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

Memphis Heat
Artist: Canned Heat
Johnny Winter And
Artist: Johnny Winter And

Winter puts together a new band and takes on the assistance of Rick Derringer, who coproduces and provides such great songs as "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide 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

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

Let It Flow
Artist: Elvin Bishop

For his fourth album, Elvin Bishop organized a new backup group and switched to Capricorn Records. Capricorn was known as the standard bearer of the Southern rock movement--the Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, etc.--and Bishop was able to emphasize the country/blues aspects of his persona and his music in the move from Marin... 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

The Best of Duane Allman
Artist: Duane Allman
Community Score: 9.00

A decent collection that briefly covers the phases of the all too short career of Duane Allman. Though very little of the material is found on any of Allman's solo albums, the tracks taken from his few recordings are well done. "Been Gone Too Long" is a true standout track from Allman's pre-Allman Brothers days in The Hourglass, as is the fine... 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

Sure Feels Good: The Best of Elvin Bishop
Artist: Elvin Bishop

Guitarist Elvin Bishop's career started in the early '60s playing the blues opposite Michael Bloomfield in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Revered in the blues community ever since, Bishop is known for maintaining his smokin' live performances which have kept him rolling on through the years. It was strange then, when, out of nowhere in 1976,... Read More