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 and again over the years – but the whole record's wonderful, and handled with this new level of soul sophistication by arranger Riley Hampton – the great Chicago talent who'd reach similar heights in his charts for singers that include Lorez Alexandria and Walter Jackson. Hampton's dark use of strings brings out a whole new side of James' brilliance – a quality that raised Etta James up out of the R&B ghetto, and forever put her into the legions of legendary 60s soul stars! Titles include the perennial classic "At Last", plus "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Tough Mary", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Anything To Say You're Mine", and "Trust In Me". Includes 4 bonus tracks – "My Heart Cries", "Spoonful", "It's A Crying Shame", and "If I Can't Have You". (Soul, Blues) CD

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 and again over the years – but the whole record's wonderful, and handled with this new level of soul sophistication by arranger Riley Hampton – the great Chicago talent who'd reach similar heights in his charts for singers that include Lorez Alexandria and Walter Jackson. Hampton's dark use of strings brings out a whole new side of James' brilliance – a quality that raised Etta James up out of the R&B ghetto, and forever put her into the legions of legendary 60s soul stars! Titles include the perennial classic "At Last", plus "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Tough Mary", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Anything To Say You're Mine", and "Trust In Me". Includes 4 bonus tracks – "My Heart Cries", "Spoonful", "It's A Crying Shame", and "If I Can't Have You". (Soul, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic set – 46 Chess Records recordings, including a few unissued titles! CD

A well-titled album – given that Taj Mahal's music is always pretty darn rootsy – and this time around, he's also adding in a bit of Jamaican roots too, thanks to production help from Bob Marley and Aston Barrett of The Wailers! The pair help Taj out on a few numbers, mixing in some reggae rhythms with his bluesy lead – another compelling combination of modes that marks the creative apex of Taj Mahal's years on Columbia. Titles include "Johnny Too Bad", "Big Mama", "Cajun Waltz", "Slave Driver", "Blackjack Davey", and "Desperate Lover". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare and unissued work from Muddy Waters – mostly from his first decade at Chess Records – a time when both Waters and the label were helping reinvent the sound of blues in the postwar years! Muddy's already-released material is already so strong, it's hard to imagine the need for a set like this – but the package is way more than just unused oddities, or cleanup from the Chess vaults – and instead features a stunning batch of work that would be more than enough of a legacy for any other bluesman on his own! The settings vary throughout – and accompanying players include Sunnyland Slim or Otis Spann on piano, Tampa Red or Jimmy Rodgers on guitar, Junior Wells or Little Walter on harmonica, and Willie Dixon on bass. Titles include "Born Lover", "let Me Hang Around", "Smokestack Lightnin", "Last Time I Fool Around With You", "Mean Disposition", "Little Anna Mae", and "Where's My Woman Been". LP, Vinyl record album

A great early album from Junior Wells – and one that really opens up that more soulful side of his talents that was becoming a Chicago hallmark at the time! The set was produced by Samuel Charters, but has none of the rootsy vibe of his earlier work on Folkways – and instead matches the harmonica and raw vocals of Wells with a bit of horn backings on a few tunes by the great Ed Bland (of previous Sun Ra cinema fame, and later funk arrangements) – blown by the unlikely mix of Tom McIntosh on trombone, with trumpets by Clark Terry, Wallace Davenport, and Jimmy Owens! The core group has the mighty Buddy Guy on guitar, with Walter Williams on rhythm guitar and Douglas Fagan on tenor – and Junior knocks it out of the park, on tunes that include "So Sad This Morning", "When My Baby Left Me", "Stop Breakin Down", "Somebody's Tippin In", "You Don't Love Me", "Little By Little", and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man". CD