Something special occurred when John Hammond's powerful vocals, guitar, and harmonica were paired with the legendary Muscle Shoals "Swampers" - studio musicians who had a magical ability to infuse all their recording projects with a terrific combination of soulful RnB and country-flavored blues feeling. The added presence of their frequent guest collaborator, Duane Allman, on lead and bottleneck slide guitar for several tracks doesn't hurt either. If this album were to be recorded today, the production and sound quality would undoubtedly be fuller, but the feel of the players could not be bettered. A solid rhythm section, tasteful supporting keyboard and guitar work, and judicious use of a potent horn section all yield marvelous results - plus Hammond's vocals and harmonica work here are knockouts. The raw passion and energy of his performance offset the other musicians' more polished and relaxed approach so that things don't sound too smooth and laid-back.

This is one of the best efforts of John Hammond's career. It features the old blues numbers that have been a staple of Hammond's work, but with a slippery, playful funkiness that was never there before. Hammond has always had a strong voice, and the music flows out of him more naturally and appealingly than ever before. In fact, he sounds so at ease that he falls right in with Charles Brown on the two numbers where Mr. "Drifting Blues" himself plays piano. Little Charlie & the Nightcats back up Hammond on seven of the album's dozen tracks. They introduce an easy-going swing to numbers by Little Walter, Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Howlin' Wolf that allows Hammond to give these old songs a new spin and make them his own.

John Hammond has kept the blues flame burning steadily for over three decades. His interpretations of songs from the traditional blues repertoire, whether played Delta-style solo acoustic, or with a citified electric band, ring with passion, power, and commitment. On this 1981 album, he is accompanied on the band tracks by a topshelf New York group, including bassist Sherman Holmes and drummer Charles Otis.

I Can Tell boasts an all-star backing band of rock & roll stars, featuring everyone from Bill Wyman to Robbie Robertson. John Hammond leads the band through a set of Chicago blues standards, reaching deep into the catalogs of Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, and many others. Although the performances can occasionally sound too studied, the album is by and large an unadulterated delight – the affection Hammond and his band have for the material is quite clear.

John Hammond's latest album marks a major departure in one respect – for the first time in anyone's memory, he sings, but plays nothing on one of his records, while Little Charlie & the Nightcats, led by guitarist Charlie Baty, handle the guitars and everything else. The difference is very subtle, the playing maybe a little less flashy than Hammond's already restrained work – think of how good Muddy Waters sounded on the early-'60s records where he sang and didn't play. And that comparison is an apt one – even more than 35 years after he started, Hammond inevitably ends up sounding like its 1961 and he's working at Chess studios in Chicago, cutting songs between Muddy Waters sessions. Harpist Rick Estrin also contributes a smooth and eminently enjoyable original amid a brace of covers of blues standards. There is not a weak number here, and this band is a kick to listen to, sounding more naturally authentic than anybody in the 1990's has a right to (Baty's quiet pyrotechnics on "Lookin' for Trouble" would make this record worth owning, even if Hammond's singing and the rest of the songs weren't as good as they are).

John Hammond has dealt with issues of authenticity and origin, both musical and personal, and moved beyond them. This 18-song session, recorded live in 1983 and recently reissued on CD, may have been his definitive session. It was certainly a masterpiece, with Hammond doing confident, thoroughly distinctive versions of signature Delta and Chicago blues classics by Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Son House and others. While "Dust My Broom," "Drop Down Mama," "Wang Dang Doodle" and all the rest have certainly been done to death, Hammond's spirited vocals, riveting guitar work on acoustic or bottleneck and his overall charismatic performances made them seem like fresh discoveries.

So Many Roads is Hammond's most notable mid-'60s Vanguard album, due not so much to Hammond's own singing and playing (though he's up to the task) as the yet-to-be-famous backing musicians. Three future members of the Band – Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm – are among the supporting cast, along with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, and Mike Bloomfield also contributes. It's one of the first fully realized blues-rock albums, although it's not in the same league as the best efforts of the era by the likes of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band or John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. In part that's because the repertoire is so heavy on familiar Chicago blues classics by the likes of Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters; in part that's because the interpretations are so reverent and close to the originals in arrangement; and in part it's also because Hammond's blues vocals were only okay.

Hammond's debut recording from 1964 - much of which remains in his live repertoire to this day.
John Hammond, Jr. is one of a handful of white blues musicians who was on the scene at the beginning of the first blues renaissance of the mid-'60s. That revival, brought on by renewed interest in folk music around the U.S., brought about career boosts for many of the great classic blues players, including Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, and Skip James. Some critics have described Hammond as a white Robert Johnson, and Hammond does justice to classic blues by combining powerful guitar and harmonica playing with expressive vocals and a dignified stage presence…

A blues purist, John Hammond came to prominence in the mid-'60s and recorded for the prestigious Vanguard label, earning himself the title of "the white Robert Johnson" with his authentic National Steel guitar, voice, and harmonica blues. Highly praised in the blues and folk worlds, Hammond led a career spanning four decades with outstanding dedication to the purity of the blues. The Band served as rhythm section on some of his albums, but solo is arguably the best way to hear him - with no discredit to Robbie Robertson and company. It's just that Hammond is that kind of artist. Footwork was recorded in isolation by Hammond alone in 1978…

This album, originally released in 1980, perfectly captures both the searing electric and raw acoustic blues stylings of the legendary John Hammond. His close-to-the-bone vocals, masterful fingerstyle and slide guitar, and piercing harmonica keep the flame alive on this collection of blues roots classics by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson.