Produced by Rod Stewart and Elton John. With Ron Wood and most of the players that would wind up playing on Rod's "Every Picture Tells A Story" album. (Rock, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of Maybelle's big early hits for Savoy – all featuring backings directed by Ernie Wilkins, with a nice jazzy undercurrent. Maybelle's got a robust voice that was one of the first key attempts to bridge gospel, R&B, and jazz – and the album features 10 tracks that include "Rock House", "I Don't Want To Cry", "Jim", "All Of Me", and "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie". (Soul, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

(Funky 45's, Blues) 7-inch, Vinyl record

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 incredible record from Bobby Blue Bland – and quite possibly the greatest one he ever made! The set's got an amazing something special that's unlike most other material of the time – a bit blues, but a lot of soul too – still with some echoes of R&B in the jazzier charts used for the backdrop, but presented with a rock-solid style that definitely points the way towards many sounds and styles to come in the 60s. And although Bland recorded many of these tracks as separate singles, there's a way they're put together here that makes the whole thing sound completely marvelous together – a really well-conceived track list that shows that Bobby's an even greater artist in the space of a full record. The arrangements are perfect, and Bobby's rough soulful voice is blended in this amazing way with killer horn arrangements that are far more sophisticated than most stuff that ever came after this, and which never get in the way, but only back up his deep emotion. The album's a motherlode of classics by the man, with gems that include "Two Steps From The Blues", "Cry Cry Cry", "I Don't Want No Woman", "I'm Not Ashamed", "Don't Cry No More", "Lead Me On", and "I Pity The Fool". And hell, even his version of "St James Infirmary" is pretty wonderful – something we never thought we'd say about that song. CD

Great guitar work from this legendary Caribbean player – working here with his Royal Victoria Hotel ensemble! (Global Grooves, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

With a cell phone on the cover, blues has definitely gone far from the delta – yet this recent set from Willie Buck still keeps strongly in a Chicago electric tradition! Backing is by a tight group of north side players – including Rockin Johnny on guitar, who helps underscore Willie's soulful lead vocals as the set rocks and rollicks along! There's a surprising amount of cuts on the record – and titles include "Streamline Woman", "What's The Matter With The Mill", "Tow Truck Man", "Doin Good & Bad At The Same Time", "Cell Phone Man", "Strange Woman", and "Blow Wind Blow". CD

The cover's a striking one – and it definitely supports the music inside, given that most of these Bo Carter tunes are vintage blues tunes with a decidedly erotic bent! The metaphors are obvious, but they're put together beautifully – without any of the heavy-handed schlock that later copycats would never get quite right – and set to spare acoustic lines that complement Carter's vocals wonderfully. And in a case where a title is definitely more than enough to get you started – let us say simply that the tracks include "Pig Meat Is What I Crave", "What Kind Of Scent Is This", "Mashin That Thing", "Pin In Your Cushion", "Ram Rod Daddy", "Ants In My Pants", "Pussy Cat Blues", and "My Pencil Won't Write No More". LP, Vinyl record album

They don't call Jimmy Dawkins "fast fingers" for nothing – and the first few minutes of the record are definitely testament to his mighty power on the guitar! The instrument is electric, and recorded with this sense of powerful echo that easily has Dawkins blowing away some of the UK blues rockers who were starting to get into the game at the time – as do his vocals, which we'd put head to head with some of the giants who took this mode and ran with it through the arena rock scene of the 70s! Yet throughout, it's the guitar that's especially amazing – completely confident and masterful, even though this was Jimmy's first album – with nice lean support from Eddie Shaw on tenor, Lafayette Leake on piano and organ, and Mighty Joe Young on second guitar. Titles include "Little Angel Child", "Night Rock", "Triple Trebles", "It Serves Me Right To Suffer", "Breaking Down", "I Don't Know What Love Is", and "I Wonder Why". CD features two bonus tracks – "Sad & Blues" and "Back Home Blues". CD

Sleepy John Estes was rediscovered in 1962, and made a key journey to Europe a few years later – captured here with a lean sound that's maybe even more haunting than some of his famous early records! The set just features Estes on guitar and vocals, with Hammie Nixon on harmonica and jug – and the sound of Nixon's harmonica is completely fantastic – very eerie and spooky, as if the wind is howling through the backdrop behind Estes while he performs – furthering the edge of the whole thing with a really wonderful sound! A tremendous example of 60s rural blues revival work at its best – on titles that include "Airplane Blues", "Who's Been Tellin You", "Denmark Blues", "I'm A Tearing Little Daddy", "Drop Down Mama", "Easin Back To Tennessee", and "Needmore Blues". CD features two bonus tracks – "Blues For JFK", and an alternate of "I'm A Tearing Little Daddy" CD