Landslide - Two Sided Fantasy (1972)

Landslide - Two Sided Fantasy , 1972
 
   I really dont know a lot about Landslide except that this album is just way tooo cool !  This is acid-blues music the way it was meant to be played and should excite even your pet gerbil !  The line up consisted of drummer Tommy Caglioti, Joseph Caglioti, singer Ed Cass, bassist  Bobby Sallustio and lead guitarist Billy Savoca and boy-o-boy can these guys "giver".     I picked this gem back in 2003 snagging the Akarma CD gatefold album sleeve replica release.   Not sure of the source of this one (it may be from vinyl transfer actaully) but having said that the sound on this CD is actually quite good.
   Musically these guys played a blues based rhythm style with wah wah guitars and echoed reverb mixed with excellent drums and some great vocals too !    A Very cool album

Long John Baldry - It Ain`t Easy (1971)

Long John Baldry - It Ain`t Easy (1971), Remaster

   Whats all the fuss about all this `Booooogee Wooogee``.     Dont try to lay no Booogie Wooogie On The Kind Of Rock n Roll........
  Before coming over to Canada , Long John Had a string of albums that showcased his Blues side but on ``It Aint Easy` Baldry shifted to a more pop hippie kind of blues that the psychedelic crowd would like equally as much as the R&B gang.   And yes this is one of the two Baldry albums where production duties were split 50%  Elton John and 50% Rod Stewart.
  I am right now in my kitchen cooking dinner and totally rockin out to this album.....wow !!

Jimmy Witherspoon with Brother Jack McDuff - The Blues Is Now (1967)

Jimmy Witherspoon with Brother Jack McDuff - The Blues Is Now (1967)

   Jimmy Witherspoon ....the voice and the blues......with Brother Jack !   Holy crap kids !

   Jimmy Witherspoon released a number of excellent albums on Verve in the mid-late '60s with "The Blues Is Now" being one of the good un's.   Fans of Blues will love this album......dark smokey atmospheres with heavy soul vocals, great organ and superb Guitar work from Melvin Sparks .  I also love the brass section which works so well with the organ grinds , guitar and soulful vocals of Witherspoon.

   After hearing this album Ì`m gonna move to the outskirts of town`......

Hound Dog Taylor - Natural Boogie (1973)

Hound Dog Taylor - Natural Boogie (1973)

  Hound Dog (Theodore) Taylor grew up in Mississippi but moved to Chicago where for well over 10 years played his boogie styled slide guitar with mates Brewer Phillips (guitar) and Ted Harvey (drums).    Natural Boogie was his second album and a follow up to his well received debut album that featured "Give Me Back My Wig" which is his best known song.  Phillips plays guitar along side Taylor but does so often more like a bass guitar than a rhythm section.    This is great toe tapping music and if you have never heard Hound Dog Taylor then you are missing out on some great blues slide music !

Keb Mo (1994)

Keb Mo , Mobile Fidelity 1994, SACD

  I first heard Kevin Moore aka Keb'Mo' a number of years ago and was immediately drawn to his playing and his creativity....Keb is way more than just a R&B artist.   Keb Mo is a blues guitarist and vocalist who draws heavily on this debut album on the approach and work of blues legend Robert Johnson who clearly had a major influence on his music.    What makes Keb Mo stand out for me on this album is his integration of callsic blues with soul and folk genres and all wrapped around his own sense and interpretation of his music.
   The folks at Mobile Fidelity have done a great job in remastering and presenting Keb MO's debut album is glorious SACD emitting great clarity and tones.  

Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Step (1989)

Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Step , Mobile Fidelity SACD (1989) Remaster

I am caught in the Crossfire !

  In Step was Vaughan's 4th and final album with the Double Trouble lineup and is a wonderful album that all fans of blues MUST hear.  And what way to hear better than on Mofi's SACD!  This has to be one of my personal favorite Blues rock albums of all time.....clearly I am caught in the Crossfire !  Vaughan lets it all go on this album with some of his best R&B moments and a guarantee that your toes will never stop tappin '

   As usual the folks at MoFi have done a great version in presenting this well balanced album in glorious SACD !  Like most of the MoFi releases this album at higher volumes just leaps out at you unlike most standard CD, Vinyl or 8-Track will !   (kidding about the 8-Track).   I believe originally this was a pure digital recording and yet it carries many of the characteristics of the great analog era.   Without a question Stevie Ray's vocals just leap out at you on this remaster and sound just so clean and distinctive.   This master has a nice full dynamic sound that albeit less dynamic as other SACD releases still sounds nice and warm and very well produced (thus the analog reference earlier).

  This SACD release is simply amazing and THIS is the reason why I love the pursuit of the audiophile  

Jimmy Smith - Back At The Chicken Ranch (1963) SACD

Jimmy Smith - Back At The Chicken Ranch (1963) Analogue Productions SACD

   Jimmy Smith's "Back At The Chicken Shack" is one of the hallmark albums for lovers of the organ driven jazz.  This album is a combo of soul, blues, jazz and fusion genres ....all in one album.  Jimmy Smith is helped out on by Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone), Kenny Burrell (guitar) and Donald Bailey (drums).  Jazz organ enthusiasts (like me) will love this album with its soulful presence and mindful jazziness.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather (1984)

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather (1984) Legacy 2 CD Remaster

   Lets start off 2012 on the right foot shall we ?  
      "Couldn't Stand The Weather" was the 2nd album way back from guitar blues wizard Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Follow up albums are usually key and Vaughan and Double Trouble managed to pull off another great album to support perhaps my favourite blues rock album of all time.... "Texas Flood". 
   Not a bad track on this album with 2 absolutely stunning ones "Tin Pan Alley" and his ode to Jimbo Hendrix "Voodoo Child (slight return) which is just a stunning version.  Included in the legacy 2 CD remastered edition is a live performance from Montreal at the Spectrum (Aug 17th, 1984) .  Also included are a number of unreleased tracks from these recording sessions making this quite a stunning package.

R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down, Fat Possum Records (2000)

R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down, Fat Possum Records (2000)
 
 Along with Mississippi Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside was an old time blues musician that as far as I knew was long ago gone from Chicago Blues Scene .  Then to my surprise I heard a few news songs from him and was so intrigued that I started to track down his later albums.  "Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down" takes the Blues into totally new territory and has managed to break new boundaries here on this album.  I think Bob will absolutely love this album with it's wild mix of scratch , guitar, harmonica and deep blues vocals of a master.  Tracks like "got messed up" completely won me over and this album is an absolute gem.   a bit of a cliche i suppose but i highly recommended album to you and you need to hear this one before YOU die !

Buddy Guy - A Man & The Blues (1968)

Buddy Guy - A Man & The Blues, Vanguard Records, 1968

  Here is "THE" template for modern blues inspired performers!.  This album is the template for what musicologists refer to as the "second generation Chicago Blues".   Buddy's performance on his fender Stratocaster will transport you into a smoke filled seedy Chicago bar where the you will get the blues.   There are tons of great blues players and albums out there but this one is just kinda extra extra special.  One listen and you will know what I mean ! 

Long John Baldry - Long John's Blues (1964)

Long John Baldry - Long John's Blues, 1964 United Artists (mono)

  Here is little piece of early British R&B magic...Long John's Blues was his debut album from 1964 and is a fine little album that will keep your toes tapping and your broken heart from mending !  Historically Long John was one of Britains most exciting and enduring live acts. Although this album contains many of the staples like "Got My Mojo Working," "Dimples," and "Hoochie Coochie Man" but it is his interpretation and versions that have always keep me so addicted to this album.  Long John's Blues stands proud among the most essential British blues albums of them all.