Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

King of the Nine String

Let's enjoy some selections by Big Joe Williams, the "king of the nine string".
This first tune features the first Sonny Boy Williamson on harp.






Of course I love the Canadian connection in this tune...and also Willie Dixon on bass.


Monday, October 25, 2010

"The Blues" by Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry in Concert - London 1972


Thursday, October 21, 2010

Jungle Blues - C.W.Stoneking

Independent

C W Stoneking is a one-off eccentric of the first order, a 21st-century Australian white man who presents himself, colouration excepted, as a black American minstrel from a century earlier.

BBC
... on Housebound Blues, his wife Kirsty Frazer rages against gender inequality, offering a sly reminder that this is very much a modern recording. And if that isn’t enough to break the artfully woven spell, Stoneking rounds things off with The Greatest Liar, a hilarious spoken-word piece of rambling nonsense. Pure hokum, no less.



C.W. STONEKING LIVE - 'Don't Go Dancin Down the Darktown Strutter's Ball' from b-uncut on Vimeo.



Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sandi Thom - Merchants and Thieves 2010

After a shaky start

Scotsman

Her rebirth as a bluesy belle on Merchants And Thieves would be bizarre if it did not sound so convincing. Thom may finally have found her niche in the commercial blues rock realm. Her burgeoning musical and personal relationship with young gun blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa should send her on her way, even if he rather dominates as special guest on her comeback single This Ol' World






Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Gris-Gris - Dr John 1968 & 2003

Wikipedia

Gris-Gris is the debut album by Dr. John (Mac Rebennack). Produced by Harold Battiste, it was released on Atco Records in 1968. The musical style of Gris-Gris is a hybrid of New Orleans rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock. Despite the New Orleans style, it was recorded in California with several native New Orleans musicians.
Gris-Gris failed to chart in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was re-issued on compact disc decades later and received much greater praise from modern critics, including being listed at #143 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

1. "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya" (Dr.John Creaux) 5:36
2. "Danse Kalinda Ba Doom" (Creaux, Harold Battiste) 3:39
3. "Mama Roux" (Creaux, Jessie Hill) 2:59
4. "Danse Fambeaux" (Creaux) 4:56
5. "Croker Courtbullion" (Battiste) 6:00
6. "Jump Sturdy" (Creaux) 2:20
7. "I Walk On Guilded Splinters" (Creaux)

An excellent cover







Monday, October 18, 2010

Nighthawks Blues Band


Sunday, October 17, 2010

Live At The Apollo - Ben Harper, Blind Boys of Alabama

I know more Gospel than Blues but a friend gave me an album - I was listening to it at the gym today. One of those experiences that sends tingles down your spine. Marvellous!






Saturday, October 16, 2010

My Castle's Rockin'

Today I'd like to feature Alberta Hunter, who reappeared in the mid-70s after a hiatus in her musical career - at age 82.



Two-fisted double jointed rough and ready man...kind of like Mister Anchovy hehe


Nobody knows you when you're down and out. Ain't it the truth?


So what happened during that gap in Alberta Hunter's career? She became a nurse, and only returned to singing when the hospital she worked at retired her.


Anutha Zone - Dr John 1998

1. Zonata
2. Ki Ya Gris Gris
3. Voices in My Head
4. Hello God
5. John Gris
6. Party Hellfire
7. I Don't Wanna Know
8. Anutha Zone
9. I Like Ki Yoka
10. Olive Tree, The
11. Why Come
12. Soulful Warrior
13. Stroke, The
14. Sweet Home New Orleans

Arguably his best album so far.






Friday, October 15, 2010

The Sky is Crying - Stevie Ray Vaughan 1990

Probably the album which had the greatest effect on me

Wikipedia

The Sky Is Crying illustrates many of Vaughan's musical influences, including songs in the style of traditional Delta blues, Chicago blues, jump blues, jazz blues, and Jimi Hendrix.




1. "Boot Hill" (Writer Unknown) – 2:15
2. "The Sky Is Crying" (Elmore James, Morris Levy, Clarence Lewis) – 4:36
3. "Empty Arms" (Stevie Ray Vaughan) – 3:29
4. "Little Wing" (Jimi Hendrix) – 6:49
5. "Wham" (Lonnie Mack) – 2:25
6. "May I Have a Talk with You" (Howlin' Wolf) – 5:49
7. "Close to You" (Willie Dixon) – 3:10
8. "Chitlins con Carne" (Kenny Burrell) – 3:57
9. "So Excited" (Vaughan) – 3:30
10. "Life by the Drop" (Doyle Bramhall, Barbara Logan) – 2:28




Thursday, October 14, 2010

Kulanjan - Taj Mahal, Toumani Diabate 1999

Rootsworld

The respected American Bluesman Taj Mahal (aka Dadi Kouyate) has spent the last twenty years seeking out the purported African sources of the Blues. His curiosity was ignited by a tune called "Kulanjan
1. Queen Bee

2. Kulanjan
3. Tunkaranke
4. Ol' Georgie Buck
5. Guede Man Na
6. Fanta
7. Atlanta Kaira
8. Catfish Blues
9. Take This Hammer
10. K'an Ben
11. Mississippi Mali Blues
12. Sahara

this is great - even though neither on it






Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Diva: the Essential Collection [Import] Dinah Washington

A tremendous singer - unfortunately died at 39 years old. Listen and enjoy

Track Listings
1. Mad about the boy
2. What a diff'rence a day makes
3. Everybody loves somebody
4. Unforgettable
5. Baby you've got what it takes
6. Cry me a river
7. I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
8. Love walked in
9. Smoke gets in your eyes
10. Is you is or is you ain't my baby
11. Our love is here to stay
12. We have love
13. Keepin' out of mischief now
14. Stardust
15. If I were a bell
16. Harbour lights
17. Rockin' good way (to mess around and fall in love)
18. Early every morning (early every evening too)
19. September in the rain
20. It could happen to you
21. T'aint nodody's business if I do
22. Look to the rainbow
23. Every time we say goodbye


Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy
Uploaded by followme33. - Watch more music videos, in HD!




Monday, October 11, 2010

Burglar - Freddie King

"the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert King and B.B. King. A 5* album





1. Pack It Up
2. My Credit Didn't Go Through
3. I Got The Same Old Blues
4. Only Getting Second Best
5. Texas Flyer
6. Pulp Wood
7. She's A Burglar
8. Sugar Sweet
9. I Had A Dream
10. Let The Good Times Roll




Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night

An excellent introduction to his music





1. Mother's Children Have A Hard Time
2. Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed
3. It's Nobody's Fault But Mine
4. I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
5. Dark Was The Night Cold Was The Ground
6. If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down
7. Bye And Bye I'm Going To See The King
8. Soul Of A Man
9. Lord I Can't Just Keep From Crying
10. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
11. You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond
12. John The Revelator
13. Praise God I'm Satisfied
14. God Moves On The Water
15. Trouble Will Soon Be Over
16. Church I'm Fully Saved Today
17. Go With Me To That Land
18. When The War Was On
19. Take Your Burden To The Lord And Leave It There
20. I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge



Sunday, October 10, 2010

Keb Darge & Cut Chemist - Lost & Found 2007

A selection of rare R&B and rockabilly work – co-compiled here with Cut Chemist! 2CD set features 37 tracks in all.
Highlights come from the biggest artists present, including "Feel So Good" by Little Junior's Blue Flames, "Too Much Monkey Business" by Chuck Berry, and "Rock Billy Boogie" by Dorsey Burnette.






Saturday, October 09, 2010

Friday, October 08, 2010

Crawfish Fiesta - Professor Longhair 1980

Crawfish Fiesta is an album recorded in 1979 by Professor Longhair only months before his death in January 1980, and released in 1980 by Alligator Records. It features a band of three horns and a guitar and Dr. John as guest guitarist. The album was recorded at the SeaSaint Studios in New Orleans, and won the first W.C. Handy Blues Album of the Year award in 1980







Herbie Mann - Sunny

Such a good version


Thursday, October 07, 2010

Playlist: The Very Best of Weather Report 2010

Wikipedia

Weather Report was an influential American jazz band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Josef "Joe" Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter (and, initially, by Czech bass player Miroslav VitouÅ¡). Other prominent members at various points in the band’s lifespan included Jaco Pastorius, Peter Erskine, Alphonso Johnson, Airto Moreira and Chester Thompson.
Alongside Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Pat Metheny Group and the early 1970s Miles Davis electric bands, Weather Report is considered to be one of the pre-eminent jazz fusion bands

Track Listing
1. Birdland

2. Mysterious Traveler
3. Remark You Made, A
4. Boogie Woogie Waltz
5. Black Market
6. Man in the Green Shirt
7. Night Passage
8. Moors, The
9. Orange Lady
10. Rockin' in Rhythm
11. In a Silent Way





Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Voodoo Child"- Bireli Lagrene & John Mc Laughlin & Keziah Jones

Just listening again Very cool


Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Peggy Lee - Sings the Blues 1988

1."See See Rider" (Ma Rainey, Traditional) – 5:06

2."Basin Street Blues" (Clarence Williams) – 3:10

3."Squeeze Me" (Fats Waller, Williams) – 2:47
4."You Don't Know" (Walter Spriggs) – 4:09
5."Fine and Mellow" (Billie Holiday) – 5:13

6."Baby Please Come Home" (Charles Warfield, Williams) – 3:25
7."Kansas City" (Leiber and Stoller) – 3:43
8."Birmingham Jail" (Traditional) – 4:15
9."Love Me" – 4:10
10."Beale Street" (W.C. Handy) – 2:52
11."'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" (Handy) – 5:45
12."God Bless the Child" (Arthur Herzog Jr., Holiday) – 3:14


NPR Highlights Howlin' Wolf

Heard this story on NPR this morning, Howlin'Wolf:Booming Voice Of The Blues. Thought you might enjoy hearing it.


Howlin' Wolf @ SqueezeMyLemon


Monday, October 04, 2010

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Precious Bryant - Georgian guitarist

A charismatic country blues singer and fingerstyle guitarist of the Piedmont tradition, Precious Bryant is one of Georgia's great blueswomen.




Pat Metheny & Anna Maria Jopek - Are you going with me

Regardless of genre - super


The Hound


I love the spirit in Hound Dog Taylor's performances.


Friday, October 01, 2010

Jas Obrecht Blues Blog

I recommend the following passed on by a reader

Making sure you know about Jas Obrecht's new blog. Jas wrote for Guitar Player & Frets from '78 to 98, as well as Living Blues Mag. He's currently republishing his archive of work at his blog, completely unedited.
http://jasobrecht.com/
Tons of serious Blues content that's never been seen before. His latest post is about Son House. Be sure to check it out, and let others know.


Etta James - Something's Got a Hold on Me