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Titles include "Rock Me Baby", "Too Much Seconal", "Silver Train", "All Tore Down", "Cheap Tequila", and "Ain't Nothing To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

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The Columbia debut of the Johnny Winter Band – a real classic, with cuts that include "Good Love", "Slippin & Slidin", "I Love Everybody", "Hustled Down In Texas", "Memory Pain", "I'm Not Sure", and "Miss Ann". CD

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Very cool early work from Johnny Winter – grittier and more soulful than some of his Columbia material Titles include "Creepy", "Gangster Of Love", "Crying In My Heart", "Broke & Lonely", and "Five After Four AM". LP, Vinyl record album

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Hard grooving late 60s blues rock from the great Johnny Winter! Winter's guitar sounds as great here as it does in some of his better known records. The self-titled set is one of Winter's most straight-forwardly bluesy sets, and titles include "I'm Yours And I'm Hers", "Dallas", "Leland Mississippi Blues", "Back Door Friend" and more. CD includes 3 bonus tracks. CD

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Titles include "Rock Me Baby", "Too Much Seconal", "Silver Train", "All Tore Down", "Cheap Tequila", and "Ain't Nothing To Me". CD

One of the coolest Christmas compilations we've heard in years – an ultra-cool, ultra-rare batch of tunes all hand-picked by St Etienne – with the best sort of vibe of their previous non-seasonal compilations! The material here is mostly British in origin, and almost all of it is completely new to our ears – a fab array of 50s and 60s tunes that include vocal numbers, jazzy bits, and instrumental pop – with lots of fresh songs that aren't just the usual batch of Holiday favorites! There's two dozen songs on the set – which makes for some great extended listening – and titles include "It's Christmas" by Elaine & Derek, "Must Be Santa" by Alma Cogan, "Snowman's Land" by Zack Laurence, "Christmas Time In London Town" by Nina & Frederick, "Christmas Island" by Dickie Valentine, "Get Lost Jack Frost" by John Barry Seven, "My Christmas Prayer" by Billy Fury, "Snow Coach" by Russ Conway, "Christmas Land" by Wally Whyton, "Lonely Pup" by Adam Faith, and "We Three Kings" by Johnny Keating. CD

A trio of Muddy Waters classics – brought together in a single set! First up is Hard Again – a great comeback album from the mighty Muddy Waters – a set done after his longtime label Chess had finally gone belly-up, leaving Waters to seek much greener pastures! Here, he's recording under the guidance of Johnny Winter, for Blue Sky/Columbia – really getting a chance to expand on those charms that were sometimes a bit underserved by Chess in the later years – unfurled here with the sense of stardom that Waters really deserved so strongly. James Cotton is on the set too, playing plenty of great harmonica lines – and piano is from the mighty Pinetop Perkins – on titles that include "Bus Driver", "Mannish Boy", "Deep Down In Florida", "I Want To Be Loved", "Little Girl", "Crosseyed Cat", and "Jealous Hearted Man". Next is I'm Ready – a huge moment of fame for the great Muddy Waters – a set that earned him a Grammy, and showed just how far his reach could extend past the Chicago scene and electric blues underground! Muddy had been ready for success for years before the set – but here, working with production from Johnny Winter, who got Waters in touch with Columbia Records, he definitely gets his due – not in a commercial way, though, as he's got nice lean backing from a combo that features harmonica work from Big Walter Horton and piano from Pinetop Perkins – both local legends from Chicago! Titles include "Who Do You Trust", "Copper Brown", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", "Screamin & Cryin", "I'm Ready", and "33 Years". Last up is King Bee – the final studio album from blues legend Muddy Waters – recording here under the supervision of Johnny Winters – who helps Muddy keep things as strong for this third album in the trio of dates he did for the Blue Sky label! The format's very down to earth, and true to his roots – harmonica from Jerry Portnoy and James Cotton, and piano from Pinetop Perkins – as well as a bit of guitar work from Winter – on titles that include "I'm A King Bee", "No Escape From The Blues", "Deep Down In Florida", "Too Young To Know", "Forever Lonely", "Champagne & Reefer", and "I Feel Like Going Home". CD

Music from Elmore James, Muddy Waters, JB Hutton & his Hawks, Blind Willie Johnson, the Johnny Shines Blues Band, Homesick James, Chuck Berry, Black Ace, Earl Hooker, Canned Heat, Johnny Winter, Ry Cooder & more. CD

A great comeback album from the mighty Muddy Waters – a set done after his longtime label Chess had finally gone belly-up, leaving Waters to seek much greener pastures! Here, he's recording under the guidance of Johnny Winter, for Blue Sky/Columbia – really getting a chance to expand on those charms that were sometimes a bit underserved by Chess in the later years – unfurled here with the sense of stardom that Waters really deserved so strongly. James Cotton is on the set too, playing plenty of great harmonica lines – and piano is from the mighty Pinetop Perkins – on titles that include "Bus Driver", "Mannish Boy", "Deep Down In Florida", "I Want To Be Loved", "Little Girl", "Crosseyed Cat", and "Jealous Hearted Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes performances by Stevie Wonder, Lou Reed, John Mellencamp, Eddie Vedder, Johnny Winter, Ron Wood, George Harrison, The Band, Neil Young, Chrissie Hynde, Willie Nelson, and others. CD

20 tracks from Dale Vaughn, Jimmy Winter, Harold Shultters, Eddie Gaines, Slim Dortch, Tommy Todd, Johnny Amelio, Ken Davis, Jimmy Patton, Corky Jones, Jim Bobo and more! CD

Johnny Winter joins Lonnie Brooks here on a few cuts – and the group also features second guitar from Osee Anderson and Larry Clyman! LP, Vinyl record album

Sly Stone revisits his classics with an extended guest roster of Family & Friends – some hewing pretty close the original groove and others with some twists and turns – with Bootsy Collins, Ann Wilson, Ray Manzarek, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, Ernie Watts and others. Includes new versions of "Dance To The Music" with keys by Ray Manzarek, "Everyday People" with Ann Wilson, "Family Affair", "Stand!" with Carmine Appice and Ernie Watts, "Hot Fun In The Summertime" with Bootsy Collins, "Plain Jane", "His Ey Is On The Sparrow", "Get Away" and more. CD has bonus mixes of "Dance To The Music (Club Mix)", "Family Affair (Dubstep Mix)", "and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin (Electro Club Mix)". CD

A hard rock trio with a hell of a sound – heard here on their one and only album from the 70s – a surprising major label debut on Epic Records, with top-shelf production from Rick Derringer! The album's got a searing burn right from the start – quite a heady brew for this young trio, who come on with the guitar complexities of Johnny Winter at times, and kind of the brooding, bassy bottom you might hear from the James Gang ag their best – although Tin House also have this more youthful, more sneering vibe too – one that's completely their own, and which has made this obscure debut a lost treasure for hard rock collectors over the decades! Titles include "I Want Your Body", "Be Good & Be Kind", "Personal Gain", "Jezebel Give Me Your Lovin", "Lady Of The Silent Opera", "Tomorrow", and "You've Gone Too Far". Beautiful reissue – with bonus tracks that include "Be Good & Be Kind (mono)", "I Want Your Body (mono)", and unreleased tunes "Understand" and "Thanks To My Friends". CD

A great comeback album from the mighty Muddy Waters – a set done after his longtime label Chess had finally gone belly-up, leaving Waters to seek much greener pastures! Here, he's recording under the guidance of Johnny Winter, for Blue Sky/Columbia – really getting a chance to expand on those charms that were sometimes a bit underserved by Chess in the later years – unfurled here with the sense of stardom that Waters really deserved so strongly. James Cotton is on the set too, playing plenty of great harmonica lines – and piano is from the mighty Pinetop Perkins – on titles that include "Bus Driver", "Mannish Boy", "Deep Down In Florida", "I Want To Be Loved", "Little Girl", "Crosseyed Cat", and "Jealous Hearted Man". CD

A 2CD set, and one that offers up 40 different Christmas classics from the postwar years – a great range of work that mixes soul tracks with pop, vocal, and jazz numbers – some familiar hits, some lesser-known – all in a holiday collection that gives you plenty of bang for your buck, with some surprising British numbers too! Titles include "Christmas Eve" by Billy Eckstine, "Christmas Alphabet" by Dickie Valentine, "You're All I Want For Christmas" by Al Martino, "What Christmas Means To Me" by Stevie Wonder, "Run Rudolph Run" by Chuck Berry, "Frosty The Snowman" by Jackson 5, "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" by Connie Francis, "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Margaret Whiting & Johnny Mercer, "I'd Like You For Christmas" by Julie London, "My Christmas Prayer" by Billy Fury, "Santa's Beard" by The Beach Boys, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Glen Campbell, "Ole Santa" by Dinah Washington, and "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Louis Armstrong. CD

The "shellac dust" in the title will let you know what sort of territory you're in here – Christmas songs that go way way back, to the glory days of the 78rpm single, served up in a host of jazz and vocal modes! The set features a fair bit of tracks from the prewar years, and although some of the song titles are familiar, the choice of cuts is unique – so that you'll hear a fair bit of unusual readings of Christmas classics – all of which makes for a package that really lives up to other Bear Family Holiday sets that we've been digging for years! CD version features 28 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Ball" by Louis Armstrong, "Peace Sister Peace" by Monette Moore & The Ebonaires, "Jingle Bells" by Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke, "And The Angels Sing" by Count Basie with Helen Humes, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "Blow Blow Thou Winter Winds" by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann, "Let It Snow" by The Ramblers Orchestra, "Santa's Secret" by Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, "Ring Dem Bells" by Charlie Barnet, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden, "There's Frost On The Moon" by Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald, "Bells Of Auld Lang Syne" by Joel Cowan & Thornel Swartz, and "Santa Claus Came In The Spring" by Putney Dandridge. CD

The "shellac dust" in the title will let you know what sort of territory you're in here – Christmas songs that go way way back, to the glory days of the 78rpm single, served up in a host of jazz and vocal modes! The set features a fair bit of tracks from the prewar years, and although some of the song titles are familiar, the choice of cuts is unique – so that you'll hear a fair bit of unusual readings of Christmas classics – all of which makes for a package that really lives up to other Bear Family Holiday sets that we've been digging for years! LP version features 14 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Ball" by Louis Armstrong, "Peace Sister Peace" by Monette Moore & The Ebonaires, "Jingle Bells" by Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke, "And The Angels Sing" by Count Basie with Helen Humes, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "Blow Blow Thou Winter Winds" by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann, "Let It Snow" by The Ramblers Orchestra, "Santa's Secret" by Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, "Ring Dem Bells" by Charlie Barnet, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden, "There's Frost On The Moon" by Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald, "Bells Of Auld Lang Syne" by Joel Cowan & Thornel Swartz, and "Santa Claus Came In The Spring" by Putney Dandridge. LP, Vinyl record album

Here Comes Santa Claus – and a heck of a lot of other folks too – all served up here in a mighty nice collection of Holiday goodies from the postwar years – classic singles and LP cuts, all served up in a mix of jazz, vocal, and R&B modes! The set's a great entry in the series of Christmas-themed compilations from the Bear Family – and like the rest, it's got a mighty big track list, filled with hand-picked numbers by the folks who really know this stretch of music better than most! Titles include "Willy Claus" by Molly Bee, "Winter Wonderland" by Lennon Sisters, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Johnny Desmond, "Christmas Auld Lang Syne" by Bobby Darin, "Jingle Bells" by Frank Sinatra, "I Like A Sleighride" by Peggy Lee, "Ski Jump" by Frederic Curzon, and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. LP, Vinyl record album

Yulesville is coolsville – especially when it comes in the form of a killer collection of rare Christmas singles from the folks at Bear Family! The package is awash in the kind of groovy, sometimes goofy Holiday singles that broke big in the early years of rock and soul – a nice antidote to the sort of sleepier work that usually graced the record racks in earlier years – and the kind of music that's perfect for sipping egg nog into the wee small hours of Christmas morning! There's plenty of gems here that we've never heard before, and plenty of other great nuggets too – titles that include "Rock & Roll Christmas" by Cordell Jackson, "Wishing Is For Fools" by The Melodeers, "Jingle Jangle" by The Penguins, "Jingle Rock" by Tommy Lee & The Orbits, "Big White Cadillac" by Little Joey Farr, "Xmas Bell Rock" by Barry & The Highlights, "Twisten Bells" by Santo & Johnny, "Sleigh Bell Rock" by Three Aces & A Joker, "Winter Wonderland" by Allen & The Flames, "The Cactus Christmas Tree" by The McGuire Sisters, "It's Christmas Everywhere" by Paul Anka, "All Winter Long" by Linda Laure, and "Christmas Kisses" by The Bookends & Ray Anthony. 33 tracks in all! CD

A mighty jazzy Christmas from the Count Basie Orchestra – already great on their own in an instrumental mode – but joined here by a few different singers, including Carmen Bradford, Ledisi, and Johnny Mathis – all of whom add a little extra sparkle to the tunes! Pianist Ellis Marsalis also gets plenty of time in the spotlight – stretching out in the lead on piano on a few tunes, in a mode that recalls Basie's vamping in years past – and titles include "Let It Snow", "It's The Holiday Season", "Good Swing Wenceslas", "Winter Wonderland", "The Christmas Song", "Sleigh Ride", "Little Drummer Boy", and "Have Yourself A Merry Christmas". CD

A mighty jazzy Christmas from the Count Basie Orchestra – already great on their own in an instrumental mode – but joined here by a few different singers, including Carmen Bradford, Ledisi, and Johnny Mathis – all of whom add a little extra sparkle to the tunes! Pianist Ellis Marsalis also gets plenty of time in the spotlight – stretching out in the lead on piano on a few tunes, in a mode that recalls Basie's vamping in years past – and titles include "Let It Snow", "It's The Holiday Season", "Good Swing Wenceslas", "Winter Wonderland", "The Christmas Song", "Sleigh Ride", "Little Drummer Boy", and "Have Yourself A Merry Christmas". CD

Never-seen footage from the legendary Memphis Country Blues Festival – served up here in the fourth year of the event, at a time when both interest in blues and particularly southern blues was running strong – which led the festival to have the largest lineup of its career! The footage here is all color, and features rare performances that haven't been seen since the event way back in 1969 – not just blues, as the set also features Stax Records artists Rufus Thomas and The Bar-Kays – next to more blues-based artists who include Son Thomas, Bukka White, Piano Red, Furry Lewis, Rev Robert Wilkins, Sleepy John Estes, and Mississippi Fred McDowell! There's also a few surprises along the way – appearances by John Fahey, Insect Trust, John D Loudermilk, Johnny Winter, and The Salem Harmonizers – plus the legendary Memphis psych act Moloch. DVD

A huge moment of fame for the great Muddy Waters – a set that earned him a Grammy, and showed just how far his reach could extend past the Chicago scene and electric blues underground! Muddy had been ready for success for years before the set – but here, working with production from Johnny Winter, who got Waters in touch with Columbia Records, he definitely gets his due – not in a commercial way, though, as he's got nice lean backing from a combo that features harmonica work from Big Walter Horton and piano from Pinetop Perkins – both local legends from Chicago! Titles include "Who Do You Trust", "Copper Brown", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", "Screamin & Cryin", "I'm Ready", and "33 Years". CD

We love this series! And why not? The package is a stellar collection of smooth funky tunes from the 70s – nearly all of which have been sampled for hip hop records, which not only makes them a bit familiar, but also give them the "thumbs up" from today's beathead generation. But even without that quality, the tunes work wonderfully together – mixing jazzy soul and smooth funk together with a quality that a rare few talents managed to muster in the 70s! Titles include "Everytime I See You" by Roy Ayers, "King Heroin (instrumental)" by James Brown, "Space Lady" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "Can't We Smile" by Johnny Hammond, "Four Play" by Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns, "Just Me & You" by Eramus Hall, "Inside My Love" by Minnie Riperton, "Respect" by Rotary Connection, "Superman Lover" by Johnny Guitar Watson, "Sweet Thing" by Rufus with Chaka Khan, and "Winter Sadness" by Kool & The Gang. CD

A surprisingly strong collection of country cuts from a very unusual scene – material recorded for the tiny Cuca Records label in Wisconsin – a company who was more likely to open their doors to just about anyone, than they were to carefully pick who got to record in their studio! Yet because of that approach, Cuca was able to capture some fantastic sounds that would have otherwise been lost to more commercial concerns – music that here represents an underground of country singers and late rockabilly acts from the scene in southern Wisconsin – all artists with the kind of twang and subject matter you'd be much more likely to discover down in Tennessee! As usual with Numero Group, the record is as musically great as it is culturally compelling – put together with plenty of care, and a stunning set list that includes "Happy Don't Last Forever" by Nancy Lee Jordan, "Little Hero" by Dixie Drifter, "Cardinal" by John D Curnow, "Six Foot Down" by Gene Ski & The Troubadours, "There's A River" by Sam Podnay, "Hello Houston" by Johnny Madrid, "Wanderer" by The Lavenders, "Challenge" by Larry Phillipson, "Run Little Girl" by Harrison Two, "Heaven Help The Working Girl" by Janet Kaye, "Trouble Sweet Trouble" by Curley Fields & The Kentuckians, and "When I See You" by Rog Winters & The Plainsmen. LP, Vinyl record album