The Sonet Blues Story

In this charming solo piano session recorded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1974, Sunnyland Slim works the empty studio exactly as he would a small blues club, casually (but not without purpose) introducing several of the songs, setting them up with what would initially appear to be random piano trills and vocal asides, and then the song slips in and begins as the most natural thing in the world. This kind of up close intimacy makes this set, which was originally released in 1974 as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series, a particularly compelling portrait…

Lightnin' Hopkins recorded so often and for so many labels that it's easy to get lost in it all, and there is virtually no such thing as the perfect Hopkins album. He did his thing each time out, whether acoustic or electric, solo or with a band, half improvising his lyrics over a small assortment of different blues shuffles, shifting chords and gears seemingly at whim (which made him frequently difficult to accompany, even for the sharpest session player). His tough, Texas take on the country blues, though, and his penchant for off the wall themes and lyrics, made Hopkins an utterly unique bluesman, and if he seems to be pulling the same rabbit out of the same hat time and time again, he somehow managed to make it seem like a new trick each time. This extremely loose set was recorded in Houston in 1974 and was originally released as part of Samuel Charters' Legacy of the Blues series that same year. It features Hopkins playing an acoustic guitar with an electric pick up backed by a valiant three-piece band that consisted of Ira James on harmonica, Larry "Bones" McCall on drums, and Rusty Myers and Ozell Roberts splitting time on bass. These guys try to make sense of Hopkins' personalized sense of rhythm as best they can, and together with Hopkins' skewed, half improvised lyrics, they manage to make a few things work here, including the conversational "The Hearse Backed Up to the Door," the metaphor-filled "I Been Burning Bad Gasoline," and the brisk instrumental, "Doin' My Boogie," one of two bonus tracks included in this reissue. Most of these songs, though, feel like the kinds of things a band plays before actually recording a take, when little things like tempo and rhythm are still being worked on, and the end result seems even more ragged and random than the typical ragged and random Lightnin' Hopkins session.- Steve Leggett (AMG)

Young Texas Singer Juke Boy Bonner presents some personal blues taken from his life.
Juke Boy Bonner is although electric-like later Robert Shines electric guitar, or most of 3 album/cd Chicago Blues; he is like pre-electric Muddy Waters; 12 songs on c.d.–not repetitive; original songs each I recommend it without any hesitation. Produced by Chris Strachwitz "executive producer Sam Charters" neither of whom ever produced an album not worth fighting to get and I have mostly in old L.p. records–I have to figure out how to put all those incredible songs on c.d. In any event an extraordinary blues c.d. - verve music group

Sam Charters produced this marvelously funky collection of oldies rendered Eaglin-style with an all-star Crescent City combo: pianist Ellis Marsalis, saxist Clarence Ford, and the French brothers as rhythm section. Eaglin's revisit of "Yours Truly" floats over a rhythmic bed so supremely second-line funky that it's astonishing, while he personalizes the New Orleans classics "Oh Red," "Down Yonder," and "Let the Four Winds Blow" as only Snooks Eaglin can. - Bill Dahl (AMG)

Great album as Mighty Joe Young performs live in Chicago in 1972 with his crack South Side Band,…..

6 CDs featuring all of the Moody Blues' recorded output for Polydor Records between 1986 & 1992. Each disc includes previously unreleased and rare bonus tracks…

The Polydor Years is an eight-disc box set that gathers up all of the classic rock legends' output for the label that was released between 1986 and 1992. Included are the studio albums The Other Side of Life, Sur La Mer, and Keys to the Kingdom (all of which have been remastered and stocked with bonus material), as well as a previously unissued live show from 1986, 1993's Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony parts one and two, and a pair of DVDs that chronicle the aforementioned Red Rocks show.