A definite nuclear blast from Reverend Douglas Bell and his very hip Stage Cruisers group – working here in a gritty mode that brings plenty of funk and soul currents into the world of gospel vocals! Douglas is more of a singer than a preacher at times – a great lead vocalist who almost feels as if he's singing on early work done for Malaco Records – with support on guitar and keyboards that have a nicely gritty vibe, and backing vocals that sweeten things up in all the right ways! Titles include "Nuclear Blast", "Bitter And The Sweet", "I Got To Make Heaven My Home", "Hard Love Affair", "I Got A Home", "I'll Fight Goliath", "How Many Miles To Heaven", and "What You Need From The Lord". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff from the Converted Mind of Bishop Manning and his family! Manning was a former down & dirty blues singer who was changed forever byThe Good Word in the early 60s – and the lived in realness of these recordings certainly suggests a blues pedigree. It's completely wonderful, with Manning and Family singers backed perfectly with organ, guitar and drums. 28 tracks in all: "Manning Family Theme Song", "Back In St Matthews Days", "I Am A Pilgrim", "Don't Let Satan Ride", "The Jealous Man And The Jealous Woman", "The Last Step", "Back In Slavery Days", "I Want To Shout At The Meeting", "Going Off Theme", "Sit Down Servent" and many more. CD

Maybe one of the most unique artists to be recorded in George Mitchell's field sessions of southern blues – as Dewey Corley plays a one-string bass, sings, and sometimes throws in a kazoo solo too! Here, he's accompanied by Walter Miller on guitar – whose work helps ground Dewey's performance in slightly more familiar styles – but even with that added element, it's clear that Corley's the start of the show – and his boldly-blown kazoo passages could well rival some of the bigger blues harp players of the time! Titles include "Fishing In The Dark", "Back To The Country", "Beale Street", "Memphis Is A Wonderful City", "Down To Arkansas", "Highway 61", and "Tri State Blues". 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 underneath some echoey guitar – and great flat-nosed vocals from Junior that really send the tunes home – almost with a quality that makes you feel like he's humming the lyrics instead of singing them! Titles include two versions of "Feels So Good", plus "Meet Me In The City", "Lonesome In My Home", "Done Got Old", and "Feels So Bad". Also features bonus alternates of "Feels So Bad" and "Meet Me In The City". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Mississippi blues from Ranie Burnette – recorded in the early 80s, but with a timeless style that takes us right back to the delta! The approach here is similar to some of the best Georgia rural blues of the time – very spare and stripped-down, with mostly just guitar and vocals from Ranie, often with some folksy undercurrents – and some occasional harmonica on two tracks from Abe Keg Young. There's no attempt to modernize the music at all, and the quality of Ranie's gritty guitar comes through beautifully in the space of the recording – on titles that include "Lonesome Moon Blues", "Gone Dead On You", "One String Baby", "Yonder Goes My Baby", "Shake Em On Down", and "Dough Roller Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Soul stirring group gospel from the Singing Southern Echos Of Memphis (it's spelled 'Echos' on the spine, folks) – with soaring lead and spirited backing vocals form this Memphis combo! We're not sure of the recorded vintage, but it's wonderful stuff – ranging from slow rolling spiritual group soul, to organ backed uptempo rave-ups! Titles include "IF You Follow Jesus", "He Will Make A Way Somehow", "Just A Talk With Jesus", "I Was Brought Up", "It's No Secret", "You've Got To Move" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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 music has this really dark, moody vibe – guitar progressions that are cyclical and downturning – almost the sort of energy that Nick Cave was trying to put in his music at the time, but could never do this well – especially when topped with the raw, raspy vocals of Hemphill. Titles include "Holy Ghost", "DC9", "Run Get My Shotgun", "Married Man Blues", "Train Train", and "Nothing That You Say". LP, Vinyl record album