Best Chicago Blues

It sounds like the beginning of a story: "So, Slowhand and the King of the Blues were riding in a car ..." If this is a musical journey, it's the kind that rolls down long, empty stretches of country highway at 80 miles an hour, with the top down and the stereo blasting. What they do here is cover 12 classic blues songs, many of them staples of King's repertoire, so the title of this album makes sense.

Kudos to producer David Z for surrounding Lang with alert, first-rate sidemen and for helping select good material from Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson, Tinsley Ellis, and others.

Long considered one of the greatest blues albums ever, Live at the Regal received a 5-star review from Downbeat upon release and has been on "Greatest Album" listings ever since. Heralded as one of the greatest live blues albums ever recorded, this set catches the singer-guitarist as his star was in ascent: in 1964 playing Chicago's answer to Harlem's Apollo Theater--the Regal.

Hear the reigning queen of cool jazz croon her way through 11 of her best tunes on this greatest hits collection.

Includes Drunkard's Special Coley Jones; Peg and Awl Carolina Tar Heels; Frankie Mississippi John Hurt; Engine 143 Carter Family; Indian War Whoop Hoyt Ming & His Pep-Steppers; Newport Blues Cincinnati Jug Band; John the Revelator Blind Willie Johnson; Fifty Miles of Elbow Room Rev. McGee; Sugar Baby Dock Boggs; See That My Grave Is Kept Clean Blind Lemon Jefferson; The Lone Star Trail Ken Maynard, and many more! The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music. Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection. Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways. Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways. Folkways: The Original Vision See all Editorial Reviews.

Includes Drunkard's Special Coley Jones; Peg and Awl Carolina Tar Heels; Frankie Mississippi John Hurt; Engine 143 Carter Family; Indian War Whoop Hoyt Ming & His Pep-Steppers; Newport Blues Cincinnati Jug Band; John the Revelator Blind Willie Johnson; Fifty Miles of Elbow Room Rev. McGee; Sugar Baby Dock Boggs; See That My Grave Is Kept Clean Blind Lemon Jefferson; The Lone Star Trail Ken Maynard, and many more! The Harry Smith Connection: A Live Tribute To The Anthology Of American Folk Music. Classic Maritime Music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection. Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways. Classic Blues From Smithsonian Folkways. Folkways: The Original Vision See all Editorial Reviews.

An intense, high-powered performance from Stevie Ray's early days, featuring Testify; Texas Flood; Wham! Rewind to 1983 and here is Stevie Ray at the beginning of his fame, his first album with his backing band Double Trouble, Texas Flood , having just been released to critical and popular acclaim. At this early stage in his career he was still very much in thrall to Jimi Hendrix (the flower-power shirt gives it away), as covers of "Voodoo Chile" and "Third Stone from the Sun" (the latter a Hendrix-inspired guitar-abuse session) indicate. The highlight of the show, however, is his rendition of "Texas Flood," which turns out to be an amazing essay on the art of blues guitar.

"Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for these seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Lou Reed's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and the ElektriK Mud Kats' (with Chuck D. of Public Enemy) hip-hop-cum-traditional updating of Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy" are among the best of them; on the other hand, a rendition of "Cry Me a River" by Lulu (?!).

On September 25, 2012, internationally renowned guitar superstar Joe Bonamassa will release the highly anticipated JOE BONAMASSA: BEACON THEATRE LIVE FROM NEW YORK on CD, showcasing the stunning sold-out two-night performance at New York City s legendary Beacon Theatre. He kicks it off with Slow Train, from 2011's solo album Dust Bowl and rolls through a number of fan-favorites including: Cradle Song, Dust Bowl, When The Fire Hits The Sea, Bird On A Wire, Blue & Evil, Mountain Time, and many more.

This 1971 collaboration between primal one-part-Delta/one-part-Detroit singer-guitarist John Lee Hooker and Southern California blues revivalists Canned Heat works in large part because all parties involved are a little off. Hooker, the most unsystematic of the major bluesmen of his generation, isn't a good fit for disciplined players; rather, he requires sidemen who play by feel.

On September 25, 2012, internationally renowned guitar superstar Joe Bonamassa will release the highly anticipated JOE BONAMASSA: BEACON THEATRE LIVE FROM NEW YORK on CD, showcasing the stunning sold-out two-night performance at New York City s legendary Beacon Theatre. He kicks it off with Slow Train, from 2011's solo album Dust Bowl and rolls through a number of fan-favorites including: Cradle Song, Dust Bowl, When The Fire Hits The Sea, Bird On A Wire, Blue & Evil, Mountain Time, and many more.

Soak up these soulful performances of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Ellis Marsalis; Santa's Second Line New Birth Brass Band; Christmas in New Orleans James Andrews; Silver Bells Heritage Hall Jazz Band; 'Zat You, Santa Claus?

101 cuts from the most important post-WWII blues label, including 19 unreleased recordings and over two dozen singles making their album debuts (which means those with every Chess re-issue only own about half this set!).

Great collection: Ain't That a Shame; Blueberry Hill; I'm in Love Again; Blue Monday; I'm Walkin'; The Fat Man; Goin' Home; All by Myself; Poor Me; Whole Lotta Loving; Going to the River; Honey Chile; Valley of Tears , and more.