A lost classic in the funky poetry mode of the 70s – and right up there with the best work from the time by the Last Poets, Jim Ingram, or Gil Scott Heron! Bama's got a rough-edged voice that works very well with the funkier backings of the set – handled by a team that includes Bernard ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Raucous, rumbling and hard-charging Chess rhythms, rock and roll by Chuck Berry – his legendary After School Session – and possibly his greatest album ever! It features not only some of Chuck Berry's most famous material, but some of the best early rock songs, period –particularly ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Seminal work from one of the greatest guitarists of all time! LP, Vinyl record album
(NOTE – The bottom half of the box has staining, waviness and heavier wear with some splitting – due to moisture. The booklet is also half stained. But the vinyl is nice!)
Chuck Berry is definitely on top with this classic Chess Records set – an album that shows that Berry always had a lot more to offer than some of his oldies rocker contemporaries! Sure, there's a few hits here, but the overall quality of the music is more in the mode of Chess blues of the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mono black label pressing with deep groove. Cover has large splits on the top & bottom seams and some light aging.)
A classic collection of Chuck Berry's early genius – a set that introduced his best cuts to a new younger audience in the 70s! All the work here is from the early Chess Records days – and titles include "Deep Feeling", "Wee Wee Hours", "Nadine", "Brown ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Chuck's classic work for Chess/Checker – featuring tunes like "Roll Over Beethoven", "Rock & Roll Music", "Johnny B Goode", "Nadine", "Maybelline", "Sweet Little 16", "Thirty Days", and "Memphis". LP, Vinyl record album
A mid 60s album by Berry, and unlike a lot of other Chess full lengths at the time, this set features more new tunes than those pulled from 45s. 12 tracks in all, including "It Wasn't Me", "Run, Joe", "Every Day We Rock & Roll", "One For My Baby (And One For ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mono blue shield label pressing. Cover has light wear.)
Chuck Berry makes the same London move as some of his other Chess Records contemporaries – and the result is one of Chuck's best albums from the later years! The set's not as star-studded as other efforts of this nature – but that's fine with us because Chuck really shines as the lead ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
As with many of the Chuck Berry full LPs for Chess, this one's filled with some great obscure material that always gets eclipsed by Chuck's big hits. Despite the idea that these would be "new jukebox hits", the material has an approach that was probably a bit too hard for radio, but that' ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(80s pressing in a barcode cover, with an X imprint at the bottom right corner.)
One dozen "berrys", all of them great – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies cliches – and which reminds us that at the start, his ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Chuck Berry's way more than just rocking for sock hops here – as the set has the seminal figure working at the height of his powers – in a raw, stripped-down setting that still packs way more punch than you might remember if you only think of Chuck in terms of all those over-used ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original black label pressing, with deep groove. Cover has light wear, but looks great overall. Vinyl has a number of marks and plays with light noise on all tracks.)
A real lost chapter in the career of the great Don Covay – material done after his original funky soul on 60s Atlantic Records, and before his return to fame in the early 70s on Mercury – done in a raw vibe that has a lot more grit than you might expect! There's touches of psychedelic ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Limited edition RSD Essentials pressing – on red vinyl, still sealed with hype sticker.)
A real lost chapter in the career of the great Don Covay – material done after his original funky soul on 60s Atlantic Records, and before his return to fame in the early 70s on Mercury – done in a raw vibe that has a lot more grit than you might expect! There's touches of psychedelic ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A collection of tracks recorded during the late 60s and early 70s – when the Dells were at their peak, recording at Cadet with arrangers and producers like Charles Stepney, Bobby Miller, and Don Davis. Titles include "Love Is Blue (I Can Sing A Rainbow)", "There Is", ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(80s pressing. Cover has some light wear at the bottom.)
Funky Bo Diddley – one of Bo's key early 70s sessions for Chess Records – all of which have him stepping out in a much harder groove than years past! The sound here is relatively tight – with Diddley guitar and vocals on top of some larger arrangements from Bob Gallo – ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A nice little collection of Bo Diddley's earlier work for Chess – put together in the early 70s, when Bo was in his Black Gladiator phase, as pictured on the cover – but featuring the rawer, rougher grooves of his initial recordings in the late 50s and early 60s! The Bo Diddley groove ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(French pressing with blue fade labels in a gatefold cover, with a small center split in the top seam.)
The birth of a genius – and an amazing batch of early material from the legendary Bo Diddley! Even at his start, Bo was unlike anyone else – a completely unique, completely self-contained bluesman who not only brought a wealth of new songs and styles to Chess Records, but who also did ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Nasty nasty funk from the great Bo Diddley – one of his rare funky 70s classics for Chess – produced by Johnny Otis with a really tripped-out groove! The album's got an edge that seems to go even farther than some of Bo's other Chess work at the time – and picks up the full-on ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Bo Diddley/Muddy Waters/Little Walter —
Super Blues ... LP Chess, 1967. Very Good+ ...
Out Of Stock
A Chicago blues trifecta – and the first time ever that Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and Little Waters ever worked together! The set's got a raw power that definitely lives up to the title – a wicked mix of raw guitars, rough rhythms, and some wonderfully soulful vocals – all served ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(60s stereo blue fade label pressing with deep groove. Cover has some surface wear & aging.)
Is it Fulsom or Fulson? We're not going to try and present ourselves as the authority, but what we can tell you is this collection features 27 tracks from the man, mostly raw blues, though a number of cuts are more produced, with full horn section and piano complementing Fulsom's guitar and vocals ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Not the Bay Area effort you might guess from the title – and instead a sweet Chicago session that's easily one of the funkiest records that Buddy Guy ever cut! There's a great mix of funk and soul mixed in with the blues – thanks to arrangements from Charles Stepney and Gene Barge, who ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 80s Original Chess Masters pressing. Cover has some ringwear, a bit of chewing at the top seam, center split in the bottom seam, and some stained spots in back.)
Buddy Guy reached much bigger fame on later labels, but he sounds pretty darn great here in a set of early recordings done for Chess – all sides recorded in the first half of the 60s, when Buddy represented one of the best talents in a new generation of bluesmen rising up in Chicago! The ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 90s 180 gram remaster in a gatefold cover.)
John Lee Hooker —
House Of The Blues ... LP Chess, 1951/1952. Very Good- ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
A rootsy cover, and some rootsy blues to match – a fairly stripped down session from John Lee Hooker –- and one that mostly just features vocals and guitar, plus some occasional added guitar and piano! Most of the recordings here are from the early 50s, pulled together in a full LP at ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 60s stereo blue fade label with deep groove. Includes Chess inner sleeve. Cover has surface wear. The back has a large stain in the corner with some wear.)
A really well done collection of work recorded by Howlin Wolf for Chess – put together in the early 70s, but featuring sides from the 50s and 60s. The album's got a good set of notes by Pete Welding, and tracks that include "Down In The Bottom", "Forty Four', "My Country ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s orange label pressing. Cover has light ringwear, slightly wavy panels, and some heavy wear at the bottom seam.)
A really well done collection of work recorded by Howlin Wolf for Chess – put together in the early 70s, but featuring sides from the 50s and 60s. The album's got a good set of notes by Pete Welding, and tracks that include "Down In The Bottom", "Forty Four', "My Country ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Down home early 70s blues from Howlin Wolf – not as funky as some of the other blues albums on Chess at the time, but with a nice rough and ready edge that really lives up to the legacy of Howlin Wolf! Instrumentation includes a few guitars, tenor sax, piano, and bass – and Wolf ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Funky blues work from Howlin Wolf – his key entry into the funked-up genre that Chess Records was cutting at the end of the 60s with other blues artists like Etta James, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters! As on records with those artists, Wolf's older modes are updated here for a hipper, younger ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A much earlier set of tracks than the first volume of Real Folk Blues from Howlin Wolf – mostly material recorded in the mid 50s, both in Chicago and Memphis – all with a really nitty gritty sort of feel! There's a rough and rootsy mode going on here – one that has Wolf's raspy ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 80s French blue fade label pressing. Cover has light wear and is bent a bit at the edges.)
A great entry in the Chess Heritage Series at the end of the 60s – one that features rare 50s Chicago recordings by Elmore James, plus some even more obscure sides by lesser-known singer John Brim! James' style is well known, and well-executed here – rough and raw, but with a good ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(60s blue label pressing. Cover has very light wear – vinyl is great.)
A great entry in the Chess Heritage Series at the end of the 60s – one that features rare 50s Chicago recordings by Elmore James, plus some even more obscure sides by lesser-known singer John Brim! James' style is well known, and well-executed here – rough and raw, but with a good ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, 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 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(80s pressing. Cover has light ringwear and a scrape in front.)
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 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Heavy funk from the great Etta James – one of her standout classics from the later Chess years, done with a style that's completely different than her work of the 60s! The set was recorded in LA with a super-dope sound that's almost in a funky soundtrack mode – full horns, bits of ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original orange label pressing – a nice copy!)
Albert King & Otis Rush —
Door To Door ... LP Chess, 1950s/Early 60s. Near Mint- ...
Out Of Stock
A split album of early recordings by Otis Rush and Albert King – both featured here in early Chicago sides done for Chess Records in the years before their bigger late 60s fame! The style here is mostly stripped down, but still pretty tight – not as rough-edged as some of their Chess ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Deep deep deep soul from The Knight Brothers – a wonderful duo who cut some fantastic sides for Chess Records in the 60s! The Brothers originally hailed from Washington DC, and came to Chicago by way of New York – somehow managing to pick up all the best bits of these geographic ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Rare work by Laura Lee – a singer who's best known for her 70s hits on the Hot Wax label, but who sounds equally great here on her earlier sides for Chess! Lee's deep soul approach was a perfect match for Chess at the end of the 60s – and the work here often has her coming across with ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A well-titled set – as the album features some of the best early sides that Little Walter recorded for Chess – records that went on to set a whole new standard both in blues vocals and harmonica! There's tightness here that's a bit different from some of the other Chess blues at the ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Stereo blue fade label pressing with deep groove. Cover has surface & ring wear & aging.)
A comprehensive look at some great recordings from Little Walter – sides recorded for Chess Records from 1953 to 1963 – offering up a decade's worth of evolution in his style! But even at the start, Walter was better than most of his generation – a heck of a great harmonica ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s GRT pressing with pink & green labels. C over has surface wear, splitting on the seams, a cutout notch, and aging.)
A pretty nice little 2LP set – put together in the early 70s, and featuring material that Walter recorded for Chess during the 60s. As the title would imply, there's a lot of harmonica on the album – but Walter's vocals should also be given their due, as they're a bit more in the soul ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 70s orange label pressing. Cover has light wear and aging.)
Pigmeat Markham —
Tune Me In ... LP Chess, Late 60s. Very Good ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
A great album that mixes funky music and comedy routines by Pigmeat! The set features 2 great funky 45 tracks – the hilarious "My Wife I Ain't Seen Her", plus a remake of "Open The Door Richard", done with some heavy Gene Barge backings. The album also features longer ... (Comedy, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Blue fade label stereo pressing. Cover has light staining & waviness along the spine, cut corner, light wear.)
Memphis Slim —
Real Folk Blues ... LP Chess, 1950s/Early 60s. Very Good+ ...
Out Of Stock
Memphis Slim's installment in this excellent LP series from Chess – 60s packagings of earlier recordings done by key bluesmen in the Chicago scene, with slightly improved fidelity but enough of the "real folk blues" sound to warrant the title! Instrumentation here is a bit more ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The title's an apt one here, as Jimmy Rogers was one of the many bluesmen who started out in the south, but headed to Chicago for greater fame – which was a good thing for Chess Records, who managed to come some of these great sides in the 50s! Rogers both sings and plays guitar – the ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Late 70s purple and green label pressing. Cover has light wear.)
SCLC Operation Breadbasket Orch & Choir —
On The Case ... LP Chess, 1970. Very Good+ ...
$6.999.99
A full-blown, very righteous offering from Chess to the political cause of Operation Breadbasket! Tenorist Ben Branch leads the large gospel-tinged group – and sax player Gene Barge produces and plays, with a style that's very much in the Chess/Checker bag of the late 60s soul era. Most ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A truly unbelievable album from Billy Stewart – maybe his standout moment of the 60s, and a record that set him apart from every other singer of his time! Stewart's famous vocals break out instantly on the huge hit "Summertime" – a leadoff number that really sets the record ... read moreLP, 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 ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Muddy Waters —
At Newport 1960 ... LP Chess, 1960. Near Mint- ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
Muddy Waters makes a classic appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival – playing a folksy set of blues in the years before the festival had turned more strongly towards that sort of music! The performance is surprisingly well-recorded – at a level that's similar to Waters' earlier studio ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(180 gram German Speakers Corner pressing. Includes the Speakers Corner catalog insert.)
Less a "best of" than an early full album that brings together some of Muddy Waters' earliest recordings for Chess – a great collection of early singles recorded in Chicago between 1950 and 1954! The work's relatively spare and rootsy overall – a great example of Chicago ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mid 60s orange label stereo pressing in a black & white cover, with a cutout notch, some ring and edge wear, center split in the bottom seam, and yellowing from age in back.)
Muddy Waters —
Brass & The Blues ... LP Chess/Elemental, 1966. New Copy (reissue)...
Out Of Stock
A unique mid 60s Chess session from Muddy Waters – one with a very different feel than usual, and a good dose of soul too! As you might guess from the title, Muddy gets some full backings on this set – not exactly a large brass section, but a set of Chicago soul-styled backings handled ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Muddy Waters —
Fathers & Sons ... LP Chess, 1969. Near Mint- 2LP ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
One of the biggest albums of Muddy Waters' career – a key crossover effort that has Waters as the "father" working with "sons" Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield! The style here is still quite rootsy overall – and the double-length session features one album ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Orange label pressing in a non-gatefold cover, with a cutout notch.)
Muddy Waters —
Folk Singer ... LP Chess, 1963. Very Good+ ...
Temporarily Out Of Stock
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 rest of the group features Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, and Clifton James. The sound is really spare, and very moody – and ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s orange label pressing. Cover has a cutout notch, some wear, and aging.)
A late 60s album on Chess Records – but one that serves to bring together all the best early work that Muddy Waters did for the label – including lots of original 45s and 78s! The range of music is really wonderful – the kind of tracks that first got Waters noticed in the first ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A 60s album, but one that's filled with some of the earliest recordings Muddy Waters made for Chess Records – all wrapped up in a title that proclaims his music as the real deal! The instrumentation here is all quite spare – varying combinations of electric guitar, harmonica, piano, ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A late 60s album on Chess Records – but one that serves to bring together all the best early work that Muddy Waters did for the label – including lots of original 45s and 78s! The range of music is really wonderful – the kind of tracks that first got Waters noticed in the first ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The Big Bill in the title is Big Bill Broonzy – a key influence on midcentury bluesmen all over the US, and paid tribute to nicely here by Muddy Waters! Given this tribute approach, the sound's a bit rootsier than some of Waters' other work for Chess at the time – a bit more emphasis ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Blue fade label electronic stereo pressing. Cover has some wear and aging, Stereo sticker, fading at the spine, bumped corners, some aging and a bit of pen in back, and is lightly bent near the opening.)
A classic packaging of Muddy Waters' famous early work for Chess Records – brought together with a cover and title that pitch him strongly towards the growing folk movement of the time! And, although most of these tracks were recorded in Chicago, with some electric guitar in the mix, there's ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Muddy Waters —
Rolling Stone ... LP Chess, 1950s/1960s. Very Good+ ...
Out Of Stock
A rich collection of Muddy Waters' famous work for Chess Records – put together in the 70s, but featuring tracks from his earliest days in the studio, up through the key electric years of the 60s! The package pulls together some real gems – including work with Little Walter and James ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Early 70s blue fade label stereo pressing. Cover has some surface wear, small splits in the top seam and spine, and heavy yellowing from age around the edges in back.)
Classic blues harp and raw vocals from Sonny Boy Williamson – material recorded for Chess during the early 60s, and issued after his death, with a title that's certainly designed to catch the attention of the college kids looking for the "real" thing! The work here is really great ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Late 80s Original Chess Masters pressing.)
Sonny Boy Williamson —
One Way Out ... LP Chess, Late 50s/Early 60s. Very Good+ ...
Out Of Stock
A great little collection of work that Sonny Boy Williamson recorded for Chess in the 50s and early 60s – presented here as one of the well-done archival packages that Chess was doing in the early 70s, as interest in their classics was coming back again. Most of the numbers here feature ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(70s purple label "Vintage Series" pressing. Cover has minimal wear.)
Sonny Boy Williamson —
Real Folk Blues ... LP Chess, Late 1950s/Early 1960s. Very Good- ...
Out Of Stock
Not as folksy as you might think from the title – thanks to a really powerful presentation by Sonny Boy Williamson! The style here has echoes of Bo Diddley or Jimmy Reed's sense of rhythm – a more upbeat and electrified Chicago approach than Chess was serving up a decade before – ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Mono black & silver label pressing. Cover has surface wear & aging, some gloss peeling along the top.)
One in a series of double LP compilations Chess put out in the 70s collecting some of the classic blues sides in their catalog. As near as we can tell, these raw folk blues numbers were mostly issued as 45s, featuring Sonny Boy on vocals and harp, with sidemen that include Muddy Waters, Robert Jr ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A killer collection of rare group soul from Chess – one that not only features doo wop work by The Moonglows and Flamingos, but also lots of rare material by The Radiants, The Knight Brothers, The Marathons, The Pastels, The Gems, The Miracles, The Sensations, The Dozier Bouys, and The Four ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Chess compilation of some popular dance tunes of the time. The Vibrations are featured the most with such songs as "The Watusi", "The New Hully Gully", "Let's Pony Again", and "Continental With Me Baby". Other tracks include "The Madison" by Al ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Various —
Heavy Heads ... LP Chess, 1950s/1960s. Very Good+ ...
Out Of Stock
A collection of classic blues that influenced the heavy rock generation – with older tracks from some of the best Chess artists of the early electric days! Titles include "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters, "Don't Start Me Talkin" and "Sad To Be ... (Blues, Soul)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Features work by The Moonglows, Ritchie Valens, The Chantels, The Pastels, and The Moonlighters – all in a cool cover with Murray and a rocket! LP, Vinyl record album
(Black label pressing. Cover has a cutout hole, light wear, and aging.)