Blues — In Stock  

BB King hips up his groove a bit here – picking up some of the crossover soul and rock touches used by contemporaries over at Chess/Cadet, and expanding his sound with a range of guests that include Leon Russell, Joe Walsh, and Carole King! Despite the presence of these bigger names, the set'... read more

A career-spanning BB King anthology in a heavy-duty box – nicely representative of his roots and evolution over the decades – and including a great 64-page, hardback booklet of essay and photos! The CDs are chronological – with Disc One covering 1949-1964, Disc Two taking care of... read more

BB King not just live, but well-recorded in the studio too – in this classic ABC set that showcases both sides of his talents! Side one is the live set – and it's arguably better than any of the previous other concert recordings he did for the label – with a tighter, moodier feel... read more

An excellent set by BB King – one of his best from the 60s, and a smoking live set recorded at Chicago's legendary Regal Theatre! The enthusiasm at the venue shows that BB's Memphis-honed style is a perfect fit for the electrified Chicago sound of the 60s – and the recording really... read more

BB King live at the Cook County Jail in Chicago – and given the amount of great live shows going on in the institution during the early 70s, the jail must have been one hell of a place to be incarcerated! This classic features BB King entertaining the prisoners with a wickedly sharp blues... read more

One of the most tightly-produced of BB King's albums for MCA, but a set that's still filled with undeniable charm – and which really shows King more than able to step up to some well-deserved superstardom! There's a bit of an LA finish to the backings, but things are never too smooth –... read more

A mid 70s meeting of two seminal blues talents from the Memphis scene – singer Bobby Blue Bland, and legendary guitarist BB King! The pair were both working for ABC at the time – major label fame after years woodshedding in the indies – and hitting well-deserved fame for their... read more

Smoking early work from the legendary Freddie King – most of it recorded during years he had a strong connection to the Chicago electric blues scene, where he really honed his craft to perfection! The work here is definitely blues, but King's vocals bring a soulful inflection to the songs... read more

Hardly the surf album you might expect from the title – although the set is a killer batch of guitar instrumentals – with more than enough power to blow any west coast groups right off the beach! At this early point in his career, Freddie King is way more than just a blues guitarist,... read more

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Tight and soulful blues from Little Milton – just the sort of record that helped him cross over to bigger audiences back in the day, and a set that still sounds plenty great all these many years later! The set was done in Chicago – arranged by James Mack, with backing vocals from Kitty... read more

A comprehensive look at some great recordings from Little Walter – sides recorded for Chess Records from 1953 to 1963 – offering up a decade's worth of evolution in his style! But even at the start, Walter was better than most of his generation – a heck of a great harmonica... read more

Killer 50s work from the great Little Walter – tracks that show that he was of the greatest blues acts working for Chess Records at the time! Many of the numbers here are heavy on Walter's classic harmonica style, but they also feature plenty of rough-edged vocals with a nicely soulful... read more

The mighty James Cotton is on the cover, blowing up a storm – in an issue that also features big articles on Big Daddy Stallings and John Dee Holeman! The issue also features a very handy guide to blues festivals in 2013 – as well as a huge number of reviews, and key blues news too!... read more

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Rough-edged blues from the west side of Chicago – a stone classic from the mighty Magic Sam – a player who was taken from us all too soon! On the west side, they mix plenty of soul in with their blues – and you can definitely hear that on this stone smoker – a record that... read more

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on... read more

A definite treasure from Taj Mahal – especially for fans of his excellent early work for Columbia Records! The first CD in the package features unreleased studio tracks recorded during the glory days for Columbia – not rough cuts or demos, but well-finished gems that offer up the same... read more

A bit hipper and less bluesy than some of Taj's other work for Columbia – recorded with his Intergalactic Soul Messengers Band, and a sound that's slyly soulful – and flavored with reggae or otherwise Caribbean influenced rhythms! Music Keeps Me Together has a fairly loose feel, but... read more

The classic second album by Taj Majal! Includes "Good Morning Miss Brown", "Done Changed My Way Of Living", "I Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Steal My Jellyroll", "The Cuckoo", "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and more.... read more

An amazing collection of work from Toussaint McCall – a set that finally gives this classic soul singer his due! McCall stands as one of the best southern soul singers of his time – and one who's often painfully overshadowed by the better known singers on Atlantic and the larger labels.... read more

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The raw and riveting mid 60s recordings of singer and guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell with blues harpist Johnny Woods! It was recorded by George Mitchell with a relaxed, press record and stay out of their way approach – and man is this some exhilarating stuff! McDowell brings a lot of... read more

A 70s album, but one that features very early sides from Atlantic Records – raw acoustic blues from Willie McTell, recorded on a 12 string guitar down in Atlanta! The album's not just a great example of McTell at his best – witty vocals, and really sharp lines on the acoustic guitar... read more

Pivotal work from one of the first bluesmen to ever use "blind" in his name – sides recorded by the legendary Willie McTell when he was at the height of his powers! Most tracks here feature well-recorded vocals from Willie – especially for the time – a haunting... read more

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Brilliant early recordings from Blind Willie McTell – easily one of the most distinctive bluesmen of his generation! McTell's guitar is subtle, but effective – often used in these strummed passages that seem to let his vocals do most of the work on the tunes – save for some key... read more

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Blues, but with an undercurrent of New Orleans jazz – no surprise, given the Louisiana roots of Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery! The album's a classic set recorded in Chicago in the early 60s – featuring both Montgomery in a spare solo setting, and with help from a small... read more

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Amazing sounds from Ram Jam Holder – an artist unlike anyone else we can think of! Black London Blues is a brilliant British set from Holder – not really blues at all, but a cool kind of crossbreeding of styles in the 60s London scene – almost the same mad mix of modes you might... read more

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A stone classic from Jimmy Reed – and one of the first few albums on the Vee Jay label! The sound is spare, rootsy, and bluesy – the kind of tunes that made Jimmy an instant favorite, and which were a key force in the Chicago blues sound of the 50s. The set features material recorded... read more

Not just Jimmy Reed – as the album features work by Phil Upchurch on bass and Al Duncan on drums, plus some great uncredited organ too – but the album's still a great chance to hear the great one at all his stripped-down best! Jimmy really dominates on vocals and guitar, and some... read more

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A key album of 80s southern blues from Bobby – done in the slightly electrified, slightly modern style that was coming out of the Jackson scene at the time – in a way that helped find a home for so many artists after the decline of southern soul in the 70s! Material like this made... read more

A great session that features Jimmy Rushing singing in the rootsy style of his early Kansas City recordings, with backing by a group that includes the legendary Pete Johson on piano, plus Rudy Powell on alto, Emmett Berry on trumpet, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Freddie Greene on guitar. Titles... read more

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The complete Columbia recordings by vocalist Bessie Smith – an insane amount of material recorded in the decade between 1923 and 1933 – all music that went on to have a huge impact on the growth of jazz and blues for decades to come! This comprehensive package brings together all the... read more

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One of the late 50s Jazz Archive LPs on Riverside – in which they dig through older sides, and issue the material in LP format with nice notes. Most of the material here is from the pivotal late 20s years, milestones in the formation of the American female blues singer! Also features work... read more

A smoking little set from George Harmonica Smith – an album recorded in late 60s LA, but done with plenty of Chicago blues touches! The players here are all top-shelf – and include Muddy Waters on guitar and Otis Spann on piano – who definitely help keep a Windy City vibe going... read more

A rich document of the talents of Huey Piano Smith – a set that not only features some of his classic work for Ace Records in the US, but which also includes some key performances on other folks' records too! Huey's piano is at the forefront of most of the tracks here, even when the vocals... read more

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Late 70s dancefloor soul from Soiree – a rare disco set featuring clubby revisions of huge hits of the day and earlier, with massive talent in the group! The sound is bright and grooving, and heck of a lot more endearing than so many of the disco era remake projects, and most impressively,... read more

Vintage blues from Memphis – a whole host of rare 78s from Frank Stokes, Furry Lewis, Will Weldon, Pearl Dickson, and others – presented here on a great album from Yazoo! The music has a surprisingly clear sound at times – clearly recorded with minimal studio effort, but still... read more

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Includes the tracks "Boot It Boy", "How Long Blues", "It's Tight Like That", "Mess Katie Mess", "Sho Is Hot", and "My Daddy Rocks Me".... read more

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Rootsy sounds from Henry Thomas – some great vintage recordings from the late 20s, with a feel that's quite different than more conventional blues from the time! Thomas definitely has a bluesy approach, but his use of the guitar is more strummy, almost folksy – as is his occasional... read more

A great set of 50s recordings by gritty rhythm & blues singer Big Mama Thornton – whose most famous for grittier shouters – but there's some surprisingly easygoing numbers here, too! Her famous "Hound Dog" opens this set, and sets the pace strongly – for a batch of... read more

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Joe Turner rides again – but in a style that's a bit more like his Kansas City roots than some of the R&B he was cutting for Atlantic Records in the 50s! There's a nice jazz vibe to the record – thanks to sharp arrangements from Ernie Wilkins, who's really coming into his own here... read more

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A great early slice of Eddie Vinson – material that features him playing alto and singing, in a mode that's almost more jump and jive than later R&B!... read more

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Later work from T-Bone, but very much in the style of his best R&B work! The album features small group backings that do the best to bring out the jazzier side of T-Bone's style – one that was a direct influence on countless jazz funk guitarists in later years – and players include... read more

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The funk-tinged, pyschedelic soul album from Muddy Waters – one that irritated many a blues purist in its day – but it's finally reaching its earned status as a leftfield gem! You know, in the immediate years after this one (and similar funky blues albums on Chess/Cadet) was released,... read more