White Snake

Everyone's favourite project outfit are back with part 2 of the Brother Grimm tales, part 1 was one of the many musical success stories of recent times and Kimmo Pörsti, Marco Bernard and Steve Unruh along with Ed Unitsky ensure excellence and quality, also as ever there are some amazing contributions from an array of prog musicians.

Josh White, who became famous in the 1940s as an accessible and highly intelligent folk singer, began his career as a blues-oriented vocalist and guitarist. Vol. 1 of his complete early recordings starts with a couple instrumental jams from 1929 with the Carver Boys (a quartet consisting of harmonica and three guitars). The remainder of this CD is from 1932-1933, with White heard on some easy-to-take religious songs and as a blues performer. These 24 recordings are all solo numbers other than two selections that have an unknown pianist added. White's voice is strong, and his guitar playing is quite fluent. Among the better numbers are "Black and Evil Blues," "Things About Coming My Way," "Double Crossing Woman," and "Lay Some Flowers on My Grave." This set is particularly recommended to blues collectors who were not aware of Josh White's musical beginnings.

Little Wing is one of the most adventurous albums in White's lengthy canon – adventurous and esoteric. The opening "Discoveri" still feels as though it could have emerged from a Peter Gabriel session, at least until White's guitar kicks into play, and lays waste to all around it. Deeply immersed in the blues, but with an eye for many of the same musical notions that rendered Jeff Beck's turn-of-the-century output such a wonder, Little Wing packs no less than half a dozen stone cold White classics, including the electrifying power ballad "Long Distance Loving" and a truly eye-opening arrangement of the Jimi Hendrix-penned title track. Indeed, if the album has any downside at all, it's that the first half is so heavily weighed down with jewels that the remainder simply cannot compete, and the listener's attention really does start to wander. But there's a simple solution to that, of course. Just set your player on random, and listen to Little Wing take flight.

Revered as one of the originators of swamp rock, Tony Joe White has recast a number of his classic songs on Deep Cuts, proving that time has no jurisdiction over funky. His signature groove, starting from his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie," is what he uses to paint a vivid picture of the world he experienced growing up, where poverty provided unity between otherwise divided races and bad-news women were sometimes too good to pass up. Tony Joe cut the tracks with his son Jody providing a rich palette of beats and loops, utilizing both digital and live drums, strings, organs, and the unmistakable timbre of his guitar. White's time-worn baritone is positively haunting, like a restless spirit conjured by the funk that was always the core of his music.