Eddie Boyd – Blue Monday Blues

The man behind Five Long Years gets the compilation he deserves.

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

By all accounts, Eddie Boyd did not have the greatest working relationship with Leonard Chess, which goes a long way to explain why he never became a star in the same way his cousin – a certain Muddy Waters – did.

The boss of Chess Records might not have been Boyd’s greatest fan, but there’s no doubting that he was a songwriter, singer and piano player to be reckoned with, as this comprehensive collection of tracks recorded during the 50s proves. Backed by a host of Chess regulars, including Willie Dixon on bass, Boyd belts out his big hit Five Long Years, as well as lesser known gems, such as Third Degree and I’m A Prisoner.

Boyd might not have been in the same league as Waters or Dixon, but this is the Chicago sound everyone knows and loves. File under the best-kept secrets of the blues.

Latest in
Foreigner at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2024
Foreigner will complete their Historic Farewell Tour with four different singers – and one of them has recorded Spanish versions of their hits
The cover of Classic Rock 339, featuring Pink Floyd
"It's the father and mother of The Dark Side Of The Moon!": The full inside story of Pink Floyd's Live At Pompeii - only in the new issue of Classic Rock
Asia
"The haters won’t stop us from doing what we do": Geoff Downes on Asia's new lineup and the band's future plans
Fleetwood Mac group portrait
"The soundtrack to the greatest rock'n'roll soap opera ever": The mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up albums in one handy box
Pete Townshend - The Studio Albums cover art
"This collection embodies both the best and worst of Townshend the artist and arch conceptualist": An overview of the solo career of Pete Townshend, the man who never meant to have a solo career
Linkin Park 2024
Linkin Park launch "the best song we've ever made" Up From The Bottom
Latest in Review
Fleetwood Mac group portrait
"The soundtrack to the greatest rock'n'roll soap opera ever": The mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up albums in one handy box
Pete Townshend - The Studio Albums cover art
"This collection embodies both the best and worst of Townshend the artist and arch conceptualist": An overview of the solo career of Pete Townshend, the man who never meant to have a solo career
The Horrors
Ghouls Aloud: The Horrors come back from the dead with "a dazzling nocturnal spectacle of sombre reflections and oozing catharsis"
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Sex Pistols at the RAH
"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more
Arch Enemy posing in an alleyway
Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass