Howlin' Wolf

Album: The Legendary Sun Performers
Format: LP
Label/Info: Oxford 3214 (Charly Records, London)

1951 and 1952 Memphis sessions recorded by Sam Phillips. Is this the blues, rock 'n' roll, R&B, or something new altogether? Well, whatever it is, it's some of the most raucous material to come out of the Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue. [Wolf (Chester Burnett) would soon leave for Chicago and sign with Chess Records, while Phillips would go on to found Sun Records shortly thereafter.] Holy smokes, what a voice. Enough to melt a Shure 55. Also features some wild guitar work by Willie Johnson. If this LP is unavailable, the Bear Family CDs are ok substitutes. See Memphis Days: Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 (Bear Family 15460) and Vol. 2 (Bear Family 15500).

Big Star

Album: Radio City
Format LP

Label/Info: Ardent/Stax reissue (2009)

Power pop from Memphis. Like most people I know, I've had that #1 Record/Radio City twofer CD since the early 1990s. Great stuff, but the sound quality wasn't all there. This new vinyl reissue breathes new life into this music.

Blind Willie McTell

Album: The Classic Years 1927-1940

Format: CD

Label/Info: JSP7711A-D (4-disc set)

Indispensable American music. Surprisingly, the overall sound quality on this JSP collection is better than the more expensive Document set (DOCD-5677) covering much of the same material with the added bonus of the 1940 John Lomax recordings. Disc 3, with its bawdy hokum ("Let Me Play With Yo' Yo-Yo") and heartfelt spirituals ("Ain't It Grand to Be a Christian") contains some of my favorite sing-a-longs of all time, particularly the gospel duets with wife Kate McTell recorded in Chicago in 1935 for Decca. It so happens that I do a fairly decent Kate McTell impersonation which adds to the fun.

John Lee Hooker

Album: It Serve You Right To Suffer
Format: LP
Label/Info: Impulse AS-9103 (1966). There is also a 180 Gram Speakers Corner reissue available new for around 35 bucks. Too pricey for me, but I bet it sounds great. A perfectly recorded laid-back set with jazz musicians who know how to hold back and let the star of the session shine. John Lee Hooker (voc, g); Dickie Wells (tb); Milt Hinton (b); Barry Galbraith (g); Panama Francis (dr)

(Why did MCA feel the need to change "Serve" to "Serves" on the CD reissue? Leave Mr. Hooker's grammar alone. )

V/A from VA

Grammy-nominated Virginia Traditions series from the Blue Ridge Institute, Ferrum College

Format: LP or CD

While all the BRI releases are worth your while, I'm particularly partial to their blues and African American offerings:

Non-Blues Secular Black Music. BRI LP 001/Global Village CD 1001

Western Piedmont Blues. BRI LP 003/Global Village CD 1003

Tidewater Blues. BRI LP 006/Global Village CD 1006

Southwest Virginia Blues. BRI LP 008/Global Village CD 1008

Granted, this is a highly idiosyncratic blog -- jumping from Q-Tip to Virginia blues -- which I do primarily for my own benefit. I own a lot of blues comps, but these are some of the best regional music collections ever put together. Included are some rare and interesting 78s from the 1920s and '30s, but it is the later stuff -- like the 1970s sessions by Kip Lornell -- that really show off that raggy Piedmont/East Coast style. Contact the good folks at the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum about availability.

Q-Tip

Album: The Renaissance
Format: LP or CD
Label/Info: Universal/Motown

I rarely listen to much new music anymore. Seems like I start to lose interest around 1970. But I really dig this record, which has been in heavy rotation in my car. My kids really like it too. Perhaps I'm just reminiscing about a more naive time when Low End Theory provided my summer soundtrack the year I finished college. Fresh summer beats for an Obama nation on the mend.

The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro, Alabama

Album: Singing Songs of Praise
Format: CD
Label/Info: CaseQuarter 103

Holy-roller soul from East Central Alabama. While the lineup has changed over six decades, The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro are one of the last working vocal groups originating during gospel's golden years of the late 1940s and 50s. Assembled from recent studio recordings and live radio broadcasts at WBIL in Tuskegee, the disc contains a good cross section of performances that borrow from the blues and soul as well as sacred influences. Check out other CaseQuarter releases for more of the real deal.

Mississippi Fred McDowell

Album: Live at the Gaslight
Format: CD
Label/Info: Grapeshot/Live Archive GRR 1001

Recorded live November 5, 1971, at The Gaslight Cafe, MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York City; also featuring Tom Pomposello on 2nd guitar. The Mississippi Delta legend's last recording featuring his signature bottleneck style on electric guitar.

V/A

Album: Oh Graveyard, You Can't Hold Me Always
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-030/SM-01

Mono. Compilation of rare gospel recordings from the 1960s and early 1970s. Artists include Mosby Family Singers, Straight Street Holiness Group, Laura Rivers, Rev. Lonnie Farris, Radio Four, Joe Townsend, White Family, Silver Quintette, James Carter & The Mighty Stars, Farris & Williams, Brother Willie Eason, Traveling Echoes, and Sensational Happy Travelers.

Washington Phillips

Album: What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-006

Album: The Key To The Kingdom
Format: CD
Label/Info: Yazoo 2073

Phillips was a pioneering gospel performer in the 1920s. Born in Texas in 1880, his entire musical catalogue consists of 18 or so unique performances. Recorded between 1927 and 1929, these tracks feature Phillips self-accompanied by an instrument that sounds like a fretless zither. This instrument, which has been variously identified as a Dolceola, a Celestophone, and a Phonoharp (and also is considered by some to be an instrument entirely home-made by Phillips) creates a unique sound that is immediately charming and intriguing. For Phillips' complete recordings consult the Yazoo CD.

Otis Redding

"The Posthumous Releases" - 1967 recordings completed just before his death.
Format: LP (Otis was made for vinyl.)















Album: The Dock of the Bay (1968) - Volt S-419; ATCO SD 33-288; Sundazed Reissue LP 5172 (2003)

Album: The Immortal Otis Redding (1968) - ATCO SD 33-252

Album: Love Man (1969) - ATCO SD 33-289

Album: Tell the Truth (1970) - ATCO SD 33-333

Archie Shepp

Album: Blasé
Format: LP
Label/Info: BYG Actuel 529.318 - 180 Gram

18th volume in the BYG Actuel series originally recorded at Studio Davout in Paris on August 16th, 1969. Features Lester Bowie and Malachi Flavors (from the Art Ensemble of Chicago), Dave Burrell, Philly Joe Jones, and Jeanne Lee on vocals. Check out Lee on "There Is A Balm In Gilead." Sublime.

Bettye LaVette

Album: Do Your Duty
Format: LP
Label/Info: Reissue. Sundazed LP 5208

Love

Album: Love
Format: LP
Label/Info: Reissue. Sundazed LP 5100

Originally released May 1966 on Elektra. This, the first release from this influential L.A.-based group, is still my favorite, although their third release, Forever Changes, usually gets all the attention. Includes their edgy cover of Hal David/Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” and Arthur Lee’s moody “Signed D.C.”

Archie Shepp

Album: The Way Ahead
Format: CD
Label/Info: Impulse IMPD-272 (1998 20-bit remastering). Tracks 1-4 originally issued as 1968 LP The Way Ahead (AS-9170). Bonus tracks 5 and 6 originally issued on the 1969 LP Kwanza (AS-9262).

Archie Shepp. There are so many contrasts in his playing. Bluesy. Intense. Concerned. Exuberant. Who else can play so far out while staying so grounded and earthy? This is Shepp's first Impulse session with piano, which provides the harmonic anchor for me. Fire Music, Four for Trane, and Mama Too Tight are very fine recordings, but they don't have the feeling this one does. Check out Walter Davis, Jr. (piano) and Ron Carter on "Damn If I Know." Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone); Charles Davis (baritone saxophone); Jimmy Owens (trumpet); Grachan Moncur III (trombone); Walter Davis Jr., Dave Burrell (piano); Ron Carter, Walter Booker (bass); Beaver Harris, Roy Haynes (drums).

Album: Live in San Francisco
Format: LP
Label/Info: Impulse! AS-9118

A great live recording. My second favorite Shepp on Impulse. Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone, piano); Roswell Rudd (trombone); Donald Garrett, Lewis Worrell (bass); Beaver Harris (drums). Recorded at the Both/And Club, San Francisco, California on February 19, 1966.

Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers

Album: Peace in the Valley
Format: LP
Label/Info: Get Back 180 Gram Reissue (8063).

Sam Cooke joined the Soul Stirrers in 1951, replacing lead singer R. H. Harris after the Stirrers signed with Specialty records. Guided by the former teen wonder who would go on to be the superstar of early R&B, the Soul Stirrers are captured here at their best with 14 tunes of pure a cappella gospel feeling.

V/A - Nigerian

Compilations of Nigerian Afro-Beat, Afro-Funk, and Highlife from the 1970s.

Album: Nigeria70: Lagos Jump
Format: CD
Label/Info: Strut 035, 2008
***

Album: Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues, 1970-76
Format: CD
Label/Info: Soundway SNDWCD009, 2007

***

Album: Afro Baby: The Evolution of the Afro-Sound in Nigeria, 1970-79

Format: CD

Label/Info: Soundway SNDWCD002, 2004

V/A - Ethiopian

Album: Ethiopiques Series
Format: CD
Label/Info: Buda Musique, 1998-

Compilations of Ethiopian music from the 1960s and 1970s culled from singles and albums for Amha Records, Kaifa Records, and Philips-Ethiopia. Prominent singers and musicians from this era include Alemayehu Eshete, Asnaketch Worku, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, and Tilahun Gessesse. The series editor is Francis Falceto. All 23 discs are excellent, but the following stand out:

• Ethiopiques 1: the Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music (1998)
• Ethiopiques 3: Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music (1998)
• Ethiopiques 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974 (featuring Mulatu Astatke) (1998)
• Ethiopiques 7: Ere Mela Mela (featuring Mahmoud Ahmed) (1999)
• Ethiopiques 14: Negus of Ethiopian Sax (featuring Getachew Mekurya) (2003)
• Ethiopiques 21: Ethiopia Song (featuring Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Gebrou) (2006)

Junior Wells

Album: "It's My Life, Baby!"

Format: LP

Label/Info: Vanguard VRS-9231 (mono)

Mr. Wells' amazing first solo record for Vanguard features some live performances from Pepper's Lounge on the South Side of Chicago in order "to get the feeling of a blues band working with its blues audience." The studio tracks are amazing as well. Buddy Guy on guitar throughout. Produced by Samuel Charters. Favorite cut: "Stormy Monday"

Bo Diddley

Album: Bo Diddley (his first album on Chess, c. 1957)
Format: LP or CD (whatever you can find)

Label/Info: I own the 1986 Original Chess Masters vinyl reissue. It's a crime and a shame that this album is no longer available in its original form. It was at one time available on a "Two on One" CD with Go Bo Diddley (MCA/Original Chess Masters CHD-509).

The Zombies

Album: Odessey and Oracle
Format: LP
Label/Info: Big Beat WIKD 181 - "30th Anniversary Edition" vinyl reissue

While I can only handle so much psychedelic pop, this is beautifully-crafted music and quite simply one of the finest albums ever made. The CD sounds tinny, so avoid it, and contains a lot of unnecessary bonus tracks.

James Brown

Album: Live at the Apollo (Volume II - 1967)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Universal/Polydor Deluxe Edition. Originally released in 1968 as King LP 1022.

Junior Kimbrough and the Soul Blues Boys

Album: Sad Days, Lonely Nights
Format: LP
Label/Info: Fat Possum (also available on CD).

Talk about some hypnotic hill-country groove. Recorded live at Kimbrough's juke joint in Chulahoma, MS, in 1993. Produced by writer/music critic Robert Palmer.

Wilson Pickett

Album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue; originally released in 1966 as Atlantic 8129 (SD 8129, stereo).

The Stooges

Album: The Stooges
Format: LP
Label/Info: Sundazed Vinyl Reissue (5149). This is their first album for Elektra - produced by John Cale. Released in 1969.

Alice Coltrane

Album: Ptah, the El Daoud
Format: CD
Label/Info: 1996 Impulse Remaster
(20 Bit). Vinyl copies are out there, but can be quite expensive.

Muddy Waters

Album: The Best of Muddy Waters
Format: LP
Label/Info: MCA/Chess Vinyl Reissue; also 180 Gram Speakers Corner Reissue. (I don't normally recommend "Best of"s, but this is an essential collection of early singles.) Recorded between 1948-1954.

Chuck Berry

Album: After School Session
Format: CD
Label/Info: 2004 Geffen Remaster; originally released in 1957 as Chess LP 1426.

Favorite cut: "Drifting Heart"

Sun Ra and the Arkestra

Album: Super-Sonic Jazz
Format: LP or CD
Label/Info: 180 Gram Saturn Vinyl Reissue (left) and Evidence CD 22015 (bottom left). Also released in 1973 as Super-Sonic Sounds, Impulse AS-9271 (bottom right). Originally recorded in 1956.
Favorite cut: "Kingdom of Not"

Mahalia Jackson

Album: The World's Greatest Gospel Singer
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1955 Columbia CL 644 ("6-eye" LP, her first for the label. Inexpensive copies can be found at GEMM.)

Ms. Jackson says in the liner notes that she doesn't do blues records. Somebody should have told the session's guitarist.

Pete La Roca

Album: Basra
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue

Favorite cut: "Basra" - A one-chord ride up the Tigris and back down the Euphrates.

Andrew Hill

Album: Grass Roots
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note Connoisseur Series

There are more critically-acclaimed Hill records, but I come back to these 1968 sessions again and again.

Otis Redding

Album: The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue


Favorite cut: "Nothing Can Change This Love"

John Cale

Album: Paris 1919
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue

Favorite cut: "Paris 1919" - In the aftermath of the war to end all wars, a pop song about chasing illusions.

George Jones

Album: Trouble in Mind
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1965 United Artists
UA-3408/UAS-6408 (stereo)
Never released on CD, but turns up in thift stores and flea markets from time to time.

The Feelies

Album: Crazy Rhythms
This album holds up in memory only, since I no longer own this record and haven't heard it in 20 years. It's currently unavailable (a shame), and used copies can be expensive.

Al Green

Album: Gets Next To You
Format: LP
Label/Info: Get Back Reissue

Joseph Spence

Album: Good Morning Mr. Walker
Format: CD or LP
Label/Info: Arhoolie CD contains bonus tracks. Originally released as Arhoolie LP in 1972.

Gang of Four

Album: Entertainment!
Format: LP
Label/Info: Rhino 180 Gram Reissue

Buddy Holly

Album: Buddy Holly
Format: LP
Label/Info: MCA Heavy Vinyl remastered from original analog tapes

Tina Brooks

Album: True Blue
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue

Thelonious Monk

Album: Monk's Music
Format: CD
Label/Info: Riverside 2004 Hybrid SACD

Blind Willie McTell

Album: Pig 'n Whistle Red
Format: CD
Label/Info: Biograph 2003 Remaster.
1950 recordings featuring Curley Weaver

Skip James

Album: Complete Early Recordings of
( -1930)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Yazoo Compilation

Sandy Bull (with Billy Higgins)

Album: Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo
Format: LP
Label/Info: Vanguard

Julius Hemphill

Album: Reflections (originally released as Arista LP Coon Bid'ness)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Freedom

Favorite cut: "Hard Blues"

Alexander "Skip" Spence

Album: Oar
Format: LP
Label/Info: Sundazed Vinyl Reissue

Favorite cut: "War In Peace"

Bob Dylan

Album: New Morning
Format: LP
(Note: the "Nice Price" CD sounds terrible)
Label/Info: 1970 Columbia; also 2001 Simply Vinyl Reissue

The Kinks

Album: Muswell Hillbillies
Format: CD
Label/Info: Konk/KOCH SACD Hybrid

Television

Album: Marquee Moon
Format: LP
Label/Info: Elektra (also 4 Men With Beards 180 Gram Reissue)

Tony Williams

Album: Life Time
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note 1999 Remaster - Rudy Van Gelder Edition

Jackie McLean

Album: Jacknife
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note

Donny Hathaway

Album: Live
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1972 Atlantic/Atco

Ornette Coleman Trio

Album: At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm, Volume One
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note 2002 Remaster - Rudy Van Gelder Edition

Sly and the Family Stone

Album: Fresh
Format: CD
Label/Info: 2007 Sony Remaster w/Bonus Tracks

John Fahey

Album: The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Format: CD
Label/Info: Takoma

Blind Willie Johnson

Title: Dark Was the Night
Format: CD
Label/Info: Sony Compilation

Various Artists

Title: American Primitive II
Format: CD
Label: Revenant

Ray Bryant Trio

Album: All Blues
Format: LP
Label/Info: Pablo 2310-820

Al Green

Album: Call Me
Format: LP
Label/Info: Hi 1973 (original); also 2005 Get Back Vinyl Reissue

Bob Dylan

Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Format: CD
Label/Info: Sony 2003 Hybrid SACD

Lee Morgan

Album: Sidewinder
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue - 180 Gram Audiophile Pressing
(1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition on CD is a fine substitution.)

Favorite cut: Totem Pole