Blues — CDs  

Great work from the legendary Magic Sam – a smoking Chicago bluesman of the 60s, and one who was taken away from us all too soon! The set captures Sam in a club in his west side home – playing with the kind of sharp and soulful style he soon made famous on his West Side Soul album for Delmark – served up here with an even grittier, rootsier sound! The recording is pretty great – and is especially great for Sam's tight guitar lines – and the set really documents that heady sound that made the west side scene so vibrant in the 60s. Titles include "Baby Scratch My Back", "Just Like A Fish", "Reconsider Baby", "Juke", "Dirty Work Going On", "I'm Tore Down", and "All Your Love" – and the CD also features three bonus tracks from a 1969 European performance.

Heavy funk from the legendary Bo Diddley – one of his amazing comeback albums from the early 70s for Chess, all of which are plenty darn great! For this set, Bo's traded in the scratchy guitar mode of his classic work for a sweeter, tighter funk-based sound – a groove that's supported strongly with electric studio arrangements from Wade Marcus – used here in very nice contrast to Diddley's rougher vocals and guitar! The style's got a bit more electric jazz touches than some of the other Chess blues funk records from the time – but the overall sound is still bound to please any funk fan – and titles include "Bite You", "Stop The Pusher", "You've Got a Lot Of Nerve", and the breakbeat classic "Hit Or Miss"!