You)," and Robert Knight's original, timeless "Everlasting Love," among others. And that's not to mention two of the greatest R&B/blues singers of any era: Etta James, screeching ferociously through a bristling live take of "What'd I Say," and Ruth Brown, also caught live, storming through a righteous, spiteful version of "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean." Not the least of this set's virtues is its history lesson, which illustrates the evolution of postwar R&B into modern soul. Mark it essential, because it is. David McGee

All Music Guide

Issued to coincide with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's historic exhibit of the same name, this two-CD set is a treasure-trove of hits, misses, rarities, and smoking grooves. Certainly Nash Vegas is the capital of country music, but in its day it also boasted a wealth of stomping rhythm and blues music that flourished in the city for the better part of three decades, until the bulldozers of "urban renewal" destroyed much of its cultural base and forced it from its terrain. With 35 tracks, plus a pair of bonus tracks that are commercials, this set is an affordable, indispensable introduction to a nearly forgotten part of American musical history. The labels represented here are a cross-section of the great regional independents that were so numerous n the '40s, '50s and '60s. Imprints such as Do-Ra-Mi, who recorded Audrey Bryant, Excello, Champion, Sun, Hickory, Bullet, Dial, A-Bet, Elf, and Sound Stage recorded both luminaries and nobodies. Here are early sides by Hank Crawford when he was in a jump band, the wild and wooly Esquerita, Joe Tex, Arthur Alexander, Roscoe Shelton, Joe Simon, Etta James, Johnny Adams, and Christine Kittrell. And there are cuts by cats like Johnny Jones, Nashville's premier blues guitar slinger, Audrey Bryant, the city's Sarah Vaughan, and others who scored big on Nashville radio and jukeboxes, such as Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson, Clifford Curry, and Robert Knight. While some of these names might not mean much to causal listeners of old rhythm and blues and soul, connoisseurs will be delighted to find these sides, many of them on CD for the first time. However, the appeal of this collection should not be limited to aficionados, as virtually every track is crackling with energy, verve, and raw immediate soul. Sound is better than decent, the selection is impeccable, and the track notes by Michael Gray are top-notch. Thom Jurek