West Side Soul

West Side Soul is the debut studio album by Chicago blues musician Magic Sam. Released by Delmark Records in 1968, it is often cited as one of the key modern electric blues albums.^[4][5][6] The album includes a re-recording of Magic Sam's first Cobra Records single, "All Your Love" (1957), and an updated "Sweet Home Chicago", which became a popular blues anthem.

West Side Soul
Studio album by Magic Sam Blues Band
Released	April 1968 (1968-04)[a]
Recorded	July 12 & October 25, 1967
Studio	Sound Studios, Chicago
Genre	Chicago blues
Length	44:26
Label	Delmark
Producer	Robert G. Koester
Magic Sam chronology
West Side Soul (1968) Black Magic (1969)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
DownBeat	[7]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[8]

In an album review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album five out of five stars and commented:

this isn't an album that should be preserved in amber, seen only as an important record. Because this is a record that is exploding with life, a record with so much energy, it doesn't sound old. Of course, part of the reason it sounds so modern is because this is the template for most modern blues, whether it comes from Chicago or elsewhere.^[4]

In 1984, West Side Soul was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame as a classic of blues recording. Blues historian Jim O'Neal wrote in the induction statement:

Magic Sam's soaring vocals and sparkling guitar work enliven the remake of his own Cobra classic "All Your Love," propulsive boogies, and covers of nuggets from Little Milton, Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, and others. Sam's "Sweet Home Chicago" is one of the best versions ever recorded, long before the song became the overdone sing-along theme of every Windy City blues band.^[6]

Track listing

Side A

1. "That's All I Need" – 3:40
2. "I Need You So Bad"^[9] – 4:51
3. "I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie)"^[10] – 4:36
4. "All of Your Love"^[11] – 3:43
5. "I Don't Want No Woman"^[12] – 3:38

Side B

1. "Sweet Home Chicago"^[13] – 4:11
2. "I Found a New Love"^[14] – 4:03
3. "Every Night and Every Day"^[15] – 2:19
4. "Lookin' Good" [instrumental]^[16] – 3:11
5. "My Love Will Never Die"^[17] – 4:04
6. "Mama Talk to Your Daughter"^[18] – 2:40

Personnel

Musicians

• Magic Sam – vocals, guitar
• Mighty Joe Young – guitar
• Stockholm Slim – piano
• Earnest Johnson – bass, except tracks 1, 3, 8
• Odie Payne – drums, except tracks 1, 3, 8
• Mac Thompson – bass on tracks 1, 3, 8
• Odie Payne, III – drums on tracks 1, 3, 8

Production

• Recorded – July 12 and October 25, 1967
• Album production and supervision – Robert G. Koester
• Recording – Stu Black, Sound Studios

Notes

1. Billboard identified the album as a new release in September 1968,^[1] but an article in the Chicago Tribune that May indicated the album was already on sale.^[2] Jim Irvin dates its release to April 1968.^[3]