27 Sep
Heroes Of The Blues by Various Artists
Saturday, 27 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
Shout! Factory sent along their "Heroes of The Blues" sampler CD introducing a series of six albums featuring Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, Son House, Ma …
19 Sep
The Road Home (Holy Blues and Gospel) by Robin O' Herin
Friday, 19 September 2003
Published in
Gospel - CD Reviews
This is my second musical voyage on the Robin O ‘Herin train. I have to say straight away, I am just as pleased with this trip as the last. The Road Home is thirteen…
16 Sep
Highwire Act Live In St. Louis 2003 (DVD) by Little Feat
Tuesday, 16 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
High Wire Act Live in St. Louis 2003 is Little Feat's first video in over 20 years. This DVD offers footage from The Pageant in St. Louis performance in August of 20…
13 Sep
70th Birthday Concert (DVD/CD) by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and Friends
Saturday, 13 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
How could the blues possibly get any better than this? John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers and a few of his old cronies, namely Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor, gather together to…
09 Sep
Life In The Blues, A by Charles Brown
Tuesday, 09 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
The late Charles Brown (1922-1999) was/is one of the great pivotal figures in the history of blues and pop music. Brown sort of picked up where Nat "King" Cole left off whe…
04 Sep
Future Blues - A Celebration of Paramount Records by Future Blues
Thursday, 04 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
Future Blues: A Celebration of Paramount Records, is a debut album for Larchmont Recordings, founded by industry veterans, Joe Ferry and Charlie B. Dahan.This al…
01 Sep
Live At The Galaxy (CD/DVD) by Edgar Winter
Monday, 01 September 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
When I listened to the Edgar Winter CD Live At The Galaxy I was quite pleased with what I heard, then I watched and listened more intently to the DVD. This is the fi…
John Lee Hooker is a name synonymous with the blues. Just like B.B. King, Lightnin’ Hopkins and many others, Hooker developed his own style that afforded him a special nich…
Eagle Records (a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment) has Got Blues for you! Fifteen tracks from some of the most recognized names in the business give their contri…
21 Aug
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Son House by Son House
Thursday, 21 August 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
When it comes to the giants/legends/big figures of Blues, the names usually bandied about are Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Charley Patton and Robert Johnson - and well th…
21 Aug
An Evening With Peter Green Splinter Group In Concert (DVD) by Peter Green Splinter Group
Thursday, 21 August 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
The old grey mare ain’t what he used to be.... that is what many folks are saying about Peter Green these days. I agree that he is not the guitar player he once was, howeve…
16 Aug
Blue Bird Blues by Sonny Boy Williamson
Saturday, 16 August 2003
Published in
Other - CD Reviews
Don’t get this Sonny Boy Williamson mixed up with his more recent (and pugnacious) namesake Sonny Boy Williamson II, a.k.a. Rice Miller - this is the original, baby. This S…
09 Aug
Jumpin The Blues by Jay McShann and his Orchestra
Saturday, 09 August 2003
Published in
Other - CD Reviews
Fifty selections from Jay McShann and his Orchestra have been assembled in the two-disc collection "Jumpin’ The Blues" from England's Proper Records.Dating between 1941 …
08 Aug
Live At Monsters of Rock (CD/DVD) by Gary Moore
Friday, 08 August 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
Gary Moore is back in a big way with a rockin’ set of songs on a DVD and CD titled Live At Monsters of Rock. Moore’s legacy reaches back prior to the glory days of T…
The man may be gone but his music certainly is not. John Lee Hooker was working on a new album before he died and this is it, you get to meet him Face To Face one la…
Several tracks are written by Dave Costarella, who also does the lead vocals on manysongs, giving this album a lively combination of ballads and instrumentals.Take me…
More Jack Than God is a thought provoking title is it not? Jack Bruce is back with another studio effort and it is his finest work in a very long time. Actually, I t…
21 Jul
In Session (SACD) by Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan
Monday, 21 July 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
I remember when In Session with Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan was first released. I could not wait to hear it. It was everything I could have hoped for and more…
20 Jul
B.U.F.O.-Blues United Fighting Organization (LP) by Toad
Sunday, 20 July 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
B.U.F.O.-Blues United Fighting Organization, was an ultra rare acetate recorded by the Swiss based blues-rock band Toad in 1970. They were one of the better European…
It’s nice to watch an artist rise in popularity. Kay Kay Greenwade has done very well with her recent CDs. I’ve been fortunate to have reviewed her 2000 album featuring Abn…
17 Jul
Chipped Front Tooth by Scott Holt Band
Thursday, 17 July 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
How good are Scott Holt and his band? Well, when you take into consideration that Chipped Front Tooth was recorded in one take in one day in the middle of a tour, yo…
16 Jul
Eric Clapton & Friends Live 1986 (DVD) by Eric Clapton
Wednesday, 16 July 2003
Published in
Other - CD Reviews
The scope and breadth of Eric Clapton’s work transcends all timelines. He has reached a status that few have during the course of an enduring career. Eric Clapton…
The first sentence in the booklet that accompanies this CD says-"Elmore James is electric blues slide guitar." After listening to this collection of 18 tracks from the crit…
Strange Brew surely came up with their name because of the Cream song with the same name, which is not a hard one to figure out as they were one of the first big blues rock…
30 Jun
Voodoo Crossing - A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix - Vol. 1 by Various Artists
Monday, 30 June 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
I keep telling myself, no more tribute albums this year! Well I can make an exception if the album is devoted to guitar God Jimi Hendrix can’t I? Voodoo Crossing …
The Black Keys are a duo from Ohio who without being at all purists draw upon that era of blues when the music was in the transition from rural to urban styles. The form wa…
Delbert McClinton has come storming back into the collective music consciousness of the blues and country world once again with a new live album. With 19 tracks fill…
Julien Kasper’s release, Flipping Time, introduces a down-home bluesy guitarist with a flair for funk and more than a nod to Jimi Hendrix. His tone is unique, his ta…
16 Jun
Redux - Live at the Keystone Korner by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Monday, 16 June 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
There haven’t been many performers who can successfully work more than one of the proverbial sides of the street. Ray Charles has sung R&B, pop and country, and played jazz…
Eric Thompson is back with another great album this year. The title Locally World Famous is an oxymoron. The irony of it fits Thompson so well, he is like the guy ne…
12 Jun
Bakerloo (180-Gram Vinyl LP) by Bakerloo
Thursday, 12 June 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
Bakerloo was a blues power trio in a format that emulated Cream. Keith Baker (drums), Terry Poole (bass) and Dave "Clem" Clempson (guitar) combined to make a sophisticated …
03 Jun
Live at Newport (180-Gram Vinyl LP) by Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tuesday, 03 June 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
Lightnin’ Hopkins left his mark on the blues. Blues legend and lore will reflect upon his contributions to the culture and genre for many moons to come.Live at Ne…
Youthful and beautiful, Aurora Block plants her flag on the summit of being the finest female traditional blues guitarist and singer. After 15-plus recordings, Ms. Block fi…
Ike Turner’s place in music is secure for his many contributions to the blues, rock, rhythm & blues and pop worlds. His website hails him as the Godfather of rock ’n’ roll;…
29 May
Love & Respect by Carl Carlton and The Songdogs
Thursday, 29 May 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
The one band I thought of while listening to Carl Carlton and The Songdogs time after time was The Rolling Stones. Their influence is so obvious to me. While you may hear r…
When I opened this CD, looked at the insert, and saw that it was mastered in Berkeley, California at the Fantasy Studios I knew that this had to be a quality recording.…
Could 2003 be The Year of the Blues? Or could this be the Year For Catchy Marketing Phrases? Whether or not the timing of this tidy sampler has anything to do with the Mart…
This is the CD accompaniment/compliment to the Martin Scorsese-produced, Marc Levin-directed PBS documentary of the same name - if this film (due to be broadcast later this…
26 May
Rock n Roll City by Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater featuring Los Straitjackets
Monday, 26 May 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
What’s Chicago’s most versatile, Native American headdress-wearing bluesman doing playing in tandem with America’s finest Mexican Wrestling League mask-wearing instrumental…
23 May
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: J.B. Lenoir by J.B. Lenoir
Friday, 23 May 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
If he’d been born just a little bit later, blues singer/guitarist/songwriter J.B. Lenoir (1929-1967), might’ve been an early rock & roll star like Chuck Berry. As it was, L…
I am a big fan of the Rolling Stones and I always have been. When I saw "Exile On Blues ST" in my mailbox it got my attention. I must say that I am not exactly the p…
17 May
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live by Muddy Waters
Saturday, 17 May 2003
Published in
Other - CD Reviews
They don’t teach it in school, but they oughta: Muddy Waters was and remains one of The Grand Daddies of American Music. As Charlie Parker (re)defined jazz and Elvis Presle…
Glamourpuss is a great little blues band from Moncton, New Brunswick in eastern Canada. Together for about six years, the group already has three CDs under it…
If there’s a recurrent theme/thread in some of my recent reviews, it must be that which writer Nick Tosches referred to as "that silly and unmissed decade," the 1970s. Take…
28 Apr
The Story Of The Blues by Various Artists
Monday, 28 April 2003
Published in
Other - CD Reviews
I dunno if they teach it in the schools these days, but The Blues were one of the cornerstones of American music. True, the Blues had a baby (after a dalliance with country…
27 Apr
New Orleans Piano Blues by Cousin Joe & Alton Purnell
Sunday, 27 April 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
In a distinct departure from its normal fare, Jazz Crusade has issued a "piano blues" album. Titled New Orleans Piano Blues, the CD features two legendary pianists f…
26 Apr
Blues In The Mississippi Night by Big Bill Broonzy / Memphis Slim
Saturday, 26 April 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
One night in 1947 NYC, ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax "presided" over a summit meeting of three of the time’s premier traditional blues singer/performers: pianist Memphis Sli…
24 Apr
May Blitz (180-Gram Vinyl LP) by May Blitz
Thursday, 24 April 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
My first impression of May Blitz on the opening track "Smoking The Day Away," on their self-titled LP May Blitz, was that James Black (guitar, vocals) sounded just l…
Did you ever wonder how American blues made it to the UK? You do not have to look much further than the Yardbirds. This band gave us not one, but three of the most admired …
21 Apr
Made In Mississippi - Blues Kingpins Series by B.B. King
Monday, 21 April 2003
Published in
Blues - CD Reviews
The Right Stuff label in conjunction with Virgin Records has released a new best of series called Blues Kingpins. It seems fitting that I start the proceedings by re…