On this excellent release from the World Music Network's ever-reliable Rough Guide series, a host of unknown early blues artists get their due. While Robert Johnson, Son House, and a handful of other greats from the 1920s and '30s have become widely recognized icons of the pre-war blues era, so many lesser-known, though no less talented, players have slipped through the cracks. Opening with Henry Thomas' spirited "Fishing Blues" (complete with a pan flute solo), The Rough Guide to Unsung Heroes of Country Blues winds its way through a series of wonderful and obscure country-blues gems.
Arranged by Billy May, Come Swing with Me! was Frank Sinatra's final swing session for Capitol Records. The album falls somewhere between the carefree Come Fly with Me and the hard-swinging Come Dance with Me!, borrowing elements of the humor of Fly and the intense, driving rhythms of Dance. Recorded without strings or saxes, the brass-heavy sound of the album was noticeable, but it wasn't nearly as distinctive as the ping-ponging stereo effects of the album…
Steeped in the sounds of classic blues, soul, and rock & roll from the '50s and '60s, Vintage Trouble fuse the style of the past with the swagger and cool of the present day, and have won a devoted fan following in the United States and the United Kingdom with their passionate live show. Vintage Trouble were formed in 2010 by vocalist Ty Taylor, guitarist Nalle Colt, bassist Rick Barrio Dill, and drummer Richard Danielson, all of whom were living in Los Angeles, California at the time. Taylor had previously worked with the bands Dakota Moon, Camp Freddy, and Ghosthounds, and was a contestant on the music competition series Rock Star: INXS. Swedish-born guitarist Colt had briefly been part of Dakota Moon's road band, and had also been part of the short-lived Ghosthounds.
This 52-disc (no, that is not a typo) comp, ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities, may just indeed live up to its name. There are 98 artists represented , performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning (though the set is not sequenced chronologically) with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. Certainly, some of these artists are considered more rhythm & blues than purely blues artists: the inclusion of music by Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Bo Diddley, and others makes that clear…
Chris James and Patrick Rynn are at the forefront of today’s traditional Blues movement. They've been playing together since 1990, proudly dedicating their musical collaboration to the high-energy sound of real, unadulterated Chicago Blues. They lead their own widely acclaimed band, and have toured the world playing behind some of the greatest Blues legends in the field. Their 2008 debut CD Stop and Think About It, was nominated for a 2009 Blues Music Award and won a 2009 Blues Blast Music Award for Best New Artist Debut and spread their names far and wide. “Mister Coffee,” a standout original from the album, was nominated for a Blues Blast Award-Best Blues Song and won third-place in the Independent Music Awards, where Chris and Patrick were nominated for a People’s Choice Award.