Among white blues singers of the 1960s, there were some who studied the music so intently they amazed even the genre's creators with their technical mastery. A select few, however, seemed to be born oozing authenticity, sounding just as soulful as the greatest black bluesmen while forging a completely new sound. Johnny Winter belonged in the second category. A long-haired hippie albino, he astounded initially skeptical listeners with his Howlin' Wolf-like vocals and wild Johnny Guitar Watson-esque guitar stylings. THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE showcases Winter's first taste of national exposure, first with his 1969 self-titled debut album, and then with his set at the Woodstock festival later the same year. The latter recording is the revelation here--a tornado of raging slide guitar and shouted vocals that sounds as if a late night Lone Star State roadhouse gig has been magically transported to the upstate New York farm. With several tracks clocking in at over 10 minutes ("Mean Town Blues," a hellacious Edgar Winter-led jam on "Tobacco Road"), the album showcases Johnny at his freest and most explosive.

Sony/BMG's Legacy imprint decided to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock by issuing a slew of double-disc deluxe packages by catalog artists who played the festival. This 64-minute, eight-song concert is an important historical document for numerous reasons, not the least of which is the absolutely killer show Winter and band put on. Winter appeared at the festival with his then-rhythm section of Tommy Shannon and "Uncle" John Turner (later to back Stevie Ray Vaughan in Double Trouble).

Also available in a 3-pack with SECOND WINTER and CAPTURED LIVE.


  T-Bone Blues CD
  by T-Bone Walker
Our Price: $7.59 CD
Usually ships in 1-2 days

The last truly indispensable disc of the great guitar hero's career, and perhaps the most innately satisfying of all, these mid-'50s recordings boast magnificent presence, with T-Bone Walker's axe so crisp and clear it seems as though he's sitting right next to you as he delivers a luxurious remake of "Call It Stormy Monday." Atlantic took some chances with Walker, dispatching him to Chicago for a 1955 date with Junior Wells and Jimmy Rogers that produced "Why Not" and "Papa Ain't Salty."

Even better were the 1956-1957 L.A. dates that produced the scalding instrumental "Two Bones and a Pick" (which finds Walker dueling it out with nephew R.S. Rankin and jazzman Barney Kessel). ~ Bill Dahl

Q (1/95, p.280) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Walker took the electric guitar torch from Charlie Christian, held it high with grace and dignity, and then passed it to Buddy Guy and Hendrix....stronger than dirt, tougher than tough, bluesy as the deep blue sea."


  Burglar CD
  by Freddie King
Our Price: $5.19 CD / $9.90 MP3
Usually ships in 1-2 days

All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Produced in part by Mike Vernon, who worked on The Legendary Christine Perfect Album, this is an entertaining and concise package of ten songs performed by the late Freddie King and a slew of guests. Opening with Gonzalez Chandler's "Pack It Up," featuring the Gonzalez Horn Section, the youthful legend was only 40 years of age when he cut this career LP two years before his death. Though no songs went up the charts like his Top Five hit in 1961, "Hide Away," Burglar is one of those gems that journeymen can put together in their sleep. Tom Dowd produced "Sugar Sweet" at Criteria Studios in Miami, FL, featuring Jamie Oldaker on drums, Carl Radle on bass, and guitarists Eric Clapton and George Terry, which, of course, makes this album highly collectable in the Clapton circles.

The sound doesn't deviate much from the rest of the disc's Mike Vernon production work; it is pure Freddy King, like on the final track, E. King's "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)," where his guitar bursts through the horns and party atmosphere, creating a fusion of the pure blues found on "Sugar Sweet" and the rock that fans of Grand Funk grooved to when he opened for that group and was immortalized in their 1973 number one hit "We're an American Band" a year after this record's release.

With Brian Auger and Pete Wingfield contributing to the title track, Jerry Ragovoy's "She's a Burglar," this project stands as a solid representation of an important musician which is as enjoyable as it is historic. ~ Joe Viglione


  Ice Pickin' CD
  by Albert Collins
Our Price: $14.15 CD / $7.92 MP3
Usually ships in 1-2 days

Ice Pickin' is the album that brought Albert Collins directly back into the limelight, and for good reason, too. The record captures the wild, unrestrained side of his playing that had never quite been documented before. Though his singing doesn't quite have the fire or power of his playing, the album doesn't suffer at all because of that -- he simply burns throughout the album. Ice Pickin' was his first release for Alligator Records and it set the pace for all the albums that followed. No matter how much he tried, Collins never completely regained the pure energy that made Ice Pickin' such a revelation. ~ Thom Owens

Collins is joined by a seamlessly tight backing band here, including a keyboardist, tenor and baritone saxes, and a crack rhythm section. The group rollicks on "Too Tired," tones it down for the funny narrative of "Conversation with Collins," and locks in at mid-tempo for "Ice Pick" (on which Collins plays syncopated figures with stinging intensity). Collins's style, which involves a full, distinctive tone, rhythmic finger picking, and a sometimes quirky, but always soulful, sense of phrasing, is in full flower throughout.

This is a superb date from one of the blues-guitar greats.Q - Recommended - "...one of the blues classics of the last decade."


  Very Best Of Freddie King Vol. 1 CD
  by Freddie King
Our Price: $12.09 CD
Usually ships in 1-2 days

Recording information: 08/1960-07/1961. The phrase "very best of" in an album title usually indicates a highly selective collection of an artist's career highlights. By that standard, in one sense Collectables Records' The Very Best of Freddy King, Vol. 1 should be called something else; a more accurate description of the contents would be "The Complete Freddy King on Federal Records, Vol. 1." That's because this is the first of three discs that present every recording King made for the King Records subsidiary Federal in chronological order.

This disc traces King's Federal stint from his first recording session on August 26, 1960, to the following July. But in another sense, The Very Best of Freddy King is an apt title. King enjoyed all of his singles chart success during 1961, scoring six entries on the R&B charts and five on the pop charts, and all of those tracks are included here, from "You've Got to Love Her With a Feeling" to "Christmas Tears." King's biggest hit was the instrumental "Hide Away," which hit the pop Top 40 and the R&B Top Five and gained even more recognition when it was remade by John Mayall and Eric Clapton on the Bluesbreakers album. Perhaps King's best-known song was the B-side of "You've Got to Love Her With a Feeling," "Have You Ever Loved a Woman," which Clapton remade on the celebrated Derek & the Dominos album Layla, and of course King's version is included here.

Indeed, it is difficult at this juncture to listen to almost any King recording and not be reminded of his chief disciple, Clapton. But that only means this collection is an essential addition to the basic library of blues fans. ~ William Ruhlmann


  With The Muddy Waters Blues Band: 1966 CD
  by Big Mama Thornton
Our Price: $9.89 CD / $10.89 MP3
Usually ships in 1-2 days

In the mid- '60s, Big Mama Thornton was a relatively obscure blues singer known mainly for her original recording of "Hound Dog" in 1953, three years before Elvis had a monster hit with it. Due to a lack of gigs, Thornton had a tough time keeping a steady band on the road and would scramble to gather consistently decent musicians.

Fortunately, Arhoolie Records' founder and president Chris Strachwitz had witnessed an amazing performance of the era which had Thornton backed by a group of Chicago musicians who included Buddy Guy on guitar. With that performance in mind, Strachwitz was determined to capture that excellence in the studio. He offered the gig to Muddy Waters, whom he met in San Francisco a few days prior to this session.

Muddy accepted and brought with him James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson (bass), and Francis Clay (drums). What came out at Coast Recorders on April 25, 1966 is presented on this 17-track disc including seven previously unreleased cuts.

From the low-down gutbucket blues of "Black Rat," and "Big Mama's Shuffle" (featuring both Thornton and James Cotton engaging in a battle of the harps), to the hazy, late-night atmosphere of "Life Goes On," "Since I Fell for You," and "I Feel the Way I Feel," all of this material is absolutely timeless. One can only imagine what would have happened if Big Mama's hopes of recording a gospel album with this band had been fulfilled. ~ Al Campbell


  Live On Beale Street CD
  by Bobby "Blue" Bland
Our Price: $14.15 CD / $10.89 MP3
Usually ships in 1-2 days

Recorded live at the New Daisy Theater with Bland's regular working road band, this captures him in fine form, bringing together old favorites with some other numbers for a heady blend. When called for, the old Joe Scott heavy horn-laden arrangements are summoned up on tunes like "St. James Infirmary," "Farther on Up the Road," "That's the Way Love Is," "I Pity the Fool," and "I'll Take Care of You" with consummate ease. But even more telling is how effortlessly and seamlessly material like Buddy Ace's "Love of Mine," "Members Only," "Soon as the Weather Breaks," and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Get Your Money Where You Spend Your Time" meshes with the old standbys.

Bland was a member (along with B. B. King) of the legendary early-'50s blues commune the Beale Streeters, so this excellent late-'90s live album is something of a homecoming for the man described herein by the M.C. as the World's Greatest Blues Singer. Backed by an excellent big band, Bland runs through a nicely chosen program of his early hits--blues classics like "Farther On Up the Road," "St. James Infirmary," and "I Pity the Fool"--plus some of his more recent material, including the ultimate paranoid blues "She's Putting Something In My Food." He also delivers an impassioned cover of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" that almost surpasses the original, and then goes mano a mano with fellow Memphians Bobby Rush and Johnny Taylor on a definitive "Stormy Monday."

Greatest Hits Featuring Johnnie Taylor & Bobby Rush.


  Links to all the Blues CD pages. Listed by style.
  [Blues-Top Sellers  [British-Top Sellers]  [Blues-British]  [Blues-Chicago]  [Blues-Traditional] 
[Blues-Urban]  [Blues-Jump]  [Blues-Delta]  [Blues-Female]  [Blues-Texas]