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

A classic album from the early years of soul music – the only full length set ever served up by the great Joe Henderson – a vocalist with roots in the legendary Fairfield Four gospel group, but sounding equally great here in a secular mode! The arrangements are by Cliff Parham, and they've got this blend of bluesy vocals and jazzier backings – in a style that's very much like the best Duke/Peacock work of the time – with a spectacular focus on Joe's voice in the lead! The whole album's great, filled with unusual material – with titles that include "Sad Teardrops At Dawn", "Right Now", "Big Love", "Just Call Me", "Snap Your Fingers", "After Loving You", and "If You See Me Cry". (Soul, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-recorded set by Lightnin Hopkins – one that's got a crisper, cleaner sound than some of his others of the time – yet which still comes across with all his best rootsy modes too! The instrumentation here is quite spare – just Hopkins' acoustic guitar behind his vocals, with a bit of bass and drums too – recorded with some of the folksy undercurrents that were common in some of the Prestige/Bluesville dates of the period. Titles include "Shinin Moon", "The Walkin Blues", "Katie Mae", "Down There Baby", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Automobile Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking live set from Jimmy Reed – filled with the kind of rocking, rollicking numbers that made his bluesy groove an undeniable influence on the UK scene of the 60s! Most numbers begin with a compelling vamp, then have Jimmy taking the lead on vocals – adding in plenty of charm in ways that few later bluesmen ever seemed to be able to match. And at times, there's a nice undercurrent of fuzz in Reed's guitar – almost making him one of the first folks to really use distortion in his music – on a great set of cuts that includes "I'm Going Upside Your Head", "The Devil's Shoestring (part 2)", "A New Leaf", "I Wanna Be Loved", "Wear Something Green", "You've Got Me Waiting", and "When You're Doing Alright". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Rushing reprises a nice batch of blues classics from the 20s, all of which were sung by early recording artists like Bessie or Clara Smith. The group that backs him is a nice one, and features Buck Clayton on trumpet, Buster Bailey on clarinet, and Coleman Hawkins on tenor. As with many of Columbia's late 50's sessions in this style, the sound is excellent, and has an intimacy and warmth that works extremely well with the material – including titles like "Arkansas Blues", "Gulf Coast Blues", "Muddy Waters", "Squeeze Me", and "Crazy Blues". (Vocalists, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album