Jug Band

The Grateful Dead's eponymously titled debut long-player was issued in mid-March of 1967. This gave rise to one immediate impediment – the difficulty in attempting to encapsulate/recreate the Dead's often improvised musical magic onto a single LP. Unfortunately, the sterile environs of the recording studio disregards the subtle and often not-so-subtle ebbs and zeniths that are so evident within a live experience. So, while this studio recording ultimately fails in accurately exhibiting the Grateful Dead's tremendous range, it's a valiant attempt to corral the group's hydra-headed psychedelic jug-band music on vinyl.

This five-disc, 116-track box set presents a sweeping history of the blues from its emergence in the early 1900s clear through to its various contemporary guises, and includes samples of country blues in all of its regional variations, as well as cuts from string bands, jug bands, jazz combos, gritty Chicago blues outfits, and a look at how rock artists like Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix incorporated the blues into their distinctive styles. Intelligently gathered and arranged, it treats the blues both from a historical perspective and from a working assumption that the form is still alive and well, continually morphing and transforming itself. There simply isn't a better or deeper survey of the blues on the market.

Percy Mayfield With The Phillip Walker Band - Hit The Road Again (1982)
Blues | MP3 | CBR 320 kbps | 45:38 | 105 MB

Recorded November 5, 1982. "Hit The Road Again" with the Phillip Walker Blues Band is a rare blues album on the Timeless label. Most of the songs are remakes of Percy's old hits like "River's Invitation", "The Highway Is Like A Woman", "Two Years Of Torture", "My Jug And I", etc. The performances are good, the mood is laid back, and the band is fine with splendid guitar from Walker and fine tenor sax from Hollis Gimore.

This is the real deal, recorded live in 1978. The Blues the way it's supposed to be played. The way it's supposed to be enjoyed, in a setting that is, and has been, home to the blues throughout it's history, in the juke joints, lounges and bars throughout the USA. The Bocce Club is one of those places. The Artists: Big Walter Horton - Vocals & Harp, John "Guitar Johnny" Nicholas - Vocals & Guitar, Ronnie "Youngblood" Earl - Guitar, "Sugar Ray" Norcia - Vocal (Every Day I Have The Blues) Chromatic Harmonica (That's Why I'm Cryin), Ted Harvey - Drums, Mudcat Ward - Bass and Anthony Giarossi - Piano.