Peter Brooks Sedotti Dalle Storie

Lonnie Brooks in his jukebox bluesman mode, playing the hits of the day for an appreciative crowd at one of Chicago's legendary blues joints. First issued on the European Black Magic label, the set captures his showmanship effectively as he attacks "You Don't Have to Go," "Sweet Little Angel," "Hide Away," and Johnnie Taylor's soul workout "Who's Making Love." Even in 1968, he was stockpiling originals - a rocking "Shakin' Little Mama" and a distinctive "The Train & the Horse" are all his.

Lonnie Brooks' music comes from the R&B side of the blues. Brooks is a passionate singer with an intense rock-like guitar style. With the exception of "Roll of the Tumbling Dice" (a relaxed duet featuring the harmonica of Sugar Blue), the music on Roadhouse Rules is generally unrelenting in its ferocity, blues-oriented but also quite open to the influences of Stax-type soul and rock. The impressive musicianship and sincerity of Brooks' music is probably easier to respect than to love; this release gives listeners a good sampling of his playing.

While Ace's previous Hadda Brooks disc, Romance in the Dark, concentrated on her excellent mellow vocal sides, it left the instrumental boogie-woogie aspect of her musical talents unexplored. Swingin' the Boogie corrects that with this amazing release. Brooks recorded many of these tunes for the Modern label, initially released on 78s. Often after the "official session" concluded, there was still studio time available. In these instances, Brooks would pound out amazing boogie-woogie tracks for kicks. Swingin' the Boogie is the first disc to focus entirely on that output. Among the 18 tracks, six were previously unissued, and it includes the rare original flip side of "Swingin' the Boogie," "Just a Little Blusie."

There is such joy and power to the music heard on this CD that it is difficult to believe that Big Leon Brooks passed away before the record was released. This is a reissue of an LP from the B.O.B. label and it features Brooks at his best. One of the top blues harmonica players based in Chicago in the '50s, Brooks had drug problems and quit the music business altogether in 1957. Nineteen years later quite by accident he returned to playing blues and he was busy for a few years before heart problems caused him to scale back before his death. On Let's Go to Town his gruff vocals are effective and the backup musicians (which are usually guitarist Louis Myers, bassist Bob Stroger and drummer Odie Payne, Jr.) are perfect for this mixture of blues and jump tunes, and the set has plenty of variety in the blues idiom. This is a perfect last testament for Big Leon Brooks, a great if underrated bluesman.

The title of Ronnie Baker Brooks' Times Have Changed may refer to the decade gap between this 2017 album and its 2006 predecessor, The Torch. A lot has happened during those ten years, including the deaths of Bobby "Blue" Bland and Lonnie Brooks, artists who make cameos on this 11-track album, but that's not the only way the past is present on Times Have Changed. With the assistance of producer Steve Jordan, Ronnie Baker Brooks has created a tribute to the Southern soul of the '60s and the smooth funk of the '70s. Guests abound – apart from the dearly departed, Steve Cropper, "Big Head" Todd Mohr, Angie Stone, Felix Cavaliere, Lee Roy Parnell, Eddie Willis, and Al Kapone all make appearances – and a few familiar old tunes, like Joe Tex's Texas soul classic "Show Me" and Eric Clapton's slow-burning "Old Love," sit alongside some fine new originals.

Tina Brooks' first session for Blue Note was recorded in March of 1958, a month after he appeared on Jimmy Smith's sessions for The Sermon and House Party, but the music wasn't released at the time. The sessions remained unreleased for years, eventually appearing as Minor Move in Japan during the '80s. Listening to Minor Move, it's hard to see why the record was shelved. Not only does it feature Brooks in robust form, but he's supported by pianist Sonny Clark, trumpeter Lee Morgan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Blakey - a first-rate lineup if there ever was one. Stylistically, the music here is no great surprise - it's straight-ahead, driving hard bop - but the performances are exceptional. Brooks has no problem keeping up with Morgan and Clark, who both have more than their fair share of fine moments here…

The very title of Garth Brooks' 2014 comeback Man Against Machine telegraphed how the singer saw himself in the 2010s: he was an outsider, taking on the establishment. Man Against Machine debuted at number one and sold well but it didn't conquer the charts – none of its singles went further than 19 on Billboard's Country Airplay charts – and, in light of this, Brooks did something uncharacteristic: he decided to retreat. On Gunslinger – its title consciously evoking the western themes of No Fences and Ropin' the Wind – Brooks is so unconcerned with hits that he decided that "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance," a slice of country-disco that sounds like a kissing cousin to Orleans' "Still the One," was a good idea for a lead single. And, in a way, he's right. Gunslinger has its heart in the past, existing on a plane between Brooks' arena-country '90s hits and his '70s AM influences. The difference is, Brooks is comfortable in his middle age. It's not just that his maturation gives him an easy touch in performance – although that does help – it's that he's no longer obsessed with being the biggest, best star in country music.