... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A very unusual set from Prestige records – rural southern blues, recorded by Alan Lomax with help from Shirley Collins – featuring tracks from Fred McDowell, John Dudley, Matti Gardner, Miles Pratcher, Ed Young, Viola James, Leroy Gary, and Leroy Miller! LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's a striking one – and it definitely supports the music inside, given that most of these Bo Carter tunes are vintage blues tunes with a decidedly erotic bent! The metaphors are obvious, but they're put together beautifully – without any of the heavy-handed schlock that later copycats would never get quite right – and set to spare acoustic lines that complement Carter's vocals wonderfully. And in a case where a title is definitely more than enough to get you started – let us say simply that the tracks include "Pig Meat Is What I Crave", "What Kind Of Scent Is This", "Mashin That Thing", "Pin In Your Cushion", "Ram Rod Daddy", "Ants In My Pants", "Pussy Cat Blues", and "My Pencil Won't Write No More". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Lonnie Johnson, Carl Kress, John Cali, Tony Guttouso, Eddie Lang, and Dick McDonough! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Key work from Blind Willie Johnson – a singer who only recorded for a few short years, but who left behind a tremendous legacy of music! Willie's got this unusual froggy style of singing that's unlike anyone else we've heard – except for maybe Clarence Henry – and it mixes wonderfully with his spare guitar lines, and soars out over the top once he gets going – which means a special push on the lyrics to lift up the vocals – almost a gospel sort of inflection, which is no surprise given the subject matter of some of the tunes. Titles include "The Soul Of Man", "Sweeter As The Years Go By", "Go With Me To The Land", "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down", "John The Revelator", and "You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond". CD

... CD

Featuring Henry Townsend, Charley Jordan, Hi Henry Brown, Georgia Boyd, Joe Stone, and Peetie Wheatstraw. LP, Vinyl record album

Buddy Boy is on all of side one – with titles that include "Snatch It & Grab It", "Raggin The Blues", "How Come Mama Blues", and "Number Three Blues". Side two features work from buddies who include Blind Percy, Will Day, Texas Alexander, and Funny Paper Smith! LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage work from Mississippi John Hurt, but somehow amazingly clear and crisp in this classic LP presentation! The tunes are wonderfully earthy – just vocals and guitar from Hurt, in a style that's definitely blues, but which has some surprisingly jazzy inflections at times – at least from the perspective of older-style jazz. Titles include "Candy Man Blues", "Spike Driver Blues", "Big Leg Blues", "Ain't No Tellin", "Frankie", "Nobody's Dirty Business", and "Louis Collins". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Music from Memphis Minnie, Mississippi John Hurt, Henry Thomas, Luke Jordan, Bobby Grant, Evans & McClain, Furry Lewis, Blind Blake, Clarence Ashley, Moses Mason, Blue Boys, Coley Jones, and Barbecue Bob. CD

A very cool oversized package of rare 78rpm material – with an excellent Robert Crumb cover! Music from Freeny's Barn Dance Band, Son House, Ernest Phipps, Memphis Minnie, Tommy Johnson, Three Stripped Gears, the Kentucky Ramblers, Amedie Ardoin, Yank Rachelm, Asa Martin, Blind Roosevelt Graves, Ken Maynard & more. CD

Great acoustic blues from the legendary Scrapper Blackwell – easily one of the greatest musical talents to ever come out of the Indy scene! The recordings here are early, but already represent a pinnacle of blues achievement – a pushing forward of the use of the guitar in the music to new heights – thanks to Blackwell's well-crafted solos! Tunes include titles done both under his name, and featuring Scrapper with other artists – and tracks include "Kokomo Blues", "Down South Blues", "Penal Farm Blues", and "Trouble Blues (parts 1 & 2)" by Blackwell – plus "Good Woman Blues" with Leroy Carr, "Down In Black Bottom" with Black Bottom McPhail, and "Pack Up Her Trunk Blues" with Tommie Bradley. CD

Titles include "Chump Man's Blues", "Southern Rag", "Hard Pushing Papa", "Georgia Bound", "Police Dog Blues", "Hey Hey Daddy Blues", "Seaboard Stomp", "Hastings Street", and "You Gonna Quit Me Blues" – 23 tracks total. CD

... CD

A double-length set of work from this classic ensemble – served up here in a great Robert Crumb cover image too! The set's one of the richest collections done by Yazoo during their crucial reissue period – and features late 20s material from the group that often (but not always) featured jug work in the rhythm, plus bluesy vocals from Will Shade, Minnie Wallace, Charlie Nickerson, Hattie Hart, and others – as well as guitar, harmonica, and kazoo. The lineup changes from track to track, documented well in the notes – and titles include "Memphis Yo Yo Blues", "Gator Wobble", "I'll See You In The Spring When The Birds Begin To Sing", "Insane Crazy Blues", "On The Road Again", and "Fourth Street Mess Around". CD

... CD

The complete recordings of East Texas bluesman Henry Thomas – only 23 titles in all, but quite a legacy to leave behind! Thomas was a real itinerant bluesman in the old school mode – born in the 19th century, and known for travelling up and down railroad lines, where he would share and develop his songs. Given that legacy, the approach here is even more folksy than other mainstream blues of the time – acoustic guitar, vocals, and a bit of penny whistle too – a really compelling combination of modes that shows the easy genre crossings that would take place in the earliest years of the genre. The double-length set features great notes on Thomas' obscure career – and titles include "Bob McKinney", "Cottonfield Blues", "The Little Red Caboose", "Fishing Blues", "Old Country Stomp", "Lovin Babe", "Charmin Betsy", and "Texas Worried Blues". CD

Music from Clifford Gibson, Grayson & Whitter, Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands, Teddy Darby, Roy Harvey & The North Carolina Ramblers, Lewis McDaniel & Walter Smith, the Red Fox Chasers, Clayton McMichen, Will Batts, the Memphis Jug Band & more. CD

Mute Records was one of the most striking British labels of the post-punk years – second maybe only to Factory Records for the way it mixed art and design to package modern music – a legacy that began with the label's very first 45, and continued through countless great albums and singles for years to come! This beautiful volume is an especially strong look at the first decade or so of Mute – and showcases the way it found new styles to present its music – a rich legacy of sounds from Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Fad Gadget, Nitzer Ebb, Einsturzende Neubauten, and many others – a mode that continued even after Mute had found bigger fame in the mainstream, and started to issue some of its productions on major labels. The book traces hundreds of images, and even includes label scans, mock-ups, and other related work – along with a complete representation of the label's albums too. This hardcover edition is full color throughout, over 300 pages, and a great companion to the classic music of Mute! Book