Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Artist: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Community Score: 9.33

Even after his death, Paul Butterfield's music didn't receive the accolades that were so deserved. Outputting styles adopted from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters among other blues greats, Butterfield became one of the first white singers to rekindle blues music through the course of the mid-'60s. His debut album, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band,... Read More

Blues from Big Bill's Copacabana
Artist: Muddy Waters

Originally released as Folk Festival of the Blues on Chess's Argo subsidiary, the reissue gets the title right the second time around, a live document of a steamy night in a Chicago blues club. Chicago blues disc jockey Big Bill Hill intros the band and the assembled stars (one of whom, Little Walter, is nowhere to be found on this disc), then... Read More

Sail On
Artist: Muddy Waters
Memphis Charlie
Artist: Charlie Musselwhite

The 14 performances on Memphis Charlie include some loose live sides and even a taste of slide guitar from Musselwhite. They're the work of a more mature artist than the brash kid on Stand Back. ~ All Music Guide, All Music Guide Read More

Tennessee Woman
Artist: Charlie Musselwhite

The addition of jazz pianist Skip Rose gave a new dimension to the ensemble sound, and provided a perfect foil to Charlie's own soloing -- especially on the re-take of "Cristo Redentor," extended to 11 minutes, shifting to double-time in spots. Rose's instrumental, "A Nice Day for Something," is a welcome change of pace, and Musselwhite's "Blue... Read More

Hate to See You Go
Artist: Little Walter

Many blues fans identify this album by the scar on its front cover, and this doesn't mean that their copy got damaged lying around in the used-record pile. A larger than life black-and-white photograph of Little Walter fills the front cover with a visual impact that just cannot be matched in the petite world of compact discs. A jewel case would... Read More

A Man and the Blues
Artist: Buddy Guy
Community Score: 10.00

The guitarist's first album away from Chess -- and to be truthful, it sounds as though it could have been cut at 2120 S. Michigan, with Guy's deliciously understated guitar work and a tight combo anchored by three saxes and pianist Otis Spann laying down tough grooves on the vicious "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "I Can't Quit the Blues," and an... Read More

East-West
Artist: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Community Score: 7.50

The second Butterfield album had an even greater effect on music history, paving the way for experimentation that is still being explored today. This came in the form of an extended blues-rock solo (some 13 minutes) -- a real fusion of jazz and blues inspired by the Indian raga. This groundbreaking instrumental was the first of its kind and... Read More

Slippin' In
Artist: Buddy Guy
Community Score: 8.00

Whereas on 1993's Feels Like Rain Buddy Guy flirted with pop and R&B material, on Slippin' In, released one year later, he firmly reasserts his bluesness. From the very first track on, Guy lets his incomparable guitar loose. Throughout the album, he even experiments with Hendrix-esque effects on his guitar (perhaps at the prodding of... Read More