Chicago P.d.

Howlin' Wolf's first and second Chess albums are essential listening of the highest order. They were compiled - as were all early blues albums - from various single sessions (not necessarily a bad thing, either), and blues fans will probably debate endlessly about which of the two albums is the perfect introduction to his music. But this CD reissue renders all arguments moot, as both album appear on one disc, making this a true best buy. Wolf's debut opus – curiously tacked on here after his second album - features all of his early hits ("How Many More Years," "Moanin' at Midnight," "Smokestack Lightning," "Forty Four," "Evil," and "I Asked for Water [She Gave Me Gasoline]"), and is a pretty potent collection in its own right. But it is the follow-up (always referred to as "the rocking chair album" because of Don Bronstein's distinctive cover art) where the equally potent teaming of Willie Dixon and Wolf produced one Chicago blues classic…

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Sonatas with Varied Reprises (comp. 1758-9, publ. 1760) constituted a bold experiment. Spelling out every repeat, Bach applies to each the art of variation. Starting off as a service ("play this and you'll sound as if you're improvising"), the opus ends up a masterclass in variation. Tom Beghin, playing his own beloved clavichord, enacts the role of the keyboardist- composer who repeats himself, while never saying the same thing twice.

The years have ravaged James Cotton's once booming voice but his powerful harp playing hasn't lost a step, as one spin of Giant will confirm. His return to the Alligator label that released two Cotton albums in the mid-'80s and another with him as one fourth of 1990's classic Harp Attack! harmonica quartet is a chugging contemporary blues set that allows "Mr. Superharp" plenty of room to blow. Since guitarist Slam Allen handles the vocals, Cotton can play during the singing, something that eludes all other harmonica playing/lead vocalist frontmen. Allen is a competent if not terribly distinctive singer, but he delivers the tunes with adequate enthusiasm. The set is a mix of covers, including three relatively obscure ones from Cotton's ex-employer Muddy Waters and originals that don't expand the blues genre but sit comfortably within its parameters…

Deep in the Blues is a fascinating jam session between James Cotton, guitarist Joe Louis Walker, and jazz bassist Charlie Haden. The trio runs through a number of classic blues songs written by Muddy Waters, Percy Mayfield, and Sonny Boy Williamson and a few originals by Walker and Cotton. The sound is intimate and raw, which is a welcome change from Cotton's usual overproduced records.