Rufus

A masterful comeback album from a blues and soul veteran who was assumed to be ready for the retirement home. Rufus Thomas went back to the comic blues that had been his forte in the 1950s, and the edge in his voice and defiance in his tone proclaimed that he wasn't finished yet. After years of taking heat from purists for not issuing enough "real" blues albums, Alligator didn't get nearly enough credit for being the only label to give Rufus Thomas a fair shot in the 1980s.

At the heart of Courage: The Atlantic Recordings (2006) are the four out-of-print LPs that multi-instrumentalist Rufus Harley (bagpipes/flute/sax) cut for the label during the mid- to late 1960s. Also featured are a previously unissued cover of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" as well as "Pipin' the Blues," a Harley/Stitt duet from Sonny Stitt's Deuces Wild (1967) platter. Although criminally dismissed by many as a novelty, Harley successfully integrated the seemingly limited B flat and F drone of the bagpipes into the realm of (concurrently) modern jazz.

A duets collection of folk song covers could be pure novelty, but Rufus Wainwright infuses this recording with so much thought and care, it feels essential. Wainwright's song choices aren't precious. There are plenty of traditionals, including a jazzy version of the bluegrass standard "Cotton Eyed Joe" that finds him melting like butter next to Chaka Khan's heat/

Reissue for first time on CD of the lost 3rd album by this great '70's German outfit. It contains material from 1972 planned to be released as their 3rd album, but before a record deal took place the band split up. Musically in the vein of Phallobst'. 2 Long tracks over 12 minutes mixed with some shorter oriented tracks make this an great addition the bands other releases. CD comes with lots of bonus tracks and informative booklet

RZ's second album, released on the now-legendary Pilz label, was recorded in Dieter Dierks's studios. Two personnel changes: the bassist (departing Lieblang was the lyric writer in the first line-up, and he contributes to three songs without playing) and the addition of a second guitarist Kittel…