Blues — Recently Added

A really great moment in the spotlight for the legendary Chicago bluesman Otis Spann – an artist who often appeared on records by bigger talents of his generation, but didn't always get to shine this brightly on his own! The album's a very reverent session that has Spann's piano and vocals ... LP, Vinyl record album

Raw North Mississippi blues from Fred McDowell – some of best of the 60s – or any other era! Recorded on portable equipment in 1964 and 1965 sessions in Como and Holy Springs, MS and Berkeley, CA – and capturing the buzz of his guitar and grain in his voice so beautifully! A ... LP, Vinyl record album

The funk-tinged, pyschedelic soul album from Muddy Waters – one that irritated many a blues purist in its day – but it's finally reaching its earned status as a leftfield gem! You know, in the immediate years after this one (and similar funky blues albums on Chess/Cadet) was released, ... 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

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

Classic raspy vocals from the legendary Howlin Wolf – singing here in a way that definitely lives up to his nickname! The sound here is spare and stripped down, with very little accompaniment – usually just a bit of guitar, piano, bass, and drums – and sometimes not even all that ... LP, Vinyl record album

A late 50s session, but an album that captures Lighnin Hopkins in a rootsy style that could well hearken back to the 78rpm blues records of the 30s – thanks to production by Samuel B Charters, who captured Hopkins alone making music in his apartment in Houston! The tracks have that ... LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of funky blues – recorded by Howlin Wolf during the period when Chess/Cadet was backing its older artists up with some of the newer funk musicians it had working in its studios! The overall sound works quite well – and although purists at the time moaned at the way ... LP, Vinyl record album

He may be blind, but he's plenty satisfied – and so are we, with this excellent package of rare 78rpm recordings from Willie Johnson! The sound quality is great – which is important, as Willie's got a style of guitar that's almost lighter in tone than some of his contemporaries – ... 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

About as pure as you can get for John Lee Hooker – a classic set of cuts for Chess, recorded with a feel that's almost folksy at times! The guitar has a raw edge that goes way back to the delta – and the overall approach is much more gritty than even some of Hooker's labelmates at the ... 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 killer collection of rare blues material – and one that's pretty darn funky at times too! The set dives deep into the very underground world of the blues 45 – not the previous scene of rare 78rpm recordings that have been documented heavily for decades – but the later ... CD

Some of the rootsiest work recorded during the early years of John Lee Hooker – most of it done for the Sensation label in Detroit, but with a vibe that could easily go back to the country sound of a decade before! The one difference is that Hooker's firmly expressive on most numbers – ... LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the rootsiest work recorded during the early years of John Lee Hooker – most of it done for the Sensation label in Detroit, but with a vibe that could easily go back to the country sound of a decade before! The one difference is that Hooker's firmly expressive on most numbers – ... LP, Vinyl record album

A great early album from Junior Wells – and one that really opens up that more soulful side of his talents that was becoming a Chicago hallmark at the time! The set was produced by Samuel Charters, but has none of the rootsy vibe of his earlier work on Folkways – and instead matches ... LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... LP, Vinyl record album

Muddy's grooving hard and funky – with help from Cadet studio funksters like Charles Stepney, Phil Upchurch, Louis Satterfield, and Morris Jennings – one of the best ever of the once oft-maligned, now oft-beloved funk era Chess/Cadet albums! After The Rain has more of Muddy's classic ... LP, Vinyl record album

A strong collection of (mostly) early-to-mid 90s recordings by Mississippi blues legend Junior Kimbrough – compiling his Fat Possum recordings and as a set that really is essential! It includes recordings captured Junior's Juke Joint in Chulahoma, MS, home recordings and more – raw and ... LP, Vinyl record album