Blues — All Formats  

Massive lost work from the Butterfield Blues Band – recorded in 1964, quite early in the group's career – but a set that already has them hitting hard with a really powerful sound! The recording quality and overall sound is nice and rough – a gritty groove that's more closely linked with the Chicago roots of the group than some of their later recordings – and the harmonica work of Paul Butterfield is really amazing – nicely distorted at times, almost in a fuzzy psych way – and matched by some excellent work on guitar from both Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield – the latter of whom also handles Hammond and piano too. Titles include "Nut Popper 1", "Lovin Cup", "Our Love Is Driftin", "Take Me Back Baby", "Help Me", "Just To Be With You", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Goin Down Slow".

A great later set from Arthur Crudup – and one that's still got the powerful vibe of his "That's All Right" classic! Those Crudup vocals come through with an incredible punch – a built-in vibrato that really matches his guitar work on the record (amplified through the same Leslie speaker used by Buddy Guy on another Delmark record from the same time! The Leslie creates a cool Hammond-like quality to the guitar, which really sounds great with Arthur's vocals – and although the recording style is rootsy, the speaker still brings a pretty full feel to the set. Other players include Mark Thompson on bass and Willie Big Eye Smith on drums – and the set also features some guest guitar from Jimmy Dawkins and Mike Thompson. Titles include "All I Got Is Gone", "Trying To Take Me For A Ride", "Sunny Road", and "Please Don't Leave Me With The Blues" – and the CD also features some bonus studio chatter too!

One of the lasting classics on the Malaco label – and a key album in helping the company take control of the southern soul market in the 80s! ZZ Hill sounds just as great here as he did on earlier records – amazing vocally, with that trademark rasp that comes in at just the best moments – and working with some relatively traditional instrumentation overall. There's few of the contemporary touches that Malaco would later bring to their music – and most of the backings feature just organ burning along nicely in the background with a quality inherited from Memphis and Muscle Shoals. Titles include "Bring It On Home To Me", "Separate Way", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Rolling Stone", "Bump & Grind", and "Please Don't Make Me".

Wonderfully sophisticated soul from Etta James – a real departure from the raw shouting R&B of earlier years, and perfectly set to sparkling arrangements by the great Riley Hampton (who'd had similar success with Walter Jackson, Lorez Alexandria, and other Chicago soul stars.) Hampton's dark use of strings brings out a whole new side of James' brilliance – a quality that raised Etta James up out of the R&B ghetto, and forever put her into the legions of legendary 60s soul stars! Titles include the perennial classic "At Last", plus "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Tough Mary", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Anything To Say You're Mine", and "Trust In Me".

Wicked early work from Junior Kimbrough – sides that are quite different than some of his better-known recordings over the years! The material was cut in Memphis in 1966 by producer Quinton Claunch – and it's got a spare, rootsy quality that's totally great – slow moving drums underneath some echoey guitar – and great flat-nosed vocals from Junior that really send the tunes home – almost with a quality that makes you feel like he's humming the lyrics instead of singing them! Titles include two versions of "Feels So Good", plus "Meet Me In The City", "Lonesome In My Home", "Done Got Old", and "Feels So Bad".

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, and his style here was a definite precursor to funk – hard, heavy, and with the kinds of little tricks that would be taken up a lot by other players in the funky 45 era. The recording quality is great, and really brings out the deeper tones in King's instrument – creating a great link between the earlier T Bone Walker generation, and lots of heavy guitarists to come. Tracks are all nice, and titles include "San Ho Zay", "Side Tracked", "Wash Out", "In The Open", "Heads Up", "Just Pickin", and "Swooshy".

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 points when Willie steps out with a few bold solos. And the vocals have these really unique quality – maybe a notch or two higher than most others, but with plenty of bite – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Statesboro Blues", "Stomp Down Rider", "Broke Down Engine Blues", "Travelin Blues", "Writing Paper Blues", "Talkin To Myself", and "Southern Can Is Mine".

Smoking blues from Billy Boy Arnold – an artist who never got the fame as some of the bigger acts on Chess Records in the 60s – but who could certainly cook with the best Chicago electric sound! Arnold sings and plays guitar on the record – with a bold, upfront quality that easily makes the record one of the best in this series on Prestige – thanks in part to backing from a youthful group that includes Mighty Joe Young on guitar and Lafayette Leake on piano! Titles include "School Time", "Evaleena", "I Love Only You", "Two Drinks Of Wine", "Billy Boy's Blues", and "You Better Cut That Out". CD features the bonus track "Playing With The Blues".

Sweet electric blues from Albert King – recorded with some great full production, in a burning Memphis style that's got plenty of soul in the mix as well! The set's got a quality level that takes it past some of the cliche-ridden blues of the time – really soulful overall, with a sound that comes straight from the heart, and avoids any of the easy tricks that could mar such a session – proof that music like this could really sparkle in the hands of Stax Records – especially when the backing instrumentation features The Bar-Kays and Memphis Horns! Titles include "High Cost Of Loving", "Little Brother", "I'll Play The Blues For You (parts 1 & 2)", "Breaking Up Somebody's Home", "Angel Of Mercy", and "I'll Be Doggone". CD features four previously unissued bonus tracks – "Albert's Stomp", "I Need A Love", "Don't Burn Down The Bridge (alt)", and "I'll Play The Blues For You (alt)".

One of the last recordings ever made by Bukka White – recorded in West Memphis in the early 70s, but with a sound that stretches back to the delta decades before! The album features White alone on vocals and acoustic guitar – captured with an up-close quality that's beautiful, and which is especially great to illustrate his creative phrasings on the strings of the steel guitar – ringing out with a rough-handed quality that's extremely powerful. Titles include "Black Crepe Blues", "Gibson Hill", "Sic Em Dogs On", "1936 Triggertoe", "Black Cat Bone Blues", and "Shake My Hand Blues".