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

Plenty of feeling here from Lurrie Bell – a Chicago bluesman who still holds onto the deepest sound of the scene from years back – especially the modes of that late 60s moment where the Chicago electric sound was really finding a wider voice! Bell's a bit too tight to be an early Chess player, but he's also got a rawer edge than some of his other contemporaries on different labels – a nice sense of grit in both his vocals and guitar work, given string support by a sweet small combo in a similar vibe. Titles include "Sinner's Prayer", "Blues Is Trying To Keep Up With Me", "Drifting", "One Eyed Woman", "Do You Hear", "Hidden Charms", and "Faith & Music". CD

Otis Blackwell takes back his songs – providing his own new versions of tunes that were recorded famously by a host of rock, pop, and R&B artists back in the 50s! The 70s session is definitely done as part of the generation that was "giving back" to the roots of rock and roll – and Blackwell's performance here is possibly more tilted towards the rockers in the room than the R&B fans, given the used of heavy guitar on the record, and the cleaner style of production. Still, as a revivalist set, it's got plenty to offer – and Blackwell working with a small combo for backing, and sounding a bit Elvis-like at times – no surprise, given that Otis was supposedly a big influence on Presley. Titles include "All Shook Up", "Fever", "Daddy Rollin Stone", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Don't Be Cruel", "Searchin", "Hey Little Girl", and "Handy Man". CD

An archetypal album from the legendary Paul Butterfield – and a set that would shape the sound of countless blues rock records to come! Despite what you might think of the genre or its many later incarnations, there's a raw power here that's really amazing – the young Butterfield and his Chicago comperes, hanging out at clubs on the south side, drinking in the relatively new electric sound of the city, and turning out a groove that's a lot more hard-edged than some of the overseas imitators at the time! Paul's pretty darn great on vocals and harmonica – but the group has some even more powerful sounds in the twin guitar talents of Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop – the former on slide, the latter on rhythm – along with Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Mark Naftalin on some Hammond too. Titles include "Blues With A Feeling", "Born In Chicago", "Shake Your Money Maker", "Mystery Train", "Screamin", "Last Night", and "Look Over Yonders Wall". (Rock, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

If you ever doubted the blues chops of Canned Heat, take a listen to this album – as the group are joined by the great John Lee Hooker, who they let stand strongly in the spotlight and almost make the album his own! Previous sets by Canned Heat were already pretty darn great – a huge cut above blues-inspired rock groups of the late 60s years – but with Hooker in the lineup here, the sound gets even more raw and sensitive – so much so that a number of these cuts almost feel like some of the early Detroit 78rpm recordings the older blues musician recorded at the start of his career – hardly the watered-down blues rock you might expect. Titles include "Burning Hell", "Send Me Your Pillow", "Messin With The Hook", "Boogie Chillen No 2", "Peavine", "Just You & Me", "Whiskey & Wimmen", and "I Got My Eyes On You". (Rock, Blues) CD

A blues album, but one with a difference – thanks to some tremendous help from the legendary Johnny Otis and his young son Shuggie! Despite the fact that the leader is billed as Guitar Slim Green, Shuggie actually plays some lead guitar on the record too – adding in some cool, complicated solos that point towards his genius to come as a solo act – and which also get some nicely romping rhythms from Johnny on drums! The Otis family was definitely bringing a lot of funk into their sound at the time, which they share plenty with Slim here – helping to make the record way more than just another late 60s rootsy blues session, and instead a great west coast criss-crossing of modes. Titles include "Shake Em Up", "My Little Angel Child", "5th Street Alley Boogie", "Old Folks Blues", "This War Ain't Right", and "Big Fine Thing". Also features two bonus tracks, both unissued – "My Marie" and "Rock The Nation". CD

We love our Buddy Guy here in Chicago – and this set cut for Vanguard, one of his first full solo albums with his own band will always be a favorite! Buddy's late 60s sound was as charismatic as he'd always be, but there's an understated approach to his lead that's really wonderful, and hits us much deeper than the showy, guitar solo heavy stuff that the blues club tourists want to hear! He's got the great Otis Spann playing piano, Wayne Bennett on rhythm, Jack Myers on bass, Lonny Taylor and Fred Below on drums, and Donald Hankins, Aaron Corthen and Bobby Fields on saxes. Titles include "A Man And His Blues", "I Can't Quit The Blues", "One Room Country Shack", "Just Playing My Axe", "Worry, Worry", "Jam On A Monday Morning" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sounds from Elmore James – a classic album that brings together material recorded in California, New Orleans, and Chicago – all with an amazing focus on Elmore's stunning talents on electric guitar! The music here mixes sides that have tight band backing with some smaller combo work – but throughout, James is the king – playing with a bold sense of tone, and singing with a voice to match – in a style that helped completely redefine the sound of blues music during these key electric years. Elmore is sublime throughout – and titles include "Dark & Dreary", "Dust My Blues", "Sunnyland", "Standing At The Crossroads", "Happy Home", "Blues Before Sunrise", "I Was A Fool", and "Mean & Evil". Includes 2 bonus tracks, too – "Wild About You Baby" and "Hand In Hand". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive 3CD look at the key early years of Elmore James – a package that's overflowing with great work by one of the greatest blues guitarists of the 50s! The set starts way back at James' roots in Mississippi, with some sweetly rough-edged recordings that still sparkle with incredible lines on electric guitar – then it moves deeper into Elmore's years in Chicago, recording with slightly greater clarity, and a sound that had an undeniable influence on the scene in that city at the time. The set's completed by recordings from Culver City, New Orleans, and Chicago again – presented in both master takes and alternates that offer up some equally compelling guitar solos. The set features 71 tracks in all, plus 40 full pages of notes – and titles that include "Dust My Broom", "Hand In Hand", "One More Drink", "I Believe", "Make My Dreams Come True", "Dark & Dreary", "Strange Kinda Feeling", "Early In The Morning", "Happy Home", "So Mean To Me", "Long Tall Woman", "Elmo's Shuffle", "Sho Nuff I Do", "Please Come Back To Me", "Wehre Can My Baby Be", "I May Be Wrong", "Kicking The Blues Around", and "Sinful Woman". CD

BB King at his late 60s best – working here in the company of producers Johnny Pate and Quincy Jones, and serving up a great blend of blues and soul in the process! The set's less a "best of", than a collection of ABC work that doesn't seem to be on the other full albums of the time – mostly produced by Johnny Pate, with those great Chicago soul touches that helped his work with King really cross new boundaries – and finally give BB the kind of full, forceful approach that Bobby Blue Bland had been getting for years. The Quincy Jones cuts are two from the soundtrack to For Love Of Ivy – both pretty groovy, with a socking soul punch – and titles on the full album include "Tired Of Your Jive", "Don't Answer The Door", "The BB Jones", "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss", "All Over Again", "I Don't Want You Cutting Off Your Hair", "Sweet Sixteen", "Meet My Happiness", and "You Put It On Me". CD

Tight and soulful blues from Little Milton – just the sort of record that helped him cross over to bigger audiences back in the day, and a set that still sounds plenty great all these many years later! The set was done in Chicago – arranged by James Mack, with backing vocals from Kitty & The Haywoods – and the sound is a sweet west side mix of rootsy and soulful elements – a blend that shows the same growing sophistication of the Malaco scene at the time, at a level that moves nicely away from college circuit blues cliches of the 70s. Milton's vocals are wonderful – raspy and appealing with a Tyrone Davis-like charm – and titles include "Friend Of Mine", "Don't Turn Away", "You're Gonna Make Me Cry", "It's All Bad News", "Sundown", "Bring It On Back", and "Baby It Ain't No Way". CD

A great example of why Little Milton was always one of the few Chicago blues artists who could also break strongly in the soul camp at the time – and a beautifully balanced set that perfectly shows both sides of the Chicago scene of the time! Production is by old Vee Jay maestro Calvin Carter, and arrangements by Gene Barge, who manages to slide effortlessly between blues and soul on the set – almost pushing Milton into Tyrone Davis territory, but keeping things a bit more rougher and down home on some of the other numbers. The sound is wonderful – very deep and rich, and with a sound that's head and shoulders above most other albums of this type in the late 60s. Titles include "Baby I Love You", "If Walls Could Talk", "Things That I Used to Do", "Let's Get Together", "I Play Dirty", "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", "I Don't Know", and "Poor Man". LP, Vinyl record album