PnM:MiX dozen bestofs > 2020's blues songs so far

Sass Jordan, G. Love & Special Sauce, Marcus King, The Wood Brothers, Son Little, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado, Tinsley Ellis, Christopher Paul Stelling, The Third Mind, Sonny Landreth, Robert Cray, Ryan Perry

"Am I Wrong"

PnM.MiX dozen bestofs 2020's blues songs so far

A British-born, Canadian pop/rock singer who also appeared as a judge on the TV talent competition Canadian Idol. Sass Jordan joined her first band, the News, after she learned to play bass at the age of 17. Four years later, she left the band and, by 1985, had begun a solo career.
Sass Jordan - Rebel Moon Blues / Am I Wrong
...More crucially, it’s also a watershed that charts a new course in Jordan’s musical voyage while tracing her love of the blues back to its source. The album features eight songs, freshly interpreted and given the Sass Jordan treatment with her band the Champagne Hookers: guitarists Chris Caddell and Jimmy Reid, bassist Derrick Brady and drummer Cassius Pereira, augmented by blues harp master Steve Marriner and keyboardist Jesse O’Brien.

Philadelphia singer-songwriter and crew seamlessly bled old-school blues and jazz into modern-alterna-hip-hop.
G. Love & Special Sauce - The Juice / Fix Your Face
Now that they're over a quarter-century into their career, it's time to come to terms with a simple fact: G. Love & Special Sauce are no longer youthful upstarts, they're veterans. Fittingly, their 2020 album The Juice is the kind of record that could only be made by musicians who've been around the block a time or two. It's not that The Juice is the work of untrammeled virtuosos -- it is most decidedly a vibe record -- but rather that it's an album that's casually confident that also happens to have an offhand sense of community...

Ace guitarist who won a following with blues and jam band fans before honing his talents as a vocalist on his first solo album.
Marcus King - El Dorado / The Well
There's nothing at all wrong with being a guitar hero, but sometimes a musician wants to show folks they can do more than spin off dazzling solos. The Marcus King Band has won a loyal following among guitar mavens, blues heads, and jam band enthusiasts for their agile blend of boogie rock and blues that gives King plenty of opportunity to express himself on guitar. But for his first solo effort, King has opted to try something different. 2020's El Dorado was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and he's helped King craft a change-of-pace effort that should appeal to folks unaware of his work with his band...

A roots music trio featuring brothers Chris (upright bass, vocals) and Oliver Wood (guitars, vocals) along with multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix, the Wood Brothers bring a distinctive flair to their union of folk, blues, gospel, and jazz.
The Wood Brothers - Kingdom in My Mind / Little Blues
...The band didn't enter the studio with the intent of recording a new album, but they were taken with the results of their recording, so brothers Chris and Oliver Wood shaped the improvisations into songs. Starting with a collection of funky rustic recordings wound up being a boon to the Wood Brothers, letting Kingdom in My Mind establish a vibe that's cozy, homespun, and just slightly slick. Chalk the polish up to how the group are veterans with a good sense of space and feel, a knack that they're pushing on Kingdom in My Mind over tasteful songcraft...

Blending elements of acoustic blues, vintage soul, and conscious hip-hop into a mixture that's expressive yet deeply personal, Son Little is the alias of Aaron Livingston, a singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter who divides his time between his own music and collaborations with others.
Son Little - Aloha / That's The Way
In the press materials for Son Little's third album, 2020's Aloha, Little (known to his mom and the tax people as Aaron Livingston) says he had written a big batch of songs for his next project and recorded elaborate demos working out the arrangements. Then the hard drive in his recording setup went wonky on him, and suddenly all that hard work vanished and Little had to rewrite the album from the ground up in a few weeks. The moral to this story is that Son Little apparently responds well to pressure: despite the drama leading up to the album's recording, he sounds as confident, assured, and intelligent on Aloha as he did on 2015's Son Little and 2017's New Magic...

Thorbjørn Risager is a hard-swinging Danish blues musician and songwriter whose singing voice sounds cobbled from one-part Ray Charles, one-part Bob Seger, and one-part Joe Cocker.
The Black Tornado is the supporting band of Thorbjørn Risager, a Danish blues musician who first came onto the scene early in the 2000s. A fan of Southern soul and Chicago blues, he fused the two sounds, something that was evident his 2004 debut,
Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - Come on In / Last Train
Since 2003, Danish guitarist, singer, and songwriter Thorbjørn Risager has been delivering his own mutant brand of blues. His Black Tornado band is comprised of two guitars, bass, drums, a pair of saxophones, trumpet, and keyboards. Come on In is their fourth album for Germany's Ruf label and 12th overall. Risager's rich, resonant, gravelly baritone singing voice is equal parts Ray Charles, Billy Gibbons, J.J. Cale, and Leon Redbone. Black Tornado are like no other band. They are capable of simmering, brooding, noir-ish jazz, swampy rock, sultry R&B, uptown funk, and house-rocking blues derived from the entwined lineages of Chicago, Texas, and the Delta...

A fiery guitarist and talented songwriter who plays a unique blend of Memphis R&B, southwest blues, and urban funk. A hard-rocking, high-voltage blues guitarist most often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tinsley Ellis is hardly one of the legions of imitators that comparison might imply. Schooled in a variety of Southern musical styles as evidenced by his.
Tinsley Ellis - Ice Cream in Hell / Hole in My Heart
...In 2018 he returned home to Alligator Records after delivering four albums on his own Heartfixer label. The chart-topping set was met with Blues Music Association nominations for album of the year and artist of the year. Ice Cream in Hell was recorded in Nashville and co-produced by Ellis and longtime co-producer/keyboardist Kevin McKendree...  "Hole in My Heart" is a 21st century update of the sound that B.B. King explored with Bobby "Blue" Bland. Ellis' fingerpicked fills enunciate the emotion expressed in the lyrics, while McKendree's piano runs add depth and dimension.

Singer, songwriter, and virtuosic fingerpicker who crafts timeless-sounding acoustic confections that draw from all corners of American roots music.
Christopher Paul Stelling - Best Of Luck / Hear Me Calling
The fifth studio album from songwriter and skilled fingerpicker Christopher Paul Stelling, Best of Luck reflects a few changes in approach for the musician. Following years of near constant touring, Stelling stayed put for (effectively) the first time since his 2012 debut, putting down roots in Asheville, North Carolina and taking up a residency at the Stetson Kennedy estate in Florida while he worked on writing the album. It's his first with an outside producer, none other than Ben Harper, who expressed interest in working with Stelling after they toured together. Harper has stressed Stelling's soulful vocals as an underrated part of his charismatic style, one that fuses folk, blues, and more with his intricate playing and impassioned lyrics...

Experimental improvisational project founded by Dave Alvin featuring members of Counting Crows, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, and more.
The Third Mind - The Third Mind / East West
As a musician who has passionately advocated for American roots music since the Blasters released their first album in 1980, Dave Alvin is widely regarded as a traditionalist, which is not as accurate as it would seem at first glance. Alvin grew up on free jazz, psychedelia, and hard rock along with the blues, rockabilly, country, and jump jazz sounds that inform his best-known work, and his project the Third Mind is a step outside his usual boundaries that lets him explore ideas he hasn't approached in the past...  and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's "East/West," the communication between the players is smart and exciting. (Whether you actually need three different versions of "East/West," the shortest of which is 14 minutes, is an open question, but each one here is honestly engaging.) Alvin's roots in the blues certainly play a big role in The Third Mind, but so does hard rock, psychedelia, jazz, and improvisational music, and this context -- essentially a jam band without audibly hippie-like tendencies -- shows that his willingness to take a risk pays off handsomely.

An award-winning, in-demand blues guitar prodigy, singer, and songwriter with an inimitable slide technique. Southwest Louisiana-based guitarist, songwriter, and singer Sonny Landreth is an award-winning musician's musician.
Sonny Landreth - Blacktop Run / Beyond Bolders
Louisiana guitar slinger Sonny Landreth returns to the studio with his quartet two years after 2017's Grammy-nominated Recorded Live in Lafayette. Blacktop Run is more than just a new studio outing, however... He is a studio empath and extends artists full faith and credit. Landreth possesses a distinct sound to be sure, direct, resonant, and simple, but he's restless when it comes to experimenting with styles. He juxtaposes, combines, and balances them with alarming regularity and reckless abandon...Landreth's band includes keyboardist Steve Conn, drummer Brian Brignac, and bassist David Ranson. The guitarist wrote eight of these ten tunes; Conn penned the other two, which include the stellar instrumental "Beyond Borders," a jam that melds hard Southern swamp rock, electric slide blues, and Latin cumbia...

The guitarist who brought blues back to the charts in the '80s via songs that defined blues themes but added modern and personal twists.
Robert Cray - That's What I Heard / Hot
Robert Cray was hailed as the man who saved the blues from commercial extinction when his album Strong Persuader became a breakout hit in 1986, and blues fans are still the bedrock of his following. But anyone who has been paying attention can tell you that vintage soul and R&B have always had more to do with his best music than standard-issue 12-bar blues... Something else that doesn't change is how comfortable Cray sounds with this material, and how well his unfussy but passionate vocal style, narrative lyrical stance, and exciting but never overdone guitar features blend with the soul grooves generated by Cray's band and the guests brought in for the occasion... "Hot" is an uptempo workout that pulls out the stops...

Towering over his guitar, Ryan’s soulful music thrills his audience with electrifying head-popping, toe-tapping, and neck-jerking chops. But, to truly know Ryan Perry, a walk-down-memory lane is enough to see why, only in his twenties, still not afraid to rip up stinging and soulful guitar licks with his gruff and gritty vocals. 
Ryan Perry - High Risk, Low Reward / Evil is Going On
 Some people, with no effort, are preternaturally cool. Many bluesmen share this trait, making it unsurprising that it belongs to Ryan Perry. On the other hand, his voice is surprising. It has the unique quality of sounding young and old at the same time; whether he’s in his 20s or 40’s is difficult to ascertain from timbre alone. The writing also belies the age of the writer. High Risk, Low Reward is a mix of original blues, blues-rock twists and rave-ups, and thoughtful introspective musings... With buzzy lead fills and a rhythm guitar overdriven to the point of constant crackling, he sings with a voice so filled with gravel that Howlin’ Wolf would be proud of these numbers, not to mention the cover of his own “Evil Is Going On.”

28-04-2020 > BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1991-1980

John Campbell

28-04-2020 > BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1991-1980 # John Campbell, Etta James, Jack Bruce, Lazy Lester, Little Milton, Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland, Marcia Ball, Albert King, James "Son" Thomas, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, Chicago's Young Blues Generation, Margie Evans, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Muddy Waters

B L U E S    M U S I C

if you want excitement PRESS SHUFFLE!

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1991-1980

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter John Campbell had the potential of turning a whole new generation of people onto the blues in the 1990s, much the same way Stevie Ray Vaughan did in the '80s. His vocals were so powerful and his guitar playing so fiery, you couldn't help but stop what you were doing and pay attention to what you were hearing. But unfortunately, because of frail health and a rough European tour, he suffered a heart attack in his sleep on June 13, 1993, at the age of 41.
John Campbell
Devil in My Closet (John Campbell / Dennis Walker) 6:00
Wild Streak (John Campbell / Elmore James / Marshall Sehorn / Dennis Walker)  4:59
from One Believer 1991
The Elektra debut by the late bluesman John Campbell is a curious affair in more than one respect-despite it's obvious excellence and original voice. The first is that he was signed at all. Clearly in 1990 when Campbell signed his deal, record company executives were still interested inn finding new and original talent and developing them over a period of time. One Believer was outside of virtually every trend on major labels and in pop at the time. Other than Chris Whitley's Living with the Law, it was the only roots record issued on a major label in 1991. The other thing is that One Believer is an oddity even for Campbell. It's a deeply atmospheric record full of subtle shimmering organs and warm guitar textures that accent the dreamy spooky side of the blues more than the crunchy stomp and roll that Campbell was known for in the clubs -- and displayed on his follow-up Howlin' Mercy...  This is a fine, fine debut that remains in print.

Few female R&B stars enjoyed the kind of consistent acclaim Etta James received throughout a career that spanned six decades; the celebrated producer Jerry Wexler once called her "the greatest of all modern blues singers," and she recorded a number of enduring hits...
Etta James
Whatever Gets You Through the Night (Bucky Lindsey / Dan Penn / Carson Whitsett) 3:50
The Blues Don't Care (Etta James / Brian Ray) 3:44
from Stickin' to My Guns 1990
Stickin’ to My Guns is the eighteenth studio album by Etta James, released in 1990.
Etta James is a little further along in her effort to come up with a more contemporary sound. Stickin’ to My Guns pays homage to James’s roots in that the lyrics are highly personal and blues oriented, but the accompaniment is completely contemporary... If you’re looking for the Etta James of the Chess years, you’re bound to be disappointed. But if you check your preconceived notions at the door, you’re gonna have a good time. (by Bob J. Cohen)

Best known as the bassist and vocalist for Cream, but also a remarkable talent who bridged free jazz and hard rock via countless collaborations. Although some may be tempted to call multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer Jack Bruce a rock & roll musician, blues and jazz were what this innovative musician really loved. As a result, those two genres were at the base of most of the recorded output from a career that went back to the beginning of London's blues scene in 1962. In that year, he joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated. Throughout the following decades and into the 21st century, Bruce remained a supreme innovator, pushing himself into uncharted waters with his jazz and folk-rock compositions.
Jack Bruce
No Surrender 4:25
Blues You Can't Lose (Willie Dixon) 5:26
from A Question of Time 1989
A Question of Time is an album to appreciate, as Jack Bruce nicely wraps his diverse styles up in rock & roll packaging. Willie Dixon's "Blues You Can't Lose" is extraordinary noise, the late Nicky Hopkins bringing his unmistakable piano to a mix of Albert Collins' leads, Jimmy Ripp's slide and rhythms, Bruce's bass, harmonica, and voice, and the strong drumming of Dougie Bowne. In its slow dirge statement, "Blues You Can't Lose" is as powerful as the blistering Bruce tune that opens the set, "Life on Earth."...  Produced by Joe Blaney and Bruce, the song "A Question of Time" is a bizarre, colorful mix of clashing images and sound, while the album A Question of Time is one of the more complete Bruce recordings for those fans who know him from his pop radio hits. It is one of the most accessible discs by rock's premier bassist for both those in his cult and the casual fan. This project uses his mastery of jazz, pop, acoustic, and blues to give listeners what Jack Bruce does best: rock & roll.

28-03-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1990-1999

28-03-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1990-1999 # The Jeff Healey Band, Johnny Winter, Joanna Connor, Robert Cray, Snooky Pryor, Albert King, Sue Foley, Karen Carroll, Little Mack Simmons, Tommy Castro

B L U E S   M U S I C

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1990-1999

Blind blues-rock guitarist and singer who developed a unique lap-held style of playing. What made Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers was also what kept some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty: the fact that the blind guitarist played his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey could make unique bends and hammer-ons, making his licks different and more elastic than most of the competition. Unfortunately, his material leaned toward standard AOR blues-rock, which rarely let him cut loose, but when he did, his instrumental prowess could be shocking.
The Jeff Healey Band
Full Circle (Jeff Healey / Joe Rockman / Tom Stephen) 4:13
I Think I Love You Too Much (Mark Knopfler) 6:27
Hell to Pay (Jeff Healey / Joe Rockman / Tom Stephen) 3:54
from Hell To Pay 1990
...Background info: This the band's second album and in my opinon their best. After their moderatly succesful album See The Light the band spent a whole year writing for this album and it shows once you actually heard it.
Best Parts
Obviously the guitar playing drives the album. Jeff's voice is very good and it perfect for the overall sound of the album. Though not paid attention to as much as the guitar the bass and drums do a great job and it can be heard between poweful guitar fills and solos in the more bluesy songs.
Worst parts
There is little not to like about this album. I guess the only bad part is Jeff's Mullet on the front cover...
Overall: This is a great album. A few sort of boring yet still good and solid songs near the end but many power tracks and brilliant guitar work.

An exceptionally talented blues and slide guitarist, beginning in the 1960s and stretching into the 21st century. When Johnny Winter emerged on the national scene in 1969, the hope, particularly in the record business, was that he would become a superstar on the scale of Jimi Hendrix, another blues-based rock guitarist and singer who preceded him by a few years. That never quite happened, but Winter did survive the high expectations of his early admirers to become a mature, respected blues musician with a strong sense of tradition.
Johnny Winter
Illustrated Man (Mary-Ann Brandon / Fred James) 3:40
Let Me In (Bo Diddley / Johnny Winter) 4:13
If You Got a Good Woman (Johnny Winter) 4:24
from Let Me In 1991
Let Me In is a star-studded all-blues set from Johnny Winter, featuring cameos from Dr. John, Albert Collins, and several others. Though the set focuses on blues material, Winters can never leave his rock roots behind -- the sheer volume and pile-driving energy of his performances ensures that. For most of the record, his enthusiasm is contagious, but there are a couple of bland, generic exercises that fail to work up a head of steam...

What sets Joanna Connor apart from the rest of the pack of guitar-playing female blues singers is her skill on the instrument. Even though Connor has become an accomplished singer over time, her first love was guitar playing, and it shows in her live shows and on her recordings.
Joanna Connor
Walking Blues (Robert Johnson) 4:22
Fight (Luther Allison) 3:56
from Fight 1992
To date, Joanna Connor's studio work has not lived up the live-wire energy of her personal performances. Fight takes a major step toward setting this right. This stuff wails, especially Robert Johnson's "Walking Blues" which Connor reinvents courtesy of some stinging slidework. While Connor's lack of dependence on cover material rates bonus points, not all her songs are memorable -- even if the guitar playing is.

16-02-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1983-1993

16-02-2019 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues(y) songs from the BLUES circle 1983-1993 # Jimmy Johnson, Mike Bloomfield, James Sparky Rucker, Cash McCall, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, American Folk Blues Festival, Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Carl Black and the Mannish Boys, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Tinsley Ellis, The Jeff Healey Band, Johnny Winter, Joanna Connor, Robert Cray

B L U E S   M U S I C

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1983-1993

Chicago guitarist Jimmy Johnson didn't release his first full domestic album until he was 50 years old. He's determinedly made up for lost time ever since, establishing himself as one of the Windy City's premier blues artists with a twisting, unpredictable guitar style and a soaring, soul-dripping vocal delivery that stand out from the pack.

Jimmy Johnson 

Chicken Heads (Bobby Rush, Calvin Carter) 4:01

Heap See (Jimmy Johnson) 4:19

from Heap See / [Rec. Paris 1983] (1999)

Guitar, Vocals – Jimmy Johnson

Bass – Larry Exum

Drums – Fred Grady

Piano – Jene Pickett

Brilliant 1960s blues-rock guitarist who made history with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Bob Dylan. 

Mike Bloomfield 

Hully Gully (Cliff Goldsmith) 4:01

Women Lovin' Each Other (Michael Bloomfield) 4:43

from American Hero 1984

The celebrated blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield performs a variety of blues, R&B, and ragtime classics... He's accompanied by the pianist Mark Naftalin and a skilful rhythm section, and though singing was never his strong point, his consummate guitar playing carries him through.

James Sparky Rucker  - Walkin' Blues 3:45

Cash McCall - I Can't Quit You Baby 6:21

Eddie Cleanhead Vinson - Hold It Right There 4:51

from American Folk Blues Festival 1985

American Folk Blues Festival

The American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe as an annual event for several years beginning in 1962. It introduced audiences in Europe, including the UK, to leading blues performers of the day such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson, most of whom had never previously performed outside the US. The tours attracted substantial media coverage, including TV shows, and contributed to the growth of the audience for blues music in Europe.

Having forged a unique Louisiana/Chicago blues synthesis unlike anyone else's on the competitive Windy City scene, charismatic guitarist Lonnie Brooks long reigned as one of the town's top bluesmen. A masterful showman, the good-natured Brooks put on a show equal to his recordings (and that's saying a lot, considering there are four-plus decades of wax to choose from).

Lonnie Brooks 

Got Lucky Last Night (Lonnie Brooks) 2:59

Skid Row 5:25

from Wound Up Tight 1986

More energetic efforts with a decidedly rocked-up edge. Johnny Winter, long an ardent admirer of Brooks back to the Guitar Junior days, drops by with a passel of fiery guitar licks for the title track and "Got Lucky Last Night."

19-07-2018 12:58 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1989-1978

Charlie Musselwhite

19-07-2018 12:58 BLUES:MiX # 33 blues songs from the BLUES circle 1989-1978 # Charlie Musselwhite, Henry Gray, Snooky Pryor, Chris Thomas King, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Robert Cray, Pee Wee Crayton, ZZ Top, Hound Dog Taylor, Robin Trower, Jack Bruce, Bill Lordan, Tom Waits, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy Johnson

B L U E S   M U S I C

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

BLUES_circle The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza. 

1989-1978

A Mississippi transplant whose rangy, subtle harp playing made a splash in Chicago blues circles beginning in the 1960s. Harmonica wizard Norton Buffalo can recollect a leaner time when his record collection had been whittled down to only the bare essentials: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band. Butterfield and Musselwhite will probably be forever linked as the two most interesting, and arguably the most important, products of the "white blues movement" of the mid- to late '60s -- not only because they were near the forefront chronologically, but because they both stand out as being especially faithful to the style.
Charlie Musselwhite
If Trouble Was Money (D.A.R.) 5:21
It Ain't Right (Walter Jacobs / Little Walter) 3:59
Finger Lickin' Good (Charlie Musselwhite) 4:0
from Memphis Charlie 1989
Charlie Musselwhite earned the nickname “Memphis Charlie” during his years in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play guitar and blues harmonica. Moving to Chicago in 1962 to look for better-paying work, Musselwhite jumped into the blues scene, becoming a regular at blues venues, sitting in and playing with some of the great musicians of the Chicago scene. This album, released in 1989, contains songs recorded in 1971 and 1974 that feature the electrifying blues vocals and harmonica of Memphis Charlie.

This harmoinca player's records were harbingers of the amplified, down-home sound of post-war Chicago blues.  Only recently has Snooky Pryor finally begun to receive full credit for the mammoth role he played in shaping the amplified Chicago blues harp sound during the postwar era. He's long claimed he was the first harpist to run his sound through a public address system around the Windy City -- and since nobody's around to refute the claim at this point, we'll have to accept it! James Edward Pryor was playing harmonica at the age of eight in Mississippi...
Snooky Pryor
Broke and Hungry (Snooky Pryor) 2:36
Judgment Day (Snooky Pryor) 4:16
Key to the Highway (Big Bill Broonzy / Charles Segar) 2:55
from Snooky 1987
An outstanding comeback effort by Chicago harp pioneer Snooky Pryor, whose timeless sound meshed well with a Windy City trio led by producer/guitarist Steve Freund for this set. Mostly Pryor's own stuff ... with his fat-toned harp weathering the decades quite nicely.

Initially known for his audacious fusion of blues and hip-hop, Chris Thomas King reached a whole new audience with the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, not only appearing on the award-winning soundtrack but playing a prominent supporting character as well. Despite the much-celebrated, down-to-earth rootsiness of O Brother's music, King had previously been a determined progressive, hoping to reinvigorate the blues as a living African American art with a more contemporary approach and adamantly refusing to treat it as a museum piece whose "authentic" forms needed careful preservation. King eventually modified that approach to a certain degree, attempting to create a more explicit link between blues tradition and the general musical present.
Chris Thomas King
The Blues Is Back 3:37
Cheatin' Women Blues 4:38
Going Home To Louisiana 3:43
South Side Shuffle 1:45
from The Beginning 1986
Recorded at Reel To Reel Sound Factory - Baton Rounge, La.

Albert Collins - The embodiment of the Texas blues guitar style, with non-standard tuning and slashing blocked chords. 
Johnny Copeland - An influential blues guitarist since the 1950s, journeyman hit critical paydirt in the 1980s. 

Robert Cray - The guitarist who brought blues back to the charts in the '80s via songs that defined blues themes but added modern and personal twists. 

Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Robert Cray
T-Bone Shuffle (T-Bone Walker) 4:58
The Dream (Unknown Blues Band) 5:32
Blackjack (Ray Charles) 6:34
from Showdown! 1985
More cooperative than competitive in spirit, Showdown! ranks above other blues ‘supergroup’ sessions in the cohesiveness of the music, as three of the top names in blues of the 1980s shared the spotlight with a tight rhythm section in support. There were still plenty of hot guitar licks, though, from Collins, Cray and Copeland, with Albert even taking a turn on harmonica. T-Bone Walker’s T-Bone Shuffle provided a common ground for the triumvirate to kick the album off, and the rest of the program consisted of originals and lesser-known covers of Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Texas legend Hop Wilson and others....