Plenty of feeling here from Lurrie Bell – a Chicago bluesman who still holds onto the deepest sound of the scene from years back – especially the modes of that late 60s moment where the Chicago electric sound was really finding a wider voice! Bell's a bit too tight to be an early Chess ... read moreCD
Later work from New Orleans legend James Booker – but a set that may well be one of his greatest records ever – a real back to basics effort recorded with a hands-off approach that almost makes you feel like you're catching Booker in some small club down off the Quarter! James plays ... (Soul, Blues)read moreCD
John Blues Boyd —
Real Deal ... CD Little Village, 2016. Used ...
$4.99
With a cell phone on the cover, blues has definitely gone far from the delta – yet this recent set from Willie Buck still keeps strongly in a Chicago electric tradition! Backing is by a tight group of north side players – including Rockin Johnny on guitar, who helps underscore Willie's ... read moreCD
An archetypal album from the legendary Paul Butterfield – and a set that would shape the sound of countless blues rock records to come! Despite what you might think of the genre or its many later incarnations, there's a raw power here that's really amazing – the young Butterfield and ... (Rock, Blues)read moreCD
A smoking live set from the Butterfield Blues Band – and like all the group's work, as much of a jazz and soul album as a blues one! Butterfield drew his inspiration from the Chicago bluesmen, it's true – but his style also has plenty of echoes of New Orleans soul, Memphis R&B, and ... (Rock, Blues)read moreCD
Butterfield Blues Band —
East West ... CD Elektra, 1966. Used ...
$3.99
Titles include "Walkin Blues", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Mary Mary", "East West", "Two Trains Running", and "Work Song". (Rock, Blues)CD
Canned Heat & John Lee Hooker —
Hooker 'N Heat ... CD Liberty, 1970. Used 2 CDs ...
$16.99
If you ever doubted the blues chops of Canned Heat, take a listen to this album – as the group are joined by the great John Lee Hooker, who they let stand strongly in the spotlight and almost make the album his own! Previous sets by Canned Heat were already pretty darn great – a huge ... (Rock, Blues)read moreCD
A great set for the French Blue Phoenix label – one side of work with Larry Davis on guitar and vocals, the other with Byther Smith – backed by Maurice Vaughn on guitar, Doug Watson on bass, and Julian Vaughan on drums. Davis and Smith wrote most of the tracks too! CD
Features Jimmy Dawkins on guitar – and on vocals on one track – alongside Big Voice Odom on main vocals, Otis Rush on guitar, Sonny Thompson on piano, and Jim Conley on tenor sax! CD
A strong, rightly raw set from T-Model Ford – doing his thing on record as well as he has for years, but that's especially remarkable given that he was creeping up on 90-years-old when he made it! It's all acoustic, single take recorded numbers with spare backing on harmonica, guitar and ... read moreCD
Great early work from Lowell Fulson – tracks recorded in the 50s for Chess Records – all in Chicago, and a fair bit more obscure than some of Lowell's better-known sides from the 60s! There's still a nicely gritty groove going on here – a style that's rooted in blues, but which ... read moreCD
Beautiful blues from Guitar Slim – west coast material from the mid-50s, recorded with some very hip backings! Slim's got a lean, mean edge – a style that's a bit similar to Johnny Watson in his early years, touched with some of the class of the R&B scene that was bubbling up in ... read moreCD
Landmark early 70s Buddy Guy on Vanguard! Titles include "Watermelon Man", "Hold That Plane", "I'm Ready", "You Don't Love Me", "Come See About Me", "Hello San Francisco" and more. CD
A smoking live performance from these two Chicago blues legends – recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, but with a gritty electric vibe that's very much like the duo's best work back home! The approach is very stripped-down and unadorned – just vocals by both Guy and ... read moreCD
With 43 tracks including "Big Mama Jump", "LA Blues", "Katie May", "Thinkin & Worryin", "Sugar On My Mind", "Moon Rise Blues", "Howling Wolf", and "See See Rider". CD
Rightly rootsy work from the great Lightnin Hopkins – captured beautifully here on a rare session for the mostly-folk Tradition label! A few tracks also feature some vocal assistance from Luke "Long Gone" Miles – and titles include "Long Time", "Baby", ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Lightnin Hopkins —
Guitar Lightnin ... CD Creative Sounds, Late 50s/1960s. Used ...
$3.99
Includes "Please Help Poor Me", "Way Out In Abilene", "Don't You Call That Boogie", "Swing In The Backyard", "The Hearse Is Backed Up To The Door" and more! CD
A great return to recording for Son House – a musician who'd stopped playing the guitar in the postwar years, but rose again to fame during the great folk blues revival of the 60s! The style here is every bit as classic as some of Son's earliest music – just recorded a lot better, too ... read moreCD
2 blues classics from the great Howlin Wolf – back to back on a single CD! First up is the self-titled Howlin Wolf – a record that has Wolf tightening it up a bit from his earliest years at Chess, and moving into a groove that would forever make him one of the key artists to record for ... read moreCD
Two great female blues talents, recorded at a time when they were still alive and well in Chicago – Alberta Hunter on vocals, and Lovie Austin on piano! CD
18 tracks in all – including "I'm Satisfied", "Rich Women Blues", "Chicken", "here I Am Oh Lord Send Me", "Coffee Blues", "Shake That Thing", "Make Me A Pallet On The Floor", "Salty Dog", and "Trouble I Had ... read moreCD
Early work from the great Elmore James – originally recorded for the Meteor label! Titles include "Happy Home", "I Was A Fool", "Sunnyland", "Dust My Blues", "Sho Nuff I Do", "Canton Mississippi Breakdown", "Wild About You ... read moreCD
Great spare work from Skip James – who plays both guitar and piano on the set! The album's one of Skip's best from the 60s – raw, rootsy, and undeniably powerful – with titles that include "Illinois Blues", "Catfish blues", "Mistreating Child Blues", ... read moreCD
With 30 tracks including "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time", "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying", "Bye and Bye I'm Goin' To See The King", "Take Your Stand", "Soul Of A Man", and "John The Revelator". CD
James P Johnson plays "Sweet Lorraine", "Aunt Hagar's Blues", "The Dream", "Keep Movin", "St. Louis Blues", "Euphonic Sounds", "Blue Moods, Sex", and "Blues For Jimmy". (Jazz, Blues)CD
Rootsy blues from the brief stretch when Prestige Records was experimenting with non-jazz material – a back-to-basics session that features Johnson on electric guitar and vocals, Snowden on acoustic guitar, and only Wendell Marshall's jazz-trained bass to back the pair up. The work's in a ... read moreCD