A huge collection of work from the second chapter in the career of long-running New Orleans soul singer Johnny Adams – work after his initial rise to fame on the SSS International label, from a time when he was working with producer Senator Jones, in a groove that nicely updated an older deep soul style! In later years, Adams would emerge as a more traditional artist, but here he's doing a great job of working with larger charts alongside his well-crafted vocals – in a style that's not unlike that used by Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis in the late 70s too – a more sophisticated take on southern soul, and one that seems to push some of Adams' vocals even more than before! Most of the work was recorded at the Seasaint studios in the late 70s – and titles include "Nothing Takes The Place Of You", "After All The Good Is Gone", "Feel The Beat", "Chasing Rainbows", "It's Been So Long", "Think About You", "Your Love Is All I Need", "Baby Baby I Love You", "She's Only A Baby Herself", "Stay With Me & Stay In Love", "I Don't Want To Cry", and "Memories". 2CD set features 30 tracks in all – including the live cuts "Lost Mind", "Road Block", and "I Cover The Waterfront". (Soul, Blues) CD

An obscure small label set from Luther Allison – issued on a label out of Peoria! The set features Allison on guitar and vocals – with keyboards from Sid Wingfeld, alto from Mike Allen, and drums from Kenny Arnold. Titles include "Strokes", "You're Gonna Need Me", "Cat Blues", "Messin With The Kid", and "You Upset Me Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Damn great work from Albert Collins – one of those hard-edged gems from the early days that's a lot more funk than his later blues! Sure, there's still plenty of blues here – but the rhythms are pretty funky too, and the album's got some great raw production from Bill Hall – free from any of the blues cliches that were creeping into other artists work from mainstream attention – and still cooked up with a really gritty edge overall! Titles include the funky monsters "Doin My Thing" and "Do The Sissy" – plus "Collins Mix", "Trunin On", "Stump Poker", "Let's Get It Together Again", and "Left Overs". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of Taj Mahal's first LPs of the 70s, and also one of his very best of the decade – if not THE best! Happy To Be Just Like I Am is one of the earlier records Taj cut in which he's really going all in with the diverse influences, including the Caribbean flourishes that so flavored his records to come – but not so much as to spread anything out too thin or make for a dizzying mess of things. There's still a lot of straight up country soul & blues in the sound, and Mahal's vocals are just gritty enough, and never sounded better than they do here. Titles include "Happy Just To Be Like I Am", "Stealin", "Oh Susanna", "Eighteen Hammers",. "Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day", "Chevrolet"., "West Indian Revelation" and "Black Spirit Boogie". LP, Vinyl record album

A fitting title to this one – as it virtually describes the standard that the blues business was operating on during the early 70s – as artists came out of the shadows and found big audiences on college campuses, rock clubs, and other crossover scenes! The concept is carried to the Nth degree on the cover – which has a front image of a young Asian boy eating a big watermelon, Sambo-style – and the back cover features notes that say things like "Chinese kids like watermelon, Irish like bagels, black people like Jewish rye, and today everybody loves the Blues." Fortunately, this comic packaging doesn't affect the album too much – as Junior's still in the fine form he was at the end of the 60s, cruising between blues and soul, with a slight touch of jazz, in a unique way that sounds better to our ears than the work of most of his contemporaries. Titles include "Five Long Years", "That's Alright", "Way Back Home", "Man Or Mouse", and "I Like Your Style". CD

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 Than You Know", "Home", and "The You And Me That Used To Be". (Vocalists, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

Eleven tracks, featuring Ray Nance, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, BuddJohnson, and Milt Hinton. Including "Fine And Mellow", "I Surrender Dear", "Linger Awhile", "My Last Affair", "More Than You Know", "Home", and "The You And Me That Used To Be". (Vocalists, Blues) CD

Titles include "A Lyin Woman", "What Can I Do", "Not The Same Man", "The Blues & My Guitar", and "Go Ahead & Take Her". LP, Vinyl record album

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A nice bit of funky blues, and a very strange record to appear on Motown! The production style and presentation are very rootsy – right down to the photo of Luther on the front cover, who's smoking a cigarette, but trying to pretend it's a joint! The style is electric blues of the Chicago school, but given a bit more of a country funk kind of sound. Titles include "Bad News Is Coming", "Dust My Broom", "Evil Is Going On", "Rock Me Baby", and "Raggedy & Dirty", which actually has some very nice drums! LP, Vinyl record album

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Includes work with the orchestras of Red Norvo, Eddie Sauter, Teddy Wilson, and Benny Goodman. (Vocalists, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

We know it's hard to think of anyone named Mildred as hip, but take it from us, the lady's actually a great singer with a deep capacity for jazzy blues and mellow R&B. These rare Savoy sides were cut during the years 1946 and 1947, and they feature great backing by pianist Ellis Larkin on nearly every cut, set up in either small combo or large group settings. Titles include "At Sundown", "Love In Vain", "It's A Woman's Prerogative", "You Started Something", and "Born To Be Blue". (Vocalists, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album