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

A later gem from Bobby Blue Bland – done in a smooth style that fits the later approach of the Malaco label, but with a vocal style that hasn't dimmed a bit over the years! Bobby's still got that incredible rasp in his voice – that approach that easily made him one of the most soulful bluesmen of his generation – with a sense of sophistication and understanding of the music that holds true throughout the entire record. The vibe's a bit like some of Bland's late work for ABC – and titles include "Members Only", "In The Ghetto", "Heart Open Again", "I Need Your Love So Bad", "Straight From The Shoulder", and "Sweet Woman's Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The massive 3CD set is the first to ever fully plumb the depths of these years – and brings together all the recordings made by Sensation, including some unusual alternates, related dates, and more – all with fantastic sound that really gets at the raspy brilliance of Hooker, and the way he effortlessly mixed up urban and rural modes on the Detroit scene. 71 tracks in all – and titles include "Hoogie Boogie", "Hastings Street Boogie (ext take)", "Hobo Blues (alt take)", "Henry's Swing Club", "Sailing Blues", "Build Myself A Cave (take 3)", "Alberta (alt take)", "Wednesday Evening", "John L's House Rent Boogie (alt take)", "Moon Is Rising (alt take)", "Story Of A Married Woman (alt take)", "Strike Blues (ext)", "I'm In The Mood (humming overdub)", "It Hurts Me So (alt take)", "That's All Right Boogie (underdub)", and lots more! CD

The complete work from a short but wonderful stretch of recording – a series of sides done for the Fire/Fury record label – which match the genius talents of Lightnin Hopkins and the soulful production of Harlem's great Bobby Robinson! The mix of modes is great – and rather than go for an uptown version of Hopkins' music, Bobby seems to understand it even more than most producers – and really allow the strings of the guitar to resonate with this chromatic, almost sparkling sort of quality – sounding fantastic next to the raw growl of the man himself! The record is still as classic as can be for Lightnin – no added instrumentation or arrangements – and titles include "Coffee For Mama", "Black Mare Trot", "Glory Bee", "Shine On Moon", "Santa", and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". CD features 18 tracks in all – the full Mojo Hand album, plus material from singles too! CD

If you only know BB King from later years, you'll really be stunned at the sound of this great set from the start of the 60s – a record that's much more R&B than the straighter blues of King's bigger label work – and which has a jumping groove nearly all the way through! The mix of modes is right in that best Memphis style of the 50s – currents of jazz, jump blues, and other soulful styles – all topped by King's bold vocals, and given a bit of sweet guitar solos on most tracks – already razor-sharp, even at this early point in his career! Titles include "Bad Luck Soul", "Shut Your Moth", "My Reward", "Don't Cry Anymore", "Just Like A Woman", and "Blues For Me". CD features 8 bonus tracks – including "Broken Promise", "Mercy Mercy Baby", "Lonely", "You're Gonna Miss Me", "I Can Hear My Name", and "Just A Dream". CD

The very first full length album from BB King – a killer collection of previous singles for the RPM Records label, served up as a bold statement of King's early genius! The record announces its presence right from the very first note – that brilliant blend of effortless electric guitar solo work and completely charismatic vocals that made BB such a star, right from the get-go – and which maybe comes through even more clearly here than in some of his overproduced material from later decades! Many tracks have nicely jumping backings by the great Maxwell Davis – and titles include "Please Love Me", "Bad Luck", "3 O'Clock Blues", "Ten Long Years", "Sweet Little Angel", "You Upset Me Baby", and a classic early take on "Every Day I Have The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really has Alexis Korner stretching out from the straighter blues of his 60s material – using his fantastic style on a set of tunes that show as much New Orleans influence as you might guess from the title – but also an evolved British roots rock quality too! The group is very interesting – relatively lean, and with loads of saxophone solos from Mel Collins – the reedman who made some early 70s King Crimson albums so great – plus second guitar from Peter Thorup, who also adds a bit of slide, and makes for a strongly guitar-based groove amidst some of the slightly funky rhythms. Titles include "Gospel Ship", "Lo & Behold", "County Shoes", "Don't Change On Me", "Rock Me", and "Sweet Sympathy". (Rock, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

Another great step forward for the legendary John Mayall – proof that he was never just content to copy American blues modes, and always willing to bring something new to the table! Although steeped in sounds from the delta on up to Chicago, the record's also got a hipper, almost trippier feel at times too – long-winding interplay between the guitar and organ, and some slow-building rhythms that shake off blues stereotypes, and mark Mayall as having an equal ear for forward-thinking 60s rockers. The group here is great – with Mick Taylor on guitar, Henry Lowther on cornet, Chris Mercer on tenor, and Dick Heckstall-Smith on tenor and soprano sax – all playing in a freely creative mode that stands the test of time surprisingly well Titles include "I'm A Stranger", "Harley Quits", "Killing Time", "Sandy", "She's Too Young", and "No Reply". (Rock, Blues) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record from Mississippi Fred McDowell – a set that was issued on a big label, but which has a wonderfully rootsy feel throughout – in a way that almost out-does any work from the indie blues labels of the time! The package was put together by Tommy Couch as an early Malaco production – but it's even more stripped-down than later blues work from those studios – as it features mostly just Fred on vocals and guitar, introducing himself and his music – then working through these incredible inflections on electric guitar, which are as far from the rockish sound of all the crossover blues that McDowell promises he won't provide in the title! Really timeless stuff, brilliantly recorded – with cuts that include "Red Cross Store", "61 Highway", "Jesus Is On The Mainline", "Kokomo Me Baby", and "Good Morning Little School Girl". CD

An album from the 80s, but one that echoes a much older tradition of folk and blues – with a vibe that hardly fits the dated spelling of the duo's name! Serious Bizness is the team of Jaribu and Ngoma Hill – who harmonize together on some very message-oriented music, in a way that was often a bit overlooked in the generation of beatboxes and keyboards, but which has all the pride and power of acoustic sessions from the Civil Rights generation! Instrumentation is just acoustic guitar on most numbers, but Jaribu and Ngoma have a way of really making the songs ring out with a great deal of power – on titles that include "High Tech", "Southern Shame", "Down Underground In A Company Town", "Stolen Dreams", "Stop The Bosses", and "Malcolm Lives". CD

Johnny Shines isn't standing at the crossroads at the same time as Robert Johnson, but he's still sounding pretty darn great here – recording this stripped-down set in Cali in 1970, with just his own guitar alongside his vocals! Shines is maybe best known for his Chicago recordings of the postwar years – but the sound here is in a style that actually goes back farther than that, and recalls the modes that Johnny first used when picking up the guitar in the early 30s – a time in which he also crossed paths with Johnson, given a tribute here in the approach of the record. Titles include "Standing At The Crossroads", "My Rat", "Don't Take A Country Woman", "Kind Hearted Woman", "Baby Sister Blues", and "Drunken Man's Prayer". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip little record – produced by Bob Thiele as pre-Flying Dutchman effort, and with some of the great vibe of the blues records on that label! The set's got an unusual lineup – with jazzman Richard Williams on trumpet, plus Ed Davis on tenor, Marshall Hooks on guitar, Curtis Tillman on bass, Robert Schedel on piano, and Big Jim Wynn on saxophones. One track also features guitar from Art Adams and harmonica from Lightnin Rod – and titles include "Blues For Reverend King", "Ode To Billie Joe", "If You Were A Rabbit", "Juicy Harmonica", "Help Me", and "A Letter To The President". CD

A hip little record – produced by Bob Thiele as pre-Flying Dutchman effort, and with some of the great vibe of the blues records on that label! The set's got an unusual lineup – with jazzman Richard Williams on trumpet, plus Ed Davis on tenor, Marshall Hooks on guitar, Curtis Tillman on bass, Robert Schedel on piano, and Big Jim Wynn on saxophones. One track also features guitar from Art Adams and harmonica from Lightnin Rod – and titles include "Blues For Reverend King", "Ode To Billie Joe", "If You Were A Rabbit", "Juicy Harmonica", "Help Me", and "A Letter To The President". LP, Vinyl record album

A raw soul classic from Otis Spann – one of those great late 60s dates from the time when Bob Thiele was producing the Bluesway label for ABC, and really found a way to bring out the best in artists like Otis! Spann had always been great, but there's a bolder, edgier quality here – both in his vocals, which really push things to the max with their inflections – and his piano playing, which is loose and fluid – in the company of Muddy Waters and Luther Johnson on guitar, George Buford on harmonica, and Lucille Spann on some additional guest vocals! Buford is great, too – a wonderful second "voice" on the record – and titles include "Diving Duck", "Shimmy Baby", "Looks Like Twins", "Doctor Blues", "Nobody Knows", "Down To Earth", "My Man", and "Heart Loaded With Trouble". CD