18 tracks in all – including "I'm Satisfied", "Rich Women Blues", "Chicken", "here I Am Oh Lord Send Me", "Coffee Blues", "Shake That Thing", "Make Me A Pallet On The Floor", "Salty Dog", and "Trouble I Had ... read moreCD
A massive 3CD look at the key early years of Elmore James – a package that's overflowing with great work by one of the greatest blues guitarists of the 50s! The set starts way back at James' roots in Mississippi, with some sweetly rough-edged recordings that still sparkle with incredible ... read moreCD
Early work from the great Elmore James – originally recorded for the Meteor label! Titles include "Happy Home", "I Was A Fool", "Sunnyland", "Dust My Blues", "Sho Nuff I Do", "Canton Mississippi Breakdown", "Wild About You ... read moreCD
An amazing step forward for the young Etta James – a singer who was delivering a raw, shouting form of R&B just a few years before – but who here ascends into soul music heaven with her famous work on the album! The title cut is the stuff of legend – played and played, again ... (Soul, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Great spare work from Skip James – who plays both guitar and piano on the set! The album's one of Skip's best from the 60s – raw, rootsy, and undeniably powerful – with titles that include "Illinois Blues", "Catfish blues", "Mistreating Child Blues", ... read moreCD
A great overview of the work of Abner Jay – as much of a blues singer as the folk artist promised on the cover – working here in a stunning array of styles, pulled from a variety of recordings he made in the late 60s and early 70s! It's clear that Jay is one of those talents who was ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Folk soul guitar player, singer, songwriter, storyteller and genuine character Abner Jay's brilliant home recordings – the first release of his "terrible comedy blues" in far too long – courtesy of the always deep digging Mississippi label! Abner takes on the topical issues ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
With 30 tracks including "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time", "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying", "Bye and Bye I'm Goin' To See The King", "Take Your Stand", "Soul Of A Man", and "John The Revelator". CD
James P Johnson plays "Sweet Lorraine", "Aunt Hagar's Blues", "The Dream", "Keep Movin", "St. Louis Blues", "Euphonic Sounds", "Blue Moods, Sex", and "Blues For Jimmy". (Jazz, Blues)CD
Rootsy blues from the brief stretch when Prestige Records was experimenting with non-jazz material – a back-to-basics session that features Johnson on electric guitar and vocals, Snowden on acoustic guitar, and only Wendell Marshall's jazz-trained bass to back the pair up. The work's in a ... read moreCD
Piano blues from the legendary Curtis Jones – a Texas player who first rose to fame in the late 30s, and who here still has a way with the keys and a vocal style that nobody else can touch! It's a bit hard to put the distinctness of Jones in words, but it definitely comes through on the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Lincoln Ave pressing, with Sample stamp. Vinyl appears heated but play is not affected. Cover has minimal wear and a Sample stamp in back.)
Piano blues from the legendary Curtis Jones – a Texas player who first rose to fame in the late 30s, and who here still has a way with the keys and a vocal style that nobody else can touch! It's a bit hard to put the distinctness of Jones in words, but it definitely comes through on the ... read moreCD
One of THE electric blues records of the 60s – a seminal set by Albert King that was probably blasted out of more college dorm rooms than southside juke joints, but which still more than deserves its due! The set was recorded by Stax with a nice raw sound – guitar very much upfront, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Collects b-sides, alternate takes, plus unissued cuts from Albert King's run at Stax and features Isaac Hayes, Booker T, Steve Cropper, and others! 13 tracks total. CD
BB King —
Great BB King ... LP Crown/P-Vine (Japan), 1960. New Copy (reissue)...
$29.9944.99
The definitely got the title right here – as BB King is plenty great, and already a powerhouse in these early years of his career! King sprung forth from the Memphis scene almost fully-formed – and in addition to his famous guitar work, he was also a hell of a singer who could bring a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An excellent collection of rare work from the legendary BB King – a selection of 25 tracks from the vaults of RPM and Kent Records, 23 of which appear here for the first time ever! Some cuts are alternates, some are different versions of other recordings – and all are pretty darn ... read moreCD
BB King at his late 60s best – working here in the company of producers Johnny Pate and Quincy Jones, and serving up a great blend of blues and soul in the process! The set's less a "best of", than a collection of ABC work that doesn't seem to be on the other full albums of the ... read moreCD
BB King at his late 60s best – working here in the company of producers Johnny Pate and Quincy Jones, and serving up a great blend of blues and soul in the process! The set's less a "best of", than a collection of ABC work that doesn't seem to be on the other full albums of the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(80s non-gatefold pressing on MCA in a barcode cover.)
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 moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Black label stereo pressing with Artisan etch. Cover has some surface wear & aging.)
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 moreCD
If you only know BB King from later years, you'll really be stunned at the sound of this great set from the start of the 60s – a record that's much more R&B than the straighter blues of King's bigger label work – and which has a jumping groove nearly all the way through! The mix of ... read moreCD
BB King —
Singin' The Blues ... LP Crown/P-Vine (Japan), 1957. New Copy (reissue)...
$29.9944.99
The very first full length album from BB King – a killer collection of previous singles for the RPM Records label, served up as a bold statement of King's early genius! The record announces its presence right from the very first note – that brilliant blend of effortless electric guitar ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A posthumous collection of work from Freddie King – material recorded in a variety of different sources, but all of it with Freddie's well-honed guitar sound in the lead! Some tracks were done down at Criteria Studios in Miami, and have a warmly southern sort of glow – others were done ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover has light wear.)
A record that really has Alexis Korner stretching out from the straighter blues of his 60s material – using his fantastic style on a set of tunes that show as much New Orleans influence as you might guess from the title – but also an evolved British roots rock quality too! The group is ... (Rock, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Green label stereo pressing in the textured cover, with light wear and some sticker remnants. Includes the Warner inner sleeve.)
Great 40s work from Leadbelly – featuring the man himself on vocals and guitar, caught in a nice raw mode – plus extra odd zither accompaniment on a few tracks too! LP, Vinyl record album
(Duophonic stereo lime green label pressing. Cover has light wear.)
(Blue label pressing – FA 2942 – in the box set package. Includes the booklet, bent a bit at the top right corner. Box has light wear, split corners, center split at the right edge, and small splash spots of white paint in back.)
Raw early blues material – with Bobby Leecan on guitar and Robert Cooksey on vocals – including tracks with the Dixie Jazzers Washboard Band! LP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 80s issue. Cover has light marks from sticker removal.)
A later performance from blues harmonica great Lazy Lester, but one that's got all the same great energy as his famous early work for the Excello label! There's plenty of grit in the grooves here – a set that's nicely under-produced, with a great backroom vibe – Lester blowing harp and ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Incredibly rootsy blues from Warner/Reprise – a set that features Mance Lipscomb, recorded down in Houston – very different than the usual work you'd expect from the label! LP, Vinyl record album
(White label stereo promo. Cover has some ringwear, edge wear, bumped corners, and is bent at the bottom left corner.)
(Includes one-sheet bio. Cover has a cut corner and hype stickers.)
Little Esther (Esther Phillips) —
Bad Baad Girl ... LP King/Charly (UK), Early 50s. Near Mint- ...
$19.99
A really wonderful collection of early work from the great Esther Phillips – different than her later material for Atlantic and Kudu Records – as it was done in a raw R&B style for the mighty King Records! 16 tracks in all – and detailed notes on the material, too! (Soul, Blues)LP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 80s issue. Cover has light wear and aging.)
Little Milton —
Friend Of Mine ... CD Glades/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1976. New Copy ...
$18.9923.99
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 moreCD
Funky blues from Little Sonny – very much in the spirit of his Black & Blue album for Stax, in that the album's a mix of Memphis soul and bluesy licks – making for a full-on style that really cooks things up! Sonny sings and plays harmonica, but the best side of the album is the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has some surface wear and is lightly bent near the top of the spine.)
A well-titled set – as the album features some of the best early sides that Little Walter recorded for Chess – records that went on to set a whole new standard both in blues vocals and harmonica! There's tightness here that's a bit different from some of the other Chess blues at the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Stereo blue fade label pressing with deep groove. Cover has surface & ring wear & aging.)
A pretty nice little 2LP set – put together in the early 70s, and featuring material that Walter recorded for Chess during the 60s. As the title would imply, there's a lot of harmonica on the album – but Walter's vocals should also be given their due, as they're a bit more in the soul ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 70s orange label pressing. Cover has light wear and aging.)
A rare soul treasure – previously unissued work from Little Willie John, cut for Capitol Records by the mighty David Axelrod! The pairing is quite unique, but it's a great one – and if anything, Little Willie John sparkles here even more than on his later King sides – finding a ... (Soul, Blues)read moreCD
Features Johnny Littlejohn on vocals and guitar – on titles that include "Seven Day Blues", "Lost In The Jungle", "Bloody Tears", "Lottery Blues", "Two way Street", and "Chips Flying Everywhere". LP, Vinyl record album
Never-issued material from the sessions for two classic Magic Sam albums – Black Magic and West Side Soul – not alternate tracks or demos, but really great material that stands strongly here as an album on its own! If you know those records, you'll now the raw power here – that ... read moreCD
Early 80s issue of live recordings at the Alex Club in Chicago from 1963 and 1964 and from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969. LP, Vinyl record album
Magic Sam —
West Side Soul ... CD Delmark/P-Vine (Japan), 1967. New Copy ...
$14.9924.99
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 moreCD
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 moreCD
A great title for this second set from Taj Mahal – because the sound here is even more stripped-down and natural than on his first LP! Taj turns in a lot more original tunes this time around – and is in wonderfully comfortable territory with his own lead lyrics, sung alongside his own ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Hardly any "recycling" going on here – as Taj Mahal takes bluesy roots and turns them in a whole new direction for the 70s, evolving the music way past the level most other bluesmen were working in at the time! At some level, Mahal's style is far more rootsy than most early 70s ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(In the textured cover, with some staining & waviness on the bottom left corner.)
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers —
Stories ... CD Eagle, 2002. Used ...
$3.99
Possibly one of the best-remembered albums by John Mayall's legendary Blues Breakers combo – thanks to vocals and guitar from a young Eric Clapton! Clapton at this point is way fresher than in later years – not prone to cliches, and still coming across with a raw, edgey power that is ... (Rock, Blues)read moreCD
Possibly one of the best-remembered albums by John Mayall's legendary Blues Breakers combo – thanks to vocals and guitar from a young Eric Clapton! Clapton at this point is way fresher than in later years – not prone to cliches, and still coming across with a raw, edgey power that is ... (Rock, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s Collectors Edition pressing. Cover has light wear.)
Titles include "My Bottle Is My Companion", "I Reached For A Tear", "Ha Ha In The Day Time", "Fading Love", and "Long As You're Mine. LP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has a small cutout hole, some ring and edge wear, splitting at the left side of the top seam, and a scrape in front.)
Wild electric work from Les McCann – an album of free, open sounds that's quite a change from his styles of the 60s – and from most of his other work of the 70s too! Side one features an extended 26 minute track titled "The Lovers" – a slow-building number that has Les ... (Jazz, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Broadway label pressing. Cover has gloss separation on one corner and light wear.)
A great live session from the glory days of the Chicago electric blues scene, originally released on Vee Jay, and lovingly repackaged here by Charly. Tracks include "Wish Me Well", "Messin Around", "Slim's Blues", "Steppin' Out", "Rockin The House" ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Amos Milburn —
Chicken Shack Boogie ... LP Aladdin/United Artists (UK), Late 40s/Early 50s. Near Mint- ...
$19.99
Killer R&B from one of the hippest singers on postwar Aladdin Records! Titles include "Chicken Shack Boogie", in two versions – plus "Amos Boogie", "Johnson Rag", "Sax Shack Boogie", "House Party", "Roll Mr Jelly", "Jitterbu ... (Soul, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Late 70s issue. Cover is bent at the top right corner and is bent a bit at the spine.)
Amos Milburn —
Greatest Hits ... LP Official (Denmark), Late 1940s/Early 1950s. Near Mint- ...
$13.99
Killer postwar work from a figure who really laid the ground for 60s soul to come! Titles include his classic "One Scotch One Bourbon One Beer", plus "Sax Shack Boogie", "Tears Tears Tears", "Let Me Go Home Whiskey", "Bad Bad Whiskey", "In The ... (Soul, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Amos Milburn & His Chickenshackers —
Rock Rock Rock ... LP Route 66 (Sweden), Late 40s/1950s. Very Good+ ...
$6.99
... LP, Vinyl record album
(Early 80s issue. Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover has some ring and edge wear, price sticker remnants, and is lightly bent at the edges.)
If you've never got the concept of a string band, this is the record to really illuminate your ears – as it features a beautiful set of stripped-down sides by the Mississippi Sheiks – all recorded in the early 30s, and a wonderful blend of bluesy inflection and folksy roots! Most ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
If you've never got the concept of a string band, this is the record to really illuminate your ears – as it features a beautiful set of stripped-down sides by the Mississippi Sheiks – all recorded in the early 30s, and a wonderful blend of bluesy inflection and folksy roots! Most ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
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 moreCD
A pretty darn important album for Wes – as it was his first session with the sort of larger arrangements that would later make him huge! Although Montgomery was mostly recording for Riverside in small combos, this session has him playing in front of larger backings by Jimmy Jones – not ... (Jazz, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 60s Riverside/ABC issue. Cover has light wear and a small cutout hole.)