Blues CDs New Releases - July 2014
The flood of new releases has slowed to a trickle this month, but there is still a lot of great blues music to be heard nonetheless. Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya and West Coast blues faves Rick Estrin and the Nightcats both deliver scorching live sets, Canadian roots ‘n’ blues legends Fathead bring a brand new studio album, and there are a wealth of archive releases to rediscover. No matter your taste in blues, here's what you'll be listening to in July...
By the mid-to-late 1960s, guitarist B.B. King was a superstar in the blues world but had yet to breakthrough to mainstream (i.e. rock ‘n’ roll) audiences. This 1967 live album, Blues Is King, would go a long way towards establishing King’s reputation as the beloved elder statesman of the blues that we know today. This CD reissue captures the November 1966 performance from Chicago in all of its ragged, magical glory, ten songs including gems like “Gambler’s Blues,” “Night Life,” and “Blind Love,” all peppered with King’s trademark onstage banter and stories and his incredible fretwork. If you didn’t discover the “King of Blues” until the 1970s or later, it’s time you checked this one out! (Release date: 07/01/14)Buy from Amazon »
The label here (Rockbeat) has made sure that absolutely not a shred of information has leaked out about this album, leading the Reverend on a wild goose chase across the internet to provide you good readers with some morsel that might be of interest. While the provenance of these recordings is suspect, so too is the date...according to Stephen Calt’s I’d Rather Be The Devil, Skip James spent much of 1965 either in the hospital or ill and unable to perform. More likely is that these live recordings of James and Bukka White are sourced from the August 1966 performances that were released, in part, by Verve Folkways as the 1967 Living Legends LP (which also included songs by Son House and Big Joe Williams), which dates them as somewhere in between the making of James’ first and second Vanguard Records albums. Anybody that has better info, let me know. But since both artists are legends of the blues, at a minimum this might be interesting to hear... (Release date: 07/15/14)Buy from Amazon »
Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya becomes the latest Ruf Records artist to enjoy a live Songs From The Road album release, this one a two-disc whopper that offers up 14 red-hot and rockin’ tracks. Montoya’s entry in the series documents shows from August 17th and 18th, 2013 at Seattle’s Triple Door venue and is produced by noted board-wrangler Jim Gaines. If you’re not already a Montoya fan, this is the disc to push you over the edge. (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
This “deluxe” reissue of acoustic bluesman Corey Harris’ wonderful 2013 album Fulton Blues tacks on a couple of bonus tracks, “Better Way” and “Esta Loco,” to an already stellar set. Last summer I wrote that “while you never know what you're going to get from a Corey Harris album, you know it's going to be good!” in giving the album an ‘A-’ grade. If you missed its fleeting, limited release last year, it’s worth your time to find a copy of Fulton Blues now! (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
The award-winning Canadian ensemble Fathead has been riding the rails for better than two decades now, racking up numerous Juno and Maples Blues Awards and receiving near unanimous praise for their masterful blend of blues, rock, and soul music. They’ve often been compared to the Hawks, the legendary outfit that backed American roots-rock legend Ronnie Hawkins and later went on to become the Band, and the description is apt given Fathead’s inclination towards earthy, soulful, no-frills music. Fatter Than Ever is the band’s seventh studio album and their follow-up to 2010’s Where’s The Blues Taking Me, fifteen brand new original songs that further plumb the band’s talents with their trademark roots ‘n’ blues sound. (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
Mentored by the one and only Willie Dixon as a child, Judge Kenneth “Lucky” Peterson made his bones touring behind Little Milton and Bobby “Blue” Bland. His solo career began some 30 years ago, and although the talented singer, guitarist, and keyboard player is not yet 50 years old, he has a dozen and a half albums to his credit. If he’s not as well known as he should be, it’s because a lot of his recordings have been made for European labels and cater to the large audience Peterson enjoys on the continent. I’m Back Again illustrates the reasons for Peterson’s popularity across the pond; a spirited live album recorded in Germany, the tracklist mixes classic blues covers like Robert Johnson’s “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” and Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready” with vintage R&B and soul from folks like Johnny “Guitar” Watson as well as the odd but effective choice (Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble”). Peterson’s new full-length studio album, The Son of A Bluesman, was released under the radar by Jazz Village in June. (Release date: 07/08/14)Buy from Amazon »
Long past his groundbreaking days as the frontman and namesake of Chicago’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band during the mid-to-late 1960s, the singer and harp player had relocated to Woodstock, New York and hooked up with a brace of like-minded talents in a new band called Better Days. Working with guitarists Amos Garrett and Geoff Muldaur, keyboardist Merl Saunders, and singer Maria Muldaur (Geoff’s wife at the time), Butterfield released a pair of albums under the Better Days name circa 1972-73 before returning to his solo work. Live At Winterland Ballroom was recorded in 1973 and remained unreleased until 1999, when it was released exclusively in Japan. The album shows the band’s pioneering mix of roots ‘n’ blues music, combining rock, blues, and folk in a style that we now call Americana. (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
Mississippi-born, Memphis-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Preston Shannon may well be one of the best-kept secrets in blues music. He’s leant his talents to recordings by folks like Otis Clay and Ron Levy’s Wild Kingdom, but it’s on his own handful of vastly-underrated albums that the critically-acclaimed artist has proven himself to be a soulful vocalist and dynamic fretburner in the style of Albert King. Known as the “King of Beale Street,” Dust My Broom is Shannon’s fifth album, and while there’s almost no information about the disc that I can find beyond the tracklist, I suspect that Shannon will be providing another set of hearty, healthy, bluesy performances on a few originals and covers of Elmore James, Muddy Waters and, yes, even Prince! (Release date: 07/08/14)Buy from Amazon »
The first-ever live release from the dynamic outfit Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, You Asked For It...Live! offers up a baker’s dozen of scorching onstage performances. Backed by a band that includes guitarist Kid Andersen, multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell, and drummer J. Hansen, singer and harp wizard Estrin romps through songs like “Handle With Care,” “New Old Lady,” “Never Trust A Woman,” and “Smart Like Einstein” in front of a raucous hometown San Francisco crowd. Simply one of the best ensemble outfits in the blues, you haven’t lived until you’ve lived with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats! (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, held in 1972 in Ann Arbor, Michigan (also the home of Blind Pig Records at the time) is widely considered to be one of the most important live events in the history of the blues, introducing white rock ‘n’ roll audience to the charms of blues music. Originally released as a two-record set by Atlantic Records back in ’72, this long-anticipated CD reissue includes performances by such giants as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Bonnie Raitt, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, and others. I, for one, can’t wait to hear it! (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
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B.B. King – 'Blues Is King' (Traffic Entertainment)
By the mid-to-late 1960s, guitarist B.B. King was a superstar in the blues world but had yet to breakthrough to mainstream (i.e. rock ‘n’ roll) audiences. This 1967 live album, Blues Is King, would go a long way towards establishing King’s reputation as the beloved elder statesman of the blues that we know today. This CD reissue captures the November 1966 performance from Chicago in all of its ragged, magical glory, ten songs including gems like “Gambler’s Blues,” “Night Life,” and “Blind Love,” all peppered with King’s trademark onstage banter and stories and his incredible fretwork. If you didn’t discover the “King of Blues” until the 1970s or later, it’s time you checked this one out! (Release date: 07/01/14)Buy from Amazon »
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Bukka White & Skip James – 'Live At The Café Au Go Go 1965' (Rockbeat Records)
The label here (Rockbeat) has made sure that absolutely not a shred of information has leaked out about this album, leading the Reverend on a wild goose chase across the internet to provide you good readers with some morsel that might be of interest. While the provenance of these recordings is suspect, so too is the date...according to Stephen Calt’s I’d Rather Be The Devil, Skip James spent much of 1965 either in the hospital or ill and unable to perform. More likely is that these live recordings of James and Bukka White are sourced from the August 1966 performances that were released, in part, by Verve Folkways as the 1967 Living Legends LP (which also included songs by Son House and Big Joe Williams), which dates them as somewhere in between the making of James’ first and second Vanguard Records albums. Anybody that has better info, let me know. But since both artists are legends of the blues, at a minimum this might be interesting to hear... (Release date: 07/15/14)Buy from Amazon »
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Coco Montoya – 'Songs From The Road' (Ruf Records)
Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya becomes the latest Ruf Records artist to enjoy a live Songs From The Road album release, this one a two-disc whopper that offers up 14 red-hot and rockin’ tracks. Montoya’s entry in the series documents shows from August 17th and 18th, 2013 at Seattle’s Triple Door venue and is produced by noted board-wrangler Jim Gaines. If you’re not already a Montoya fan, this is the disc to push you over the edge. (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
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Corey Harris – 'Fulton Blues' [deluxe edition] (Blues Boulevard)
This “deluxe” reissue of acoustic bluesman Corey Harris’ wonderful 2013 album Fulton Blues tacks on a couple of bonus tracks, “Better Way” and “Esta Loco,” to an already stellar set. Last summer I wrote that “while you never know what you're going to get from a Corey Harris album, you know it's going to be good!” in giving the album an ‘A-’ grade. If you missed its fleeting, limited release last year, it’s worth your time to find a copy of Fulton Blues now! (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
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Fathead – 'Fatter Then Ever' (Electro-Fi Records)
The award-winning Canadian ensemble Fathead has been riding the rails for better than two decades now, racking up numerous Juno and Maples Blues Awards and receiving near unanimous praise for their masterful blend of blues, rock, and soul music. They’ve often been compared to the Hawks, the legendary outfit that backed American roots-rock legend Ronnie Hawkins and later went on to become the Band, and the description is apt given Fathead’s inclination towards earthy, soulful, no-frills music. Fatter Than Ever is the band’s seventh studio album and their follow-up to 2010’s Where’s The Blues Taking Me, fifteen brand new original songs that further plumb the band’s talents with their trademark roots ‘n’ blues sound. (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
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Lucky Peterson – 'I’m Back Again' (Blues Boulevard Records)
Mentored by the one and only Willie Dixon as a child, Judge Kenneth “Lucky” Peterson made his bones touring behind Little Milton and Bobby “Blue” Bland. His solo career began some 30 years ago, and although the talented singer, guitarist, and keyboard player is not yet 50 years old, he has a dozen and a half albums to his credit. If he’s not as well known as he should be, it’s because a lot of his recordings have been made for European labels and cater to the large audience Peterson enjoys on the continent. I’m Back Again illustrates the reasons for Peterson’s popularity across the pond; a spirited live album recorded in Germany, the tracklist mixes classic blues covers like Robert Johnson’s “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” and Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready” with vintage R&B and soul from folks like Johnny “Guitar” Watson as well as the odd but effective choice (Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble”). Peterson’s new full-length studio album, The Son of A Bluesman, was released under the radar by Jazz Village in June. (Release date: 07/08/14)Buy from Amazon »
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Paul Butterfield’s Better Days – 'Live At Winterland Ballroom' (Wounded Bird)
Long past his groundbreaking days as the frontman and namesake of Chicago’s Paul Butterfield Blues Band during the mid-to-late 1960s, the singer and harp player had relocated to Woodstock, New York and hooked up with a brace of like-minded talents in a new band called Better Days. Working with guitarists Amos Garrett and Geoff Muldaur, keyboardist Merl Saunders, and singer Maria Muldaur (Geoff’s wife at the time), Butterfield released a pair of albums under the Better Days name circa 1972-73 before returning to his solo work. Live At Winterland Ballroom was recorded in 1973 and remained unreleased until 1999, when it was released exclusively in Japan. The album shows the band’s pioneering mix of roots ‘n’ blues music, combining rock, blues, and folk in a style that we now call Americana. (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
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Preston Shannon – 'Dust My Broom' (Continental Records)
Mississippi-born, Memphis-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Preston Shannon may well be one of the best-kept secrets in blues music. He’s leant his talents to recordings by folks like Otis Clay and Ron Levy’s Wild Kingdom, but it’s on his own handful of vastly-underrated albums that the critically-acclaimed artist has proven himself to be a soulful vocalist and dynamic fretburner in the style of Albert King. Known as the “King of Beale Street,” Dust My Broom is Shannon’s fifth album, and while there’s almost no information about the disc that I can find beyond the tracklist, I suspect that Shannon will be providing another set of hearty, healthy, bluesy performances on a few originals and covers of Elmore James, Muddy Waters and, yes, even Prince! (Release date: 07/08/14)Buy from Amazon »
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Rick Estrin & the Nightcats – 'You Asked For It...Live!' (Alligator Records)
The first-ever live release from the dynamic outfit Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, You Asked For It...Live! offers up a baker’s dozen of scorching onstage performances. Backed by a band that includes guitarist Kid Andersen, multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Farrell, and drummer J. Hansen, singer and harp wizard Estrin romps through songs like “Handle With Care,” “New Old Lady,” “Never Trust A Woman,” and “Smart Like Einstein” in front of a raucous hometown San Francisco crowd. Simply one of the best ensemble outfits in the blues, you haven’t lived until you’ve lived with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats! (Release date: 07/08/14)More »
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Various Artists – 'Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival 1972' (Wounded Bird)
The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, held in 1972 in Ann Arbor, Michigan (also the home of Blind Pig Records at the time) is widely considered to be one of the most important live events in the history of the blues, introducing white rock ‘n’ roll audience to the charms of blues music. Originally released as a two-record set by Atlantic Records back in ’72, this long-anticipated CD reissue includes performances by such giants as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Bonnie Raitt, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, and others. I, for one, can’t wait to hear it! (Release date: 07/15/14)More »
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