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Includes 24 tracks from Buddy Guy, Larry Johnson, India Arie, Keb Mo, Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, Mos Def, Gregg Allman, Natalie Cole and Odetta. CD

Great material from this famous German blues festival – with work by Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, T Bone Walker, Jump Jackson, Sonny Terry, John Lee Hooker, and Shakey Jake! LP, Vinyl record album

Howlin Wolf sings the blues, and comes across in a way that influences an entire generation too – with that raw, raspy sound that made the singer a perfect blend of delta roots and contemporary sounds that were bubbling up in the postwar years! These tracks have a spare, simple, stark style that's still a lot more powerful than most of the records that tried to copy Wolf's modes in later years – mindblowing guitar work from Willie Johnson, harmonica lines that weave the whole thing together, and tremendous vocals that would shake the paint off your walls, even without any other instrumentation! Titles include "Crying At Daybreak", "Twisting & Turning", "Brown Skin Woman", "Morning At Midnight", "Backslide Boogie", "House Rockin Boogie", "Keep What You Got", and "Worried About My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing step forward for the young Etta James – a singer who was delivering a raw, shouting form of R&B just a few years before – but who here ascends into soul music heaven with her famous work on the album! The title cut is the stuff of legend – played and played, again and again over the years – but the whole record's wonderful, and handled with this new level of soul sophistication by arranger Riley Hampton – the great Chicago talent who'd reach similar heights in his charts for singers that include Lorez Alexandria and Walter Jackson. Hampton's dark use of strings brings out a whole new side of James' brilliance – a quality that raised Etta James up out of the R&B ghetto, and forever put her into the legions of legendary 60s soul stars! Titles include the perennial classic "At Last", plus "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Tough Mary", "Sunday Kind Of Love", "Anything To Say You're Mine", and "Trust In Me". (Soul, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set by BB King – one of his best from the 60s, and a smoking live set recorded at Chicago's legendary Regal Theatre! The enthusiasm at the venue shows that BB's Memphis-honed style is a perfect fit for the electrified Chicago sound of the 60s – and the recording really brings out some wonderful responses from the audience – making the record a blues equivalent of James Brown's famous Live At The Apollo set! The record features introductions by Chicago DJs Pervis Spann and E Rodney Jones – and tracks include "Every Day", "Please Love Me", "Worry Worry", "Woke Up This Morning", "Help The Poor", and "You Upset Me Baby". CD

Some choice soundtrack work from Jack Nitzsche's prime 70s period, with a handful other tracks by Howlin' Wolf, Captain Beefhaeart and Ike & Tina Turner. For the most part the soundtrack is bluesy rootsy stuff, to go along with the slant of the film, but there is a great funky break on the intro to "Zeke, Jerry & Smokie". Also includes "Coke Machine", "FBI", "Party", and "Easy Listening". (Soundtracks, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

Rollicking country-tinged blues from Jimmy Reed and an incredible group of backing musicians – actually not captured in the opulent grandeur of Carnegie Hall – and probably all the better for it! Prior to the original double LP release of Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall, Reed headlined a Blues At Carnegie Hall event, and though the performance was not recorded for a live album release he went on the cut a similar set list with varying players that included Lonnie Brooks, Phil Upchurch and Eddie Tayor on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, Earl Phillips and Albert King on tracks. It's really wonderful stuff, obvious epiphany material for loads of rockers and young players on both the US and British blues scenes to come! 23 tracks in all: "Bright Lights Big City", "I'm Mr Luck", "Found Joy", "Kind Of Lonesome", "Tell Me You Love Me", "Hold Me Close", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Blue Blue Water", "Hush Hush", "Found Love", "Honest I Do", "You Got Me Dizzy", "Boogie In The Dark", "Take Out Some Insurance", "The Sun Is Shining" and lots more! CD

A killer collection of work from Brown's run on the legendary Peacock label! CD

One of THE electric blues records of the 60s – a seminal set by Albert King that was probably blasted out of more college dorm rooms than southside juke joints, but which still more than deserves its due! The set was recorded by Stax with a nice raw sound – guitar very much upfront, but also set amidst arrangements that have a bit more soul than the average Chicago blues session from the same time. The set features a number of originals by Stax regulars like Booker T and David Porter – and titles include "The Hunter", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "Crosscut Saw", "Down Don't Bother Me", "Laundromat Blues", and "Personal Manager". CD

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Fetaures Skip Rose on piano and organ, and Freddie Roulette on steel guitar! Recorded at Ardent by Don Nix, too! CD

A really sweet late effort from bluesy soul singer and sax player Eddie Cleanhead Vinson – his dawn of the 70s comeback! Cleanhead covered a whole lot of stylistic range in earlier years, from big band vocalist, to R&B shouter, to bebop era alto sax player – and he comfortably displays that range here, albeit in a loose, easygoing soul mode – backed by a great group of session players that includes Joe Pass, Artie Butler, Arthur Wright and Plas Johnson. Bob Thiele produced, and the titles include "Cleanhead Blues", "Pass Out", "Alimony Blues", "Cleanhead Is Back", "Juice Head Baby", "Old Maid Boogie", "One O'Clock Humph" and "I Needs To Be Be'd Wid". This great Ace CD version includes 3 bonus tracks: live versions of "Cleanhead Blues", "I Had A Dream" and "Person To Person". CD

A seminal album by Muddy – recorded in a style that's rootsier, and more down to earth than a lot of his other Chess sides! Muddy's playing acoustic guitar, and the group features Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, and Clifton James. The sound is really spare, evocative, and true – the album was quite probably titled to perk up the appeal to the strident college kids of the time, but the songs and performances are pure, honest, and rawly excellent. Tracks include "You Gonna Need My Help", "Cold Weather Blues", "Feel Like Going Home", and "My Home Is In The Delta" – and this CD edition has a 2 bonus tracks from slightly later session: "The Same Thing", and "You Can't Lose What You Never Had". CD

Recorded live at Newport in New York and features tracks by Big Mama Thornton, Jay McShann, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Lloyd Glenn, Muddy Waters, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, and BB King – 18 tracks over 2 discs! CD

With selections by Sidney Bechet, Lil Johnson, Bessie Smith, Oscar's Chicago Swingers, Johnny Temple, Merline Johnson, Coot Grant & Kid Wesley Wilson, Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band, Jelly Roll Morton, Lucille Bogan, Bessie Jackson, and Georgia White. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes music from R.L. Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, Big Jack Johnson, Frank Frost, Jesse Mae Hemphill, Roosevelt 'Booba' Barnes, Lonnie Pitchford, Jack Owens, Bud Spires, and more. CD

A great two-in-one set from Bobby Bland! CD

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We know it's hard to think of anyone named Mildred as hip, but take it from us, the lady's actually a great singer with a deep capacity for jazzy blues and mellow R&B. These rare Savoy sides were cut during the years 1946 and 1947, and they feature great backing by pianist Ellis Larkin on nearly every cut, set up in either small combo or large group settings. Titles include "At Sundown", "Love In Vain", "It's A Woman's Prerogative", "You Started Something", and "Born To Be Blue". (Vocalists, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of amazing early records from Bobby Blue Bland – genre-setting material that was partly blues, partly soul, and still had some of the fuller currents of the earlier R&B years too! Bobby's voice is incredible – one of the most distinct in soul, and up there with Solomon Burke or Otis Redding for its unique sense of power – on titles that include "Jelly Jelly Jelly", "You're The One (That I Adore)", "You're Worth It All", "Your Friends", and "Ain't That Loving You". Fantastic all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

A side each of these two important talents in blues – presented here in a format that makes the record a real double-header! Side one features Big Bill Broonzy in the lead – working with sweet electric lines on guitar alongside acoustic and his own really rich vocals – plus this very cool rhythm accompaniment from Washboard Sam, whose instrument has a way of coming across like some quickly snapped snare drum! Sam takes the lead on side two – singing and playing his instrument – and is joined on a few tracks by Broonzy's guitar and some piano from Memphis Slim. Big Bill titles include "Lonesome", "Little City Woman", "Romance Without Finance", and "By Myself" – and Washboard Sam numbers include "Never Never", "Minding My Own Business", "I'm A Lonely Man", and "Horseshoe Over My Door". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest records ever recorded for Impulse – and the debut set by guitarist Mel Brown! Mel has a really down-and-dirty style that's quite unusual for the label at the time – a rootsy approach to guitar that's steeped in equal parts jazz, soul, and R&B – and which comes across with a raw power and tasty feel that's perfectly summed up by titles like "Chicken Fat", "Greasy Spoon", "Home James", "Slalom", and "Shanty"! The album features some rare organ work by Gerald Wiggins, drums by Paul Humphrey, and outta-site soul arrangements by Oliver Nelson on a few tracks – but through the whole thing, Brown's the main focus – laying down some deeply funky work on guitar! (Jazz, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

Although Roy Brown had a slightly softer edge than some of his R&B contemporaries – he could definitely rock and wail when he wanted to, as you'll hear on this set! The set does good job of digging through Roy's work from the late 40s and early 50s, pulling together 15 tracks that mix Wynonnie Harris-ish rockers (no surprise, as King often had Brown and Harris splitting "Battle Of The Blues" albums together), with mellower soulful tunes. Tracks include "Black Diamond", "Mighty Mighty Man", "Long About Midnight", "Miss Fanny Brown Returns", "Butcher Pete part 2", "Brown Angel", "Grandpa Stole My Baby", and the original version of "Good Rockin Tonight", which is a lot rawer than you'd expect! (Soul, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

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