Jacks & Kings
Artist: The Nighthawks

Classic material and stirring playing. A must-find. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide Read More

Long John's Blues
Artist: Long John Baldry
The Earthshaker
Artist: Koko Taylor
Community Score: 10.00

Koko Taylor's Alligator encore harbored a number of tunes that still pepper her set list to this day -- the grinding "I'm a Woman" and the party-down specials "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Hey Bartender." Her uncompromising slow blues "Please Don't Dog Me" and a sassy remake of Irma Thomas's "You Can Have My Husband" also stand out, as does the... Read More

Open All Nite
Artist: The Nighthawks

When Open All Nite was first released on LP in 1976, the Nighthawks had only been together for four years -- little did they know that they would still be together in the 21st century and would celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2002. Some young bands sound like they still have some growing and developing to do, but the Nighthawks never sound... Read More

Anthology, Vol. 1 (1966-1976)
Artist: Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal's often-indulgent experimentations have flawed most of his albums to different degrees; The Taj Mahal Anthology, Vol. 1 rights these self-inflicted wrongs by compiling a coherent look at his early career (1966-1976). Though this collection is currently out-of-print, it provides the best introduction to his easy-going take on the blues.... Read More

Love Me Papa
Artist: Luther Allison

Luther Allison is the blues' proverbial little boy with the curl; when he's good, he's great. When he's bad, he's awful. Allison was on throughout most of the nine tracks (three bonus cuts) on this 1977 date recently reissued by Evidence on CD, playing with the ferocity, direction, and inventiveness that is often missing from his more uneven... Read More

Blues Hit Big Town
Artist: Junior Wells
Community Score: 10.00

This 1998 CD reissue of Wells' debut recordings for the States label adds four previously unheard tracks along with the original 13-track vinyl lineup. Wells' legacy begins with these landmark sides, featuring Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Johnnie Jones, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and the Aces in the lineup at various points. Whether it's a slow... Read More

Live & Burning
Artist: Son Seals

Lives up to its billing. Seals's smoking set, caught live at Chicago's long-gone (and definitely lamented) Wise Fools Pub, finds him attacking a sharp cross-section of material -- Detroit Junior's deliberate "Call My Job," Elmore James's "I Can't Hold Out," his own "Help Me, Somebody" -- with an outstanding band in tow -- saxist A.C. Reed,... Read More

Rock 'n Roll Gumbo
Artist: Professor Longhair

Recorded in 1974, this album almost never saw the light of day. Fortunately, the master tapes were found and the album was released posthumously. Professor Longhair was a giant in the New Orleans music community, but had not recorded in over ten years when he was convinced to start playing again. From the opening riffs, one can understand the... Read More

The Natch'l Blues
Artist: Taj Mahal
Community Score: 3.50

Taj Mahal's second album, recorded in the spring and fall of 1968, opens with more stripped-down Delta-style blues in the manner of his debut, but adds a little more amplification (partly courtesy of Al Kooper on organ) before moving into wholly bigger sound on numbers like "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride" and "The Cuckoo" -- the... Read More

Kulanjan
Artist: Taj Mahal

This informal collaboration between veteran American bluesman Mahal and Malian kora (it's a 21-stringed lute-like instrument) master Diabate was recorded in an Athens, GA, studio with a sextet of West African string instrumentalists and vocalists. It sounds like a half a world away, with the two mixed cultures merging to create traditional blues... Read More