Million Dollar $ecret
Artist: Valerie Wellington

Wellington is a powerful yet subtle vocalist, backed by some of the best Chicago blues players, including Sunnyland Slim, Billy Branch, Casey Jones, and Magic Slim & the Teardrops. The CD reissue contains two bonus tracks. ~ Niles J. Frantz, All Music Guide Read More

Test of Time
Artist: Ronnie Earl

Test of Time collects the highlights from Ronnie Earl's six Black Top albums. The 18-song compilation showcases one of the finest blues guitarists of the '80s, picking nearly all of his finest material, which happen to include duets with Robert Jr. Lockwood and Hubert Sumlin. The album is an excellent introduction to Earl, as well as his most... Read More

King of the Blues Guitar - ACE
Artist: B.B. King
The Best of the Memphis Masters
Artist: B.B. King
Laundromat Blues
Artist: Albert King
Community Score: 10.00
The Best of Albert King, Vol. 1
Artist: Albert King

"The best of Albert King"? More like the best material that he happened to record for Stax between 1968 and 1973. Even that's debatable, the 13 tracks including covers such as "Honky Tonk Woman," "Sky Is Crying," and "Hound Dog." It does present a reasonable cross-section of his soul-inflected work of the period, drawing from over a half-dozen... Read More

Tell Me What I Want to Hear
Artist: Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets

First-rate, contemporary Texas shuffle and blues with tasteful, biting guitar comes from Funderburgh and great vocals and harp from Mississippian Sam Myers. This is their most varied and ambitious release to date (the band seems to get better with each album). The title track was used in the movie China Moon. "Rent Man Blues" is a humorous... Read More

Sins
Artist: Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets

Sins is a good fusion of Texas and Delta blues, alternating between rocking shuffles and laidback ballads. Funderburgh's playing is tasteful -- he has an enticing sound, but he never falls into grandstanding -- and Sam Myers's voice is rich and his harp playing intoxicating. Furthermore, the selection of material is first-rate, featuring sharp... Read More

Mighty Long Time
Artist: James Cotton

Although the titles are all familiar (most of them a little too much so), Cotton and his all-star cohorts (guitarists Jimmie Vaughan, Matt Murphy, Luther Tucker, Hubert Sumlin, and Wayne Bennett, the omnipresent Perkins on keys) pull the whole thing off beautifully. Cotton's cover of Wolf's "Moanin' at Midnight" is remarkably eerie in its own... Read More

Live at Carnegie Hall
Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Community Score: 8.00

Live at Carnegie Hall captures Stevie Ray Vaughan on the supporting tour for his second album, 1984's Couldn't Stand the Weather. The Carnegie Hall concert was a special show, since it was the only time Vaughan and Double Trouble added the brass section from Roomful of Blues to augment their sound; in addition, the concert featured guest... Read More