Johnny Winter - 1974 - Nightrider [320]

If you don't know Winter and you want to: buy a greatest hits collection. If you know and love Winter, and you are now looking for precious odd gems, then this is one of those discs. Compiled of alternate takes and unreleased gems, Nightrider is such a blues delight, you will fall into amazement upon how many different styles are represented on this single CD. Winter can play wildly, or quite sad, or quite happy. And all the styles just seem to work. Winter rules. An absolute legend that has captured the hearts (and ears) of many blues fans.

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Johnny Winter - 1996 - White Lightning [VBR]

Johnny Winter's White Lightning recorded live at The Dallas International Motor Speedway in 1969.

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Johnny Winter & Calvin ''Loudmouth'' Johnson - 1995 - Blues To The Bone [256]

This previously unissued 1967 session teams up Winter with local Dallas bluesman Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson on 13 blues jams.

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Johnny Winter - 2004 - I'm A Bluesman [320]

Texas guitar-slinger Johnny Winter bares some of his deepest roots on his first album of new recordings since 1998. In a rare turn on acoustic slide six-string, he performs fellow Lone Star State legend Hop Wilson's "That Wouldn't Satisfy" with the sweet, lovely simplicity of a street corner singer. Then Winter plugs in for Lazy Lester's stomping primal rocker "Sugar Coated Love." But after years of health issues, Winter, who's 60, has lost the roaring vocal authority of his earlier albums and no longer takes dizzying solos at jet speed. Instead, he makes all the notes of a tune like "Lone Wolf" count, whether he's crafting a slide melody or literally howling. "The Monkey Song," a playfully sleazy double-entendre number, proves his sense of humor is intact. And harmonica ace James Montgomery, who recently joined Winter's band, provides perfect accompaniment to Winter's vocal and guitar lines. Ex-Stevie Ray Vaughan keyboardist Reese Wynans also contributes to this overdue addition to Winter's dynamic blues-rock legacy.

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Johnny Winter - 1986 - Third Degree [320]

The third home run in a row for an artistically revitalized Johnny Winter, 1986's Third Degree follows 1985's Serious Business and 1984's Guitar Slinger as a stripped-down, no-nonsense serving of Texas-style blues rock. As on its predecessors, the emphasis here is on the blues side of the equation, with Winter originals and a sterling choice of covers fighting for equal time. The covers are exemplary, far better than the usual rote homages found on so many blues albums. Elmore James' classic "Shake Your Moneymaker" sounds so fresh it's almost as if Winter and his backing trio, featuring the Otis Spann-style playing of pianist Ken Saydak, are making the song up out of whole cloth. Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Broke and Lonely" and the Muddy Waters title track are equally impressive. Of the originals, "Tin Pan Alley," with the great Dr. John sitting in on piano, is the clear highlight, though the sassy, Fabulous Thunderbirds-like "I'm Good" is nearly its equal.

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Johnny Winter - 1985 - Serious Business [320]

If you love long, continually-vibrant, energetic guitar solos, then this album is for you. This album has it all---slow tempo blues (with piercing, snaking, rapid-fire soloing), fast tempo boogie-woogie (with piercing, wonderfully-driving soloing), medium-tempo shuffles (more soloing, of course), and more. Check out the title song at the end--its kind of a bluegrass/blues, finger-picking masterpiece (on electric, of course)--so driving, frantic, and utterly energizing!

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Johnny Winter - 1977 - Nothing But The Blues [320]

Johnny Winter recorded this during his stint as producer and sideman for Muddy Waters through the four brilliant albums recorded for Blue Sky (late 70's and early 80's). Muddy's terrific band of the time accompanies Johnny throughout. Their influence is profound, keeping Winter grounded and unusually restrained avoiding overplaying entirely. This is his finest blues work. Muddy sings a duet with Johnny in an energetic version of Walkin' Through the Park.

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Johnny & Edgar Winter - 1976 - Together [320]

Individually, Edgar Winter and his brother Johnny Winter are powerful artists, but combined, they are virtually unstoppable. In this live set, the brothers are just having the time of their lives, digging deep into their bag of favorites, and pulling out smoking renditions of the Sam and Dave classic "Soul Man" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." The history of rock & roll continues with Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" and Chuck Berry's "Reelin' and Rockin'." The Winters go Detroit on Mitch Ryder's "Jenny Take a Ride," and pay homage to the king, Elvis Presley, with "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Jailhouse Rock." From start to finish, Edgar and Johnny are having a rockin' & rollin' good time, and that happiness channels over to the listener.

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Waters, Winter & Cotton - 2007 - Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down [320]

Muddy Waters had his second coming 30 years ago, when longtime friend and disciple Johnny Winter and his Blue Sky label returned him--after a series of listless recordings aimed at the rock audience--to the raw, powerful authenticity of his timeless Chess material with a series of powerful albums. Beginning with 1977's acclaimed Hard Again, a subsequent tour produced Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live, recorded onstage in Detroit, New York, and Philadelphia with Muddy's band, Winter, and harmonica player/vocalist James Cotton. Enough live material remained for Legacy to release an expanded version with an entire second disc of unissued concert material. It seems even that wasn't the end. This collection returns again to those remarkable concerts, featuring Muddy on five tracks, among them a rousing "I Can't Be Satisfied," "Trouble No More," "Caledonia," and the closing "Got My Mojo Workin'." Winter and Cotton are no less powerful, Cotton redoing Jackie Brenston's hit "Rocket '88'" and Winter ripping up John Lee Hooker's "I Done Got Over It" and "Mama Talk to Your Daughter."

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Johnny Winter - 2010 - Live Bootleg Series Vol. 6 [192]

RED, HOT and SMOKIN' are only some of the words to describe the Live Bootleg Series Volume 6, the latest hand-picked collection of super rarities from the master blues rocker Johnny Winter's own archives. This Billboard Magazine Blues charting, artist produced and authorized series has been critically acclaimed since the Live Bootleg Series Volume One appeared over a year ago. Right in time for the New Year, this new edition will truly be one of the more anticipated releases for 2010.
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