... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

Some of the first recordings ever from Chicago legend Junior Wells – made for the small States label in the Windy City, many years before Wells exploded out with much greater national fame! The music here has Junior stepping into the same early electric space that Chess Records was cutting at the time – and given the presence of Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Willie Dixon on some of these sides – the group's also not far off either! Wells is the main star throughout, though – alternating bold young vocals and razor-sharp harmonica lines – in the company of players who include Louis Myers, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters on guitar, Johnnie Jones and Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Odie Payne on drums. Titles include "Hoodoo Man", "Tomorrow Night", "Eagle Rock", "Junior's Wail", "Throw This Poor Dog A Bone", "So All Alone", "Blues Hit Big Town", and "Lovin Blues". CD features six previously unissued tracks! CD

Some of the first recordings ever from Chicago legend Junior Wells – made for the small States label in the Windy City, many years before Wells exploded out with much greater national fame! The music here has Junior stepping into the same early electric space that Chess Records was cutting at the time – and given the presence of Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Willie Dixon on some of these sides – the group's also not far off either! Wells is the main star throughout, though – alternating bold young vocals and razor-sharp harmonica lines – in the company of players who include Louis Myers, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters on guitar, Johnnie Jones and Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Odie Payne on drums. Titles include "Hoodoo Man", "Tomorrow Night", "Eagle Rock", "Junior's Wail", "Throw This Poor Dog A Bone", "So All Alone", "Blues Hit Big Town", and "Lovin Blues". CD

A full length Riverside album that brings together two different sessions from the 78rpm years! Side one features trombonist Jack Teagarden working with an octet that also includes Rex Stewart on cornet, Ben Webster on tenor, and Barney Bigard on clarinet – and side two features clarinet genius Pee Wee Russell working with Freddie Green on guitar, Max Kaminsky on trumpet, Al Gold on tenor, James P Johnson on piano, and Dicky Wells on trombone! CD

A full length Riverside album that brings together two different sessions from the 78rpm years! Side one features trombonist Jack Teagarden working with an octet that also includes Rex Stewart on cornet, Ben Webster on tenor, and Barney Bigard on clarinet – and side two features clarinet genius Pee Wee Russell working with Freddie Green on guitar, Max Kaminsky on trumpet, Al Gold on tenor, James P Johnson on piano, and Dicky Wells on trombone! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Blues Festival – the start of a great event that would blossom into other styles of music in the 70s, but which stood as a strong blues-based event in its initial year of 1969! In some ways, the three day series of concerts is a roots answer to Woodstock – which took place just a few weeks before – as the festival featured a great scope of blues talents, from the rootsier sort of artists who were recording for labels like Folkways or Arhoolie, to some of the sharper modern talents rising to the top on Chess or Delmark! The package alone is almost worth the price of admission – beautiful photographs of the event, detailed notes, and the first-ever release of this music – which has sat in the vaults for decades, finally to see the light of day. Titles include "Dirty Mother For You" by Roosevelt Sykes, "So Glad You're Mine" by Arthur Big Boy Crudup, "Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy" by Luther Allison & The Blue Nebulae, "Help Me" by Junior Wells, "I Wonder Why" by Jimmy Dawkins, "Too Much Alcohol" by JB Hutto & His Hawks, "So Many Roads So Many Trains" by Otis Rush, "Long Distance Call" by Muddy Waters, "Off The Wall" by James Cotton Band, "Juanita" by Big Joe Williams, "Jelly Jelly Blues" by Shirley Griffin, "I Feel So Good" by Magic Sam, "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker, "Death Letter Blues" by Son House, "Key To The Highway" by Sam Lay, and "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin Hopkins. CD

Features early work by Homesick James, Baby Face Leroy, Little Walter, JB Hutto, Eddie Boyd, Junior Wells, Little Willie Foster, Snooky & Moody, Johnny Young, Floyd Jones, Big Walter, Rober Nighthawk, and John Brim. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, Eddie Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells, Otis Spann, J.B. Lenoir, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Lockwood Jr, Billy Boy Arnold, Luther Allison, and Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers. CD

The Beatles weren't just the biggest recording act on the scene in the mid 60s, they were also probably the most influential from a songwriting perspective too – such that countless other groups, singers, and musicians picked up their songs and gave them a try, including some tracks that The Beatles never recorded themselves! These aren't just hack cover versions, though – as the artists here clearly love the Fab Four, and are dedicated to unlocking ways that the music inspires them, and makes them seek their own expressions too – expressions that are presented here in full force, in a very cool package that mixes up rock, soul, jazz, folk, and other styles too – all in a massive 85 track set, with very detailed notes. Artists include Jackie Lynton, Marilyn Powell, The Merseymen, Dick Rivers, Mary Wells, Duffy Power, The Coterie, Mark Wynter, Strawberry Fair, Brotherhood, The Buckinghams, Madeline Bell, The Transatlantics, Count Basie, Jimmy James, Spanky & Our Gang, Zoot, Junior Parker, Jackie Trent, The Four Preps, PJ Proby, Mae West, Five Man Electrical Band, Dave Baby Cortez, and many others. CD

With classics by The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Brenda Holloway, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Four Tops, The Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, Jr Walker & The All Stars, The Originals, Commodores, Smokey Robinson, Rick James, Dazz Band, Jermaine Jackson, and Lionel Richie. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from James Brown, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Aaron Neville, the Impressions, Jackie Wilson, the Originals, the Dells, BB King, the Miracles, Cannonball Adderley, Mary Wells, and more. CD

An explosive late 70s moment of brilliance from trombonist Curtis Fuller – and one of his greatest albums of the time! The set's got Fuller working with an unusual group – Pepper Adams on baritone sax, making for a nice "bottom" alongside Fuller's trombone, plus James Williams, borrowed from Art Blakey's group of the time – and really stepping out here with some great soaring piano lines. The rest of the quintet features Dennis Irwin on bass and John Yarling on drums – but the real boss of the set is clearly Fuller, who's contributed some wonderful originals to the session, and is clearly working with a re-kindled spirit at this point in his career. Titles include "Four On The Outside", "Suite Kathy", "Little Dreams", "Ballad For Gabe-Wells", and "Corrida Del Torro". LP, Vinyl record album

Music by James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Junior Wells, Walter Shakey Horton, Billie Brach, Sugar Ray, Kim Wilson, and Magic Dick with J. Geils. CD

A seminal set of Chicago blues – still ten times better than all the imitators it spawned! Music from Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band, J.B. Hutto & His Hawks, Otis Spann's South Side Piano, Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, the Otis Rush Blues Band, Homesick James & His Dusters, Johnny Young's South Side Blues Band, and the Johnny Shines Blues Band. CD

A killer Motown live album – one that has the Detroit label storming the stage of the Apollo Theater, with some of its biggest 60s acts in tow! There's a really open, spontaneous feel to the record – more so than other Motown live sets of the 60s – a quality that really grabs you and makes you feel like you're in the audience, catching these artists at the height of their young powers – and the production has the kind of frenetic live album feel as James Brown's famous set at The Apollo. Titles include "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" by Marvin Gaye, "Whole Lotta Woman" by The Contours, "Strange I Know" by The Marvelettes, "Don't You Know" by Stevie Wonder, "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" by The Miracles, "Two Lovers" by Mary Wells, and "Let Me Go The Right Way" by The Supremes. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 25 tracks by Barrett Strong, Mary Wells, the Marvelettes, Miracles, Edwin Starr, Rick James, the Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Jr. Walker, and more! CD

With selections by Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Frank Frost with The Nighthawks, Lightnin' Hopkins, Eddie Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Reed, Robert Cray Band, Albert King, Wild Child Butler, Little Johnny Taylor, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Fenton Robinson. LP, Vinyl record album

A great overview of classic soul music – done in the best style of this Cairo Records series from Mississippi – which means a fantastic choice of cuts, and a beautiful booklet of notes and photos to accompany the music! The set is almost worth the price of the book alone – full color, and filled with scans of rare albums and singles, discographical information, and other details on the music – all in support of a 36 track set that mixes familiar names with much more obscure artists – in order to present a really wide range of classic soul. Titles include "I Pledge" by Lonnie & Lloyd, "My Baby Waited Too Long" by Mamie Perry, "I Found You" by James Hamm, "I've Been Pushed Around" by Blue River & The Maroons, "Please Don't Desert Me Baby" by Gloria Walker, "Helping Hand" by Little Genie Brooks, "Where Is Love" by Eldridge Holmes, "I Still Love You" by Jean Stanback, "Should I Take You Home" by Aztlan, "Don't Make Me What You Don't Want Me To Be" by Nick Allen, "Sippin A Cup Of Coffee" by The Ordells, "Let Me Be The Man" by The Fabulous Vents, "I'm Too Far Gone To Turn Around" by Irene Reid, "I Can't Stop" by Kenny Wells, and "I Wonder If I Had Your Love" by Leroy Smith. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by The Tams, Joe Turner, The Temptations, Chairmen Of The Board, Mary Wells, William Bell & Judy Clay, Patty & The Emblems, Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, The Impressions, Marvin Gaye, James & Bobby Purify, Archie Bell & The Drells, and others. LP, Vinyl record album