... CD

(Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible rare work from Magic Sam – a set recorded at his home in Chicago during the late 60s, and which has Sam coming across maybe more like a soul singer than ever before! The setting is very lean – just Sam on electric guitar and vocals – and it's that laidback approach that really lets the magic flow forth – these incredible vocals that could have easily been turned towards deep soul, if Sam wanted to record for Atlantic – and maybe even more powerful here without any other studio support at all! And sure, the approach is different than the better-known Magic Sam albums – but it's also a fantastic illustration of his mighty talents, as you'll hear on titles that include "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You're So Fine", "That's Why I'm Crying", "I'm So Glad", "Baby You Torture My Soul", "What Have I Done Wrong", and "Give Me Time". (Blues, Soul) CD

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! (Blues, Soul) CD

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! CD features a bonus alternate of "I Don't Want No Woman". (Blues, Soul) CD

Some of the first recordings ever from Chicago legend Junior Wells – made for the small States label in the Windy City, many years before Wells exploded out with much greater national fame! The music here has Junior stepping into the same early electric space that Chess Records was cutting at the time – and given the presence of Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Willie Dixon on some of these sides – the group's also not far off either! Wells is the main star throughout, though – alternating bold young vocals and razor-sharp harmonica lines – in the company of players who include Louis Myers, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters on guitar, Johnnie Jones and Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Odie Payne on drums. Titles include "Hoodoo Man", "Tomorrow Night", "Eagle Rock", "Junior's Wail", "Throw This Poor Dog A Bone", "So All Alone", "Blues Hit Big Town", and "Lovin Blues". CD features six previously unissued tracks! (Blues, Soul) CD

Junior Wells was already a rising star when he cut this album for Delmark in the mid 70s – but the session's got a great back to basics vibe, one that's dedicated to Junior's home turf at Theresa's Tavern on the south side! The groove is great – with twin guitar work, by Sammy Lawhorn in one channel, and Phillip Guy in another – creating this feel as if you're sitting in the small club, hearing the guitarists trade licks back and forth while Junior sings and really wails on harmonica! Other players are great Chicago talents too – and include AC Reed on tenor, Charles Miles on alto, and Johnny Walker on organ and piano. Titles include "The Train I Ride", "What My Mama Told Me", "Key To The Highway", "Watch Me Move", "Someday Baby", "You Gotta Love Her With Feeling", and "Junior's Thing". CD features the unissued bonus track "Goin Down Slow". (Blues, Soul) CD

An incredible slice of Chicago blues – and maybe one of the most important contributions Delmark ever made to the Windy City scene! The album captures Junior Wells in all his rough and raw brilliance – working in territory that's quite similar to the Chess Records vibe of the early 60s – in a group that has Buddy Guy on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, and Louis Myers on a bit of extra guitar! Guy sings a bit, but Junior does most of the vocals – and also plays harmonica too – on titles that include "Blues For Mayor Daley", "Stop Breaking Down", "You Say You Love Me", "Trouble Don't Last Always", and "Baby Please Lend Me Your Love". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Raw early work from the great Luther Allison – with the man himself on guitar and vocals, plus a bit of extra guitar from Jimmy Dawkins – and tenor on two tracks from Jim Conley too! (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Rough-edged blues from the west side of Chicago – a stone classic from the mighty Magic Sam – a player who was taken from us all too soon! On the west side, they mix plenty of soul in with their blues – and you can definitely hear that on this stone smoker – a record that has roots in the same scene as Syl Johnson, whose modes definitely creep into the groove at times! Sam's combo here is mighty nice – with Eddie Shaw on tenor, Lafayette Leake on piano, and Mighty Joe Young on guitar – and titles include "Stop You're Hurting Me", "Easy Baby", "What Have I Done Wrong", "It's All Your Fault", "You Belong To Me", "You Don't Love Me Baby", and "San Jose". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A classic bit of indie blues from the Chicago scene – featuring some great players from the second generation after Chess Records stopped picking up the younger local talents! Magic Sam leads the group on vocals and guitar, and he's working here with Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Odie Payne on drums, and Mack Thompson on bass – all to craft a set of rough and ready blues tunes that would have played well on both sides of the tracks at the time. Titles include "That's All I Need", "All Of Your Love", "I Don't Want No Woman", "Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter", and "Lookin Good", a nice instrumental! (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the first recordings ever from Chicago legend Junior Wells – made for the small States label in the Windy City, many years before Wells exploded out with much greater national fame! The music here has Junior stepping into the same early electric space that Chess Records was cutting at the time – and given the presence of Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Willie Dixon on some of these sides – the group's also not far off either! Wells is the main star throughout, though – alternating bold young vocals and razor-sharp harmonica lines – in the company of players who include Louis Myers, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters on guitar, Johnnie Jones and Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Odie Payne on drums. Titles include "Hoodoo Man", "Tomorrow Night", "Eagle Rock", "Junior's Wail", "Throw This Poor Dog A Bone", "So All Alone", "Blues Hit Big Town", and "Lovin Blues". (Blues, Soul) CD

Incredible rare work from Magic Sam – a set recorded at his home in Chicago during the late 60s, and which has Sam coming across maybe more like a soul singer than ever before! The setting is very lean – just Sam on electric guitar and vocals – and it's that laidback approach that really lets the magic flow forth – these incredible vocals that could have easily been turned towards deep soul, if Sam wanted to record for Atlantic – and maybe even more powerful here without any other studio support at all! And sure, the approach is different than the better-known Magic Sam albums – but it's also a fantastic illustration of his mighty talents, as you'll hear on titles that include "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You're So Fine", "That's Why I'm Crying", "I'm So Glad", "Baby You Torture My Soul", "What Have I Done Wrong", and "Give Me Time". (Blues, Soul) CD

R&B, gritty blues, and some killer tenor talents – a wicked collection of vintage masters from legendary indie United Records! Musically, the package is very much on a par with Ace/Kent collections of this type – the sort that might feature material from King or Modern/RPM Records from the same vintage – and our hat's off to Delmark for doing such a great job of bringing back these crucially overlooked sounds from Chicago! Titles include "Cool Leo" by Leo Parker", "Cut That Out (alt)" by Junior Wells, "Organ Grinder" by Jimmy Coe, "Walking Home" by JT Brown, "Let's Get High" by Morris Pejoe, "Crazy Walk" by Tab Smith, "In The Dark" by Grant Jones, "Nona" by Paul Bascomb, "Goodbye" by The Pastels, "Tiny's Boogie" by Tiny Grimes, "Sophisticated Lady (alt)" by Jimmy Forrest, and "Come In The Room" by Robert Anderson. CD

Killer tenor tracks from this Chicago legend – a host of singles that were originally issued by the United Records label in the 50s! (Jazz, Soul) CD

(Blues, Soul) CD

Early 80s issue of live recordings at the Alex Club in Chicago from 1963 and 1964 and from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969. (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

(Blues, Soul) CD

(Blues, Soul) CD

A fantastic document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Blues Festival – the start of a great event that would blossom into other styles of music in the 70s, but which stood as a strong blues-based event in its initial year of 1969! In some ways, the three day series of concerts is a roots answer to Woodstock – which took place just a few weeks before – as the festival featured a great scope of blues talents, from the rootsier sort of artists who were recording for labels like Folkways or Arhoolie, to some of the sharper modern talents rising to the top on Chess or Delmark! The package alone is almost worth the price of admission – beautiful photographs of the event, detailed notes, and the first-ever release of this music – which has sat in the vaults for decades, finally to see the light of day. Titles include "Dirty Mother For You" by Roosevelt Sykes, "So Glad You're Mine" by Arthur Big Boy Crudup, "Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy" by Luther Allison & The Blue Nebulae, "Help Me" by Junior Wells, "I Wonder Why" by Jimmy Dawkins, "Too Much Alcohol" by JB Hutto & His Hawks, "So Many Roads So Many Trains" by Otis Rush, "Long Distance Call" by Muddy Waters, "Off The Wall" by James Cotton Band, "Juanita" by Big Joe Williams, "Jelly Jelly Blues" by Shirley Griffin, "I Feel So Good" by Magic Sam, "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker, "Death Letter Blues" by Son House, "Key To The Highway" by Sam Lay, and "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin Hopkins. (Blues, Soul) CD

A fantastic document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Blues Festival – the start of a great event that would blossom into other styles of music in the 70s, but which stood as a strong blues-based event in its initial year of 1969! In some ways, the three day series of concerts is a roots answer to Woodstock – which took place just a few weeks before – as the festival featured a great scope of blues talents, from the rootsier sort of artists who were recording for labels like Folkways or Arhoolie, to some of the sharper modern talents rising to the top on Chess or Delmark! The package alone is almost worth the price of admission – beautiful photographs of the event, detailed notes, and the first-ever release of this music – which has sat in the vaults for decades, finally to see the light of day. Titles on this second volume include "Long Distance Call" by Muddy Waters, "Off The Wall" by James Cotton Band, "Juanita" by Big Joe Williams, "Jelly Jelly Blues" by Shirley Griffin, "I Feel So Good" by Magic Sam, "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker, "Death Letter Blues" by Son House, "Key To The Highway" by Sam Lay, and "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin Hopkins. (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A killer live set from Eddie Taylor – recorded in Japan, but with a core Chicago combo that really keeps things tight! The vibe here is maybe more like a Delmark live album than you'd expect from any overseas session – with Eddie on great guitar and vocals, and additional vocals from Louis Myers, who handles second guitar and harmonica – in a combo with Odie Payne Jr on drums and Dave Myers on bass. Titles include "Hoy Hoy", "Goin Down Slow", "I Don't Know", "Tin Pan Alley", "Blow Wind Blow", "Kind Hearted Woman", "You're Gonna Look For Me", "Crossroads", and "Bad Boy". 2CD version features 32 tracks in all – all the material recorded on two different live nights, with a lot of variety in the songs! (Blues, Soul) CD

Wild guitar from Luther Johnson – an obscure earlier session recorded with a nicely gritty feel, and a fair bit of funk in the rhythms too! The group's billed as the Muddy Waters Blues Band – and Muddy appears to be on the record, although the notes are a bit lean – and the album features a number of great instrumentals, with really ripping guitar solos – plus a few vocal tracks too. The record's got a raw sound that's more of a Delmark Chicago blues vibe than a Chess Records one – and titles include "Top Of The Boogaloo", "Sting It", "Natural Wig", "Blues For Hippies", "Remember Me", "Snake", and "Sad Day Uptown". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Mostly 60s recordings from Chicago – but the set does feature a few from London too – all around the same time as Sam's famous work for Delmark! The group features Magic Sam on vocals and guitar – with Mack Thompson on bass and other unknown personnel. (Blues, Soul) CD