Blues — All Formats  

Great rootsy Cajun accordion – a version of the genre that's much grittier than any of the later versions that were spread more strongly through the mainstream – and definitely light years from the touristy sounds heard in more recent years! This set offers up a host of rare small label recordings from Nathan Abshire – a player who really handles his instrument with a personal touch – almost as raw and soulful as a harmonica in the hands of a blues musician, and often supported by rhythms that are pretty darn blue as well – although also with a definite Louisiana sound! The package features material with the Pine Grove Boys and Balfa Brothers group, plus others by Nathan on his own – and the set features 25 titles that include "Pine Grove Blues", "Offshore Blues", "Shamrock", "J'Etais Au Bal", "Choupique Two Step", "Partie A Grand Basile", and "Dying In Misery".

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!

A legendary night at Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge – when The Stones, in town for some shows out in Rosemont, sat in with their hero Muddy Waters! First and foremost – we're in Muddy's wheelhouse here – it's his show, and he sounds great, even this late in the game! The Stones, who are hardly ever better from the early 80s onward than when they're in hard blues homage mode, provide stellar support, and they may very well instigate Muddy and his band to bring their best, which they handily do! Also in action are Muddy's own great band and other guests, including John Primer, Rick Kreher, Earnest Johnson, Ray Allison and Mojo Buford – plus Junior Wells, Buddy Guy (who does some singing on the set, along with Mick and Muddy), Lefty Dizz and Nick Charles. The whole thing sounds great, and this 2LP edition also includes a DVD of the live show – and titles include "Sweet Little Angel", instrumental takes on "Country Boy" and "Baby Please Don't Go", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", "Got My Mojo Workin'", "One Eyed Woman", "Clouds In My Heart", "Champagne And Reefer" and more.

Muddy Waters' band meets the vocals and guitar of Luther Snake Johnson – in a sweet little set that's almost a double-header, given the talent on deck! The material's got a gritty feel that's right up there with Muddy's best for Chess – and the group features Mojo Buford on harmonica, Otis Spann on piano, and Waters on guitar (Muddy couldn't sing, due to contractual obligations!) Johnson's got a nice rough approach – almost a touch of soul at times – and the group keeps things nicely in a classic 60s electrified Chicago mode. Titles include "Sad Day Uptown", "I'm So Glad", "Chicken Shack", "Long Distance Call", "Digging My Potatoes", "Coming Home Baby", and "Mud In Your Ear".

Raw blues from Sonny Boy Williamson – harmonica, guitar, and some rough drumming underneath the vocals – all in a mode that has plenty of early Chess Records grit! And despite the "down and out" title and cover image, Sonny's got a heck of a lot of punch here – an approach to the blues that is almost more vibrant than some of his Chess contemporaries, and which brings a bit of R&B "umph" to the mix! Tracks were recorded over a number of sessions in the late 50s – and titles include "Dissatisfied", "Don't Start Me To Talkin", "I Don't Know", "Wake Up Baby", and "99".

Early harmonic blues, pulled from vintage 78rpm recordings, and wrapped up in a great Robert Crumb cover – exactly the kind of album that makes the Yazoo label so great! Most tracks here appear on LP for the first time ever – and the set does a wonderful job of digging through some very vivid uses of the instrument in 20s and 30s blues – work that's arguably every bit as complex, if not more so, than any of the harp bluesmen in later years. Titles include "My Driving Wheel" by Lee Brown, "Crazy About You" by State Street Boys, "Railroad Blues" by Freeman Stowers, "Friday Moan Blues" by Alfred Lewis, "Harmonica Rag" by Chuck Darling, "I Want You By My Side" by Jazz Gillum, and "House Snake Blues" by Chicken Wilson & Skeeter Hinton.

Amazing blues from the Georgia scene of the 70s – music that hardly feels like other versions of the genre coming out at the time – partly thanks to the raw recording quality of these tracks! Most of the music features just a singer and guitar – sometimes just one or the other – and the only other rhythm on the record comes from spoons or a bit of drums – which should give you an idea of the lean, rootsy sound of the record! The quality of the music is great, though – and the record feels like some older gem on Arhoolie or Yazoo. Titles include "James Boogie" and "Good Morning Little School Girl" by James Davis, "The Howlin Wolf" and "Old Red #2" by Jim Bunkley, "Poor Boy" and "If I Lose Let Me Lose" by John Lee Ziegler, "Love Blues" and "Hoochie Coochie Wagon" by William Robertson, and "Have You Ever Seen Peaches Grow On A Sweet Potato Vine" by Jimmy Lee Williams.

Includes tracks by Luke Jordan, Blind Willie McTell, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elijah Jones, Clifford Gibson, James Rachel, the Memphis Jug Band, Joe Williams, Cannons's Jug Stompers, and Walter Davis.

Jumpin' rhythm & blues from Johnny Jones – excellent, exciting recordings in more of an r&b revue sound than the more definitively blues based numbers later on – big collection of numbers devided between sessions with The Jimmy Beck Orchestra and The Imperial Seven, aka The Beat Boys. Given the largeish backing, the numbers have a jumpin' groove, but the players keeping it tight enough that some bluesy intimacy is still there in the fabric. Some sessions feature alternate lead vocalists, a few with Earl Gaines, a couple with Larry Birdsong, plus Charles Walker, Levert Allison and others. 35 tracks in all! "Every Night In The Week", "Now That We're Together", "Best Of Luck Baby", "Slave To Love", "Fiesta", "Oh Baby", "I'm Going Home", "Slow Down Baby", "Mercy On My Soul". "24 Hours A Day", "Pickin' Berries" and more.

Acoustic guitar vamps strongly along with the groove – setting up a mighty hip rhythm for the vocals and harmonica of Sonny Boy Williamson! "Polly" is one of those numbers that perfectly shows Sonny's influence on 60s rockers – especially in the UK – and the "Mellow Chick" flipside has a similar bad-strutting groove!

Postwar blues from Chicago – a great double-length collection of rare material from JOB Records – a Windy City imprint that was much smaller than Vee Jay, Chess, and Mercury – and who only ever issued most of this material as 78 rpm singles! The JOB sound is definitely rough and raw – still showing the strong influence of electric guitar's introduction to northern blues, yet putting the music forward with a stripped-down sound that's really timeless – and which often emphasizes piano as much as guitar. No surprise, there's some great keyboardists on the set – working in a really dark-edged style – as you'll hear on the 36 track set of tunes that includes "Evening Sun" by Johnny Shines, "Drinking Woman" by John Brim & His Trio, "My Head Can't Rest Anymore" by Baby Face Leroy Foster, "Down Home Child" by Sunnyland Slim, "Boogy Fool" by Snooky Pryor, "Dark Road" by Floyd Jones, "Five Long Years" by Eddie Boyd, "How Much More" by JB Lenoir, and "Rough Treatment" by Little Hudson & His Red Devil Trio.

Vintage sounds galore – a huge collection of rare 78rpm recordings from the 20s – filled with the kind of rare blues and hillbilly styles you'd expect from the Yazoo label! The handsome package is a great reworking of the older Yazoo aesthetic – as the book-like package is nicely oversized – to accommodate a large 54 page booklet inside, with illustrations as striking as the cover! The sound quality is way better than the original records – and the set features work by Alex Hood & His Railroad Boys, Appalachia Vagabond, George Edgins Corn Dogers, Charlie Pool & The North Carolina Ramblers, Cartwright Brothers, Ashley's Melody Men, Ishman Bracey, Carver Boys, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Blake, Charley Patton, Ernest Stoneman, and many others!