Gritty revival blues from RL Burnside – and a record that really broke his music into a wider audience! Of course, it helps that the set features guest appearances from Kid Rock and Lyrics Born – the latter we enjoy more than the former – but the overall vibe is still very much in the best spirit of Burnside's other music – on titles that include "Detroit Boogie (parts 1 & 2)", "Someday Baby", "Goin Down South", "Go To Jail", "Bird Without A Feather", "Glory Be", "Goin Away Baby", "Rollin & Tumblin", and "Stole My Check". 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

A killer album from one of the most legendary versions of John Mayall's Blues Breakers – a quartet that features drummer Aynsley Dunbar, bassist John McVie, and lead guitarist Peter Green – who's also singing a fair bit on the album as well! The style here is tighter and more focused than before – showing a bit more of a rockish bent, especially on the guitars – but still strongly drenched in American R&B traditions, served up in a way that never waters down the sound for a mainstream audience. While other UK artists were taking American roots and softening them up for the charts, Mayall only seemed to deepen his commitment to more authentic representation of the styles – really only taking a bit more liberties with the strength and length of guitar parts. As before, there's a bit of reed work here that's especially nice – served up by UK jazzers Ray Warleigh, John Almond, and Alan Skidmore – and titles include "A Hard Road", "It's Over", "The Stumble", "Dust My Blues", "There's Always Work", "The Same Way", "The Supernatural", and "Living Alone". (Rock, Blues) CD

A killer album from one of the most legendary versions of John Mayall's Blues Breakers – a quartet that features drummer Aynsley Dunbar, bassist John McVie, and lead guitarist Peter Green – who's also singing a fair bit on the album as well! The style here is tighter and more focused than before – showing a bit more of a rockish bent, especially on the guitars – but still strongly drenched in American R&B traditions, served up in a way that never waters down the sound for a mainstream audience. While other UK artists were taking American roots and softening them up for the charts, Mayall only seemed to deepen his commitment to more authentic representation of the styles – really only taking a bit more liberties with the strength and length of guitar parts. As before, there's a bit of reed work here that's especially nice – served up by UK jazzers Ray Warleigh, John Almond, and Alan Skidmore – and titles include "A Hard Road", "It's Over", "The Stumble", "Dust My Blues", "There's Always Work", "The Same Way", "The Supernatural", and "Living Alone". (Rock, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album