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

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

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

A smoking live set from the Butterfield Blues Band – and like all the group's work, as much of a jazz and soul album as a blues one! Butterfield drew his inspiration from the Chicago bluesmen, it's true – but his style also has plenty of echoes of New Orleans soul, Memphis R&B, and other strands of American work – in a mode that's quite similar to some of the changes that were going on in the British beat group scene at the end of the 60s. The lineup here features some really nice touches on sax from Trevor Lawrence and Gene Dinwiddie – and the live setting only seems to loosen all the players up even more than usual, and let them hit a few nice funky moments. Titles include "Get Together Again", "Love Disease", "The Boxer", "No Amount Of Loving", "Driftin & Driftin", "Number Nine", and "Born Under A Bad Sign". (Rock, Blues) CD

A raw cooker from the Chicago scene of the 70s – the best kind of gritty electric blues that was being recorded by the indie labels, even at a time when other bigger companies were trying to turn it into cliche! Eddie Campbell is great here – with raw vocals that captivate instantly, which are then followed by some really nice guitar solos too – lean, and with a quality that's both bold and fragile on the strings at the same time. The group also features a young Carey Bell on harmonica – getting plenty of solos in too – plus piano from Lafayette Leake and bass from Lurrie Bell, on titles that include "She's Nineteen Years Old", "Weary Blues", "Cheaper To Keep Her", "Smokin Potatoes", "King Of The Jungle", "We Both Must Cry", and "The Red Rooster". LP, Vinyl record album

An early full length album from the great Arthur Crudup – and one that wasn't cut until after he'd had years on the scene, including some work that was a key inspiration for Elvis Presley and others of his generation! The set's done in a nice raw style – that grittier side of the Fire/Fury label, with a vibe that's much more southern than you'd expect from the legendary New York imprint – really just Crudup on vocals and lean electric guitar, but with a nicely skittish drummer urging things on in a great way too! Titles include "Look On Yonder Wall", "Ethel Mae", "Greyhound Bus", "Coal Black Mare", "Dig Myself A Hole", and a great version of "That's Alright". 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

A rich collection of work from this legendary Chicago bluesman – 36 tracks on 2 CDs, plus an oversized booklet with nice photos and notes! CD