Blues 417 Items

Black Friday Record Store Day 2020 Release.
RSD Exclusive. Limitation: 750 copies.

A brand new single featuring a cover of George Harrison’s “Be Here Now”, along with friends Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

Bobby Solo, one of the most prolific and versatile songwriters that the Italian rock scene has ever witnessed, is still talked about today, after over 50 years of non-stop career. “I had my first musical shock when I was 14: it was Elvis Presley with ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and ‘That’s All Right Mama’. For years I have been inspired by Elvis. I discovered that when he was 10 he was constantly listening to American radio stations in Tupelo that aired blues, gospel, spiritual, bluegrass and country. I searched for the biographies of the various singers he referred to, and I fell in love with the blues. Playing it was also very important, I always had a good rhythmic technique, and since blues is based on a simple pentatonic scale, I made it my own and now even guitarists much more noble than me say that I have a recognizable style. Cristopher Bacco and AMS Records have now given me the opportunity to get out of the stereotype in which I am pleasantly imprisoned: I am pleased to have a 40 or 50-year-old follow-up to whom grandparents have handed down my melodic songs, but as a Pisces ascendant Pisces I can’t help but explore ever new musical planets”. Bobby Solo’s return to the scene is marked by a 4-track EP, three of which represent a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Tony Joe White, who passed away on 24 October 2018 at the age of 75. A singer-songwriter from Louisiana, he soon fell in love with the blues and that was a point of no return for him. He also collaborated with the great Lightning Hopkins, and his ‘Polk Salad Annie’ and ‘I’ve Got A Thing About You Baby’ were sung by Elvis; in the 1980s he also wrote “Steamy Windows” for Tina Turner, an incredibly successful song. Bobby Solo got to know him and personally presented it to the public at a recent festival in Mendrisio (Switzerland), and now he finally has the opportunity to tribute him the right honor. A cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me Lord” also adds to the three songs chosen from Tony Joe White’s repertoire. This new EP is called “Good in Blues Vol. 1” and is released as a digipack CD and a 45rpm 12-inch record. Produced by Cristopher Bacco at Studio 2 in Padua, Italy, with AMS Records as executive producer, it is an old-fashioned work, with bass, drums, guitar and vocals recorded live; this aspect truly emerges from the grooves of this release, which reveals a passionate and competent Bobby Solo, eager to explore new sensations.

Limited 45rpm 12-inch white vinyl record edition.

This 16 song collection features studio performances that Dave Alvin recorded over the years for his own albums or for tribute albums but mainly they're just things he did for the pure kicks of playing music he loves with musicians he loves and admires. The songs range from some originals to interpretations of compositions by dear friends like Peter David Case, Chris Smither and the late Bill Morrissey to tunes written by heroes like Willie Dixon, Bob Dylan, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Earl Hooker and Marty Robbins. The music ranges from acoustic blues and ballads to electric barroom blues, folk/rock and even a little country/rock. There are contributions from dearly departed comrades like Chris Gaffney, Amy Farris and Bobby Lloyd Hicks as well as from old Blasters pals like Gene Taylor along with various members of The Guilty Men/Women/Ones plus help from brilliant accompanists like Greg Leisz, Cindy Cashdollar, Bob Glaub.

Spend any time around Doug MacLeod and the stories from his years of road time with the likes of Big Joe Turner and Pee Wee Crayton start to flow as easily as a brook tickled by a breeze. And you know you're getting to the good part, the climax if you will, when Doug's eyes start to twinkle, his grin grows broader and out of his mouth pop the words »Come to find ...«. MacLeod was a widely acknowledged electric blues guitarist for many years, and the leader of his own band, yielding a number of U.S. and European tours and several albums to his credit. Doug disbanded the group to focus all his energies on his first love, acoustic blues. "Come To Find" is the debut fruit of that effort. And now it's made even more remarkable, with this 45 RPM 200-gram reissue by Analogue Productions. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately.The pressing sounds spectacular. You're holding a hefty 200-gram masterpiece from our own Quality Record Pressings, our state-of-the-art LP pressing plant. And the gatefold jacket is hard-core, old-school style — thick cardboard, tip-on, with additional photos and liner notes inside. Sweet. "Come To Find" is the sound of a consummate bluesman touching the core of his art in a program featuring ten originals by Doug. He is beautifully supported in this intimate setting by harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite and the Mighty Flyer rhythm section, Jimi Bott and Bill Stuve. This is the album that deserves a place of honor in the music collections of even casual blues fans. And for those who love blues already, this is one of the best-sounding, most original works you'll ever hear.

Mighty Sam is a rhythm and blues legend who shook up the blues world with this 1993 release. The great torch bearer of deep soul is caught in top form on this classic album. And now, this gatefold 45rpm edition presented by Analogue Productions makes the album even greater! The four sides of wider-spaced grooves make for reduced distortion and better high frequency reproduction. It's a 200-gram masterpiece from our own Quality Record Pressings, our state-of-the-art LP pressing plant. And the gatefold jacket is hard-core, old-school style - thick cardboard, tip-on, with additional photos and liner notes inside. Sweet. McClain sings soul with incredible power - he knows when to pull the punches and when to cool it down. "Give It Up to Love", the title track, acknowledges his gospel roots; he performs it as a vocal prayer to God asking for wisdom, love, and strength. Bruce Katz's contributions on B-3 Hammond organ expands McClain's sound, particularly on the "Green Onions" - influenced "What You Want Me to Do". The sparsely effective arrangement on "Here I Go Falling in Love Again" brings McClain up front as he cries of being a soul stripped to the bare bones. Kevin Barry's funky bass blows while McClain declares himself as a child of God in "Child of the Mighty Mighty".

In 1965, just one year after Paul Butterfield had formed his blues band – named after himself - and launched one of the very best groups among the white Chicago blues community, the band produced this dynamic and visionary album. The group presents a wide range of contrasting numbers, both eastern and western, which reflect the LP’s title – something totally new and innovative. In the first few titles, traditional standard numbers come over rather enigmatically while supporting original and rhythmic compactness, but this soon gives over to a tactically well-formed instrumentation and lengthy solo interludes. The all-embracing motto 'blues' is taken up by the band in Nat Adderley’s "Work Song" at the very latest, with mind-expanding ways of playing and varying sounds. Catapulted by Mike Bloomfield’s artistry on the guitar into the world of rock, all the musicians celebrate these well-known jazz standards and each man contributes his personal skill into forging a perfectly balanced team effort. The title number "East-West" ultimately demolishes the world of the blues. In the tonal mixture of confidently prepared rock ingredients and borrowings from Indian music (raga rock), we have an amalgamation of rock, blues, jazz and oriental melodies which result in an emotional, unheard-of sound that is well worth the hearing.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: July 1966 at Chess Studios, Chicago (il), by Jac Holzman Production: Barry Friedman, Mark Abramson, Paul Rothchild

For fans of Joe Bonamassa, Crobot and Candlelight Red! Former Candlelight Red guitarist Jeremy Edge is set to launch, The Jeremy Edge Project. Featuring guest performances by Brandon Yeagley (Crobot) and Brett Hestla (Dark New Day). After 4 top 50 Active Rock singles with Candlelight Red, he is breaking a long hiatus by releasing an album that is a departure stylistically with more blues based, guitar-based rock. According to Edge, this project has been brewing for a while and came by accident as personnel changes mid-recording session prompted him to make some tough choices about moving forward and finishing the record as a solo artist. To get the album over the finish line, he decided to do some of the vocals himself for the first time and enlist the help of some friends. "I always liked what Santana did years ago with using different singers and I love collaboration projects like 'Postmodern Jukebox,' so this was a fun an exciting idea for an album. This album was recorded and mixed by Grammy nominated engineer Mike Feretti (Sevendust, Warren Haynes) in Ringwood, NJ - who has also worked with him in the past with Candlelight Red. On the stylistic direction, Jeremy says, "I have for years wanted to do something that puts me back in touch with my early influences - SRV, Hendrix, Billy Gibbons, Blackmore, Iommi, Page etc. But I did not want to do a retro album per se. I wanted this to be a melting pot of influences so there is some classic rock, blues, classic metal, and alternative. It's all there - along with Brandon and Brett bringing their unique vocals styles."

Brutal, chaotic banging and thrashing action from The Wolf and co.

Fünftes Volumen der beliebten Serie auf Stag-O-Lee. Erstmals ist ein Gast-Compilant am Start - niemand anderes als Hank Ray, Kennern des Genres bekannt als Leader der Raymen, Solo-Künstler und aktuell mit Lucifer's Sideburn unterwegs.Limitiert auf 666 Exemplare, kommt das Werk feinstverpackt im 10" Cover mit Mittelloch.Gunsmoke ist eine Sammlung von Country- und Cowboy Tränenziehern mit oder ohne leichter Schräglage, melancholischem Rockabilly und Popcorn Noir aus den späten 50ern und frühen 60ern. So könnte eine alte Jukebox in einer verlassenen Stadt im alten Westen klingen.... Fifth volume in a limited edition series on Stag-O-Lee. This time compiled by the one and only Hank Ray - a fixture of the German Cramps/Rockabilly/Country-scene, having fronted the legendary Raymen, being a respected solo artist and currently in Lucifer's Sideburns. Limited to 666 copies and packaged in a nice 10" sleeve with center hole. This is a collection of oddball country weepers, moody rockabilly, widescreen country & western and popcorn noir from the 1950's and early 60's.So turn out the lights, sit back and relax to the soundtrack from a jukebox in a ghost town...For best results: listen to after dark!

From the sacred heart of African-American culture an essential collection of deep devotional music spanning from the mid Forties to the late Fifties, A crucial time frame for pure unadulterated Gospel music. Here is an incredible array of both obscure groups and highly celebrated performers including The Blind Boys of Alabama, Willie Mae Ford Smith, The Golden Gate Quartet, Mahalia Jackson, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart, and The Charioteers featuring Frank "The Voice" Sinatra. A great record that will immediately rictake you "there" !!!

* Fourth volume in the trilogy of Victor Years (the fifth album in total).
* Double LP features Japanese obi-strip

A monumental album by the Boppers, who will be performing in Tokyo and summer festivals this year. With the release of this album, they become famous at once.

‘Saigo Made Tanoshimou’ (’Let’s enjoy the end’) sung at the opening of the live, and featuring a collection of their famous songs such as ‘150-300’

* Japanese import, first time on vinyl
* Second volume in the trilogy of Victor Years (the fourth album in total).
* Double LP features Japanese obi-strip

Released 11 years after the group’s previous work, STOMPIN ‘& BOUNCIN’.

Recorded as a duet with Yokoyama Ken (CRAZY KEN BAND) in the groups’ classic songs “Batchoo” and “Eat Meat” and “Maki Nomiya, Singing Holiday Shibuya-kei” released by Maki Nomiya in 2017.

Includes some of their greatest hits.

* Third volume in the trilogy of Victor Years (the fourth album in total).
* Double LP features Japanese obi-strip

Features Gangster Of Love.

This beautiful piece of vinyl is a perfect guide to the untold story of the Blues in Oakland. While the history of Blues is more associated with Mississippi, Chicago, Texas and Louisiana than the West Coast, it's a matter of facts that Oakland has always been a thriving center for African American culture and this album represents a great exploration of its deep relationship with the Blues. The whole first side consists of eight tracks of pure West Coast Jump Blues by the legendary pianist and singer Jimmy McCracklin while the second side is shared between one-man band wizard Juke Boy Bonner and the electric Blues of Johnny Fuller, and Jimmy Wilson and The Blues Basters. All sessions come from the 1950's archives of Bob Geddins's Irma Records, the legendary record label that became the house for the East Bay Blues sound.

Feted as the “Gateway to the South” and situated just above the Mississippi Delta’s cotton-growing zone, Memphis has a long, rich history of blues music, its strategic location rendering it a longstanding centre for the mingling of rural and urban blues styles. The city was thus a very fitting home for the Memphis Blues Festival of 1969 that gave rise to this incredible double live album. Most of the tracks are provided by bluesmen based in Memphis and its environs, such as country blues giant Bukka White, crying blues legend Sleepy John Estes, barrelhouse pianist Memphis Piano Red, electric banjo specialist Nathan Beauregard, country blues great Mississippi Fred McDowell (here collaborating with harmonica player Johnny Woods), singer and fife player Napoleon Strickland with the Como Drum Band and Delta blues man Furry Lewis; credited under the unlikely pseudonyms of RL Watson and Josiah Jones are none other than experimental folk pioneer John Fahey and steel guitarist Bill Barth, the latter a co-founder of the Memphis Country Blues Society.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of America's first festival dedicated to the blues. Featuring previously unheard performances by B.B. King, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Son House, Big Mama Thornton and more!

Tracklist
Dirty Mother For You
So Glad You're Mine
Too Much Alcohol
I Wonder Why
Help Me (A Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson)
I've Got A Mind To Give Up Living
John Henry
Pinetop's Boogie Woogie

After some tough early years in which he managed to stay afloat with mostly poorly paid gigs in small clubs and only occasionally came out of Los Angeles or Southern California, William Clarke (March 21, 1951 - November 2, 1996) signed with the famous Alligator Records label. With his debut album 'Blowin' Like Hell' for the Chicago blues factory, the West Coast's blues secret became an endlessly touring international star of the scene!
With 'Heavy Hittin' West Coast Harp' we pay tribute and respect to one of the greatest harmonica stylists. As an instrumentalist William Clarke was strongly influenced by George 'Harmonica' Smith, a Chicago contemporary of Little Walter and Walter Horton. Smith came to Los Angeles for a recording session in 1956 and settled on the West Coast.
Similar to his iconic idol Smith, from whom he learned a lot of tricks in countless joint appearances, Clarke was equally at home on the cross harmonica as on the chromatic. The combination of Chicago-style harmonica and the cool groove and swing of West Coast blues and jazz met the open ears of blues fans all over the world. On his first album 'Hittin' Heavy' he is accompanied by Hollywood Fats on guitar, later recording sessions include Ronnie Earl, Junior Watson, Rick Holmstrom and Alex Schultz a.m.o. Bob Corritore, for many years a prolific blues musician and first-class harp player, producer and influencer, has compiled this album and written the liner notes for Bear Family. With this release, we would like to pay tribute to one of the West Coast's greatest blues men, who had to lay down his instruments far too early in 1996.

High Quality pressing in vintage silk screen sleeve. Surfing on the shores of Java and Casablanca! 2 un-expected tales from the Beat generation.Tony Turpijn and his Evergreens fulfill the dream of every pantropical music lover with a silky instrumental rhythm ’n blues take on the Sundanese love song “Es Lilin” (Ice Lolly). Link Wray meets Mulatu Astatke meets Oslan Husein in Rotterdam, 1965.

A remarkable return from a singer-songwriter whose work might well have been lost to dusty record crates and the secret annals of Americana musical history. But with Tompkins Square's 2017 reissues of Beeley's two stunning albums, 1971's GALLIVANTIN' and 1979's PASSING DREAM, the Texas-based troubadour finally earned the applause his distinctive songcraft long deserved, with Noisey praising his "deeply felt, little heard, folk music" and PASTE noting, "With the re-release of these fine LPs, we can spend some time more fully appreciating them before (Beeley's) very welcome return to the music world." Recorded at San Antonio's Blue Cat Studios with producer Jerry David DeCicca (Chris Gantry, Ed Askew, Larry Jon Wilson), GRAMMYr Award-winning engineer Joe Trevino (Flaco Jimenez, Los Lobos, Los Texmaniacs), and GRAMMYr Award-winning mix engineer Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn, Cat Power, Phosphorescent), HIGHWAYS & HEART ATTACKS sees Beeley backed by a combo of Americana all-stars that includes accordionist Michael Guerra (The Mavericks), guitarist Don Cento (Sarah Jaffee), bassist Canaan Faulkner (The Black Swans, Ed Askew), drummer Armando Aussenac (Neon Indian), organist Richard Martin, and GRAMMYr Award-winning violinist Bobby Flores (Freddy Fender, Doug Sahm, Willie Nelson). Songs like "Been A Drifter" and "Don't Rain On My Parade" are both wistful and warm-hearted, Beeley's rough-hewn vocals the ideal vehicle for his one-of-a-kind tales of a road well traveled and a surprise ending hard earned.

Lightnin' Hopkins is a true folk singer. His songs are the heart of the South, the very essence of his people, their joys, their triumphs, their difficulties, their oppression. Lightnin's music, like that of any great artist, has a universal quality. When you hear it, it might be your sadness or your ecstasy that is being told - the feeling of all people, the qualities of all living, good and bad, lie in the easy cadences and pathos of Lightnin's expression. So long as folk music endures, so long will Lightnin' Hopkins be played.

Strums the Blues is a compilation that was originally released in 1958 on the Score label. It is a collection of his legendary early Aladdin 78'' sides. These songs have been carefully remastered for this release and cut by Warren Defever and Bill Skibbe. The cover art has been reimagined by modern-day folk artist Tim Kerr.

* Features stunning new album art by visual artist/musician Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Poison 13)
* Direct-to-board LP jacket, 180g vinyl pressed at Third Man Pressing (Detroit, MI)
* First ever reissue of very rare Texas blues album - any Hopkins collector's dream!

Tracklist:
A1. Katie May
A2. My California
A3. Honey Babe
A4. Short Haired Woman
A5. Little Mamma Blues

B1. Shotgun
B2. Rollin’ and Rollin'
B3. See See Rider
B4. So Long
B5. Mistreated

It's that time again. The skies are calling and its time to board our trusty jet for the 5th outing of Africa Seven's premiere class compilation Africa Airways. For volume 5 its time to brace yourselves for 10 slices of Afro boogie goodness.

We up the boogie time groove with The Black Bells Group (the first band of lead singer Sidney 'Patrick Duteil' who went on to become the godfather of French hip-hop and a well know TV presenter. Here the groove is swinging... the perfect opener. Next up is German-based Cameroonian musician and cousin of Manu Dibango, Charly Kingson with this bass-synth boogie stomper. Big brass and jazzy trumpets add layers of sparkle too.

Next its time for some highlife inspired boogie from Ghanian Gyedu Blay Amboley. Highlife fused with reggae, disco, boogie and jazz just as the lyrics say.

Next we pair up with Africa Seven friend Eko once more under his Dikalo guise. The Cameroonian master musician is on fine form with his heavy brass and deep percussion with a driving afro boogie groove. To round off Side A its off to Cameroon again to groove with Jean 'Mekongo President'. Think Bernard 'Chic' Edwards on the bass with some African style and you can see it's the bottom end groove and afrobeat drums that power this gem along.

We open the second side slowly and purposefully with the highly sought after 'French Girl' from Fotso. Drippy bass synth grooves and a wondrous percussion and drum shuffle pair with piano riffs to make this a unique sounding track. Our friend Tala AM is next with the foot-stomping 'Sugar Lump'. JK Mandengue is next with most definitely the catchiest chorus you will hear today. Nigerian Jide Obe gets synth and clavinet rich with his doe to sensible dating advice 'Too Young'. We close off the album with a track from label good friend Jo Bisso under his Mulamba guise. Sounding like a long lost TV theme from a late night TV show circa 1977. Let's get down and boogie with the brand new dance in town folks... the Dashiki.

Until Volume Six takes flight it is time to unbuckle those seat belts folks.

Deluxe 180gr black edition with exclusive artwork by Jean-Luc Navette aka the French Prince Of Darkness.

He can break your heart with a voice like a cannonball.” - Kris Kristofferson. Larry Jon Wilson came to the party late. When he arrived in Nashville, country soul pioneer Tony Joe White had already made six albums. Townes Van Zandt had made seven, Mickey Newbury eight. Kristofferson, the accepted High Priest of the New Nashville, had made five. Larry Jon, by the time he arrived, had spent ten years in corporate America. He did not start playing guitar until the age of 30, but five years later he released his debut, New Beginnings (1975) and followed it just a year later with Let Me Sing My Song To You, both on Monument Records. A revelation among the hipsters and critics of Nashville, the LPs ensured Larry Jon was immediately embraced as part of the mid-70s “outlaw country movement” that eschewed slick production in favour of a raw, gritty approach.