Blues — Recently Added

A definite set of funky blues – recorded on the contemporary scene in Texas, but with a vibe that stretches way way back in style – thanks to help from Lucky Peterson on Hammond and Chuck Rainey on bass! Crystal Thomas has a bold, badass approach to her vocals – and comes on with ... LP, Vinyl record album

John Lee Hooker gets some great treatment here – working in a loose, groovy style for the Bluesway label – and getting a nice dose of funk right down at the core! The set's produced by Ed Michel – who'd also done some great soul jazz work over the years – and in addition to ... LP, Vinyl record album

Well-recorded material from Louisiana Red – a blues musician who really hit his stride in the 70s, but with a style that feels a lot more vintage overall! Red works here with just vocals and guitar – and a bit of harmonica – in a mode that's like the 60s albums on Arhoolie, but ... CD

Otis Spann made some great records over the years, but he sounds especially nice on the handful of sessions he did for the Bluesway label – which seem to take a Chess Records approach, then give the whole thing an extra-added punch! Otis is in the lead on piano and vocals, but the group's ... 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

Jessie Mae Hemphill might look like an 80s blues artist on the cover, but the record's got a much more vintage vibe – as the set features field recordings done on New Years Eve in 1989, with Jessie Mae singing in a style that seems geared to ring in the year with the ghosts of the past! The ... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most legendary bluesmen of the early 78rpm generation – heard here in a wonderfully-recorded set from 1964! The session came at a time when Skip James was hardly getting any mainstream attention, but had been rediscovered by a younger generation – which led to the fledgling ... LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work from the legendary Honeyboy Edwards – a blues guitarist who was a key force in helping the music make the transition to an electric mode in the 40s – but an artist whose talents were eclipsed by so many others he worked with at the time! This set's got a real back-to-basics ... LP, Vinyl record album

Rare recordings of delta blues legend Mississippi John Hurt – captured solo and beautifully well on 3 dates in late 1964, recorded by Gene Rosenthal – with Hurt's distinctive way of a somehow gentle melodic acoustic blues guitar sound, coming from hard-strummed and plucked strings as ... LP, Vinyl record album

An album recorded in the Netherlands, but a set that hits right to the heart of RL Burnside's Mississippi roots – thanks to a beautifully spare, careful presentation of the music! Most numbers feature just Burnside on vocals and guitar – with a vibe that's similar to the field ... LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked early work from Junior Kimbrough – sides that are quite different than some of his better-known recordings over the years! The material was cut in Memphis in 1966 by producer Quinton Claunch – and it's got a spare, rootsy quality that's totally great – slow moving drums ... LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage work from Mississippi John Hurt, but somehow amazingly clear and crisp in this classic LP presentation! The tunes are wonderfully earthy – just vocals and guitar from Hurt, in a style that's definitely blues, but which has some surprisingly jazzy inflections at times – at least ... LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff from John Lee Hooker, and a record that's unlike any other he's ever done! The groove is very hard and funky, with tight drumbreaks and excellent basslines that you'd hardly expect to find on an album by a blues artist – jamming around with a tight groove that really makes us ... LP, Vinyl record album

Great gritty sides from the mighty John Lee Hooker – material with a slightly obscure origin, but recorded in the late 50s, right in a stretch when he was cutting some of his classics! Hooker's guitar and vocals are center stage – both growling with a hell of a lot of soulful power ... LP, Vinyl record album

A really nice later set from legendary Texas blues titan Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins – done up for the Jewel label with a bit of the spark that was missing from the hit & miss work he did earlier in the decade for Bluesville! Blue Lightnin' also has a down and dirty style in spots, ... LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of late work from Elmore James – a 3CD set that brings together all of his famous material for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records, plus rare alternate takes, and some unusual bonus material as well! James passed away right after this work was recorded, but he's really on fire ... CD

The legendary Jimmy Rogers works here with a whole host of famous guest stars – or "all-stars", as they're listed on the label – a lineup that includes Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Taj Mahal, Stephen Stills, Jeff Healey, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Lowell ... LP, Vinyl record album

A well-titled record, as Albert King here plays with the large sound and big tone that would make him one of the best up-and-coming bluesmen of the 60s – a key player in the already-electrified generation, and possibly the greatest example of the new confidence that was coming into the genre ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album