Azzul's Collective: August 2020

Monday, August 31, 2020

Bryan Lee - Crawfish Lady

Year: 2000
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:17
Size: 134,4 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Palace Of The King (3:48)
2. Louisiana Woman (5:16)
3. Can't Get Enough (3:17)
4. Crawfish Lady (5:18)
5. Why Did You Do It? (3:34)
6. What You Gonna Do? (5:00)
7. Noize With The Boyz (5:53)
8. Sweet And Beautiful (4:53)
9. Something's Wrong (5:32)
10. Winehead Woman (7:37)
11. Chitlin's (4:45)
12. Kiss My Ass For A Change (3:18)

Crawfish Lady is the seventh release for the Justin Time label from Bryan Lee. This New Orleans blues guitarist manages to combine his Crescent City influences with Memphis soul and Chicago and Texas blues. Lee's guitar abilities bring to mind the spirits of Elmore James, Albert King, and Albert Collins. The appearances of Ward Smith and Jody Golick on tenor sax, Barney Floyd on trumpet, and longtime bandmember Marc Adams on organ add fiery flavor to this musical gumbo. /Al Campbell, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

R.I.P. Bryan Lee (March 16, 1943 - August 21, 2020)

Crawfish Lady mc
Crawfish Lady zippy

Kyle Yardley - More To Come... EP

Year: 2017
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:32
Size: 56,7 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. You Changed Your Mind (6:28)
2. Part Time Lover (3:28)
3. Wasting My Time (5:43)
4. Drink A Little Alcohol (2:35)
5. Half Past Six (Live) (6:16)

Originally from the St. Louis metro East region, Kyle Yardley has performed at all the top blues clubs in St. Louis, Missouri and central Illinois. Yardley now resides in Savannah, Georgia and performs regularly up and down the South East coast. With a harmonica style reminiscent of the early electric Chicago blues, and a voice suited for a deep south juke joint, Yardley has certainly made a name for himself from St. Louis to Savannah.

Yardley released his first EP "More to Come…" in April 2017, and quickly followed up with his first studio album "Juke Joint Boogie" in June 2017. In November 2019, Yardley releases the single "Country Girl" from his album "St. Louis to Savannah", and followed up with the full album release in March 2020.

Yardley’s other notable achievements include winning the 2017 and 2018 overall championship of the Greater Southeastern Harmonica Championships, held annually at the historic Bradford Blues Club in Tallahassee, Florida. Yardley also won the 2017 overall championship of the Florida Harmonica Championships held annually at the Beachside Tavern in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

More To Come... mc
More To Come... zippy

Various Artists - ...First Came Memphis Minnie

This set has been announced as Maria Muldaur's 40th album, which it is, since she conceived of it and produced it, but it's actually a tribute to the guitar-playing blues great Memphis Minnie, and several of the tracks that Muldaur sings on here have been previously released, including previously released tracks of Memphis Minnie songs that Muldaur cut with Alvin Youngblood Hart, Del Rey, Roy Rogers, and Steve James. There are also classic tracks from Phoebe Snow and Koko Taylor included, again previously released, along with new recordings for this tribute done by Bonnie Raitt, Rory Block, and Ruthie Foster.

So, it's not like this is a new Maria Muldaur album, but then it's Muldaur's baby, a loving tribute to a one-of-a-kind blues artist. Muldaur has been singing Memphis Minnie songs (and Minnie wrote or adapted over 200 songs throughout her career, which lasted from the 1920s until the mid-'50s) since her career began in the 1960s, including Muldaur's signature take on "Tricks Ain't Walkin'" (the song was actually written by Lucille Bogan, but Minnie made it her own, as she did everything she touched), included here in a version with Del Rey and Dave Earl helping out on guitar and mandolin, respectively. There's nothing fancy here - the productions are sparse and appropriate, and even though tracks came from different sources and directions, they all fall together into a nice flow. /Steve Leggett, AllMusic

Album: ...First Came Memphis Minnie
Year: 2012
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:33
Size: 107,8 MB
Styles: Acoustic blues
Scans: Full

1. Maria Muldaur - Me And My Chauffeur Blues (Feat. Roy Rogers & Roly Salley) (3:13)
2. Bonnie Raitt - Ain't Nothin' In Ramblin' (Feat. Steve Freund) (3:43)
3. Maria Muldaur - I'm Goin' Back Home (Feat. Alvin Youngblood Hart) (2:57)
4. Maria Muldaur - I'm Sailin' (Feat. Del Rey, Steve James, Roly Salley) (3:44)
5. Rory Block - When You Love Me (3:20)
6. Maria Muldaur - Long As I Can See You Smile (Feat. Del Rey & Steve James) (2:48)
7. Maria Muldaur - Lookin' The World Over (Feat. Del Rey) (2:48)
8. Phoebe Snow - In My Girlish Days (Feat. David Bromberg) (4:49)
9. Maria Muldaur - She Put Me Outdoors (Feat. Alvin Youngblood Heart & Dave Earl) (3:04)
10. Ruthie Foster - Keep Your Big Mouth Closed (Feat. Steve Freund) (3:14)
11. Maria Muldaur - Tricks Ain't Walkin' (Feat. Del Rey & Dave Earl) (4:33)
12. Maria Muldaur - Crazy Cryin' Blues (Feat. Del Rey & Steve James) (3:05)
13. Koko Taylor - Black Rat Swing (5:08)

...First Came Memphis Minnie mc
...First Came Memphis Minnie zippy

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Mark Wenner - Nothin' But...

Year: 1989
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:52
Size: 87,6 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Up The Line (3:25)
2. I Live The Life I Love (3:21)
3. Nothin' But The Devil (3:07)
4. Don't Go No Further (3:02)
5. Too Young To Know (3:16)
6. Rollin & Tumblin' (3:17)
7. My Starter Won't Start (2:55)
8. Temperature (2:11)
9. Sugar Sweet (2:38)
10. Made Up My Mind (3:06)
11. Chitlins Con Carne (4:39)
12. The Stuff You Gotta Watch (2:55)

A harp-blowing, multi-tattooed belter of blues, Wenner fronted Washington, DC's the Nighthawks for a bunch of years and has finally gone solo. The result is this fine, nondescript passel of a dozen odes to drinkin', carousin' and generally livin' the blues life. Wenner is a fine harp man, and his stylish, if understated, backing band includes the assertive guitar of Bob Margolin and the fat burbling upright bass of Jeff Sarli. Wenner's gritty, throaty vocals are perfectly suited for standard raunch like "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "Nothin' But the Devil," and he acquits himself like a pro. /John Dougan, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Nothin' But... mc
Nothin' But... zippy

Bryan Lee - Heat Seeking Missile

Year: 1995
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:25
Size: 121,0 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Heat Seeking Missile (3:46)
2. Smokin' Woman (4:00)
3. Pain (5:32)
4. Lucille (3:42)
5. Why (5:36)
6. So Mean To Me (3:33)
7. Blind Man Boogie (3:21)
8. Can't Stop This Heartache (6:42)
9. Dope Smokin' Blues (5:24)
10. Your Love (5:31)
11. Fight For The Light (5:13)

Like so many other musicians in New Orleans, guitarist, singer and songwriter Bryan Lee came to the Crescent City from somewhere else. But he's been carefully honing and refining his craft in Crescent City bars for so many years now, he's considered a New Orleans institution. He's played at 25 of the prestigious New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals, and marked his 25th year at the spring time festival in 2009. Blind since the age of eight, like many blind people, Lee has a heightened sense of hearing. He's a master at ensemble playing and knows how to read an audience.

Lee was born Bryan Lee Kumbalek in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. In his youth, he listened to WLAC in Nashville, and had an experience similar to that of Angela Strehli, who was growing up roughly the same time, but in Lubbock, in west Texas. He listened each evening and became enamored with the sounds of Muddy Waters, Elmore James, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and others. Like Strehli, Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall Sr. and so many other "white kids from the suburbs," Lee didn't see any color, he just loved the music, the poetry of the lyrics and the art form.

By the time he was 15, he was playing guitar in a variety of rock and blues-rock bands and in his late teens he befriended guitar slinger Luther Allison, who played many of the same Wisconsin clubs Lee was playing in. By 1981, Lee and his band had the chance to open for Muddy Waters at Summerfest in Milwaukee. Lee and Waters talked in the dressing room, and Lee told Waters how honored he was to be opening for a legend like Waters. Waters gave Lee some inspiration: "Bryan, my friend, don't stop what you're doing, because one day you're going to be a living legend."

Lee moved to New Orleans in 1982 and began a long residency at the Old Absinthe House in the French Quarter. A 13-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd asked to sit in one night and the experience proved to be a revelatory one for Shepherd, later one of the bright stars of the blues-rock scene. Shepherd said he knew right then and there, that playing guitar and playing blues and blues-rock was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Appropriately, Shepherd included Lee in his documentary, 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads.

Although some health problems have curtailed his national and international touring during the 2000s and his music studio in New Orleans was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina floodwaters in 2005, Lee pressed on. (He later restricted his time on the road to three week tours.) Lee's discography is extensive and his original songs sparkle with authenticity. His albums include The Blues Is… in 1991 for Canada-based Justin Time Records; Braille Blues Daddy in 1995; Live at the Old Absinthe House Bar in 1997; Crawfish Lady in 2000; Katrina Was Her Name in 2007, and My Lady Don't Love My Lady in 2009, all for Justin Time Records. Play One for Me was released in 2014. /Biography by Richard Skelly, AllMusic

R.I.P. Bryan Lee (March 16, 1943 - August 21, 2020)

Heat Seeking Missile mc
Heat Seeking Missile zippy

Little Jonny & The Giants - King Of Clubs

Year: 2001
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:50
Size: 138,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Standin' At The Crossroads (4:08)
2. One Good Woman (3:58)
3. Everytime I Hear Your Name (5:01)
4. It's Rainin' Inside (5:10)
5. She's A Hit (4:22)
6. Teenage Orangutan (4:09)
7. Keep What I Got (4:16)
8. Orphan's Blues (6:21)
9. What Have I Done (Cuckoo) (4:47)
10. You Don't Have To Go (4:10)
11. Hip Flip (5:59)
12. Nobody's Special Friend (4:42)
13. I'm Hot For You (2:40)

This CD features seven original tunes, and some of the players include RJ Mischo, Bob Welch and Robi Bean. Jon's approach to the blues is organic and deeply groove-oriented, in the spirit of Elmore James and Buddy Guy. The sound ranges from eminently danceable funk to gritty blues and back again - it's equal parts mellow and groovin'. "King of Clubs" is just as suited to staring out a rain-streaked window with a wine glass in hand, as it is dancing the funky chicken.

Personnel: Jon "Little Jonny" Lawton (guitar, vocals); Mike McCurdy (bass); Robi Bean (drums); Chip Roland (Hammond B-3). Guest artists: John Oxendine (drums); R.J. Mischo (harmonica); Bob Welsh (piano).

King Of Clubs mc
King Of Clubs zippy

Tip Of The Top - Depot Street Blues

Year: 2009
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:35
Size: 112,3 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Front, inside, cd, tray

1. One Of These Mornings (4:31)
2. Wait Baby (4:02)
3. Stranger Blues (4:27)
4. Juke (4:13)
5. Love Her With A Feeling (4:03)
6. Go Ahead (4:26)
7. Depot Street Shuffle (2:58)
8. I Got To Go (3:37)
9. Got To Move On (3:59)
10. Mellow Down Easy (4:01)
11. Temperature (3:17)
12. Evan's Shuffle (4:55)

Tip of The Top's debut CD "Depot Street Blues", which has been well received by both fans and blues music critics, is but a small sampling of the many musical styles that you will experience at a live show. The music from the 1950s has had many different names - it has been called the blues, rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues. But no matter what you call it, Tip of The Top brings this music to life like few other bands. It is rare to hear a band that plays with this much skill and finesse. Tip of The Top shows that even oft-covered blues tunes can gain new life when the band listens to each other and plays as an ensemble, eschewing endless solos and screaming guitars.

Personnel: Jon "Little Jonny" Lawton (guitar, vocals); Aki Kumar (harmonica, vocals); Frank DeRose (bass); Carlos Velasco (drums).

Depot Street Blues mc
Depot Street Blues zippy

Raw Blues Experience - Trailer Trash

Year: 2018
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:14
Size: 112,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues, rockabilly
Scans: Front

1. Monday Morning (3:39)
2. Alice (3:37)
3. Backdraft In Green (3:50)
4. Hot Spot Party (3:03)
5. The Cougar Dance (5:19)
6. Cinderella (4:10)
7. You've Got What It Takes (2:58)
8. All I Ever Wanted (4:08)
9. Fire In The Hole (5:24)
10. Muddy Water Blues (5:15)
11. Choo Choo Train (3:20)
12. Trailer Trash (3:27)

"Trailer Trash" is the successor to "Take 1", the band's first album that dates back to 2014. Every lover of live music from the region knows them already, because the boys have been working on the blues road for a number of years. The last year, Raw Blues Experience has not been idle. Together they have worked on a full CD with a lot of their own work on it with lyrics taken from life that refer to the ever-bleeding heart in the blues, and they have put their heart and soul into this disc together with their musical friends.

Personnel: Brent Redant (vocals, harmonica); Marc Van Nuland (guitar, vocals); Jacky Verstraeten (bass); Bart De Bruecker (drums). Special guests: Franck De Ruyter (saxophone); Jesse Selengut (trumpet); Mandy Lemons (vocals); Sturgis Nikides (slide guitar).

Trailer Trash mc
Trailer Trash zippy

Friday, August 28, 2020

Knock-Out Greg & Blue Weather - Wig Out!

Size: 223 MB
Time: 36:17
File: FLAC
Released: 2002
Styles: Electric Blues, Harmonica Blues
Art: Full

01. Don't Leave Me At Home (2:45)
02. Don't You Know (3:16)
03. Somebody's Been Cryin' (3:10)
04. I'm Through (2:09)
05. Oh La La (2:30)
06. I Don't Know Why (2:50)
07. Stranded In The Jungle (3:12)
08. Rich Woman (3:30)
09. Wildcat Tamer (3:35)
10. Teardrops On Your Letter (3:07)
11. You Ain't Too Old (3:17)
12. The Wigflipper (2:48)

At age 14, when still a mixed up teenager in Sweden, Swedish godfather of blues, Sven Zetterberg showed up at Greg's school one afternoon. He sat down on a chair in front of 20 kids singing and playing some guitar and harmonica. Sven played like never heard before. He also told amazing stories about long gone blues-players like Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson among others. Greg got totally swept away by his expression and from that very day he turned his head towards the Blues. At age 20, Greg was so fed up with guitar-playing that he decided to switch to harmonica. This CD jumps and swings with his life of influences.

Wig Out! MP3
Wig Out! FLAC

Dr. Helander & Third Ward - Traffic Jam On The Back Street

Size: 98,0 MB
Time: 41:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Nasty Revelator (3:09)
02. (Gimme Some Of That) Back Beat (3:36)
03. Hard Luck Day (5:03)
04. Gambina Wine (4:15)
05. Ask Me About The Blues (5:00)
06. Blown Off With The Wind (2:55)
07. Strike A Match (3:17)
08. Black Hole (3:58)
09. Highway Shoes (5:13)
10. Prime Minister (5:23)

Led by guitarist-singer Dr. Helander (Ilkka Helander), Third Ward is a power trio with a ferry group consisting of blues minister Esa Kuloniemi on bass (also a slide tube) and drummer Professor Leevi Leppänen on batteries.

The band thus represents a very long, wide and deep blues experience. The band's highly acclaimed debut album Meat Grindin 'Business has been continued this year with the all-original album Traffic Jam on the Back Street.

Traffic Jam On The Back Street MP3
Traffic Jam On The Back Street FLAC

Savoy Brown - Ain't Done Yet

Size: 110,5 MB
Time: 47:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. All Gone Wrong (4:14)
02. Devil's Highway (6:08)
03. River On The Rise (5:02)
04. Borrowed Time (4:14)
05. Ain't Done Yet (3:57)
06. Feel Like A Gypsy (6:04)
07. Jaguar Car (4:22)
08. Rocking In Louisiana (4:03)
09. Soho Girl (4:20)
10. Crying Guitar (4:36)

Legendary British Blues Rock band Savoy Brown led by founding member Kim Simmonds, announces the August 28th release of their exciting new album, “Ain’t Done Yet”, on Quarto Valley Records. The new album follows Savoy Brown’s critically acclaimed 2019 album, “City Night.”

“The new album continues the approach I’ve been taking with the band this past decade,” says guitarist/singer/songwriter Kim Simmonds, who formed the band in 1965 in London, England, and is one of the longest-running Blues Rock bands in existence. “The big difference with the new album is the multi-layer approach I took to recording the guitar parts. It’s all blues-based rock music. I try to find new and progressive ways to write and play the music I’ve loved since I was a young teenager.”

Energetic blues has been the calling card of the band from the beginning. Blues Rock became the catch-all phrase in the late 1960s to describe the band’s music along with that of contemporaries including Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Jimi Hendrix.

Along the way, Savoy Brown has toured continuously, making it one of the longest-running blues-rock bands in existence. Through the years, the band has headlined concerts at many prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore East, the Fillmore West, and London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

Savoy Brown, having established national status in the 1970s, provided other groups opportunity. Kiss opened the bill on a Savoy Brown national tour as did ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers and many, many more acts.

A resident of the USA since 1980, bandleader Simmonds has received many accolades himself. These include placement on the front cover of Guitar Player magazine, enshrinement on the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame and acceptance in many regional “Halls of Fame” in the USA and Canada.

Savoy Brown helped spawn the 1968 UK Blues Rock boom and later opened the eyes of many 1970s, American teenagers, to their own home territory blues artists.

The British R&B boom of the early 1960s led directly to the British Blues Explosion in 1968. The original London R&B boom led by The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things and, to some extent, The Beatles, quickly moved into mainstream pop and left a vacuum in the London clubs.

This vacuum, in London, was filled in the mid-1960s by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton and Savoy Brown’s Blues Band featuring Kim Simmonds.

“Ain’t Done Yet” kicks-off in high gear with the album’s first radio focus track, “All Gone Wrong”. “I’ve always liked All Gone Wrong, and it’s one of my favourites on the album,” declares Simmonds.

Savoy Brown will support the release of “Ain’t Done Yet” with a late summer tour that extends through 2021.

The three-piece lineup includes Kim Simmonds on guitar and vocals, Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm on drums. This trio has established itself as the longest-running consistent line-up in the band’s history, now going strong for more than 10 years. ~Blues Matters
Take the six minute six second drive down ‘Devil’s Highway’ which follows that cracking opener – it’s a languid lonely drive that has a little Cris Rea, a little Dire Straits in the mix, and it’s a surprisingly smooth ride but it’s that lead guitar that shines above the horizon driving you on.

And there are eight other great songs here that come at you from all angles like the Folkier, slide-infused ‘River on the Rise’; the stuttering barroom blues of ‘Borrowed Time’ and the traditional swing and groove of the title track ‘Ain’t Done Yet’.

When you add the variety that comes with the likes of the stripped back acoustic shuffle of ‘Rockin’ in Louisiana’ versus say the darker, fuzzier Hendrix-touched ‘Soho Girl’ you not only get a nice rocking ride but you end up with an album that reinforces the axiom – Savoy Brown clearly ‘Ain’t Done Yet’… ~Mark Rockpit

Ain't Done Yet MP3
Ain't Done Yet FLAC

Kirsten Thien - Two Sides

Size: 77,6 MB
Time: 33:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Shoulda Been (4:15)
02. Sweet Lost And Found (3:12)
03. After I Left Home (6:10)
04. Say It Out Loud (3:38)
05. I Gotta Man (3:36)
06. Montanas (4:10)
07. Better Or You're Gonna Get Burned (4:29)
08. I'd Rather Be Blind (3:39)

Many an artist has embarked on a journey of duality, to further explore the contrasts between two concepts, i.e. success and failure, struggle versus hope, and self-doubt versus empowerment. New York City based singer songwriter Kirsten Thien titled her new album “Two Sides” after discovering her tunes fitted into this premise. She assembled them akin to the A and B sides of vinyl ’45-singles’, which further inspired her to release this collection on a vinyl longplaying LP (October 2020). The eight new tracks on her fifth release showcase many sides of the accomplished performer as she moves easily from rock to blues, gospel to soul, her throaty alto beautifully in sync with her skills on acoustic and electric guitar.

Well known for her provocative solo shows, the album has Thien firmly placed as a band leader in front of an ensemble that includes bassist and producer Erik Boyd, drummers Steve Holley and Alex Alexander, guitarist Arthur Neilson, Tommy Mandel on keys, and some very special guests; Raul Midón, Doug MacLeod and vocalists Tarriona Tank Ball and Jelly Joseph, aka "Tank and Jelly," from New Orleans. The sessions and collaborations for the album took place over a few years, with the final masters completed just as the darkest months of the NYC pandemic lockdown approached, along with its soundtrack of sirens. The lyrics speak to the current moment despite having been completed, in most cases, years ago, as is the gift of second sight given to many an artist willing to be receptive to the muse.

Thien boldly declares her sense of purpose on the acoustic driven roots rock opener ‘Shoulda Been’, shrugging off any notion of not meeting anyone’s expectations by being the strong woman she is, punctuating her point with sharp slide guitar stabs (including a rare slide bass solo). Next, she implores us to embrace the power of positive thinking on the easy swinging ‘Sweet Lost and Found’, backed by Tank and Jelly in the choir. The bump and grind blues ‘After I Left Home’, plays out as a mini soundtrack for the memoir “When I Left Home” from Buddy Guy, whom Thien credits for the inspiration and subsequent dedication to one of her real life mentors and hero, with Neilson putting his keen familiarity with the Chicago Bluesman to great use on his blazing and inimitable guitar solo. A playful Bo Diddley beat from Alexander fuels the feel-good anthem ‘Say It Out Loud’ with Tank and Jelly adding New Orleans spirit along-side Raul Midón’s confidence-inspiring solo. On the gritty blues rocker ‘I Gotta Man’, Thien trades guitar solos with Neilson as her seductive vocals speak of yearning in her restless heart.

The collaboration with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist, Raul Midón, leads Thien to push herself further as an artist. She sings in Spanish for the first time on the lovely Latin Blues-Mambo ‘Montañas’ that features fine piano work from Fabian Almazan and South American guitars by John Benthal to accompany her enchanting vocals. The legendary Doug MacLeod sits in on resonator guitar for the Delta blues sermon ‘Better or You're Gonna Get Burned’, with Nashville ace studio drummer Wes Little dropping in a hill country blues parade march, propelling the much-needed message forward. Thien and company close with the Leon Russell’s soul blues classic ‘I'd Rather Be Blind’, first recorded by Freddie King in 1972, proving yet again that the power of love is a universal theme that knows no boundaries.

Two Sides MP3
Two Sides FLAC

Ole Frimer Band - Live In Eppingen

Size: 113,4 MB
Time: 48:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. The Clearing ( 5:49)
02. Sheltered Roads ( 5:45)
03. The Blues Is Here To Stay ( 2:39)
04. Why Are You Stayin' ( 7:43)
05. Single City ( 5:21)
06. Old Love (10:25)
07. Got A Mind To Travel ( 5:04)
08. Brush With The Blues ( 6:09)

Recorded at the Eppingen Jazz Festival in Germany, October 2019.

The singer and guitarist Ole Frimer has been a prominent figure in the Scandinavian music landscape for decades. With his unique "flesh to string" technique, songwriting and vocal work, he has gained international recognition and has received awards for it in his home country Denmark and abroad. A total of 12 albums have been created over time. Ole Frimer Band's latest release "Live at Blues Baltica" from 2015 received great attention in both Europe and the US, and the band thus expanded their concert activities to large parts of Europe.

Live In Eppingen MP3
Live In Eppingen FLAC

Chris Corcoran Band - Coolerator

Size: 181 MB
Time: 32:09
File: FLAC
Released: 2020
Styles: Instrumental Blues, Blues Jazz
Art: Front

01. Coolerator (2:23)
02. Get A Grip (3:04)
03. Comin' Home Baby (4:03)
04. John The Revelator (1:38)
05. Watermelon Man (3:51)
06. Jumpin' At Bardies (2:30)
07. Oh Yeah! (4:48)
08. Resolution Blues (2:30)
09. Back At The Chicken Shack (3:40)
10. Sit Tight (3:38)

Chris Corcoran is the guitarist's guitarist. He is one of the UK's finest Blues and R&B players and has been performing across the UK and Europe for the last 20 years.

The Brit King of Jump Blues Guitar, leads his self-styled trio & seven piece band. Their unique brand of instrumental Blues is exciting, dynamic and a completely original presence on the UK Blues scene.

2020 sees the release of Chris's second 'big band' album, entitled 'Coolerator'., which follows on from his 2017 CD release ‘Blues Guitar Grooves’, which was awarded ‘Instrumental Album of the Year’ by US magazine, Blues Junction Productions.

Widely respected as one of the UK’s finest Blues guitarists, he was profiled in Issue 406 of Guitarist Magazine (May 2016), with examples of his signature licks and accompanying video on the Guitarist Youtube channel. The magazine followed this in 2017 by inviting Chris to produce a series of Jump Blues articles and videos.

He has worked with many of the UK's finest Blues and Vintage acts

Chris runs regular Guitar Workshops which are popular among Jump Blues Guitar aficionados, and holds the guitar seat for the highly rated Laura B & Her Band. He is also a registered composer for Soho based, Felt Music.

Coolerator

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Texas Soul Sisters - Texas Soul Sisters

Size: 126,2 MB
Time: 53:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Texas Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Full

01. Flight 449 (Feat. Lavelle White) (3:54)
02. I'm Your Hoochie Mama (Feat. Gloria Edwards) (5:24)
03. Rain Down Love (Feat. Glenda Hargis) (6:02)
04. You Treat Me So Bad (Feat. Miss Candy) (3:40)
05. I Want To Know (Feat. Lavelle White) (3:56)
06. Feet Don't Fail Me Now (Feat. Glenda Hargis) (6:39)
07. Better Think About It (Feat. Gloria Edwards) (5:42)
08. Bad Song (Feat. Lavelle White) (3:13)
09. H-Town (Feat. Gloria Edwards) (2:34)
10. Keep Your Hands Off Of Him (Feat. Glenda Hargis) (3:30)
11. That's Why I Love You (Feat. Miss Candy) (3:09)
12. Last Train To Nowhere (Feat. Gloria Edwards) (3:22)
13. Miss Candy's Groove (Feat. Miss Candy) (2:36)

This is a soul and blues celebration -- sweet soul music with some up-tempo raw blues from some of the women who helped shape roots music in Texas. Features Glenda Hargis, who comes from a heavy gospel background and is now playing with her brother Matthew Robinson; Lavelle White, who has a new Antone's release coming out in August and is playing major festivals around the U.S.; Houston blueswoman Gloria Edwards, who has played with Clifton Chenier, Johnny Clyde Copeland, & Joe Hughes; and Miss Candy, known around the state of Texas for her soulful blues. This is sweet soul music with a dose of raw Texas blues that will also serve as a dance party for the martini hipsters who like to dress to the 9s with the best of the Texas Soul Divas.

Texas Soul Sisters MP3
Texas Soul Sisters FLAC

Johnny Nicholas - Mistaken Identity

Size: 90,8 MB
Time: 38:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Front

01. She Stole My Mojo (3:28)
02. Mule And The Devil (4:02)
03. Spark To A Flame (3:07)
04. Mistaken Identity (4:46)
05. Guadalupe's Prayer (5:09)
06. Wanna Be Your Baby (3:25)
07. Tight Pants (2:48)
08. She Didn't Think Of Me That Way (4:29)
09. Highway 190 (2:36)
10. River Runs Deep (4:58)

The musical career of former Asleep At The Wheel frontman Johnny Nicholas is well documented, but his connection with South Louisiana music and culture and the influence it had on his storied musical career is not as well known. As a young man, Johnny hit the road hitchhiking and hopping freight trains in search of the artists and music he loved. His pilgrimages led him to experiences and relationships with many American music roots legends of the blues, western swing, honky tonk music and the melting pot for it all: South Louisiana and Southeast Texas. This album is a homecoming, bringing him back to the place where he cut his teeth and grew up musically on the prairies and bayou country of Southwest Louisiana in the 70 s. All but one of the songs on this album are originals that draw upon his many influences and experiences that have molded and defined him as a true Americana and Roots music artist.

Mistaken Identity MP3
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Dan Penn - Living On Mercy

Size: 119,6 MB
Time: 50:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Soul
Art: Front

01. Edge Of Love (3:49)
02. I Do (3:04)
03. Living On Mercy (4:41)
04. See You In My Dreams (3:24)
05. Clean Slate (4:09)
06. What It Takes To Be True (3:00)
07. I Didn't Hear That Coming (3:41)
08. Down On Music Row (4:09)
09. Leave It Like You Found It (5:00)
10. Blue Motel (4:51)
11. Soul Connection (3:35)
12. Things Happen (3:47)
13. One Of These Days (3:36)

Dan Penn, writer of such classic hits as “Do Right Woman,” “Dark End of The Street,” and “I’m Your Puppet,” among them, shines in his first release of new original material since “Nobody’s Fool” in 1973 and his first full production studio album since 1995’s “Do Right Man.” Recorded in Nashville and Muscle Shoals alongside their finest musicians, Penn, the pioneer of Country Soul, turns in a performance as timeless as the genre itself.

Living On Mercy MP3
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Bobby Rush - Rawer Than Raw

Size: 105,1 MB
Time: 44:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Acoustic Blues
Art: Front

01. Down In Mississippi (3:23)
02. Hard Times (3:50)
03. Let Me In Your House (5:16)
04. Smokestack Lightning (4:47)
05. Shake It For Me (3:42)
06. Sometimes I Wonder (4:46)
07. Don't Start Me Talkin' (3:06)
08. Let's Make Love Again (3:42)
09. Honey Bee, Sail On (4:58)
10. Garbage Man (3:45)
11. Dust My Broom (3:35)

Emmit Ellis Jr. a.k.a. Bobby Rush was born in Homer, La. in 1933. As a youngster, in the late 1940’s, he befriended and played with Elmore James. He formed his first band before relocating to Chicago where he worked with Freddie King, Luther Allison and Jimmy Reed.

Rush made his recording debut by releasing the single “Someday” on the Jerry-O label in 1964. In 1971 his song “Chicken Heads” sold over 500,000 copies and became his first Gold certified record. Rush released his first album “Rush Hour” in 1979. This is Rush’s 27th studio recording and 76th career release. Rush is a 2006 Blues Hall of Fame inductee with 51 Blues Music Award nominations winning thirteen times. He is the 2015 “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year”. Rush also has multiple Grammy Award nominations; winning his first Grammy for 2017’s “Porcupine Meat”, and receiving his fifth nod for last year’s “Sitting On Top of the Blues”.

Rush’s music is a combination of blues, soul and funk. He is famous for his humorous Southern chitlin’ circuit shows often telling stories of his romantic adventures. Rush relocated to Mississippi in the 1980’s and is an inductee into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. He states “although I was born in Louisiana, I’m proud to call Mississippi home…I’m saluting Mississippi guys because they, to me, stayed truest to their roots. If you want to get the real deal of the blues, get it from the bluesmen who are from Mississippi”. “Rawer Than Raw” is a sequel to Rush’s 2007 acoustic album “Raw”, and he recorded alone; just his voice, guitar, harmonica, and feet. Rush has included five originals, and six selected covers from some of his Mississippi influences.

On the opener “Down in Mississippi” Rush sings “sure had a wonderful time…down in Mississippi, where the green grass grows all the time”; his guitar, harmonica and vocal an acoustic delight. “Let Me In Your House” features Rush keeping time with his foot and the lyric “if I can’t see you when I want to, just let me see you when I can”. “Sometimes I Wonder”, goes “why do you treat me like you do”. My favorite however has to be the hilarious “Garbage Man”, “have you ever been mistreated by someone you sure have loved…of all the men she could have left me for, she left me for the garbage man…whenever I fill garbage cans, I think about her and the garbage man”.

The covers include Bentonia, Mississippi’s Skip James’ “Hard Times” a.k.a. “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues”; first recorded in 1931, the lyric still rings true “times are harder now than they’ve ever been before”. Rush who met Howlin’ Wolf in 1951, introduced the iconic bluesman from White Station to the gal who would become Wolf’s second wife; Rush inimitably covers Wolf’s classic “Smokestack Lighting”. Willie Dixon, from Vicksburg, Ms. wrote “Shake It For Me” recorded by Wolf in 1962; and another fine performance from Rush. My favorite of the covers is from Sonny Boy Williamson II, born on the Sara Jones Plantation in Glendora, Ms. he recorded “Don’t Start Me Talkin’” in 1955. From Rolling Fork, Ms. Muddy Waters recorded “Honey Bee, Sail On” in 1969 on Chess Records. Although credited to the Hazelhurst, Ms. born Robert Johnson “Dust My Broom” is also included as a tribute to Elmore James, the man who it’s been said, taught it to Johnson, and who finally recorded it in 1951. Rush should know, at the age of 86, he is a historian of Mississippi blues.

This welcome addition to Rush’s catalog showcases him in a rare stripped-down acoustic setting and immediately makes this a collector’s item. Bobby Rush is a national treasure. ~Richard Ludmerer

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Walter Trout - Ordinary Madness

Size: 134,1 MB
Time: 57:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front & Back

01. Ordinary Madness (6:45)
02. Wanna Dance (4:29)
03. My Foolish Pride (5:55)
04. Heartland (4:26)
05. All Out Of Tears (6:31)
06. Final Curtain Call (5:39)
07. Heaven In Your Eyes (4:14)
08. The Sun Is Going Down (5:24)
09. Make It Right (4:59)
10. Up Above My Sky (4:39)
11. Ok Boomer (4:39)

It would seem all but impossible for an artist to produce an album that sounds original and inspired on their 29th attempt, but that is exactly what Walter Trout achieves on Ordinary Madness. Recorded at Robbie Krieger’s studio, the eleven tracks share common themes of time, mortality, and love, all while managing to sound vastly different from one another. Honest love songs follow crushingly hard rockers, which in turn lead into western-tinged blues tales. There are nearly as many types of songs as tracks on the set.

The unusual, synthesized introduction to “Ordinary Madness” sets the stage for a jazz infused blues number about mental health and the madness that pervades our society. Typically great guitar work, laid over Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis’s Rhodes piano, highlights the musical half of the tune, but the real takeaway is the lyrical content. With clever turns of phrase and personal admissions, Trout composes stanzas that stand on their own, apart from the music.

“Wanna Dance” shifts the tone into hard-charging rock, bolstered by crunchy guitar stabs and gritty vocals, while the softer, “My Foolish Pride,” and the western-tinged tale, “Heartland,” round out a diverse opening quartet. On “Heartland,” Trout peers through the eyes of a young woman searching for more, and reflects on the difficult decision that he and countless others have made in leaving home to live their fullest lives.

In a more direct fashion, Ordinary Madness explores the themes of time and its effects—aging and mortality. Most of the selections on the second half of the album deal with time, even if only tangentially. Trout expertly expresses feelings of sadness and loss through soaring guitar work on “All Out of Tears,” a song co-written with Teeny Tucker about her late son. On “Final Curtain Call”—arguably the best track of the set among several candidates—the upbeat tempo and riff-based groove offer a counterpoint to Trout’s musings on his own mortality. On “The Sun Is Going Down,” he addresses the topic head on, singing “And time has no mercy, it just don’t seem to care.” Representative of the album’s range as a whole, the piece starts with melodic vocalizations, moves into a reverb-soaked slow-burn, and ends as a chunky uptempo instrumental jam featuring more than a couple of blistering guitar runs. Multifaceted in its own way, “OK Boomer” can be read as a tongue-in-cheek critique, a lighthearted generational anthem, or just a great rock and roll track to sing along to.

The album is consistently great cover to cover. Perhaps not mentioned enough is the sheer quality of the music. As expected, the band is stellar, and a couple of contributions by additional musicians fill in any imagined holes in the mix. Simply put, if listeners are looking for weaknesses, they will have a hard time finding them. More likely, they will discover songs and segments worth listening to again and again from different approaches: once for the music, once for the theme, and again for moments of instrumental bliss. For an album that broaches some deeply personal subjects, Ordinary Madness succeeds in being universally relatable, not to mention extremely enjoyable. It is one of Trout’s best entries in his extensive catalog. The Review: 9.5/10 ~Willie Witten

Ordinary Madness MP3
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Bryan Lee - Braille Blues Daddy

Year: 1994
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:35
Size: 140,0 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Braille Blues Daddy (5:56)
2. You The One (4:40)
3. Who Will Be Next (5:21)
4. I Wanna Live In Memphis (7:05)
5. Gotta Rock (5:08)
6. (Tribute To The) Boogie Men (7:36)
7. It Hurts Me Too (8:37)
8. Jump Sister Bessie (3:46)
9. Naples, FLA (4:46)
10. Grinning In Your Face (3:28)
11. Brand New Day (4:06)

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Al Blake - Dr. Blake's Pop-X Magic Soul Elixir

Year: 2004
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:58
Size: 83,8 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Cow Cow's Blues (Instrumental) (1:16)
2. Long Black Cadillac (3:54)
3. Leavin' California (3:40)
4. Blues For Walter (Instrumental) (2:56)
5. All My Life (3:19)
6. Coffee Grindin' Man (3:14)
7. Dr. Blake's Boogie (Instrumental) (2:38)
8. Fly Like The Eagle, Cry Like The Dove (4:08)
9. Black Chili Pepper (3:16)
10. A Jalopy To Drive (Instrumental) (2:15)
11. Rocky Mountain Blues (2:58)
12. Bye Bye Bird (2:17)

Few blues artists go back and preserve the source of the music, tied with the minute splashes of modern themes. Big Al Blake is a rare bird in that club. As a child in Oklahoma, he heard and fell in love with blues from the radio. Moving to California in the mid-60's, he hung out at the Ash Grove, meeting Junior Wells, Freddie King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Sunnyland Slim. Soon after, he moved to San Francisco, where he formed his first band. By the early 70s, he was hanging out with King at the Ash Grove, when he met a plunky long haired large kid playing unearthly guitar. That kid was Hollywood Fats.

Quickly they formed the Headhunters with pianist Fred Kaplan, which evolved into the Hollywood Fats Band by adding Richard Innes, and Jerry Smith, later replaced by Larry Taylor. They recorded their self titled album (later titled Rock This House) in 1978, and then broke up in the early '80s. They were a step away from reforming when Fats' died in 1986. Once disbanded, Blake lay low until joining Kim Wilson's Blue Collar label in 1997, releasing Mr. Blake's Blues. /Biography by Char Ham, AllMusic

(for personnel details, see artwork included.)

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Little Jonny & The Giants - Windin'

Year: 1998
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:59
Size: 125,0 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. One Of These Mornings (4:59)
2. Rollin' And Tumblin' (5:14)
3. Let Bygones Be Bygones (3:15)
4. Rock Me In Your Arms (3:54)
5. Barstool Boogie (5:10)
6. Wishy-Washy Woman (3:18)
7. Stop Putting Me On (3:26)
8. Tijuana (5:09)
9. Trouble No More (5:47)
10. Tough Luck (5:24)
11. Wait Baby (3:39)
12. Freight Train (4:38)

Little Jonny and the Giants CD "Windin" offers 12 cuts of mostly ensemble blues with a well balanced quartet of accomplished musicians. The uptempo opening track "One of These Mornings" was recorded live, and sets the tone for some fun, good time blues tunes, Jon Lawton (guitar and vocals on all tracks) demonstrates his slide prowess on the standard "Rollin and Tumblin," on the second cut and though his interpretation is a little "unconventional" it serves as yet another example of the innumerable ways to approach the material. Throughout the twelve selections the band plays a variety of blues styles from a slow 12 bar (Stop Putting Me On), boogie (Barstool Boogie), a blues cha-cha, with a "Ventures-like" (heavy use of vibrato, tremolo and single string picking) on the moody "Tijuana".

Even a funked up blues "Tough Luck" is included. Another standard, "Trouble No More" gets a slowed down slide treatment that works well within this selection of material. Other members of the band include: Mike McCurdy, bass, Jim Overton, drums, Jimmy Dewrance harp, and guest appearances by several other musicians add to the "easy to listen to" sound of this CD. It’s not complicated or compromised by layers of production that detract from the easiness and straightforward presentation. Closing the CD is "Freight Train" a fine mix of country-blues with some dynamic slide work. This song was also recorded live and another memorable example of the band’s ability to deliver some very good blues music. /Amazon

Personnel: Jon "Little Jonny" Lawton (guitar, vocals); Mike McCurdy (bass); Jim Overton (drums). Guest artists: Jimmy Dewrance (harmonica); Mark Adams, John Oxendine (drums); Steven Berk (keyboards); Jason Gonzale (guitar).

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Various Artists - From Clarksdale To Heaven: Remembering John Lee Hooker

Year: 2002
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:25
Size: 177,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Zakiya Hooker - I Want To Hug You (4:03)
2. Jack Bruce & Gary Moore - I'm In The Mood (6:18)
3. Vince Converse - Bad Like Jesse James (7:06)
4. Jeff Beck & Earl Green - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (6:07)
5. Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low - Baby Lee (4:47)
6. Tony McPhee & Dick Heckstall-Smith - Ground Hog Blues (5:43)
7. Mick Taylor - This Is Hip (3:50)
8. Peter Green - Crawlin' King Snake (5:40)
9. Tony McPhee & Dick Heckstall-Smith - I'm Leaving (5:24)
10. Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low - Little Wheel (5:34)
11. Suzanne Sterling - The Business (4:35)
12. Jeff Beck & Earl Green - Hobo Blues (5:51)
13. Gary Moore & Jack Bruce - Serve Me Right To Suffer (6:24)
14. John Lee Hooker - Red House (Bonus) (4:56)

For the first of two tribute albums to John Lee Hooker, executive producer Arnie Goodman of Blue Storm Music has assembled an impressive list of British musicians from the 1960s who helped spark the '60s blues revival that was responsible for the ascension of Hooker (among others) into legendary status. The biggest name on his own is Jeff Beck, who plays guitar on "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and "Hobo Blues," but other notable figures include Cream's Jack Bruce, Leo Lyons and Ric Lee from Ten Years After, Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, former Fleetwood Mac leader Peter Green, and Gary Moore. The performers are reverent toward Hooker's music, maintaining its relentless rhythmic power and even at times re-creating the master's haunting mumble of a voice.

The set is not entirely given over to the Brits, however, as it opens with "I Want to Hug You," sung by Hooker's daughter, Zakiya, and ends with Hooker himself, accompanied by Booker T. Jones and Randy California, among others, performing a previously unreleased "Red House" that was cut for a Jimi Hendrix tribute album. There is also a newly written song ("The Business") penned by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and Bay Area musician Greg Anton that was earmarked for a Hooker project never recorded due to his death. Such tracks provide some variety, but the strength of the album is still in the devoted performances of people like Beck and Green. /William Ruhlmann, AllMusic

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Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Lacy Gibson - Switchy Titchy

Size: 88,7 MB
Time: 37:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1982
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Take My Love (I Want To Give It All To You) (3:44)
02. Easy Woman (5:27)
03. Quaker City (2:33)
04. My Love Is Real (4:37)
05. Somebody Somewhere (3:25)
06. Come Back Baby (3:43)
07. Switchy Titchy (3:22)
08. You Better Be Sure (3:04)
09. Five Long Years (3:56)
10. Lucky You (3:30)

Personnel: Lacy Gibson (vocals, guitar); Abe Locke (tenor saxophone); Allen Batts, Sunnyland Slim (piano); Snapper Mitchum (electric bass); Robert Covington (drums).

Switchy Titchy is the best record Lacy Gibson has recorded to date. Gibson's variation on Chicago blues includes some horns pinched from Southern soul-blues records, and it's a little bit more laidback than the pile-driving sound often associated with the style. He makes up for the relaxed pace with his round, clean guitar tones and big, powerful vocals, both of which are spotlighted throughout Switchy Titchy. Best of all, that playing is married to a strong song selection, featuring a couple of originals and a lot of forgotten classics. That unpredictable song selection makes the entire album sound fresh and lifts the record above many of its modern blues peers. ~Thom Owens

Switchy Titchy MP3
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Daniel Eriksen - Barefoot Among Scarecrows

Size: 84,3 MB
Time: 36:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Barefoot Among Scarecrows (5:28)
02. Dry Hive Blues (2:00)
03. Baby You're A Star (Feat. John Mooney) (4:09)
04. Sweet Radiation (Feat. Morudes) (3:05)
05. Fire The Clay (Feat. Sonny Landreth) (2:53)
06. Dirge For A Piece Of Gold (6:40)
07. In With The Surge (Feat. Morudes) (3:46)
08. Spread Too Wide (3:08)
09. Utopia Noir (Feat. Morudes) (4:57)

Through dedication, and years of relentless touring on several continents, Daniel Eriksen has built a reputation as a great slide guitarist. His style of dirty Mississippi delta blues, infused with New Orleans rhythms, gospel and boogie, has brought him many fans around the world. In addition to having studied the old masters of slide, like Blind Willie Johnson and Mississippi Fred McDowell, Eriksen has learned firsthand from modern masters such as Roy Rogers, Bob Brozman and John Mooney.

Eriksen has shared the stage with artists such as Lazy Lester, James Harman, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Rick Danko, Eden Brent, Linda Gail Lewis, Phil Guy, Grayson Capps, Curtis Eller, Fiona Boyes, Bill Abel, Mickey Rogers, Vidar Busk, Stephen Ackles, Reidar Larsen, Rita Engedalen, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Bill "Howl-n-Madd" Perry and many others.

Barefoot Among Scarecrows MP3
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King Size Slim - Milk Drunk

Size: 76,3 MB
Time: 31:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Acoustic Blues
Art: Full

01. Milk Drunk (3:06)
02. Wake Up The Town (3:21)
03. Hard Way To Fall (1:42)
04. Roast Beef Blues (2:45)
05. Angel Dear (4:03)
06. Leaving Portsmouth Town (3:11)
07. I Hope It's You (3:02)
08. Rising Spring (3:24)
09. Dark Soul (2:41)
10. Monkey, Where Are You? (2:20)
11. She Lies (2:17)

With acoustic blues roots, his resonator guitar, layered vocals and improvised percussive grooves, singer/songwriter King Size Slim has created a stunning debut studio album.

The big warm tones from his resonator guitar along with a powerful and direct vocal delivery are the trade marks of singer/songwriter King Size Slim.
Add rolling grooves with multi-layers of percussion and vocals, harmonica, hand-claps, foot stomps, myriad shakers, even sweeping brooms and pots and pans, as well as some enriching guest performances (including Andy Newmark, drummer for Sly Stone and Lennon's "Double Fantasy", then you have a debut studio album that truly shines a light on the original compositions of a songwriter steeped in a world of music that is fully conscious of its roots but at the same time has a new story to tell.

With a sound that is unashamedly rooted in blues, this is not a collection of 12 bar shuffles and riffing solos.

In the spirit of the Alan Lomax field recordings and using that organic approach, King Size Slim has delivered a collection of songs that have an earthy warmth and reality, dealing with topics many of us face or see around us in the world today ? love and loss, parenthood, social injustice and the widely understood need for socio-economic and political change.

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Kat Pearson - My Roots

Size: 83,9 MB
Time: 36:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues
Art: Front

01. Cane Creek (3:48)
02. When The Blues Is Over (4:18)
03. Where I Belong (4:55)
04. The Truth (4:32)
05. Ode To My Mother (3:13)
06. Can't Leave It Alone (4:44)
07. Until I Get What I Need (4:57)
08. Nothing Left To Lose (2:46)
09. Labour's Train (2:45)

Born in the states and predominantly raised in Los Angeles, Kathleen Pearson fell in love with London on a family trip when she was 18. After repeated visits, she finally relocated to the UK where she explored here music career. The blues found her (or she rediscovered the blues) while in Spain ang when she returned to London she found blues musicians and the band Kat & Co. began. Here 2013 and 207 CDs were well received and her work since resulted in this fine CD as part of her “Kat Pearson” project. She also appears as part of The Speakeasy trio.

Joining Pearson (who handles the vocals) are Francesco Accurso on guitars, Marco Marzola on the double bass, Mico Menci on piano, and Lele Barbieri on drums. Recorded in London live at Resident Studios, the sound is clear, cool and balanced. Pearson sings with passion and grit and the band is excellent in her support and on their own.

“Cane Creek” opens with some nice guitar as Pearson joins in telling her vocal tale about growing up in the old, hard days in Cane Creek. More spoken word than song, the overall feel is cool and the guitar is somber and quite cool, solo and in support. “When The Blues Is Over” follows, a mid tempo cut mixing blues and jazz stylistically to good effect. She sings with feeling and the piano work is super. A guitar solo follows on the heels of the piano and it is also up to the task. Next is “Where I Belong,” a slow blues with Kat testifying breathlessly and with emotion. There’s more tasteful piano here along with Kat’s vocals. “The Truth” is another slow to mid-tempo jazzy blues and here we get a good guitar solo with a bit of bite to it. “Ode To My Mother” is a slow, lamentful blues where Pearson and Accurso both emote through their instruments.

“Can’t Leave It Alone” is a lot more uptempo beat-wise, although thematically Pearson sings about the emotional barriers from her relationship. Piano and guitar offer apt support and it’s another well done tune overall. Distorted guitar opens “Until I Get What I Need” (almost 2 full minutes), and then Kat come out with sass and basically tells her lover she needs more attention. She sings with gusto as she and the guitar so it alone and play well to each other. Up next is “Nothing Left To Lose,” a cut with a little swing and jump to it. More emotional baggage is exposed as Pearson sings her woman has left her and that’s what the title is all about. A stinging guitar solo is featured here along with Kat’s sassiness and some more cool piano, bass and percussion. The album finishes with “Labour’s Train.” Some big-time guitar and gritty vocals make this one fun as Pearson sings about growing up poor and black in the 1960’s. Guitar and vocals build to a conclusion and wrap up the set.

This is a good album. Pearson sings with a chip on her shoulder that give her delivery a cool edginess. The musicians are tight and do a great job. Pearson and/or band members wrote all the tracks and they are well crafted and delivered with obvious feeling. I enjoyed the album and folks looking for a good blues album with some jazzy overtones here and there will, too! ~Steve Jones

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Earl Hooker - Rockin' Wild: 1952-1963 Recordings

Size: 175,5 MB
Time: 73:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Blue Guitar (2:46)
02. Blues In D Natural (2:14)
03. Rockin' Wild (2:08)
04. Win The Dance (2:04)
05. Rockin' With The Kid (2:08)
06. Universal Rock (With Junior Wells) (2:32)
07. Galloping Horses A Lazy Mule (With Junior Wells) (2:35)
08. Calling All Blues (With Junior Wells) (2:34)
09. Off The Hook (1:42)
10. Frog Hop (2:27)
11. Swear To Tell The Truth (2:33)
12. Apache War Dance (2:18)
13. This Little Voice (2:22)
14. Nothing But Good (With Reggie Boyd) (2:29)
15. The Bright Sound (2:14)
16. That Man (2:32)
17. Oh, Mama (2:48)
18. You'd Better Be Sure (2:19)
19. That Ain't Right (1:59)
20. I Wanna Be Free (2:38)
21. These Cotton Pickin' Blues (2:45)
22. Crying Blues (2:00)
23. I Stay Mad (2:52)
24. Lotta Lovin' (2:49)
25. Race Track (2:30)
26. The Leading Brand (2:36)
27. Want You To Rock Me (With Jackie Brenston) (3:07)
28. Little By Little (With Junior Wells & Willie Dixon) (2:34)
29. Don't You Ever Forget It (2:28)
30. How Long Can This Go On (2:11)

Earl Hooker was the "blues guitarists' guitarist," the most respected six-string wizard in Chicago blues musicians' circles during the 1950s and '60s. A cousin of John Lee Hooker and a protégé of slide guitar master Robert Nighthawk, Hooker was an endlessly inventive axeman who would likely have been a star had his modest vocal abilities matched his instrumental prowess and had he not suffered from chronic tuberculosis, which would lead to his death at the tender age of 41. This collector's CD presents most of Hooker's finest output. It complies 30 remastered tracks, including those sensational and hard-to-find sides he recorded for a variety of labels between 1952 and 1963. EARL HOOKER, electric guitar (and lead vocals on track 4), plus: Junior Wells (vocals & harmonica), Jackie Brenston, Lillian Offitt (vocals), A.C. Reed (vocals & tenor sax), Julian Beasley (alto sax), Earnest Johnson (bass), Lafayette Leake, Pinetop Perkins (piano), Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (organ & piano), Bobby Little (drums), among others. Recorded in Chicago, between 1952 and 1963.

Rockin' Wild MP3
Rockin' Wild FLAC

VA - Lone Star Guitar Attack: Albert Collins & The Kings Of Texas Blues Guitar

Size: 185,2 MB
Time: 78:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Texas Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front & Back

01. Jesse Thomas - Let’s Have Some Fun (2:59)
02. Clarence Garlow - In A Boogie Mood (2:50)
03. Goree Carter & His Hepcats - Rock Awhile (2:43)
04. Goree Carter & His Hepcats - My Love Is Coming Down (2:52)
05. Rocky Thompson - Bullcorn Blues (2:43)
06. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Gate Walks To Board (2:36)
07. Cal Green - Blue Memories (3:08)
08. Cal Green - Love Me Pretty Baby (2:33)
09. Cal Green - All Alone (3:24)
10. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Okie Dokie Stomp (2:33)
11. Peppermint Harris - I Got To Go (2:04)
12. Peppermint Harris - Smiles (3:59)
13. Peppermint Harris - Houston Can’t Be Heaven (2:33)
14. Albert Collins - Collins Shuffle (2:22)
15. Albert Collins - Freeze (2:20)
16. Ray Sharpe - Oh, My Baby’s Gone (2:09)
17. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Swingin’ The Gate (2:49)
18. Royal Earl & The Swingin' Kools - Royal Earl Shuffle (2:21)
19. Royal Earl & The Swingin’ Kools - Talking Guitar, Pt. 2 (2:12)
20. Cal Valentine & The Texas Rockers - The Boogie Twist, Pt. 2 (2:50)
21. Long John Hunter - El Paso Rock (2:34)
22. Long John Hunter - Midnight Stroll (2:35)
23. Long John Hunter - Strange Feeling (2:14)
24. Long John Hunter - Grandma (2:05)
25. The Daylighters - Something Is Wrong (2:33)
26. Ray Sharpe - Dallas (2:41)
27. Clarence Green - Crazy Strings (2:10)
28. Albert Collins - Defrost (2:28)
29. Albert Collins - Albert’s Alley (2:37)
30. Clarence Green - Red Light (2:10)

A stunning mixture of classics and rarities, 'Lone Star Guitar Attack' encompasses 30 cuts of blistering Texas guitar from the 1950s and early '60s. Features major stars, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Long John Hunter and of course 'The Ice Man' the one and only, Albert Collins. Also herein are many outstanding tracks by lesser known artists such as Peppermint Harris and Goree Carter whose track "Rock Awhile" is one of many singles cited as 'the first rock and roll record' and is also often cited as an influence over Chuck Berry. Also of particular note are the great tracks by Cal Green and his brother Clarence Green whose song "Red Light" ends this fantastic collection.

Lone Star Guitar Attack

6 Odd Rats - A Place For Poison

Size: 92,8 MB
Time: 39:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Little Less Than Me (3:30)
02. Mississippi Advice (3:41)
03. State Of Emergency (4:02)
04. Baby Bird (4:12)
05. Kidnapped And Crazy (3:45)
06. What I'm Talkin' About (3:29)
07. No Love Song (5:36)
08. Day Drinking (3:15)
09. Rain On Me (4:08)
10. Foolish Powers (4:03)

Six Odd Rats was born from a basement bar in Iowa City, organizing around open mic and jam sessions at the Yacht Club. Beginning as an improvisational jam band, the group quickly grew to become more organized in their compositions, with with roots and influences in blues, funk, and rock music. Over the last two years 6OR quickly became a popular show in the Iowa City area. Their unique sound has propelled their talents across the Midwest to cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

A Place For Poison MP3
A Place For Poison FLAC

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

VA - Blues Singles Collection Vol. 11

Size: 212,0 MB
Time: 90:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Art: Front

01 Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite - What The Hell? (3:08)
02 Doyle Bramhall II - Be Here Now (Feat. Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks) (4:27)
03 Bobby Rush - Dust My Broom (3:35)
04 Simon McBride - Kids Wanna Rock (2:51)
05 The Reverend Shawn Amos - Troubled Man (Breathe Remix) (Feat. Ruthie Foster & James Saez) (4:12)
06 Laura Rain & The Caesars - Soul Creature (3:39)
07 Lachy Doley & The Lachy Doley Group - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (4:32)
08 John Nemeth - I Can See Your Love Light Shine (3:16)
09 Billy Walton Band - You Don't Need Me (4:08)
10 Lisa Mills - You Better Move On (2:59)
11 ElectroBluesSociety - Slow And Heavy (1:46)
12 Wellbad - Jackleen - Live (2:41)
13 Roxanne Potvin - Jump In (3:32)
14 Boogie Beasts - Mine All Mine (2:26)
15 Curtis Salgado - The Longer That I Live (3:51)
16 Gina Sicilia - Married Man (3:11)
17 Mick Clarke - Pretty Thing (3:01)
18 Cedric Burnside & Steve Azar - Coldwater (4:07)
19 Funkwrench Blues - Unity (Feat. Brother Paul Brown) (3:27)
20 Mike Ross - None Of Your Business (3:20)
21 Bb Factory - Keep Yo Mama (3:21)
22 Chris Smither - Lonely Time (3:22)
23 Selwyn Birchwood - Living In A Burning House (4:08)
24 Phil Manning - Shut Downtown (3:52)
25 Chris Kramer & Beatbox 'n' Blues - Just A Little Boy (Live) (3:17)
26 Walter Trout - Heartland (4:26)

A collection of blues singles released in Aug 2020 compiled by myself.

Blues Singles Collection Vol. 11

Leo Welch - I Don't Prefer No Blues

Size: 82,8 MB
Time: 35:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Electric Delta Blues
Art: Full

01. Poor Boy (2:07)
02. Girl In The Holler (3:46)
03. I Don't Know Her Name (2:45)
04. Goin' Down Slow (4:12)
05. Cadillac Baby (2:46)
06. Too Much Wine (3:04)
07. I Woke Up (4:51)
08. So Many Turnrows (4:06)
09. Pray On (3:48)
10. Sweet Black Angel (3:47)

In 2014, 81-year-old Delta guitar wrangler and blues shouter Leo Bud Welch released Sabougla Voices, his debut album. With Welch having spent his adult life playing in church, this collection of raw gospel songs was greeted with excitement on the blues scene. Welch toured the world playing not only clubs but festival stages. Part of his deal with Fat Possum's Big Legal Mess was that if he got to record his Sunday morning gospel album, he'd deliver them its other side: a set of blues tunes from Saturday night's juke joint heart. Produced by label boss Bruce Watson, I Don't Prefer No Blues is woolly, frenetic, jagged, and raucous. That said, one of its finest tracks is the standard "Poor Boy," an outlier musically and lyrically. The lone track produced by Jimbo Mathus (who plays guitar elsewhere) commences with Welch and Shardé Thomas' mournful twinned moans followed by a snare, an upright bass, and an acoustic guitar backed by a choir to complete the funereal lament. It's the emotional and spiritual bridge to Sabougla Voices. From here on out, that bridge gets all but burned in the hedonistic fire that follows. "Girl in the Holler” is a swampy choogler filled with unspoken desire as Welch and Mathus move back and forth with riffs and fills atop a rattling drum kit. On "I Don't Know Her Name," Mathus adds distortion and a fuzz guitar freakout to his stomping uptempo blues swagger. A Farfisa organ squalls in the backdrop as Welch literally begins to howl his lust like a dog. Other standards, such as the sludgy "Goin' Down Slow" and the manic strut of "Cadillac Baby," are delivered with authority that testifies. "Too Much Wine," played with wah-wah guitar, organ, and clattering snares, is dirty and funky; it's a juke joint floor stomper. While the theme of "Pray On" is gospel, its form is revved-up rock and blasted blues with the band grooving on stun. The set ends with a razor-sharp reading of Robert Nighthawk's classic "Sweet Black Angel." In it, the electric Delta music of R.L Burnside meets the early Chicago sound of Muddy Waters, bringing the tradition as it opens up on rock & roll. I Don't Prefer No Blues is drenched in lineage and history, but refuses to be bound by them. Simply by playing his own interpretation of the music he's been surrounded with all his life, Welch has given us a blues album for the ages. ~Thom Jurek

I Don't Prefer No Blues MP3
I Don't Prefer No Blues FLAC