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
Skip plays both guitar and piano along with his vocals – and titles include "Special Rider Blues", "Crow Jane", "All Night Long", "Cypress Grove", "My Gal", and "Look Down The Road". CD
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
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 ... read moreCD
Features Jimmy Johnson on guitar and vocals, plus a bit of harmonica on one track too – and the set features an unusual take on Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"! CD
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
Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan —
In Session ... CD Stax, 1983. Used ...
$1.993.99
A genius early combination from BB King – his own majestic vocals and a host of spiritual sounds that bring out a whole new side of his talents! The pairing is unusual – as King hardly cut much other material in this manner – and the record puts aside his famous guitar work to ... read moreCD
BB King —
BB King Wails ... CD Crown/Ace (UK), Late 50s/Early 60s. Used ...
$7.99
An album named after a genre, but one that offers up the very special focus that BB King brought to blues music – especially in these early years of his career! King's a giant at this point – a hell of a singer, with a sound that's a key bridge between gospel and soul – and a ... read moreCD
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
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
An incredible record from Mississippi Fred McDowell – a set that was issued on a big label, but which has a wonderfully rootsy feel throughout – in a way that almost out-does any work from the indie blues labels of the time! The package was put together by Tommy Couch as an early ... read moreCD
(Sealed.)
Memphis Jug Band —
Essential ... CD Classic Blues, Late 1920s/Early 1930s. Used 2CD ...
Just Sold Out!
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
Not a bad little side project from actor/musician John Lurie – who's working here under the guise of a mysterious blues musician! That gimmick is maybe the worst part of the record – as the music is clearly new, and hardly classic blues at all – but if you can get past it, the ... (Rock, Blues)read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Band —
On Tour ... CD GNP/Crescendo, 1986. Used ...
$3.99
A stone classic from Jimmy Reed – and one of the first few albums on the Vee Jay label! The sound is spare, rootsy, and bluesy – the kind of tunes that made Jimmy an instant favorite, and which were a key force in the Chicago blues sound of the 50s. The set features material recorded ... read moreCD
(1998 digipak pressing. Cover has light wear and a hype sticker on the front.)
Sherman Robertson & BluesMove —
Guitar Man Live ... CD Moving Music (UK), 2005. Used ...
Just Sold Out!
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
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
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
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
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
A really sweet late effort from bluesy soul singer and sax player Eddie Cleanhead Vinson – his dawn of the 70s comeback! Cleanhead covered a whole lot of stylistic range in earlier years, from big band vocalist, to R&B shouter, to bebop era alto sax player – and he comfortably ... read moreCD
(Still sealed!)
Joe Louis Walker —
Blue Soul ... CD Hightone, 1989. Used ...
$3.99
An incredible collection – one no home should be without! This isn't blues, this is T Bone Walker – a guitar pioneer, and a musician who's got just as much jazz in his style too. Fantastic recordings throughout – 52 tracks in all. CD
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
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.)
2 Muddy Waters classics! On the first record, the Big Bill in the title is Big Bill Broonzy – a key influence on midcentury bluesmen all over the US, and paid tribute to nicely here by Muddy Waters! Given this tribute approach, the sound's a bit rootsier than some of Waters' other work for ... read moreCD
(Out of print MCA pressing.)
Muddy Waters —
Unk In Funk ... CD Chess/Get On Down, 1974. Used ...
$8.99
Muddy Waters definitely put the "unk" in funk – although back in his day, the word meant something different than in the 70s! This set features some great late Muddy for Chess – produced in conjunction with Ralph Bass, Muddy's longtime associate in the studio, and done with a ... read moreCD
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 ... read moreCD
Some of his classic 60's material, recorded live at Pepper's Lounge on the South Side of Chicago in 1966. With the tracks "It's My Life Baby", "Country Girl", and "Shake it Baby". Great Chicago blues/soul crossover stuff. CD