If you ever doubted the blues chops of Canned Heat, take a listen to this album – as the group are joined by the great John Lee Hooker, who they let stand strongly in the spotlight and almost make the album his own! Previous sets by Canned Heat were already pretty darn great – a huge cut above blues-inspired rock groups of the late 60s years – but with Hooker in the lineup here, the sound gets even more raw and sensitive – so much so that a number of these cuts almost feel like some of the early Detroit 78rpm recordings the older blues musician recorded at the start of his career – hardly the watered-down blues rock you might expect. Titles include "Burning Hell", "Send Me Your Pillow", "Messin With The Hook", "Boogie Chillen No 2", "Peavine", "Just You & Me", "Whiskey & Wimmen", and "I Got My Eyes On You". CD

If you ever doubted the blues chops of Canned Heat, take a listen to this album – as the group are joined by the great John Lee Hooker, who they let stand strongly in the spotlight and almost make the album his own! Previous sets by Canned Heat were already pretty darn great – a huge cut above blues-inspired rock groups of the late 60s years – but with Hooker in the lineup here, the sound gets even more raw and sensitive – so much so that a number of these cuts almost feel like some of the early Detroit 78rpm recordings the older blues musician recorded at the start of his career – hardly the watered-down blues rock you might expect. Titles include "Burning Hell", "Send Me Your Pillow", "Messin With The Hook", "Boogie Chillen No 2", "Peavine", "Just You & Me", "Whiskey & Wimmen", and "I Got My Eyes On You". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Platinum Hook – a group who got their start in late 70s Motown, but who sound even better on this sweet 80s date for RCA! The album's got a vibe that grabs us right from the start – 80s soul with plenty of boogie at the bottom – fused together in a tight blend of keyboards, bass, and drums – bubbling and percolating nicely on the groovers, while laying back a bit more on a few of the album's ballads. The album's a bit shorter than usual – one of those cool RCA experiments in the mini-LP format – but the overall sound is rich enough to match most full albums of chart soul from the time. Titles include "Woo", "I Don't Wanna Live Without You", "Girl I'm Watching You", "Wonderful World", and "What You Want". CD

Alex Puddu's given us great music from a range of different historical moments – 70s porn, 60s Latin, and Italian soundtracks – and here, as you might guess from the cover, he takes on 80s electro modes – using plenty of the beats, basslines, and keyboards you'd find in the Human League generation – but on tunes that are more lean overall, and with a nicely soulful vibe! Some of the tracks are more hook-heavy than 80s boogie – but there's plenty of that mode in the mix as well – and as usual with Alex, the whole thing knocks it out of the park – with titles that include "Amori In Svezia", "Texas Blonde", "Liquore Alla Menta", "Manette E Fruste", and "Velutto Nero". LP, Vinyl record album

Like the "On Deadly Ground" single this one is a battle on wax. Each MC & DJ pair is sent into the studio with the same sample hook and the same title and whoever comes out with the dopest track wins. This time, our vote probably goes to Born Allah & Melo-D, with the dope use of the old Rakim sample breaking the tie. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A wicked little album that has John Lee Hooker recording in San Francisco with a bunch of the other funky talents gracing the ABC/Impulse label at the time! Like other Bay Area work of the time, there's a nicely messed-up feel to the whole session – and plenty of funky moments bubble up from the bottom, thanks to a lineup that features Clifford Coulter on keyboards, Mel Brown on guitar, and Michael White on violin! More standard bluesmen on the date include Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Robert Hooker on electric piano, and Elvin Biship on slide guitar – and titles include "Hit The Road", "Boogie With The Hook", "Letter To My Baby", and "TB Sheets". Van Morrison also duets with Hooker on the title track – "Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive". CD

Post-Motown grooving from Eddie Kendricks – still very much in a boogie mode all the way through! "Whip" is our favorite track here – as it's got a straightforward clubby groove that lets Eddie do plenty on his own with the vocals, especially on the great hook! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Sublime live work from John Lee Hooker – a set that features the legend on solo guitar and vocals, but recorded at a level that's even crisper and more personal than some of his other albums from the time! The performance is clearly pitched more towards the folk blues audience of the time, which means that Hooker is looser, more open, and maybe even more creative than on some of his more singles-oriented material from the 60s – with some tracks that almost feel like personal statements or recollections, set to wonderful interplay between vocals and guitar. Titles include "Run On Babe", "TB Is Killing Me", "I Was Standing By The Wayside", "I Want To Get Married", "I Need Some Money", "Cruel Little Baby", and "You Been Dealin With The Devil". This CD excludes "Matchbox". CD

Four killer tracks from the early years of John Lee Hooker – three of his early singles for the Modern Records label, and one track that was recorded for Sensation, and only ever appeared on CD! The sound here is brilliant – spare and raw, with just vocals, guitar, and that sometime heavy tapping foot that can make Hooker's tunes so rhythmic, even without other instrumentation in the mix! There's a really hypnotic vibe to all the tracks – and titles include "Hastings Street Boogie", "Hobo Blues", "Crawlin King Snake", and "Hoogie Boogie". 7-inch, Vinyl record

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The material here really gets at the brilliance of the Hooker approach in a second – that spare, striking style that was almost rural blues in construction, but transformed the urban sound as well – given the strong use of electric guitar next to foot-driven rhythm, topped by Hooker's incredible vocal style! The set features 24 gems – including some that were not issued at the time – titles that include "War Is Over", "Sailing Blues", "Women In My Life", "Grinder Man", "Boogie Chillen", "Three Long Years Today", "Goin on Highway 51", "Find Me A Woman", "Hastings Street Boogie", "Burnin Hell", and "Henry's Swing Club". CD

A hip mix of raunchy blues and rootsy rock – all stretched out over a double-length set that's easily one of John Lee Hooker's loosest albums ever! The album has Hooker playing in a number of settings with hip rock and funk players from the California scene – including Steve Miller, Mel Brown, Clifford Coulter, and others – but in spite of the presence of a few younger stars on the record, the album's still very much Hooker's own – down-home and earthy, with plenty of the rawness and heavy mojo that set Hooker apart from the bar blues artists of his time! Titles include "Doin The Shout", "I Don't Need No Steam Heat", "Pots On, Gas High", "We Might As Well Call It Through", and "Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U". CD

Blues so raw, they may well have come from beyond the grave – a great selection of early material from John Lee Hooker, originally released as 78rpm singles on the Specialty and Sensation labels in the postwar years – presented here with new mastering and surprisingly stunning fidelity! Hooker's guitar work alone is amazing – completely hypnotic, and recorded with this raspy sound that really blows us away – almost T-Bone Walker-like in its intensity at this point – and the vocals add plenty too, especially since most cuts don't feature any other instrumentation at all. The CD features a whopping 20 cuts in all – with titles that include "Burnin Hell", "Henry's Swing Club", "Miss Sadie Mae", "Sail On Little Girl Sail On", "Alberta", "Hastings Street Boogie", "Black Cat Blues", and "21 Boogie". CD

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 time. Titles include "The Journey", "Hey Baby", "Mad Man Blues", "Worried Life Blues", "Apologize", "Lonely Boy Boogie", and "Just Me & My Telephone". CD

... CD

A great little set, even if it's not what you might expect – not the kind of cuts that heralded the early years of country soul – and instead an even cooler batch of tracks from those years when R&B and hillbilly records often crossed paths on the postwar scene! Many of the small indie labels of the 50s recorded both country and blues, sometimes even having different artists take on the same songs, but in different ways – which meant that there was often a lot of cross-pollination going on in the farther reaches of the music business! The cuts here definitely show that approach – as a good many of them were originally country hits for other singers, but sound great and very different in the hands of R&B artists – and are mixed with a few others that follow similar themes, and really fit into the set in a great way. As always with Bear Family, the whole thing is presented with great notes and details on the music – in a set list of 29 tracks that include "Steel Guitar Rag" by Earl Hooker, "Sixteen Tons" by BB King, "Lovesick Blues" by Sonny Knight, "Big Mamou" by Smiley Lewis, "Ghost Riders In The Sky" by Scatman Crothers, "It'd Surprise You" by The Griffin Brothers with Margie Day, "Indian Love Call" by Hal Singer, "No Help Wanted" by Bob Gaddy & His Alley cats, "Cherokee Boogie" by Moose Jackson, "It Makes No Difference Now" by Piano Red, and "You Can't Stay Here" by Pearl Reaves & The Concords. CD

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The material here really gets at the brilliance of the Hooker approach in a second – that spare, striking style that was almost rural blues in construction, but transformed the urban sound as well – given the strong use of electric guitar next to foot-driven rhythm, topped by Hooker's incredible vocal style! The set features a dozen early numbers in all – including "Boogie Chillen", "The Story Of A Married Woman", "Tease Me Baby", "Let Your Daddy Ride", "Grinder Man", "Burnin Hell", "Walkin This Highway", "Black Cat Blues", and "Roll N Roll". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Boom Boom", "Boogie Chillun", "Drug Store Woman", "Frisco Blues", "Trouble Blues", "Dimples", "Old Time Shimmy", "Whiskey And Wimmen", "Dusty Road", and "Good Rockin' Mama" – 18 tracks total. CD

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The massive 3CD set is the first to ever fully plumb the depths of these years – and brings together all the recordings made by Sensation, including some unusual alternates, related dates, and more – all with fantastic sound that really gets at the raspy brilliance of Hooker, and the way he effortlessly mixed up urban and rural modes on the Detroit scene. 71 tracks in all – and titles include "Hoogie Boogie", "Hastings Street Boogie (ext take)", "Hobo Blues (alt take)", "Henry's Swing Club", "Sailing Blues", "Build Myself A Cave (take 3)", "Alberta (alt take)", "Wednesday Evening", "John L's House Rent Boogie (alt take)", "Moon Is Rising (alt take)", "Story Of A Married Woman (alt take)", "Strike Blues (ext)", "I'm In The Mood (humming overdub)", "It Hurts Me So (alt take)", "That's All Right Boogie (underdub)", and lots more! CD

The legend of Teena Marie lives again, and in a really beautiful way – as John Morales serves up tunes that work together almost as a tribute to the memory of the lady – with these really fresh versions that seem to add a lot of majesty to the sound as well! These aren't easy remixes that just focus on the hooks – and instead, Morales strips the tunes down and builds them up from the core – sometimes adding elements that were removed from the original versions that were issued, or bringing in his own touches in ways that make us wonder what sort of magic might have happened, had Motown let John into the studio to produce some of her classic albums. Make no mistake, if you love Teena Marie, you'll find plenty here to love – but the set is also just way more than a set of remixes too – with sublime takes on tunes that include "You're All The Boogie I Need", "I Need Your Lovin", "365", "Portuguese Love", "Chains", "It Must Be Magic", "First Class Love", "Aladdin's Lamp", "Behind The Groove", "Square Biz", "Now That I Have You", "You're All The Boogie I Need", and her duet with Rick James on "Fire & Desire". LP, Vinyl record album

Oliver Cheatham sounds wonderful here – in that best bouncy style that made him a big favorite on the dancefloors in the early 80s – a groove that's still pretty darn great all these years later! The set features key songwriting help from Al Hudson and Kevin McCord, both of whom help enforce the One Way style of grooving here – nicely punched-up club tracks filled with plenty of hooks, mixed with the odd mellower number to show that the album's a solid soul effort all the way through – and not just some dance tracks cooked up in the studio! Cheatham's vocals are great – better than we remember – and titles include "Everybody Wants To Be The Boss", "I Want Your Love I Need Your Love", "Boogie Stomp", "Don't Take Your Love Away", and "I Gave Myself To You". CD

Oliver Cheatham sounds wonderful here – in that best bouncy style that made him a big favorite on the dancefloors in the early 80s – a groove that's still pretty darn great all these years later! The set features key songwriting help from Al Hudson and Kevin McCord, both of whom help enforce the One Way style of grooving here – nicely punched-up club tracks filled with plenty of hooks, mixed with the odd mellower number to show that the album's a solid soul effort all the way through – and not just some dance tracks cooked up in the studio! Cheatham's vocals are great – better than we remember – and titles include "Everybody Wants To Be The Boss", "I Want Your Love I Need Your Love", "Boogie Stomp", "Don't Take Your Love Away", and "I Gave Myself To You". CD

A fantastic collection of work by The Arrows – a glam-era UK power pop trio with a really great sound! The Arrow sound is sort of a leaner version of grooves laid down by Gary Glitter or Sweet – a fuzzy, hook-heavy approach to rock – one that uses lots of heavy drums on straightforward rhythms, full guitar lines that are clean and straightforward, and compressed production that pushes the guitars and vocals together nicely! There's a real power to these tunes that's simply amazing – an unabashed love of catchy pop mixed with heady guitars – best summed up in the group's original version of "I Love Rock & Roll", issued years before Joan Jett scored with her cover version. This 2CD package features everything the short-lived group recorded – their full First Hit album, 7" singles, and bonus Mickie Most and Arrowsvision tracks – 29 titles in all, including "I Love Rock & Roll", "We Can Make It Together", "Diesel Locomotive Dancer", "Love Child", "Boogiest Band In Town", "First Hit", "Once Upon A Time", "My World Is Turning On To Love", "Movin Next Door To You", "Broken Down Heart", "My Last Night With You", "Dreamin", "Bam Bam Battering Ram", "Wake Up", "Love Is Easy", "Gotta Be Next To You", "Love Rider", and "Dare You Not To Dance". CD

Sublime groovers from Eddie's boogie period – a time when he revived his career brilliantly, by hooking a groove and helping to take Motown back onto the dancefloors! The set's filled with classic uptempo numbers – with 10 tracks in all: "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind (part 1)", "Shoeshine Boy", "He's A Friend", "Skippin Work Today", "Boogie Down", "Keep On Truckin", "Intimate Friends", "Just My Imagination", "It's So Hard For Me To Say Goodbye" and "Can I". CD