Harmonica Blues

The title says it all. William Clarke cooks on Blowin' Like Hell, his first CD. And these are new sounds. Songs like "Lollipop Mama," "Gambling for My Bread," and "Lonesome Bedroom Blues" (all written by Clarke) are just great tunes. "Must Be Jelly"...

The addition of jazz pianist Skip Rose gave a new dimension to the ensemble sound, and provided a perfect foil to Charlie's own soloing -- especially on the re-take of "Cristo Redentor," extended to 11 minutes, shifting to double-time in spots. Rose's instrumental, "A...

Vanguard may have spelled his name wrong (he prefers Charlie or Charles), but the word was out as soon as this solo debut was released: Here was a harpist every bit as authentic, as emotional, in some ways as adventuresome, as Paul Butterfield. Similarly leading a Chicago band with a veteran...

Even after his death, Paul Butterfield's music didn't receive the accolades that were so deserved. Outputting styles adopted from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters among other lues greats, Butterfield became one of the first white singers to rekindle lues music through the course of...

One of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s, and one of the first to fully document the smoky ambience of a night at a West Side nightspot in the superior acoustics of a recording studio. Wells just set up with his usual cohorts -- guitarist Buddy Guy (billed as "Friendly Chap"...

If there's a blues harmonica player alive today who doesn't have this landmark album in their collection, they're either lying or had their copy stolen by another harmonica player. This 12-song collection is the one that every harmonica player across the board cut their teeth on....

While some hardliners will point to his early 1950s Trumpet recordings as his most undiluted work, Sonny Boy's tenure at Chess Records was his longest and most successful and therefore deserves first look for the novice coming to this remarkable bluesman at ground level. This 20-track...

As MCA reconfigures their Chess catalog, this 20-track single-disc compilation now takes the place of their original 12-track Best of Little Walter collection, a landmark lues album which had remained in print for over three decades. His Best (Chess 50th Anniversary Collection) reprises ten of...

There have been many Slim Harpo best-ofs available over the years, some frustratingly incomplete. This one gets all the chart hits together with several of the obscure singles like "Wonderin' and Worryin'," "Strange Love," "One More Day," and

A Jimmy Reed compilation titled The Best of the Vee-Jay Years is synonymous with a collection that assembles the very best of Jimmy Reed, since it was on Vee-Jay that the bluesman was in his artistic and commercial prime. Certainly this 18-song compilation isn't the first time this material...

Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton was Eric Clapton's first fully realized album as a lues guitarist -- more than that, it was a seminal lues album of the 1960s, perhaps the best British blues album ever cut, and the best LP ever recorded by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Standing midway...

This prophetically titled project represents yet another crossroad in John Mayall's ever evolving cast of prime British bluesmen. This album also signifies a distinct departure from the decibel drowning electrified offerings of his previous efforts, providing instead an exceedingly more...

Jimmy Reed's second album was a little bit different from his first, but not in a way that detracted from its value. Oh, as with most lues albums of the period, it consisted mostly of previously released single sides, in this case that he'd recorded and released over the prior seven...

This imported double CD from WEA's international division is a real conundrum for lues fans in general and fans of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in particular. On the one hand, the first of its two discs is The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, the last of what are usually regarded as the...

Young Texas guitarist Anson Funderburgh and veteran harpist Sam Myers got along so well during the making of this fine set that they got their act together and took it on the road. Happily, it remains there, with Myers deftly fronting Funderburgh's Rockets. Myers's booming voice and...

This disc is a fine portrait of Chicago blues -- past and present. Award-winning harpist Billy Branch and legendary giant of the famed Howlin' Wolf Band, Hubert Sumlin, here join hands with some of the finest contemporary musicians in the Windy City -- among them: Willie Kent, John Primer,...

These are the Modern/Cobra masters -- 17 cuts from the sessions Walter did with Sam Phillips in 1951, including several alternate takes. This is mostly great acoustic harp, but it does contain the songs "Have a Good Time," and "Need My Baby" with Walter playing amplified harp...

Charlie Musselwhite takes four different approaches on this Alligator release. On two tracks, he turns to guitar, proving a competent instrumentalist and convincing singer in a vintage Delta style. He also does two gospel numbers backed by the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, which are...

Junior Wells' penchant for clowning around sometimes conflicts with his craftsmanship, but he's all business on Come on in This House, his most unadulterated lues record since his highly acclaimed Hoodoo Man Blues of more than 30 years vintage. This is what has come to be known as an...