Hardly any "recycling" going on here – as Taj Mahal takes bluesy roots and turns them in a whole new direction for the 70s, evolving the music way past the level most other bluesmen were working in at the time! At some level, Mahal's style is far more rootsy than most early 70s blues artists – often more acoustic guitar and percussion than you'd expect – but there's also a looser, freer presentation of the material – opened up a lot more than any delta bluesman from many years back, and often touched with some jazzier inflections on some of the phrasing. Plus, the music here features some unusual elements from time to time – including kalimba, tuba, banjo, and even some backing vocals by The Pointer Sisters. The album was recorded live, with a nicely organic feel – and titles include "A Free Song", "Corinna", "Conch Close", "Kalimba", "Bound To Love Me Some", "Richochet", "Gitano Negro", "Cakewalk Into Town", and "Texas Woman Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool oversized package of rare 78rpm material – with an excellent Robert Crumb cover! Music from Freeny's Barn Dance Band, Son House, Ernest Phipps, Memphis Minnie, Tommy Johnson, Three Stripped Gears, the Kentucky Ramblers, Amedie Ardoin, Yank Rachelm, Asa Martin, Blind Roosevelt Graves, Ken Maynard & more. CD

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We love our Buddy Guy here in Chicago – and this set cut for Vanguard, one of his first full solo albums with his own band will always be a favorite! Buddy's late 60s sound was as charismatic as he'd always be, but there's an understated approach to his lead that's really wonderful, and hits us much deeper than the showy, guitar solo heavy stuff that the blues club tourists want to hear! He's got the great Otis Spann playing piano, Wayne Bennett on rhythm, Jack Myers on bass, Lonny Taylor and Fred Below on drums, and Donald Hankins, Aaron Corthen and Bobby Fields on saxes. Titles include "A Man And His Blues", "I Can't Quit The Blues", "One Room Country Shack", "Just Playing My Axe", "Worry, Worry", "Jam On A Monday Morning" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Mississippi John Hurt and his guitar – captured beautifully on this mid 60s set for Vanguard! Today was the first studio recordings made by Hurt since his rediscovery by the 60s folk revival generation, and it's wonderful stuff – with timeless solo blues, warm and good natured and kind of upbeat numbers indicitive of his years playing dances and parties, and all around excellent peformances very well recorded and effectionately presented. 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

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

Probably THE album you truly need to own from Koko Taylor – and a completely great one, recorded way before she'd become a cliched fixture paying the bills on the frat boy tourist blues scene! The tracks here were recorded over a few years in mid-to-late 60s Chicago – mostly with production from Willie Dixon, who also co-wrote most of the tunes on the set! The groove is nice and gritty – electric Chess Chicago blues at it's finest, but also with a good sense of soul in the mix – and tracks include the fiery hit "Wang Dang Doodle", plus "Fire", "29 Ways", "I Don't Care Who Knows", "Nitty Gritty", and "Love You Like A Woman". Amazing stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a record from the funk-heavy period of Muddy Waters – a moment that once made the traditional blues fans mad, but which has gone onto become the stuff of legend – thanks to a real criss-crossing of Chicago talents in the studio! The set was co-produced by Chess Records talents Charles Stepney, Gene Barge, and Marshall Chess – and features expanded instrumentation that includes Phil Upchurch on added guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Stepney on organ, and Morris Jennings on drums – plus even more guitar from Pete Cosey, who you might know from later work on some Miles Davis electric albums! Muddy is still very firmly the lead talent at the core, though – coming across with a badass kind of vibe that mixes his raw roots with the hipper soul of the new generation – a great Chess/Cadet hybird that was years ahead of its time. Titles include "I Am The Blues", "Hurtin Soul", "Bottom Of The Sea", "Honey Bee", "Rollin' And Tumblin'", "Screamin & Cryin", and "Blues & Trouble". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of his classic 60's material, recorded live at Pepper's Lounge on the South Side of Chicago in 1966. With the tracks "It's My Life Baby", "Country Girl", and "Shake it Baby". Great Chicago blues/soul crossover stuff. CD

We love our Buddy Guy here in Chicago – and this set cut for Vanguard, one of his first full solo albums with his own band will always be a favorite! Buddy's late 60s sound was as charismatic as he'd always be, but there's an understated approach to his lead that's really wonderful, and hits us much deeper than the showy, guitar solo heavy stuff that the blues club tourists want to hear! He's got the great Otis Spann playing piano, Wayne Bennett on rhythm, Jack Myers on bass, Lonny Taylor and Fred Below on drums, and Donald Hankins, Aaron Corthen and Bobby Fields on saxes. Titles include "A Man And His Blues", "I Can't Quit The Blues", "One Room Country Shack", "Just Playing My Axe", "Worry, Worry", "Jam On A Monday Morning" and more. CD

We love our Buddy Guy here in Chicago – and this set cut for Vanguard, one of his first full solo albums with his own band will always be a favorite! Buddy's late 60s sound was as charismatic as he'd always be, but there's an understated approach to his lead that's really wonderful, and hits us much deeper than the showy, guitar solo heavy stuff that the blues club tourists want to hear! He's got the great Otis Spann playing piano, Wayne Bennett on rhythm, Jack Myers on bass, Lonny Taylor and Fred Below on drums, and Donald Hankins, Aaron Corthen and Bobby Fields on saxes. Titles include "A Man And His Blues", "I Can't Quit The Blues", "One Room Country Shack", "Just Playing My Axe", "Worry, Worry", "Jam On A Monday Morning" and more. LP, Vinyl record album