An Anthology
Artist: Duane Allman

Duane Allman's greatness was apparent on his recordings with the Allman Brothers, yet there was another side to the superb guitarist. For many years, he was a highly respected session musician, playing on cuts by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Boz Scaggs, Delaney & Bonnie, and Clarence Carter, among others. By including those... Read More

Drippin' Wet
Artist: Wet Willie

This is the album to start with on Wet Willie, and their real best-of, a surging, forceful concert recording of white Southern soul and blues-rock at its best. The band holds its own alongside outfits like the Allman Brothers -- no, this isn't the kind of history-making set that At Fillmore East by the latter band constituted, but it is a great... Read More

Raw Sienna
Artist: Savoy Brown

This high-water mark by the band finds them softening their rougher edges and stretching out into jazz territory, yet still retaining a blues foundation. There's not a bad cut here, with enough variety (bottleneck slide, acoustic guitar, horns, and strings) to warrant frequent late-night listenings. "A Hard Way to Go," "Needle and Spoon," and... Read More

A New Life
Artist: The Marshall Tucker Band

Perhaps the only reason that New Life isn't quite as memorable as its self-titled predecessor is that the band's debut was just so startling when it appeared. By the time New Life was issued in 1974, to the band's credit, it seemed like the Marshall Tucker Band sound had always been a part of America's rock & roll scene. New Life is earthier... Read More

Where We All Belong
Artist: The Marshall Tucker Band
Community Score: 10.00

Although it runs a little long, Where We All Belong captures the sound of The Marshall Tucker Band coming into its own. Half the tracks are new studio recordings, which are more focused than their previous releases; the other half is a harder-edged, jam-oriented live set. Taken together, they show that the band was progressing musically. ~... Read More

The Marshall Tucker Band: The Encore Collection
Artist: The Marshall Tucker Band

While not as in-depth and exhaustive as 1995's Best of the Marshall Tucker Band, The Marshall Tucker Band: The Encore Collection compiles some of the finest moments in the band's three-decade-long career. From their chart smash "Heard It in a Love Song" to the down-home Southern jamming of "Fly Like an Eagle," there's something on here for fans... Read More

The Best of Canned Heat - EMI
Artist: Canned Heat
Community Score: 4.50

This ten-track set contains essential sides from the classic rock blues and boogie combo Canned Heat, culled from their first four long-players: Canned Heat (1967), Boogie With Canned Heat (1968), Living the Blues [Akarma] (1968), and Hallelujah (1969). Notably, this discounts Canned Heat Cookbook (1969), a hits package that cashed in on their... Read More

Hooker 'n' Heat
Artist: Canned Heat
Community Score: 7.50

Canned Heat brought a fresh personnel to this confab with blues legend John Lee Hooker (guitar/vocals). Likewise, Larry "The Mole" Taylor (bass) and Harvey Mandel (guitar) linked up with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers during the spring of 1970. In their stead, Henry "Sunflower" Vestine (guitar) returned from a failed outing as "The Sun" with... Read More

Future Blues
Artist: Canned Heat

The final Canned Heat album to feature co-founder Alan Wilson, Future Blues was also one of their best, surprisingly restrained as a studio creation by the band, the whole thing clocking in at under 36 minutes, as long as some single jams on their live discs. It was also one of their most stylistically diverse efforts. Most of what's here is... Read More

Laid Back
Artist: Gregg Allman
Community Score: 10.00

Recorded in the same year as the Brothers and Sisters album, this solo debut release is a beautiful amalgam of R&B, folk, and gospel sounds, with the best singing on any of Gregg Allman's solo releases. He covers his own "Midnight Rider" in a more mournful, dirge-like manner, and Jackson Browne's "These Days" gets its most touching and... Read More

An Anthology, Vol. 2
Artist: Duane Allman

The session work with other players here isn't quite as good as the material on the first anthology, but An Anthology, Vol. 2 does feature a live cut by Delaney & Bonnie, plus a pair of what were then previously unissued Allman Brothers Band live tracks (among them "Midnight Rider" from the Fillmore East in June 1971). There's another good Duane... Read More

About Blues
Artist: Johnny Winter