Little Smokey Smothers & Elvin Bishop - Chicago Blues Buddies

Size: 134.2 MB
Time: 57:06
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Remembering (3:12)
02. Talkin' Blues (4:37)
03. Smokey Shuffle (3:04)
04. Crackhead Woman (7:08)
05. Mother-In-Law Blues (4:25)
06. You're Gonna Miss Me (5:49)
07. You Don't Love Me (4:04)
08. Interview (7:55)
09. Roll Your Moneymaker (4:13)
10. Little Red Rooster (5:42)
11. Hello Baby (3:57)
12. Bye Bye Baby (2:53)

Elvin met Smokey in Chicago in 1960 while attending regular college at the University of Chicago and “blues college” on the south and west sides. Smokey would have a steady mostly local career in the Chicago blues scene, while Elvin would gain prominence, first with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and then as an artist in his own right.

The CD is entitled “Chicago Blues Buddies” and it features studio recordings from Chicago and live recordings from San Francisco,Chicago & Clarksdale (Mississippi) from 1992 to 2006, plus 7 previously unissued live tracks & interview.

Chicago Blues Buddies MP3
Chicago Blues Buddies FLAC

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Elvin Bishop - Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby

Size: 95.9 MB
Time: 40:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1981/1989
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby (3:38)
02. Midnight Hour Blues (3:37)
03. Honest I Do (3:02)
04. Drunk (3:28)
05. Sweet Cocaine (5:57)
06. Good Good Rockin' (4:13)
07. We Must Go On (2:47)
08. Big Diamonds (3:39)
09. Red Hot (2:16)
10. Another Mule (4:57)
11. Catfish Blues (3:05)

Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of that group in 2015 and the Blues Hall of Fame in his own right in 2016.

Bishop feels that the limitations of his voice have helped his songwriting.

Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby MP3
Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby FLAC

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Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite - 100 Years Of Blues

Size: 122,5 MB
Time: 51:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Harmonica Blues
Art: Front

01. Birds Of A Feather (3:21)
02. West Helena Blues (4:51)
03. What The Hell? (3:06)
04. Good Times (3:45)
05. Old School (4:58)
06. If I Should Have Bad Luck (4:00)
07. Midnight Hour Blues (4:12)
08. Blues, Why Do You Worry Me? (4:03)
09. South Side Slide (3:13)
10. Blues For Yesterday (5:53)
11. Help Me (5:15)
12. 100 Years Of Blues (5:10)

You can’t call this stuff unplugged. It’s stripped down, but there’s too much electricity crackling around the pairing of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite to contain in an acoustic environment.

For 100 Years of Blues, their first studio pairing, Bishop and Musselwhite left the bulk of their musical accomplices behind, utilizing only the talents of Greaseland Studios’ owner/guitarist Kid Andersen (Rick Estrin and the Nightcats) on bass and Bob Welsh on guitar and piano. They’re calling it front-porch music, but cranking out this kind of stuff on your front porch would have the neighborhood in an uproar. Andersen has played and recorded in bands with both men over the years, and Welsh has appeared prominently on Bishop albums for the last decade and toured last year with Bishop and Musselwhite as a stripped-down trio. 100 Years of Blues was inspired by that tour.

Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, and Junior Wells encouraged and welcomed Bishop and Musselwhite into their arena early on, and their influences still resonate in the music. Bishop’s joy in entertaining has always been infectious, his shows like a rowdy picnic with friends you just met and decided to throw down with. Musselwhite also brings added zest to any gathering, whether slinging gospel licks around with the Blind Boys of Alabama or back porchin’ with Hot Tuna.

Bishop’s overalls-wearing, good-ol’-boy persona shines through on “Birds of a Feather,” bopping along to a cool, high-steppin’ shuffle with a groove deep enough to get down and wallow in.

“South Side Slide” is a languid, laid-back instrumental stroll through the Chicago neighborhood where both picked up and honed their blues skills, Musselwhite soaring above the sidewalk so as not to slip in Bishop’s greasy slide tracks.

“What the Hell?” is the duo’s why-can’t-we-all-halfway-get-along plea voiced by Bishop and aimed at “the president who wants to be the king,” as Musselwhite’s mournful harp protests the current political goings-on.
Musselwhite channels his inner Slim Harpo on “If I Should Have Bad Luck.” It’s a real pleasure to hear the duo make misery such an art form.
Bishop narrates the couple’s pedigree on “100 Years of Blues”: Bishop’s Oklahoma roots and Musselwhite’s Tennessee raisin’ and their musical education in the streets of Chicago in the 1960s, name-checking some of the joints that schooled them, piling up 100 years of blues between the two.

100 Years of Blues is another solid effort from Bishop, sanctified by Musselwhite and blessed by Andersen and Welsh in a blues baptismal that may not save your soul, but will soothe it ’til they get around to you again. ~Grant Britt

100 Years Of Blues MP3
100 Years Of Blues FLAC

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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

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Shirley King - Blues For A King

Size: 85,9 MB
Time: 36:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2020
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. All Of My Lovin' (Feat. Joe Louis Walker) (2:42)
02. Feelin' Alright? (Feat. Duke Robillard) (4:15)
03. I Did You Wrong (Feat. Elvin Bishop) (3:11)
04. That's All Right Mama (Feat. Pat Travers) (2:47)
05. Can't Find My Way Home (Feat. Martin Barre) (3:12)
06. Johnny Porter (Feat. Arthur Adams) (2:50)
07. Feeling Good (Feat. Robben Ford) (2:31)
08. Give It All Up (Feat. Kirk Fletcher) (2:20)
09. Gallows Pole (Feat. Harvey Mandel) (4:06)
10. Hoodoo Man (Feat. Junior Wells & Joe Louis Walker) (5:28)
11. At Last (Feat. Steve Cropper) (3:16)

Being the blues-singing daughter of B.B. King has earned Shirley King the title “Daughter of the Blues,” but she is an outstanding singer and performer in her own right and capable of singing any kind of music that comes her way. Just witness her newest full-length album, Blues For A King, which crosses musical genres from blues to rock to soul and back again. Even next to such high wattage guests as Joe Louis Walker, Robben Ford, Junior Wells, Pat Travers & Elvin Bishop, King absolutely shines as she performs spectacular version of the blues classics “Gallows Pole” and “Hoodoo Blues Man” as well as the soul hit “Johnny Porter” (originally by The Temptations) plus two songs by British rock band Traffic, “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Feelin’ Alright?.” The album closes with a powerful version of Etta James’s unforgettable “At Last,” which signals that, at long last, Shirley King is finally getting the attention and recognition she so richly deserves.

You Make Me Feel MP3
You Make Me Feel FLAC

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The Elvin Bishop Group - The Elvin Bishop Group

Size: 86,7 MB
Time: 36:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1969/2002
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. The Things That I Used To Do (4:02)
02. Tulsa Shuffle (5:19)
03. Sweet Potato (5:38)
04. How Much More (3:04)
05. Dad Gum Ya Hide, Boy (2:53)
06. Honey Bee (3:26)
07. Prisoner Of Love (5:23)
08. So Fine (Live) (3:57)
09. Party Till The Cows Come Home (Live) (3:07)

Bishop's first solo album (billed to the Elvin Bishop Group) was a mixed effort at best, hampered by his limitations as a singer and composer. Bishop wasn't really much of a vocalist at all at this point, and as a frontman he usually resorted to the hoarse half-comic yelp of his Pigboy Crabshaw persona. The result wasn't successful as either straight blues or comedy, though he certainly pulled out the desperate quasi-vaudevillian stops for "Sweet Potato," a love song that made his girl seem as deliberately physically unappealing as possible. It was better to let his guitar do his talking, as he did on the original instrumental "Tulsa Shuffle," which strongly recalled his better moments in the Paul Butterfield Band (complete with harmonica by Applejack). "Dad Gum Ya Hide, Boy" was another over-the-top comic number in which Bishop played the country rube, while the rest of the album was filled out with accomplished but routine blues-rock, including covers of Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do," Percy Mayfield's "Prisoner of Love," and J.B. Lenoir's "How Much More." The 2002 CD reissue on Sundazed adds two live tracks, "So Fine" and "Party Till the Cows Come Home," that originally appeared on the early-'70s various-artists compilation album Last Days of the Fillmore. ~Richie Unterberger

The Elvin Bishop Group MP3
The Elvin Bishop Group FLAC

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Elvin Bishop - Can't Even Do Wrong Right

Year: 2014
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:45
Size: 92,6 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Can't Even Do Wrong Right (3:46)
2. Blues With A Feeling (4:15)
3. Old School (3:59)
4. Let Your Woman Have Her Way (4:56)
5. No More Doggin' (4:20)
6. Everybody's In The Same Boat (4:11)
7. Dancin' (3:11)
8. Honest I Do (3:46)
9. Bo Weevil (3:41)
10. Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (3:35)

Triple-threat singer, songwriter, and guitarist Elvin Bishop has had a mostly under-the-radar five-decade career since he first hit the scene in 1965 with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and over the course of some 20 albums under his name, his brand of good-humored R&B, country, and pop-laced blues has made him into sort a Jimmy Buffett for the blues crowd. With Can't Even Do Wrong Right, a scorching set of joyous blues rock, Bishop shows the world that's he's as good as he's ever been, and it's one of his most consistent albums, full of sweet, funky guitar licks, good songs, and a bouncy let's-all-have-a-good-time house party vibe.

The title track leads things off with a wink, all chugging, gritty, and solid. No More Doggin', which features guest blues harpist Charlie Musselwhite, roars and stomps like a good barroom blues jam should, while the instrumental version of Jimmy Reed's Honest I Do here has a kind of easy flowing and resilient grace, even without lyrics, and Fats Domino's Bo Weevil gets turned into a bluesy honky tonk shuffle with considerable bite.

Bishop carries it all with a good-natured grin, plays wonderful guitar, and sounds like he's having the time of his life. As Bishop has put it in interviews, the blues ain't football, you don't have to retire at 30, and you can play it all your life. Thankfully, he's done that, and thankfully, he continues to do it with passion, energy and joy. /Steve Leggett, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Can't Even Do Wrong Right mc
Can't Even Do Wrong Right zippy

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Elvin Bishop - Struttin' My Stuff

Size: 103,2 MB
Time: 43:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1975/2013
Styles: Blues Rock, Southern Rock
Art: Full

01. Struttin' My Stuff (4:10)
02. Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (3:31)
03. My Girl (3:06)
04. I Love The Life I Lead (2:31)
05. Fooled Around And Fell In Love (4:35)
06. Holler And Shout (3:13)
07. Slick Titty Boom (5:01)
08. Grab All The Love (2:54)
09. Have A Good Time (2:31)
10. Joy (4:02)
11. Silent Night (Bonus Track) (3:58)
12. Silent Night (Instrumental) (Bonus Track) (4:12)

A veteran guitarist who fused the blues with gospel, R&B, and country traditions, Elvin Bishop became one of the first stars of blues-rock as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and later went on to a solo career that peaked with the 1976 single "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," which became a Top Ten smash. Bishop's guitar work could be flashy, but it was also strongly rooted in blues and country traditions, and he was fluid and playful in a way that many guitar heroes of the '70s were not. Bishop's guitar work took a central role on the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's 1967 The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, and after he went solo, he hit his stride on 1974's Let It Flow and 1976's Struttin' My Stuff. After a layoff from recording, Bishop was back in fine fettle on 1988's Big Fun and 1991's Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down!, and he continued to record solid work into the 2010s on Red Dog Speaks (2010) and Something Smells Funky 'Round Here (2018).

Elvin Bishop was born in Glendale, California, on October 21, 1942. He grew up on a farm in Iowa with no electricity or running water, and eventually moved to Oklahoma with his family when he was ten. Raised in an all-white community, his only exposure to African-American traditions was the radio, which introduced him to the blues stations in Shreveport, Louisiana. The piercing sound of Jimmy Reed's harmonica won his attention; Bishop would later liken it to a crossword puzzle that he had to figure out.

Bishop won a National Merit Scholarship to the University of Chicago in 1959, giving him a chance to immerse himself in the thriving Windy City blues scene. After two years of college, Bishop dropped out and pursued music full time, eventually meeting Howlin' Wolf's guitarist Smokey Smothers and learning the basics of blues guitar from him. In the early '60s, Bishop teamed up with blues harp master Paul Butterfield and they formed the core of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, a group that helped bridge the gap between rock and blues. Although Bishop had only played guitar for a few years, he practiced frequently, and performed with Butterfield in just about every place possible, including campuses, houses, parks, and Big John's on Chicago's North Side, a venue that hosted the Butterfield Blues Band frequently and helped them spread their reputation. Bishop helped shape the sound of several Butterfield albums, especially 1967's The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, whose title refers to Bishop's nickname and countrified persona.

In 1968, Bishop left Butterfield's band following the release of their fourth album, 1968's In My Own Dream. He launched a solo career and relocated to the San Francisco area, where he made frequent appearances at the Filmore with artists like Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and the Allman Brothers Band. Bishop recorded four albums for Epic Records, beginning with 1969's The Elvin Bishop Group, and later signed with Capricorn in 1974. His recording of "Traveling Shoes" (from the 1974 album Let It Flow) made a dent on the charts, but the single "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" (from Struttin' My Stuff) made a bigger splash in 1976 when it peaked at number three on the Billboard charts. Despite the success of "Fooled Around," Bishop's next few albums -- including 1976's Hometown Boy Makes Good! and 1978's Hog Heaven -- were only modestly successful, and the Elvin Bishop Group quietly dissolved. Capricorn brought out The Best of Elvin Bishop in 1979 (a collection of his Epic material, The Best of Elvin Bishop: Crabshaw Rising, came out in 1975), and after 1981's Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby was issued by the German Line label in 1981, he laid low for several years, eventually resurfacing when he signed with the blues-oriented independent label Alligator Records.

Bishop's first album for Alligator, Big Fun, appeared in 1988, and Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down! followed in 1991; both earned better reviews than his final albums of the '70s. He also participated in Alligator's 1992 20th anniversary cross-country tour; three years later, he toured with veteran bluesman B.B. King and released the album Ace in the Hole. The Skin I'm In followed in 1998, and 2000's That's My Partner saw him teaming up with Smokey Smothers, the musician who taught him guitar many years earlier.

After a five-year hiatus, Bishop released Gettin' My Groove Back in 2005 on Blind Pig Records; he then jumped to the Delta Groove Music label for 2008's The Blues Rolls On, which featured guest spots by B.B. King, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, and others. Red Dog Speaks (the title refers to his beloved red 1959 ES-345 Gibson guitar), arrived in 2010, with the joyous and gritty Can't Even Do Wrong Right appearing in 2014. The following year, Bishop teamed with Bob Welsh on piano and guitar and Willy Jordan on hand percussion and vocals to form the Big Fun Trio. They made their recording debut on Alligator's 2018 release Something Smells Funky 'Round Here. Live at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2019 captured a set Bishop and his band played at the Crescent City's celebrated annual music festival.

Struttin' My Stuff MP3
Struttin' My Stuff FLAC

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Elvin Bishop & Little Smokey Smothers - That's My Partner!

Size: 126,6 MB
Time: 55:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. That's My Partner (4:58)
02. Roll Your Moneymaker (4:26)
03. Slow Down (4:51)
04. Little Red Rooster (5:39)
05. Hello, Baby (3:41)
06. Middle Aged Man (3:34)
07. The Skin They're In (3:24)
08. Stomp (3:49)
09. Annie Mae (5:28)
10. Pleading With You (4:36)
11. Dirty Drawers (4:25)
12. Travelin' Shoes (6:20)

Every now and again you get one of those discs that picks up a few threads that have long lain dormant for various reasons, and you are more than overjoyed that someone took the time to help make the reconnections that seem to make life richer. Little Smokey took the young — and new to Chicago — Elvin Bishop under his wing in the early '60s and taught the kid everything, from playing blues guitar to how to walk the walk. It is well-documented how Bishop's career took off when he hooked up with Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield in the Butterfield Blues Band (setting the stage for all the other twin lead guitar bands such as the Allman Brothers Band that followed). Smokey remained in Chicago and virtually gave up trying to make a living playing music in favor of a job to support the family. With the kids grown, by the '80s he started playing again. In January 2000, the two hooked up again for three nights that would be recorded by Alligator. Maybe this was to say thank you for the early help; more likely — judging by the playing — it was a return of the early love between the two. It was more than worth the wait to hear the interplay of Elvin and Smokey, backed by a more-than-capable band (a nod to S.E. Willis on keyboards) that provides strong, solid support while letting the two stand to the forefront and play off each other. Bishop has always been known as a fun-loving musician; however, he takes his chops seriously, his playing is crisp, and — as he shows here — he is at his best when playing off an equal (listen to his signature "Travelin' Shoes"!). The joy of playing that deep-felt Chicago blues with an old friend and colleague and the chance for teacher and pupil to stand up and show off their licks and progress shine through here. The banter between the two helps to push the music along to greater heights. Just listen to this gutter-crawling version of Little Red Rooster. You know the Wolf would be proud.

That's My Partner! MP3
That's My Partner! FLA

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Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio - Something Smells Funky 'Round Here

Size: 84,7 MB
Time: 35:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here (3:07)
02. (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (4:42)
03. Right Now Is The Hour (3:28)
04. Another Mule (3:44)
05. That's The Way Willy Likes It (3:49)
06. Bob's Boogie (2:31)
07. I Can't Stand The Rain (4:08)
08. Stomp (3:11)
09. Lookin' Good (3:38)
10. My Soul (3:37)

It’s been nearly three years since Elvin Bishop put together the Big Fun Trio. Last year their eponymous debut album received a Grammy nomination. Now, the blues threesome is set to release Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here via Alligator records.

Bishop couldn’t have put together a better group if they’d been handed down from heaven on a silver platter. Elvin is Rock and Roll and Blues Hall of Fame inductee who first came to light with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band over 50 years ago. Bob Welsh, who plays piano and guitar brings his Louisiana charm to the mix. Bay area native Willy Jordan (cajón, vocals) keeps a solid beat, as well as providing his uber-soulful vocals.

Welsh (Rusty Zinn, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton), and Jordan (John Lee Hooker, Joe Louis Walker and Angela Strehli) are obviously no strangers to the blues. When combined with Bishop’s guitar work and witty lyrics, they become a 3-fold force of nature. “With a trio there’s no place to hide,” Bishop says.­ “You’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front. You need to be totally into it all the time. It’s really cool to see how people react to the goin’-for-it feel of the music.”

Go for it they do, right from the opening title track. It’s a tongue-in-cheek State of the Union Address delivered with no holds barred. The lyrics are clever, but piercingly direct, and take aim at those in power. The grungy, rock-blues music adds the perfect backdrop. “Funky like a bad pot of chitlins.”

Next up is their cover of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher.” Jordan’s vocals shine like polished silver as he works in and out of falsetto, hitting notes that Wilson himself couldn’t imagine. Willy brings those powerful pipes to play on a few other tracks including their re-imagining of Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain.”

“Right Now is the Hour,” is a 21st Century re-composition of Bishop’s 1978 hit from Hog Heaven. With only Bishop and Jordan on vocals, they carry the weight of that original chorus. The group goes full-on Chicago/New Orleans blues with “Another Mule.” Whether it was Dave Bartholomew, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, or Koko Taylor singing that iconic line, Bishop was there for all of them, and learned the lesson well.

The group all comes together vocally on the chorus of “That’s the Way Willy Likes It,” but Jordan takes the lead.There’s no falsetto on this one. Just pure, unadulterated, soulful blues.

Although the masterful guitar and/or piano of Bob Welsh is on every track, it doesn’t stand out any better than on “Bob’s Boogie.” It’s no wonder that James Cotton once told him, “Piano player, you take me back to Otis Spann.” He tickles and pounds the keys like a man possessed. If this one doesn’t get you dancing, you better activate your Life-Alert.

“Stomp,” is another instrumental that put the boogie in our shoes. Switching back and forth between some absolutely filthy slide to some grungy, string-bending, it’s no wonder Bishop lets out with one loud, “YEAH” about two and a half minutes in.

Elvin gets his story-telling on with “Lookin’ Good.” Described as one of the three stages of life, after youth and middle age, “Lookin’ Good,” is a left-handed compliment that Bishop takes in stride and wears with pride. “Man, you outta be glad about them wrinkles, and you outta thank God for every one of them grey hairs, because think of all the dudes that didn’t live long enough to get ’em.” His wry lyrics are perfectly accompanied by Welsh’s blues piano.

Our favorite track closes out the record. “My Soul,” combines Chicago guitar playing with Cajun-flavored accordion (provided by Andre Thierry), and barrelhouse piano. Top it all off with Jordan’s commanding, industrial strength vocals, and we’re hearing something brand new, that sounds as familiar as mom’s Sunday dinner.

Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here was produced by Bishop and Steve Savage and recorded at Bishop’s Hog Heaven Studio in Lagunitas, California. It has a street date of July 13th, and if it isn’t immediately in your collection, there may be something wrong with your soul. ~by JD Nash

Something Smells Funky 'Round Here MP3
Something Smells Funky 'Round Here FLAC

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Elvin Bishop - Raisin' Hell

Year: 1977/2012
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:18
Size: 183,0 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front, sleeve, tray, cd

1. Raisin' Hell (2:51)
2. Rock My Soul (4:55)
3. Sure Feels Good (4:49)
4. Calling All Cows (6:20)
5. Juke Joint Jump (4:12)
6. Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey (3:21)
7. Joy (4:11)
8. Stealin' Watermelons (4:49)
9. Fooled Around And Fell In Love (5:34)
10. Little Brown Bird (6:06)
11. Yes Sir (4:24)
12. Struttin' My Stuff (3:40)
13. Give It Up (3:44)
14. Travelin' Shoes (7:17)
15. Medley: Let The Good Times Roll/A Change Is Gonna Come/Bring It On Home To Me (13:01)

Headliner Elvin Bishop's folksy, good-old-boy charm is as much a part of this upbeat live set as the music, thanks to generous doses of good-natured banter with fans. This live best-of collection, culled from five performances over almost a year, is highly entertaining. Mickey Thomas takes the singing pressure off the boss, but the thin sound undercuts the swagger of the horn section. /Mark Allan, AllMusic

Raisin' Hell mc
Raisin' Hell zippy

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James Cotton - Two Sides Of The Blues

Size: 66,3 MB
Time: 28:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1993
Styles: Chicago Blues, Harmonica Blues
Art: Full

01. Good Time Charlie (2:31)
02. There Is Something On Your Mind (3:48)
03. Turn Your Lovelight (2:23)
04. Jelly, Jelly (5:41)
05. South Side Boogie (2:38)
06. So Glad I'm Living (3:09)
07. Diggin' My Potatoes (2:10)
08. V-8 Ford Blues (4:00)
09. Polly Put The Kettle On (1:49)

Acoustic Material:
James Cotton: Harmonica, Vocals
Elvin Bishop: Guitar
Paul Butterfield: Harmonica
Billy Boy Arnold: Harmonica

Recorded in Chicago 1963.

Electric Material:
James Cotton: Harmonica, Vocals
Luther Tucker: Guitar
Alberto Gianquinto: Piano
Robert Anderson: Bass
Sam Lay: Drums
Delbert L. Hill: Tenor Sax
McKinley Easton: Baritone Sax
Louis E. Satterfield: Trombone
John M. Watson: Trombone

Recorded in Chicago 1967

Two Sides Of The Blues

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Mitch Woods - Friends Along The Way (Bonus Track Edition)

Size: 173,0 MB
Time: 73:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

01. Take This Hammer (Feat. Van Morrison & Taj Mahal) (6:04)
02. CC Rider (Feat. Van Morrison & Taj Mahal) (5:38)
03. Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket (Feat. Elvin Bishop) (4:06)
04. Singin' The Blues (Feat. Ruthie Foster) (4:02)
05. Mother In Law Blues (Feat. John Hammond) (3:19)
06. Cryin' For My Baby (Feat. Charlie Musselwhite) (6:42)
07. Nasty Boogie (Feat. Joe Louis Walker) (3:58)
08. Empty Bed Blues (Feat. Maria Muldaur) (4:53)
09. Bluesmobile (Feat. Kenny Neil) (3:27)
10. The Blues (Feat. Cyril Neville) (5:38)
11. Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man (Feat. Elvin Bishop) (2:55)
12. Blues Gave Me A Ride (Feat. Charlie Musselwhite) (2:27)
13. Chicago Express (Feat. James Cotton) (2:29)
14. Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive (Feat. John Lee Hooker) (5:11)
15. Midnight Hour Blues (Feat. Van Morrison & Taj Mahal) (4:30)
16. In The Night (Feat. Marcia Ball) (2:58)
17. Take This Hammer (Feat. Van Morrison & Taj Mahal) (Radio Version) (5:18)

The theme of friendship has carried Mitch Woods along through his career and has led him to this, his current duets and trios project…. Friends Along The Way. Featuring Guests: Van Morrison, Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, Joe Louis Walker, Maria Muldaur, Cyril Neville, Marcia Ball, John Hammond, Kenny Neal, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker and more… Mitch Woods has delivered a career spanning tour de force. What you hear on these songs is a simple duo or trio of musicians each expressing their innermost feelings and emotions through their instrument….the voice, piano, guitar, harmonica, tambourine…anything that can communicate the feelings, the rhythms of life to the audience. Friends Along The Way finds Mitch reaching into his historical sense of music. He reaches backwards to the roots rather than forward for his inspiration. This shines through on the first single “Take This Hammer” featuring a stunning vocal performance from Van Morrison and backed on guitar by Taj Mahal and of course Mitch Woods on piano. With Friends Along The Way, Mitch wanted to get a chance to play with some of his contemporaries in an intimate and mostly unplugged environment. The piano as an instrument lends itself to this format so perfectly. Mitch can play rhythm, lead, bass, and sing while accompanying some of his friends, who happen to be today’s blues and musical greats. It is a great instrument for bringing out the best of these awesome artists who are keeping the blues flame burning for generations to come. Some say music is a gift. It is a gift, not only to the person who performs it but to the world. The musicians you hear in these songs have spent a lifetime doing what they love to do….play music. Enjoy…this album is Mitch Wood’s gift to you.

Friends Along The Way

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Elvin Bishop - Red Dog Speaks

Size: 94,2 MB
Time: 39:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Red Dog Speaks (4:47)
02. Neighbor Neighbor (3:07)
03. Fat & Sassy (4:34)
04. Barbecue Boogie (2:45)
05. Many Rivers to Cross (3:50)
06. Blues Cruise (3:24)
07. Doo-Wop Medley (3:59)
08. Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket (2:55)
09. Sparrow (3:29)
10. Clean Livin' (2:42)
11. Midnight Hour Blues (4:17)

Veteran guitarist/vocalist Elvin Bishop has always been -- at heart -- a blues man, but more known for his pop tunes ("Fooled Around & Fell In Love") and associations as an accompanist. Though he's put out many recordings as a leader, this could be the crown jewel in a long and perhaps sometimes frustrating career. It's his second for the Delta Groove label, accentuating Bishop's deft, meaty slide guitar work, featuring five of his originals, and covers of great standards written by Leroy Carr, Huey Meaux and others. In addition, Bishop is teamed with many heavy friends (including guitarist Tommy Castro, R.C Carrier on rub board, pianist Bob Welsh, and ex-Charles Brown electric bassist Ruth Davies) who also know a great deal about the Chicago-based electric urban music they grew up with and still adore. John Nemeth adds his soulful and gritty vocals to three songs, including a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and a classic read of Otis Spann's New Orleans-flavored "Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket." Kid Anderson's literate second guitar is paired well with Bishop for another triple feature of tunes, especially their instrumental cover of "In the Still of The Night," but the killer collaboration crops up during the shuffle "Blues Cruise," a live concert jam with Ronnie Baker Brooks, Roy Gaines, Sir Reginald Dural, and Buckwheat Zydeco. Bishop himself has never sounded better, and despite the years of wear and tear, not to mention those long months on the road, lives to tell the tale, particularly on two autobiographical talking blues selections. There's also an acknowledgment of traditional acoustic blues and gospel music here. Fans should be quite pleased with this, and considering the assistance from so many heavyweights, everybody who enjoys this kind of music should deem this a triumph for Elvin Bishop -- a main man at last. ~Michael G. Nastos

Red Dog Speaks

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VA - Alligator Blues Guitar

Size: 172,5 MB
Time: 73:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Front

01 Michael Burks - Hit The Ground Running (3:26)
02 Joe Louis Walker - Too Drunk To Drive Drunk (3:54)
03 Hound Dog Taylor - Take Five (2:42)
04 Sonny Landreth - Taylor's Rock (3:57)
05 Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland - Albert's Alley (4:06)
06 Guitar Shorty - I've Been Working (4:32)
07 Johnny Winter - See See Baby (3:09)
08 Eddy The Chief Clearwater - Too Old To Get Married (3:53)
09 Coco Montoya - It Takes Time (4:49)
10 Luther Allison - Give Me Back My Wig (4:45)
11 Fenton Robinson - West Side Baby (5:03)
12 Roy Buchanan - You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover (3:21)
13 Long John Hunter - Ice Cold (4:21)
14 Elvin Bishop - The Skin They're In (4:02)
15 Tinsley Ellis - Amanda (4:19)
16 Left Hand Frank - One Room Country Shack (4:28)
17 Son Seals - Frank And Johnnie (4:26)
18 Lonnie Brooks - I Want All My Money Back (4:33)

Alligator Blues Guitar

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Elvin Bishop - The Blues Rolls On

Size: 106,6 MB
Time: 45:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2008
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Blues Rock
Art: Full

01. The Blues Rolls On (Feat. Warren Haynes & Kim Wilson) (4:24)
02. Night Time Is The Right Time (Feat. John Nemeth & Angela Strehli) (3:09)
03. Yonder's Wall (Feat. Ronnie Baker Brooks & Tommy Castro) (4:07)
04. Struttin' My Stuff (Feat. Derek Trucks & Warren Haynes) (4:00)
05. Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket (Feat. B.B. King) (4:53)
06. Who's The Fool (Feat. John Nemeth & Kid Andersen) (3:48)
07. Black Gal (Feat. R.C. Carrier & Andre Thierry) (3:11)
08. Oklahoma (5:21)
09. Come On In This House (Feat. Homemade Jamz Band) (3:40)
10. I Found Out (Feat. John Nemeth, James Cotton & Angela Strehli) (3:17)
11. Send You Back To Georgia (Feat. George Thorogood) (3:15)
12. Honest I Do (Feat. John Nemeth) (2:47)

Bishop hops labels once again, this time to the relatively young and scrappy Delta Groove imprint, while calling up some names in his obviously well-stocked Rolodex to assist on his first predominately studio album in three years. Like most guest studded affairs, this is an inconsistent but enjoyable romp. It also works as a career recap of sorts with Bishop revisiting "Yonder's Wall," a tune from his Butterfield Blues Band days (with Ronnie Baker Brooks and Tommy Castro), along with the Southern styled party sound that proved so commercially viable during his '70s Capricorn affiliation, in addition to other covers. He strips things down for a solo musical life history in "Oklahoma," an electric, educational traipse through his back pages from his early years in the titular state, set against stark, distorted boogie guitar. He taps the youngsters in the Homemade Jamz Blues Band, another Delta Groove signing, for a cool grooving version of Junior Wells' "Come On in This House," and features John Nemeth on vocals for three tracks and harp on the closing midtempo Jimmy Reed instrumental "Honest I Do," apparently the first blues song a young Bishop heard on his transistor radio as a child in Oklahoma. Fellow boogie man George Thorogood squares off with Bishop and takes lead vocals for a frolic through Hound Dog Taylor's "Send You Back to Georgia," and Bishop references his Capricorn days with current Allman Brothers Band guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes on a reworked "Struttin' My Stuff." B.B. King stops by for a short interview that leads into a jazzy, swinging cover of Roy Milton's "Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket," a song King was familiar with from his old Memphis DJ days. R.C. Carrier and Andre Thierry shift the proceedings to a bluesy, zippy zydeco on "Black Gal." As you can see, the album is pieced together from a variety of sessions in different locations, resulting in a patchwork set that, despite many excellent and above all enthusiastic performances, never quite gels. Like the collage of pictures on the back cover, this is more a scrapbook of Bishop playing with his pals and acquaintances than a focused project, but there is enough quality music here to attract established fans, even if this isn't the place to generate new ones. ~Review by Hal Horowitz

The Blues Rolls On

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Elvin Bishop - Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:37
Size: 97.6 MB
Styles: Modern electric blues
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[4:36] 1. Keep On Rollin'
[2:46] 2. Honey Babe
[2:10] 3. It's You, Baby
[2:34] 4. Ace In The Hole
[4:35] 5. Let's Go
[3:00] 6. Delta Lowdown
[3:35] 7. It's All Over Now
[4:53] 8. 100 Years Of Blues
[3:24] 9. Let The Four Winds Blow
[5:02] 10. That's What I'm Talkin' About
[3:17] 11. Can't Take No More
[2:40] 12. Southside Slide

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is among his very best musical ideas ever. The music is rootsy, spirited and soulful, performed by serious musicians hell-bent on having a good time. Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio features Bishop’s down-home delivery, deep blues picking and slide guitar playfully meshing with Welsh’s piano and guitar licks and Jordan’s soul singing and propulsive cajón playing. The album’s laid-back, front-porch vibe mixes four rollicking Bishop originals with three co-writes and five raucous, well-chosen covers of songs by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Fats Domino, Sunnyland Slim, Ted Taylor and Bobby Womack. And because one can never have too much fun, Bishop’s pals Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite and Rick Estrin stop by the sessions, each adding his distinctive harmonica talent (and in Musselwhite’s case, vocals too) to a song. Listening to the proceedings, it’s easy to see why the Chicago Sun-Times enthusiastically declared, “It’s impossible not to like Bishop. He’s always singing something lowbrow and uplifting.”

Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio mc
Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio zippy

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Elvin Bishop - The Best Of Elvin Bishop: Crabshaw Rising

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:39
Size: 79.4 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 1972/1996
Art: Front

[2:43] 1. Rock My Soul
[2:35] 2. So Fine
[2:38] 3. Holler And Shout
[6:50] 4. Hogbottom
[3:27] 5. Party Till The Cows Come Home
[3:07] 6. Don't Fight It (Feel It)
[4:10] 7. Be With Me
[3:10] 8. Stomp
[3:02] 9. How Much More
[2:54] 10. Stealin' Watermelons

In his first manifestation as a band leader (1969-1972), Elvin Bishop lived in Marin County, CA, and performed under the auspices of promoter Bill Graham. Not surprisingly, the three albums he cut in that period, two for Graham's Fillmore label and the third for its parent, Epic, fit into the soul-blues-rock style of post-psychedelic San Francisco, even to the point of featuring an extended instrumental, "Hogbottom," on which Bishop takes Carlos Santana's place fronting the Santana percussion section. This ten-track compilation selects from the albums The Elvin Bishop Group, Feel It!, and Rock My Soul, effectively summarizing this phase in Bishop's career. It was superseded in 1994 by the 18-track CD The Best of Elvin Bishop: Tulsa Shuffle, which contained nine of its selections. Then, oddly enough, it was reissued in 1996! ~William Ruhlmann

The Best Of Elvin Bishop: Crabshaw Rising mc
The Best Of Elvin Bishop: Crabshaw Rising zippy

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The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue - Command Performance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:31
Size: 175.2 MB
Styles: Soul-blues, Urban blues, R&B
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[4:21] 1. Can't You See
[7:03] 2. I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On
[2:31] 3. Whammer Jammer
[7:20] 4. Still The Girl In The Band
[7:36] 5. See You Hurt No More
[3:52] 6. If It Ain't Me
[6:18] 7. If I Had A Nickel
[6:14] 8. Will It Go Round In Circles
[7:39] 9. She's Nineteen Years Old
[4:14] 10. Tell Me Mama
[6:02] 11. Looking For A Love
[9:22] 12. High On The Hog
[3:54] 13. Sea Cruise

The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue is a dynamic collaboration of talent that features the Tommy Castro Band along with an all-star lineup that includes pianist, saxophonist, singer/songwriter Deanna Bogart, Ronnie Baker Brooks, the son of legendary bluesman Lonnie Brooks, and Magic Dick, who is best known for his many years as the harmonica man in the J. Geils Band. This live recording spotlights many of the highlights of their recent tour on the highly regarded Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.

Command Performance

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Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Got A Mind To Give Up Living: Live 1966

Year: 2016
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:01
Size: 146,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Instrumental Intro (1:26)
2. Look Over Yonders Wall (2:08)
3. Born In Chicago (4:12)
4. Love Her With A Feeling (5:40)
5. Get Out Of My Life, Woman (3:24)
6. Never Say No (3:41)
7. One More Heartache (3:42)
8. Work Song (12:33)
9. Coming Home Baby (7:17)
10. Memory Pain (2:46)
11. I Got A Mind To Give Up Living (6:36)
12. Walking By Myself (4:17)
13. Got My Mojo Working (5:14)

The release of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's Live 1966 is a godsend for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it reminds, if that's indeed necessary, of what a vital influence on contemporary blues was (and is) this sextet. Yet, as documented on the heretofore unreleased Got A Mind to Give Up Living's eclectic song selection, the Butterfield blues Band was not satisfied to copy the work of their heroes, even as they covered some of their best material, such as Allen Toussaint's "Get Out of My Life Woman." The dual guitars of Bloomfield and his counterpart Elvin Bishop (who actually preceded his fretboard partner in this lineup) widened up the path Elmore James' opened with "Look Over Yonders Wall," while the choice of jazz-oriented material such as (brother of Cannonball) Nat Adderley's "Work Song" presaged not only its future studio rendition on East-West (Elektra, 1966), but later incarnations of Butter's band with a horn section, not to mention its accurate reflection of the blues-heavy jazz scene of the times.

The presence of an equally authentic tune that would go otherwise wholly unrecorded by this incarnation of the Butterfield Band, Percy Mayfield's "Memory Pain" (which Johnny Winter included on his three-lp-sided sophomore effort Second Winter (Columbia, 1969)) further distinguishes the combination of fervent scholarship and fiery, disciplined musicianship that makes Live 1966 a treasure: though it lacks the band's raga-influence stylistic masterwork "East-West," there's plenty of concise jamming here as on "Comin' Home Baby." And "Born in Chicago," composed by Butterfield's early blues companion student Nick Gravenites, is an original that speaks to and describes the world discovered and revered by members of this group and like-minded aficionados such as the author.

Including the blurry likes of the stage shot at the center of the enclosed booklet, Live 1966 is adorned with vintage photos that capture a moment in time, images of memorabilia effectively replicating the graphic design and style of the Butterfield Blues Band's early Elektra Records releases. Yet, Got A Mind to Give Up Living is much more than an academic artifact: it is instead a living, breathing testament to the power and vision of one of America's most forward-thinking contemporary musical units and its stolid leader, whose impassioned harp work challenges those around him to elevate their own playing.

Even as the thin sound quality, as recorded in Boston's Unicorn Coffee House, leaves more than a little to be desired despite its remastering, the presence of Butterfield, Bloomfield and co. is so forceful, the compulsion to ratchet up the volume to compensate is ultimately as joyful as it is irresistible.

Got A Mind To Give Up Living: Live 1966

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