Tag: Blues
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The Blues Project, Archetypes, 1974 on MGM
Reissue of 1969’s The Best of the Blues Project, which was on Verve Forecast. There is a whole series of releases titled Archetypes from the mid-seventies on MGM – not sure if they are all reissues or not. Other artists in the MGM Archetype Series are: Charlie Parker, Tim Hardin, Billy Holiday, Blues Project, Velvet…
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The Blues Box, 1966 on Verve Folkways.
3xLP box set featuring Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, and Jimmy Witherspoon. On a couple of sides Hopkins plays with Terry & McGhee. The recordings were all made in Los Angeles – the first two LPs are taken from the Ash Grove on July 6th and 7th, 1960, and the third LP says…
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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Live Alive, 1986 on Epic
Recorded across four live performances between July 1985 (Montreux Jass Festivale) and July 1986 (Austin Opera House and Dallas Starfest). Includes his take on “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Superstition,” and “Vodoo Child (Slight Return).” The CD versions leave off “Live Without You.” Brother Jimmie Vaughan guests on four tracks, other personnel are Tommy Shannon…
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Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Midnight Special, 1977 on Fantasy
This 2xLP release is a reissue of two earlier albums: 1960’s Blues & Folk (sides 1 and 2) and 1961’s Blues All Around My Head (sides 3 and 4). Fantasy often put out these reissues as double LPs, as the earlier blues artists were being rediscovered again – good way to get the earlier material.…
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B.B. King, Live at the Regal, 1965 on ABC Paramount
Recorded live at the Regal Theater in Chicago in 1964, and released by ABC Paramount (in the US) in 1965. Fantastic live blues album and a must have. It was a cold, raw day in traditionally windy Chicago on November 21, 1964, but hundreds of people found a quick way to warm up! There were…
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Junior Wells, Southside Blues Jam, 1970 on Delmark Records
Junior Wells with Otis Spann, Buddy Guy (on sixe tracks), and Louis Myers (on 2 tracks), recorded Dec 30th, 1969 and Jan 8th, 1970. This was Spann’s last session before he died in 1970. We have tried to capture on this album what a listener would hear any Monday night at Theresa’s blues bar at…
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Fleetwood Mac, Jumping At Shadows, 1985 on Varrick
This release is also known as Live in Boston, and first surfaced in the mid-80s. It is labelled as “Live in Boston 1969” but it was actually recorded at The Boston Tea Party (which used to be at 15 Lansdowne Street, where the House of Blues Boston now sits) in February 1970. It was professionally…
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John Mayall, Lots of People, 1977 on ABC Records
Mayall live from The Roxy in LA, recorded November 24th, 1976. This was Mayall’s eighth live album, with supporting band including a horn section with Red Holloway, Ann Patterson, David Li, Jimmy Roberts, Bill Lamb, and Nolan Smith. That’s lots of people on stage. I’m something of a Mayall completist – this mid-seventies California Jazz…
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John Mayall, The Latest Edition, 1974 on Polydor
I collect lots of John Mayall – this followed the era of Mayall moving to the US in the late 60s, and the band here includes Larry Taylor, Red Holloway, Soko Richardson, Hightide Harris and Randy Resnick. Lots of jazz/fusion influence here with saxophone. Mayall is wearing a cast on the cover. Mayall passed unfortunately…
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The Robert Cray Band, Who’s Been Talkin’, 1980 on Tomato
Debut album from Robert Cray and band (Curtis Salgado, Richard Cousins, and Dave Olson). Tomato was a NY based indie label started in the late 70s by Kevin Eggers, who also released albums by Albert King, Townes Van Zandt, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and John Cage (among others). My copy—via Antone’s Records in Austin TX—is an original…
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The Robert Cray Band, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, 1988 on Mercury
Fifth full length from Robert Cray and co – sometimes referred to as The Robert Cray Band, other places just Robert Cray from the 1980s. This was their second major label record (on Mercury following Hightone and Tomato). It was not as successful as Strong Persuader which preceded it but there are some great songs…
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John Mayall, Down The Line, 1973 on London Records
Compilation of songs previously released: First LP includes songs from Blues Breakers, A Hard Road, Crusade, The Blues Alone, Bare Wires, Blues From Laurel Canyon, and Looking Back, and the second LP is John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965) which was never released on vinyl in the US (and had not been issued in the…
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Various Artists, The Best of Chess Blues, 1987 on Chess / MCA
Great 2xLP 80s compilation of the post-war blues that made Chess such a critical label, issued by MCA who acquired the rights to the Chess catalog in the mid-eighties. My copy—via Mel’s Record Shop in Amesbury MA—is a 1987 pressing by MCA Records’ plant in Gloversville, NY.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Texas Flood, 1983 on Epic
Hard to believe given how fully formed the sound is, but this was the debut album for Vaughan and Double Trouble. Said to have been recorded in two days with no overdubs. What a fantastic debut: “Love Struck Baby,” “Pride and Joy,” and the title track lead off side one. The band here is Vaughan…
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The Robert Cray Band, That’s What I Heard, 2020 on Nozzle Records
Robert Cray (often attributed as The Robert Cray Band) has been making great electric blues albums since 1980’s Who’s Been Talkin’. This is their most recent studio album and won the Soul Blues Award at the Blues Music Awards from the Blues Foundation in 2021. I’m a huge fan of Cray’s approach to the blues…
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Lucinda Williams, Ramblin’ On My Mind, 1979 on Folkways
Attributed to “Lucinda” mono-nymically, this was Williams’ debut solo album, released in 1979 on Folkways (which became Smithsonian Folkways in 1987). She’s accompanied by John Grimaudo on 6-string guitar (she plays 12-string and sings), and the album was produced by Tom Royals, an attorney for whom this is the only producing credit – he was…
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Gus Cannon, Walk Right In, 1963 on Stax
Jug Band leader Gus Cannon started recording in the late 20s as “Banjo Joe” and reappeared as part of the folk revival in the 50s on Folkways. This was his first and only Stax LP released in 1963. “Walk Right In” the song became a hit for the Rooftop Singers – who were credited with…
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Tinsley Ellis, Devil May Care, 2022 on Alligator Records
Blues traditionalist Tinsley Ellis continues to put out great records, this time (once again) on Alligator Records. This one is all originals, recorded at the Rock House in Nashville and produced by studio ower Kevin McKendree who also plays organ and piano. My signed copy on red vinyl direct from the artist at a show…