An incredible late 50s set for King by singer Lula Reed – and a pretty unique blend of R&B and bluer and moodier material – but a lot more upbeat than you'd expect from the title! Lula's voice is a genuine vessel for the bluesy material, but it's also light and lovely, and works ... (Soul, Blues)read moreCD
A funky bit of blues from Otis Rush – the guitarist's debut album, and a surprisingly great batch of tracks recorded at Fame Studios! Production is by Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites, who are clearly going for more of a crossover sound than Rick Hall might have given the set – but ... read moreCD
Titles include "Right Place, Wrong Time", "Tore Up", "Three Times A Fool", "Your Turn To Cry", "I Wonder Why", and "Lonely Man". LP, Vinyl record album
One of Jimmy Rushing's last truly great albums – a jazz-tinged session of bluesy material, one that gets at his best work of the 50s! The arrangements are by Al Cohn, and have a fluid swing that pushes Jimmy past cliche – working with players that include Zoot Sims, Budd Johnson, ... (Vocalists, Blues)read moreCD
Jimmy Rushing reprises a nice batch of blues classics from the 20s, all of which were sung by early recording artists like Bessie or Clara Smith. The group that backs him is a nice one, and features Buck Clayton on trumpet, Buster Bailey on clarinet, and Coleman Hawkins on tenor. As with many of ... (Vocalists, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mono 6 eye pressing. Cover has light surface wear.)
A great session that features Jimmy Rushing singing in the rootsy style of his early Kansas City recordings, with backing by a group that includes the legendary Pete Johson on piano, plus Rudy Powell on alto, Emmett Berry on trumpet, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Freddie Greene on guitar. Titles ... (Vocalists, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Early 80s Japanese pressing – K20P 6184 – with insert. Cover is lightly bumped at the bottom right corner.)
A nice dose of jazz – as usual for Jimmy – thanks to some arrangements by Oliver Nelson, plus piano from Dave Frishberg and tenor from Buddy Tate! Titles include "You Can't Run Around", "Blues In The Dark", "Tell Me I'm Not To Late", "Berkely Campus ... (Vocalists, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Early 70s issue. Cover has light wear and a small sticker in back.)
With small combo backing from Zoot Sims and Al Cohn on tenor, plus Budd Johnson on tenor and soprano sax, Ray Nance on cornet, and Dave Frishberg on piano! Titles include "Fine And Mellow", "I Surrender Dear", "Linger Awhile", "My Last Affair", "More ... (Vocalists, Blues)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has a cutout notch and light wear.)
Son Seals —
Bad Axe ... LP Alligator, 1984. Near Mint- ...
$8.99
An Alligator Records classic, and a great showcase for Chicago guitarist Son Seals – who also serves up some great vocals too! Titles include "Cold Blood", "Friday Again", "Don't Pick Me For Your Fool", "Out Of My Way", "Person To Person", ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An album from the 80s, but one that echoes a much older tradition of folk and blues – with a vibe that hardly fits the dated spelling of the duo's name! Serious Bizness is the team of Jaribu and Ngoma Hill – who harmonize together on some very message-oriented music, in a way that was ... read moreCD
(Special limited CD – pressed up for us by the Smithsonian Folkways label. Comes with original cover artwork, and the CD also features a PDF file with the original liner notes and other materials from the original record release.)
Johnny Shines isn't standing at the crossroads at the same time as Robert Johnson, but he's still sounding pretty darn great here – recording this stripped-down set in Cali in 1970, with just his own guitar alongside his vocals! Shines is maybe best known for his Chicago recordings of the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original beige label Testament pressing. Cover has light ring & edge wear.)
George Harmonica Smith —
Of The Blues ... CD Bluesway/BGO (UK), 1969. New Copy ...
$7.9918.99
A hip little record – produced by Bob Thiele as pre-Flying Dutchman effort, and with some of the great vibe of the blues records on that label! The set's got an unusual lineup – with jazzman Richard Williams on trumpet, plus Ed Davis on tenor, Marshall Hooks on guitar, Curtis Tillman ... read moreCD
George Harmonica Smith —
Of The Blues ... LP Bluesway/ABC, 1969. Very Good+ ...
$14.9919.99
A hip little record – produced by Bob Thiele as pre-Flying Dutchman effort, and with some of the great vibe of the blues records on that label! The set's got an unusual lineup – with jazzman Richard Williams on trumpet, plus Ed Davis on tenor, Marshall Hooks on guitar, Curtis Tillman ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has a cutout hole, light wear, and some light staining on the opening.)
Includes duets with Wallace Bishop on drums and solo recordings from late 1949. (Jazz, Blues)LP, Vinyl record album
Willie 'The Lion' Smith —
Memorial Vol 2 ... LP Vogue (UK), 1949/1950. Sealed ...
$14.99
Includes a session from 1949 with Buck Clayton on trumpet, Claude Luter on clarinet, and Wallace Bishop on drums; plus solo recordings from 1950. (Jazz, Blues)LP, Vinyl record album
Two cool UK albums from Otis Spann – back to back on a single set! First up is the album Blues Of Otis Spann – a rare UK session, and one that's sometimes got even more grit than some of his hometown recordings back in Chicago! The vibe is very lean and laidback – an early Mike ... read moreCD
A raw soul classic from Otis Spann – one of those great late 60s dates from the time when Bob Thiele was producing the Bluesway label for ABC, and really found a way to bring out the best in artists like Otis! Spann had always been great, but there's a bolder, edgier quality here – ... read moreCD
A French session from harmonica player Sugar Blue – with titles that include "Shed No Tears", "War Zone", "Pontiac", "My Baby Caught The Train", "Another Man Done Gone", and "Begging The Girl To Go". LP, Vinyl record album
(Includes the printed inner sleeve. Cover has some edge wear.)
A great later date from this legendary pianist and singer – part of the great Delmark revival of his talents! Other players include King Kolax on trumpet, Oett Mallard on tenor, and Robert Lockwood Jr on guitar! CD
An obscure 70s album from the legendary Roosevelt Sykes – but a set that captures the singer and pianist at the height of his powers! The format here is very stripped-down – often just a focus on Sykes himself, with the occasional addition of a bit of guitar from Louisiana Red or ... read moreCD
A classic early session from Alligator Records – with Hound Dog Taylor on guitar and vocals, plus Brewer Phillips on second guitar and Ted Harvey on drums – all working in a style that's a lot leaner than other work on the label! CD
Probably THE album you truly need to own from Koko Taylor – and a completely great one, recorded way before she'd become a cliched fixture paying the bills on the frat boy tourist blues scene! The tracks here were recorded over a few years in mid-to-late 60s Chicago – mostly with ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee —
Home Town Blues ... LP Mainstream, Late 1940s/Early 1950s. Very Good ...
$8.99
A range of different recordings from the team of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee – all recorded by a young Bob Shad at the end of the 40s and start of the 50s – and originally issued as 78s on the Sittin In With and Jax labels! The work is quite rootsy, even for the time – but ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mono mid 60s pressing. Cover has aging and light surface wear, spot of pen on the back.)
A great set of 50s recordings by gritty rhythm & blues singer Big Mama Thornton – whose most famous for grittier shouters – but there's some surprisingly easygoing numbers here, too! Her famous "Hound Dog" opens this set, and sets the pace strongly – for a batch of ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Big Mama Thornton/Lightning Hopkins/Larry Williams —
Ball N Chain ... CD Arhoolie, Late 60s. Used ...
$6.99
An album that brings together unissued tracks from the Arhoolie catalog by each of the three blues artists on the cover! CD
(Out of print.)
George Thorogood & The Destroyers —
Bad To The Bone ... LP EMI, 1982. Near Mint- ...
$6.99
An essential collection of early work from Ike Turner – done before Tina was in the mix, and with a host of great singers – in lineups that include material recorded under the names of Icky Renrut, Bobby Foster, Timothy Cooper, Sammy Grimes, Chuck Wheeler, and Johnny Wright! Lots of ... (Soul, Blues)read moreCD
Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm —
I'm Tore Up ... CD Red Lightnin/Good Time Records (UK), Mid 50s. New Copy ...
$13.9914.99
Fantastic early work from the great Ike Turner – most of it with his sharp 50s group, during the years they were recording for King/Federal Records! These are the years before Tina joined Ike – and the group have a raw, romping vibe that's at the top of the R&B spectrum from the ... (Soul, Blues)read moreCD
A real classic from blues giant Joe Turner – a singer who burst back to the mainstream on 50s Atlantic Records, thanks to a host of R&B singles that burned up the charts – but who here returns to his roots, and lays down a great set of jazzy tunes that get back to his roots in the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Rockefeller label pressing with Warner rim logo. Cover has light wear, aging, and a cutout notch.)
A great mix of jazz and blues from Joe Turner – a set that seems to draw from his Kansas City roots, yet also inflect the sound with some of the blues changes of the 70s! Joe's got two key soloists here – Sonny Stitt on tenor and alto, and Pee Wee Crayton on guitar – and the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Great 40s work from this Kansas City legend – recorded in New York, Chicago, and LA – with work from players who include Don Byas and Wild Bill Moore on tenor, Camille Howard and Pete Johnson on piano, Red Saunders on drums, and Riley Hampton on alto sax. 26 tracks total!! CD
Recorded with a hip group that includes Lloyd Glenn on piano, Pee Wee Crayton on guitar, Joe Banks on trumpet, and Hollis Gilmore and Bill Clark on tenor. LP, Vinyl record album
Great 40s work from this Kansas City legend – recorded in New York, Chicago, and LA – with work from players who include Don Byas and Wild Bill Moore on tenor, Camille Howard and Pete Johnson on piano, Red Saunders on drums, and Riley Hampton on alto sax! LP, Vinyl record album
(70s red label pressing in the die-cut cover, with printed inner sleeves.)
Joe Turner —
I Don't Dig It ... LP Jukebox Lil (Sweden), 1940s. Very Good+ Gatefold ...
$4.99
Excellent work from this lost time in the career of the great Joe Turner – material after his early work with Count Basie in the 30s, but before his rock and roll revival on Atlantic in the 50s! LP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has light wear and a rip on the back with a strip of clear tape.)
With Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Al Grey on trombone, Lee Allen on saxophone, Ray Brown on bass, Jimmy Robbins on piano and organ, Thomas Gadson on guitar, and Earl Palmer on drums. LP, Vinyl record album
(Early 80s issue. Cover has a cut corner.)
Joe Turner —
Texas Style ... LP Black & Blue (France), 1971. Near Mint- ...
$9.99
A landmark 80s record in the return of blues to the mainstream, right back in front of a rock audience with work like this – as the young Stevie Ray Vaughn cooks things up here on cuts that include "Couldn't Stand The Weather", "Stang's Swang", "Cold Shot", " ... read moreCD
A landmark 80s record in the return of blues to the mainstream, right back in front of a rock audience with work like this – as the young Stevie Ray Vaughn cooks things up here on cuts that include "Couldn't Stand The Weather", "Stang's Swang", "Cold Shot", " ... read moreCD
Vinson plays alto and sings – in a group that features Art Hillery on piano and organ, Rashid Jamal Ali on tenor, Martin Banks on trumpet, and Cal Green on guitar. CD
(Out of print.)
Joe Louis Walker —
Blue Soul ... CD Hightone, 1989. Used ...
Just Sold Out!
... CD
Joe Louis Walker —
Gift ... LP Hightone, 1988. Near Mint- ...
$7.99
A sweet funky set from the mighty T-Bone Walker – a record that still includes loads of his wickedly sharp guitar lines, but which also gives him a tight groove with electric bass and great drums from the legendary Paul Humphrey! The bottom end here kicks as much as Walker's work on the top ... read moreCD
A really unusual setting for the legendary T Bone Walker – one of those fantastic records he made while hanging out on the French scene in the late 60s and early 70s – a time when he was able to work in a crossroads of styles that really opened up his sound! That's definitely the case ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has light edge wear.)
T Bone Walker —
Super Black Blues ... CD Flying Dutchman/Ace (UK), 1969. New Copy ...
Just Sold Out!
A great little set from T-Bone – recorded at the end of the 60s, with a lineup that includes other blues musicians like Joe Turner, Otis Spann, and George Harmonica Smith, plus jazz funk players like Paul Humphrey and Ernie Watts! The vibe is very laidback – and most tracks on the ... read moreCD
A great little set from T-Bone – recorded at the end of the 60s, with a lineup that includes other blues musicians like Joe Turner, Otis Spann, and George Harmonica Smith, plus jazz funk players like Paul Humphrey and Ernie Watts! The vibe is very laidback – and most tracks on the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original Bluestime bullseye label pressing. Cover has light wear and aging.)
Later work from guitar genius T-Bone Walker, but still very much in the style of his best R&B work! The album features small group backings that do the best to bring out the jazzier side of T-Bone's style – one that was a direct influence on countless jazz funk guitarists in later years ... read moreCD
An excellent 2LP set that brings together 28 early 50s recordings by T-Bone Walker – crucial sides that link together jazz and blues traditions, with incredible work on guitar that would go onto influence both genres tremendously. The fact that Walker became a huge influence on soul jazz ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A gem of a record from the funk-heavy period of Muddy Waters – a moment that once made the traditional blues fans mad, but which has gone onto become the stuff of legend – thanks to a real criss-crossing of Chicago talents in the studio! The set was co-produced by Chess Records talents ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Orange label 70s pressing. Cover has a small cutout mark.)
Muddy Waters makes a classic appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival – playing a folksy set of blues in the years before the festival had turned more strongly towards that sort of music! The performance is surprisingly well-recorded – at a level that's similar to Waters' earlier studio ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Early 80s Italian "Blues & Rock Project" pressing in a border cover with black & white image. Cover has light surface wear and some price sticker remnants.)
Some of the earliest work ever recorded by Muddy Waters – in Mississippi, before he moved to Chicago – captured by the Library Of Congress recordings, and featuring some tracks with Muddy on his own, and some with the Son Sims Four! This package is probably the nicest way you'll ever ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Limited, numbered 200 gram pressing in fabric-covered cover, with booklet – a great copy!)
A really fantastic chapter in the career of the great Muddy Waters – a set that was initially dismissed as "inauthentic", but which has gone on to much-deserved fame over the years! Part of the genius here is the great Charles Stepney – that hip Chicago arranger who did so ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One of the biggest albums of Muddy Waters' career – a key crossover effort that has Waters as the "father" working with "sons" Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield! The style here is still quite rootsy overall – and the double-length session features one album ... read moreCD
(2001 remastered edition with lots of bonus tracks! Barcode has a cutout hole, case has a clear promo sticker.)
A seminal album by Muddy – recorded in a style that's rootsier, and more down to earth than a lot of his other chess sides! Muddy's playing acoustic guitar, and the rest of the group features Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, and Clifton James. The sound is really spare, and very moody – and ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s orange label pressing. Cover has a cutout notch, some wear, and aging.)
Muddy Waters —
Good News Vol 3 ... LP Syndicate Chapter (UK), Mid/Late 50s. Near Mint- ...
$11.9914.99
... LP, Vinyl record album
(Early 80s white label pressing. Cover has light wear and lightly bent corners.)
Produced by Johnny Winter – with cuts that include "The Blues Had A Baby & They Named It Rock & Roll #2", "Little Girl", "Deep Down In Florida", "Jealous Hearted Man", and "Mannish Boy". CD
Produced by Johnny Winter – with cuts that include "The Blues Had A Baby & They Named It Rock & Roll #2", "Little Girl", "Deep Down In Florida", "Jealous Hearted Man", and "Mannish Boy". CD
(2004 remastered edition. Barcode has a cutout hole.)
A famous 70s session from the great Muddy Waters – one that has him heading over to London, and rubbing shoulders in the studio with some key musicians whose work he'd helped inspire! Chess Records first tried this mode out with Howlin Wolf in 1970 – but the Waters session is maybe ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A late 60s album on Chess Records – but one that serves to bring together all the best early work that Muddy Waters did for the label – including lots of original 45s and 78s! The range of music is really wonderful – the kind of tracks that first got Waters noticed in the first ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Orange label pressing. Cover has edge and ring wear.)