Hammond B3x

So Many Roads is Hammond's most notable mid-'60s Vanguard album, due not so much to Hammond's own singing and playing (though he's up to the task) as the yet-to-be-famous backing musicians. Three future members of the Band – Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm – are among the supporting cast, along with Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, and Mike Bloomfield also contributes. It's one of the first fully realized blues-rock albums, although it's not in the same league as the best efforts of the era by the likes of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band or John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. In part that's because the repertoire is so heavy on familiar Chicago blues classics by the likes of Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters; in part that's because the interpretations are so reverent and close to the originals in arrangement; and in part it's also because Hammond's blues vocals were only okay.

A blues purist, John Hammond came to prominence in the mid-'60s and recorded for the prestigious Vanguard label, earning himself the title of "the white Robert Johnson" with his authentic National Steel guitar, voice, and harmonica blues. Highly praised in the blues and folk worlds, Hammond led a career spanning four decades with outstanding dedication to the purity of the blues. The Band served as rhythm section on some of his albums, but solo is arguably the best way to hear him - with no discredit to Robbie Robertson and company. It's just that Hammond is that kind of artist. Footwork was recorded in isolation by Hammond alone in 1978. The album is haunting in its pragmatic recording; every nuance of his gravelly voice and subtle inflection of the guitar and harmonica reverberate with an intimacy that had defined Delta blues…

A blues purist, John Hammond came to prominence in the mid-'60s and recorded for the prestigious Vanguard label, earning himself the title of "the white Robert Johnson" with his authentic National Steel guitar, voice, and harmonica blues. Highly praised in the blues and folk worlds, Hammond led a career spanning four decades with outstanding dedication to the purity of the blues. The Band served as rhythm section on some of his albums, but solo is arguably the best way to hear him - with no discredit to Robbie Robertson and company. It's just that Hammond is that kind of artist. Footwork was recorded in isolation by Hammond alone in 1978. The album is haunting in its pragmatic recording; every nuance of his gravelly voice and subtle inflection of the guitar and harmonica reverberate with an intimacy that had defined Delta blues…

This album, originally released in 1980, perfectly captures both the searing electric and raw acoustic blues stylings of the legendary John Hammond. His close-to-the-bone vocals, masterful fingerstyle and slide guitar, and piercing harmonica keep the flame alive on this collection of blues roots classics by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson.

This album, originally released in 1980, perfectly captures both the searing electric and raw acoustic blues stylings of the legendary John Hammond. His close-to-the-bone vocals, masterful fingerstyle and slide guitar, and piercing harmonica keep the flame alive on this collection of blues roots classics by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson.