Blind Rover 10 Лет Скитаний (2009)

If you're a lesser-known artist, promotion before your debut album release is essential. Having a track picked for a national TV advert is a fantastic way of doing so. It might be luck that Jon Allen's track 'Going Home' appeared on the Land Rover advert, but take a listen to the album and you'll find that the high-level of music making is consistent throughout, if not even better. Dead Man Suit is already seeing a growing momentum and Allen's reputation is increasing with it. This 12-track album consists of racy popfolk and blues with chiselled, grainy vocals and a few self-pitying lyrics, the quality of which makes James Blunt end up sounding like his own surname. Vocally, Allen can be compared to a whole host of singers from the ruggedness of a young Rod Stewart to more recent singer-songwriters such as James Morrison.

Those Dirty Blues Vol. 1 (2009). This album contains 17 of the best Dirty Blues recordings of all time in a beautifully digitally remastered state. Featuring such renowned artists as Bessie Smith, Lil Johnson, Alberta Hunter, Memphis Minnie, Rosetta Howard, Victoria Spivey, Lovin' Sam Theard, Lucille Bogan, and many other Blues Legends, this compilation is sure to be greatly enjoyed by any fan of the Pre-War blues genre.
Those Dirty Blues Vol. 2 (2009). This album contains 20 of the best Dirty Blues recordings of all time in a beautifully digitally remastered state. Featuring such renowned acts as Ethel Waters, Blind Boy Fuller, The Memphis Jug Band, Clara Smith, Lovin' Sam Theard, Lucille Bogan, and many other Blues Legends, this compilation is sure to be greatly enjoyed by any fan of the Pre-War blues genre.

Melody Gardot's 2006 debut, Worrisome Heart, was greeted with warmly enthusiastic reviews that never failed to mention Gardot's musical similarities to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux, or her sadly compelling story of surviving a severe hit-and-run accident at the age of 19. The tragedy gave critics an irresistible hook, and the musical similarities – which also include her vocal resemblance to Fiona Apple's smoky tones – gave new listeners a familiar touchstone, but both merely provided an entry into a fine, accomplished debut. Released three years later, Gardot's second album, My One and Only Thrill, proves that the first was no fluke; it doesn't build upon the debut so much as it sustains its quality.

Santa Monica-born guitarist Coco Montoya has been a member of Albert Collins' Icebreakers (as a drummer), and was the first lead guitarist in John Mayall's re-formed Bluesbreakers in 1985. He is, of course, best known as a solo artist with six recordings cut between 1995 and 2007. The reason for the long breaks between albums is simple: endless touring; it's the way a bluesman really makes his money. Blind Pig Records was the first label Montoya recorded on as a solo artist, and he cut three albums for the imprint – Gotta Mind to Travel, Ya Think I'd Know Better, and the incredible Just Let Go. As such, The Essential Coco Montoya, compiles the essential tracks from his Blind Pig stint.

Mike Zito is one who enjoys returning to his blues roots, playing electric guitar and ripping though songs with his sawtooth-sharp voice. Pearl River – his fifth album – is quite different than the previous effort Today, which was more rock-oriented, and focuses on not only contemporary urban tunes but a few acoustic folk-oriented ones, and the basis of all of his music, the sound of New Orleans. He's got help from guitarist Anders Osborne and keyboardist Reese Wynans from Stevie Ray Vaughan's band, and there are guest appearances from Cyril Neville, Johnny Sansone, Lynwood Slim, Randy Chortkoff (also his producer,) and Susan Cowsill (yes, she of the Cowsills fame). It's good to hear Zito dig deep into songs like the title track, Neville's pure, slow blues, the New Orleans shuffle treatment of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," and Mel London's rocksteady "Sugar Sweet."

Blues man Roy Rogers released breakthrough recordings Slidewinder and Blues on the Range in his early days for the Blind Pig label, and returns to their stable of artists with his first studio date in seven years, his latest since 2004, and his twelfth album overall. Like any evolving artist, Rogers has taken into consideration diversifying his sound while not adopting the trendiness that has crept into more commercialized blues. It seems he's taken cues from the great Charlie Musselwhite in modernizing his music with voodoo economics, teaming up with the Delta Rhythm Kings, European contemporary keyboardist Philip Aaberg, and multi-faceted saxophonist George Brooks.