Blues — All Formats  

Joe Turner returns to his roots, and lays down a fairly straight set of bluesy tunes from the old days of the Kansas City scene – done with a small jazz combo that includes work by Joe Newman, Lawrence Brown, Pete Brown, and Pete Johnson! After the raw hard R&B of Joe's bigger hit sides for Atlantic, the album's a compelling change – a reminder that Turner had roots that went much deeper than his rock and roll fame – and a depth of delivery that would keep his career strong, long after some of his 50s R&B contemporaries faded! The mix of modes – R&B and jazz – is a bit like some of the later Ray Charles albums on Atlantic – and tracks include "Low Down Dog", "Roll Em Pete", "Cherry Red", "How Long Blues", and "Morning Glories".

Tough mid 60s blues from Skip James – recorded by Richard Spottswood – and it's among Skip's best recordings! Greatest Of The Delta Blues Singers features recordings made in 1964 – at a time when James was being celebrated by the folk community – and it’s also a time when he was in ailing health – which adds some incredible depth to the material – as if Skip's bluesy truth would ever be questioned! Includes "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues", "Sick Bed Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Illinois Blues", "All Night Long", "Cherry Ball", "I Don't Want A Woman To Stay Out All Night Long" and more – plus the reissue bonus tracks "Skip's Worried Blues" and "Motherless & Fatherless".