Blues — Recently Added

A set that was actually recorded in France, many years before the start of the Chicago Blues Festival – but with a great Windy City group that includes Eddie Taylor and Louis Myers on guitars, David Myers on bass, and Fred Bellow on drums – all of whom ensure that there's a great ... CD

A great mix of vintage and later work from Abner Jay – a unique one man band in the best rural blues tradition of the south – and who, like some of the best, doesn't ever use his multi-instrument talent as a gimmick! Instead, Jay works here in a mode that's like a stripped-down combo, ... LP, Vinyl record album

Matt Murphy is a hell of a guitarist – one with roots in Memphis, and many years of work on the Chicago electric scene – where he recorded as a key session man during the 50s, on a range of classic tracks you'll hear on this set! In truth, Murphy maybe never got his full due a as a ... CD

One of the first recordings to ever feature Lefty Dizz in the lead – done at a time when the singer/guitarist was a young star on the Chicago scene, but getting some key exposure here, thanks to an overseas recordings! Lefty's as great as you might guess from his name – a strong ... CD

Tremendous work from Clarence Gatemouth Brown – a postwar guitarist who was big on the Texas scene, but who had the modern flair and jazzy swinging groove of some of his contemporaries who'd left for the west coast! All the work here is from the early years of the Peacock Records label, and ... CD

A hugely sprawling 2CD collection of spanning the career of the incredible Lightnin Hopkins – from his most beloved years from the late 40s to late 50s – and a quite wonderful collection of numbers from the 60s after he had captured the hearts of the young, idealistic folk crowd of the ... CD

A pair of ABC Records classics from Bobby Blue Bland – back to back on a single CD! First up is Get On Down – brilliant later work by Bobby Blue Bland – done with backings that are much fuller than on his earlier albums – a mixture of strings and horns that really expand ... CD

A pair of late 60s gems from the bluesy singer Junior Parker – back to back on a single CD! Like It Is features standout soul from the great Junior Parker – a singer who started out in blues, and already had a big legacy of music for Sun and Duke Records by the time of this Mercury set ... CD

Heavy funk from the legendary Bo Diddley – one of his amazing comeback albums from the early 70s for Chess, all of which are plenty darn great! For this set, Bo's traded in the scratchy guitar mode of his classic work for a sweeter, tighter funk-based sound – a groove that's supported ... CD

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic pairing of soulful talents – the legendary John Lee Hooker on the mighty Stax Records – in a set that's a real standout in the career of both! The vibe here is different than the usual sound of Stax – not a Memphis-ized John Lee Hooker, but instead the kind of ... LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet funky set from the mighty T-Bone Walker – a record that still includes loads of his wickedly sharp guitar lines, but which also gives him a tight groove with electric bass and great drums from the legendary Paul Humphrey! The bottom end here kicks as much as Walker's work on the top ... CD

One of the earliest albums on Arhoolie Records – an amazing document of steel guitar bluesman Black Ace! Ace plays just like he sits on the cover – really leaning into the instrument in ways that bring out all these cool, deep inflections – completely hypnotizing on their own, ... CD

Bossa nova and blues? Turns out they're a surprisingly great combination – but not in a mode that's really the more mainstream conception of either – and instead more of that mix of Brazilian rhythms and soul you'd find in early 60s work by The Drifters! The record's a real standout ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of THE all time classics of funky blues – a record built around Lowell's huge single "Tramp" – a massive tune that spawned a whole generation of answer tunes! "Tramp" kicks off the set with a stone break that's worth the price of the album – then Lowell ... CD

A lean little set from Jimmy Johnson – recorded in France in the early 80s, but with the feel of an indie set on a small Chicago label from the decade before! Jimmy sings and plays guitar, and has a mighty sly way of working the two together – with a quality that kind of beats some of ... CD

Very nice work from Lowell Fulsom – strongly in the mode of his Tramp album for Kent, with a mix of blues and 60s soul, coming together in a sock-hard style that's much better than a lot of Fulsom's other work for other labels! Arrangements are by Rene Hall and Maxwell Davis – the ... CD

The title gets it right here – as the album's as much a soul effort as a blues one – and is a nice change from the sound of Lowell's earlier years! There's still plenty of grit in the grooves here – and even with the front cover proclamation, the album's still one that's best ... CD

A fantastic look at early guitar genius – pulled from old blues recordings of the 78rpm years – decades before folks plugged in and started showing off in arenas with their rock and roll skills! The amazing things about these recordings is the way that these guys do so much with such ... LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from blues giant Joe Turner – a singer who burst back to the mainstream on 50s Atlantic Records, thanks to a host of R&B singles that burned up the charts – but who here returns to his roots, and lays down a great set of jazzy tunes that get back to his roots in the ... CD