Genre > Blues

1. LOOP GAROO (4:42)
2. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND (2:55)
3. WASH, MAMA, WASH (3:35)
4. CHIPPY, CHIPPY (3:30)
5. MARDI GRAS DAY (8:08)
6. ANGOLA ANTHEM (17:33)

1.  Black John the Conqueror
2.  Where Ya at Mule
3.  Craney Crow
4.  Familiar Reality--Opening
5.  Pots on Fiyo (File Gumbo)/Who I Got to Fall On (If the Pot Get Heavy)
6.  Zu Zu Mamou
7.  Familiar Reality--Reprise

176 pg. Paperback Book

ISBN: 0-97930-641-6

This new book reveals the work of nine key singer-songwriters of the 1960s: David Ackles; David Blue; Tim Buckley; Tim Hardin; Fred Neil; Phil Ochs; Tom Rapp; Tim Rose; and Tom Rush. Here are individual tales of creativity and class songs including If I Were A Carpenter, Everybody's Talkin', Song To The Sire, Hey Joe, and No Regrets. The book shows how these nine talented artists each expanded the standard pop blueprint of the day and made a significant contribution to rock music's coming of age. A 32-page colour section features rare and revealing photographs, and a fully annotated and illustrated discography details the recorded output of the nine.

542 pg. Paperback Book

ISBN: 0-87341-949-9

2nd Edition

Completely revamped from the first edition, this book contains listings and up-to-date market values for over 2,000 artists and tens of thousands of records. This is the only country & western price guide on the market that lists every record individually, with extensive listings for 78s from the 1920s to the 1950s, plus thousands of 45s and LPs from the 1940s to today! From "The Prisoner's Song" to "I Hope You Dance", Hank to Haggard, Waylon to Willie, Merle Travis to Randy Travis, Leon Payne to Shania Twain, almost every hit country artist and song issued on wax in the U.S. is listed inside.

Paperback Book

ISBN: 0879308052

INCLUDES:
- Rare photographs
- Full discography
- Song concordance

Side One

1. Louise,Louise Blues
2. Letter to My Baby
3. Stand Your Test In Judgement
4. Do It Right Blues
5. Low Down Blues
6. The Moppin' Blues
7. Coal Black Curly Hair

Side Two

1. Hey! Bud Blues
2. Baby Please Don't Go
3. Down By The Riverside
4. Kind Hearted Blues
5. When Did You Leave Heaven
6. John Henry
7. Lonesome Road Blues

Release Date: January 2009

During the 1930s in the vast region of the American Southwest, particularly in Texas and Oklahoma, a younger generation gave birth to a new form of popular dance music. In the hard years of the depression, both rural enthusiasts who played by ear, and others who had basic notions of written music joined together and participated in the development of the so-called "western swing." The elements which flow into this music are easily detectable on recordings by Western Swing groups, melting white and black swing across the country (Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, etc.), together with blues, fiddle music and ragtime, which was particularly strong in the regional heritage of Texas. Packaged in 78 RPM style deluxe plain white cardboard sleeve with outer dust sleeve.

Recorded during June of 1969 at Marquee Studios in London with Gary Collins and Colin Caldwell engineering, the trio of Groundhogs put the blues to rest on Blues Obituary. Composed, written, and arranged by Tony "T.S." McPhee, there are seven tracks hovering from the around the four to seven minute mark. The traditional "Natchez Burning," arranged by McPhee, fits in nicely with his originals while the longest track, "Light Is the Day," features the most innovation, a Ginger Baker-style tribal rant by drummer Ken Pustelnik allowing McPhee to lay down some muted slide work while Pete Cruickshank's bass drives along with the mayhem. Vocals across the board are kept to a minimum as it's all about the sound here.

Track Listing:

1. B.D.D.
2. Daze of the Weak
3. Times
4. Mistreated
5. Express Man
6. Natchez Burning
7. Light Was the Day

Hoodoo Man Blues is not only Junior Wells' initial appearance on record, it is damn near the first LP by a Chicago blues band. Chess and a few other labels had reissued 45's by Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, etc. but virtually no one had tried to capture the Chicago blues sound free of limitations of juke-box/airplay promotion as Delmark does here. Hoodoo Man Blues is the real Chicago blues from a true blues legend.

Junior Wells Hoodoo Man Blues Track Listing

1. Snatch It Back and Hold It
2. Ships on the Ocean
3. Good Morning Schoolgirl
4. Hound Dog
5. In the Wee Hours
6. Hey Lawdy Mama
7. Hoodoo Man Blues
8. Early in the Morning
9. We're Ready
10. You Don't Love Me Baby
11. Chitlin con Carne
12. Yonder Wall

75 pg. Paperback Book

ISBN: 1-890490-36-9

Boost your blues I.Q. with this lively, comprehensive introduction to the world of blues guitar--from the origins of the blues in the rural South and early masters like Charley Patton and Blind Lemon Jefferson to the guitars and techniques used by acoustic blues players, then and now.

311 pg. Paperback Book

ISBN: 0-7434-1045-9

Robert Gordon begins where most chroniclers of the music world end and spins a magical tale people with Delta bluesman, a peanut vendor, a matinee cowboy, a professional wrestler, and a manic deejay. IT CAME FROM MEMPHIS doesn't focus on Elvis, Al Green, or the Sun/Stax studios. Instead it creeps into the shadows cast by those institutions, concentrating on artists like Jim Dickinson and Alex Chilton, and bands like the Mar-Keys and Big Star. Gordon limns, with respect and the fascination born of true devotion, the story of white teenagers caught in the middle of an extraordinary confluence of music, entrepreneurship, and eccentricity, breaking through the walls of racism and helping to usher in an exciting new musical form. The result is a thoroughly informative and completely engrossing history of rock 'n' roll and Memphis--its alma mater.

In 1952, at the age of 17, blues harpist James Cotton caught the attention of Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, and soon began recording with the legendary Howlin' Wolf. Through his subsequent work with Muddy Waters and his own bands, James has remained one of the brightest stars in the blues firmament ever since. These classic sides from the '80s that James produced himself won a Grammy nomination when they were originally issued. They have been carefully remastered and are presented here in glorious analog audiophile fidelity.

Track Listing:

1. My Babe
2. Well, I Done Got Over It
3. Clouds In My Heart
4. Take Me Back
5. Honest I Do
6. Take Out Some Insurance
7. Killing Floor
8. Dust My Broom
9. Hungry Country Girl

As part of the numerous compilations issued in conjunction with the major television documentary series The Blues, this is a collection of blues-oriented Hendrix recordings. There is a previous compilation of Hendrix's blues-oriented work in 1994, simply titled Blues. There is little repetition between Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues and Blues, though, and it works as a decent grouping of some of his bluesiest recordings for those listeners who want to plunge especially deeply into one facet of his repertoire. "Red House" and "Voodoo Chile" are by far the most celebrated tracks here. The fine Earl King cover "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" (from Electric Ladyland) is the only other song that came out in Hendrix's lifetime The other selections vary from inspired ("Hear My Train a Comin'," recorded in early 1969 with the original Jimi Hendrix Experience lineup, and a solo "Midnight Lightning") to straight ahead jams, with Hendrix's imaginative virtuosity and affinity for the blues evident. This being a posthumous Hendrix release, it couldn't be complete without a couple of previously unissued tracks to tempt the completists, Those are the 1969 outtakes "Georgia Blues," on which Hendrix is actually more like a backing musician for Lonnie Youngblood (who takes lead vocals), and "Blue Window," a nearly 13-minute outing that gives vent to his jazzier tendencies, the arrangement also featuring organ, three saxophones, and two trumpets. The liner notes about Jimi's blues record collecting habits by mid-'60s girlfriend Faye Pridgon are pretty cool. A must for Hendrix LP lovers.

Track Listing:

Side 1

Red House
Voodoo Chile

Side 2

Come On (Let The Good Times Roll)
Georgia Blues*
Country Blues

Side 3

Hear My Train A Comin'
It's Too Bad

Side 4

My Friend
Blue Window*
Midnight Lightning

*previously unreleased

In 1960, David Hall, who wrote the original liner notes for this Everest 35MM recording had this to say about the Villa Lobos composition / Everest Recording: “ In recent years, hi-fi fans have delighted in the realistic recordings of big steam locomotives and other railway sounds. For some, it is more thrilling to have a fast freight roaring through the living room than to hear the music of Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. Here, though, is a tailor made for both the audiophile and music lover. With Everest’s startlingly lifelike sound, coupled with the vivid imagination of Villa-Lobos, you can hear a musical train come to life on your phonograph.” The Little train of the Caipira was inspired by a ride that Villa-Lobos took in 1931 on a train that was transporting berry-pickers and farm laborers between villages in the Brazilian province of Sao Paolo. Within and hour he had completed the last movement (toccata) and that very night he and his wife played the movement on cello and piano.

Alberto Ginastera, Argentina’s most celebrated composers, wrote “Estancia”, a one act Ballet in five movements, as a commissioned composition in 1941. It was not performed in ballet form, however, until 1952 in Buenos Aires. “Panambi” composed in 1936, and another ballet suite in five movements, is based on a South American Indian legend. Its primitive element is most spectacularly evident in the second movement which is scored for percussion and brass only and in the last movement “Dance of the Warriors” which works up to a tremendous final climax. This Classic Records faithful reissue features original artwork and labels and includes an “old style tip-on” jacket to add a touch of authenticity. The lacquers were cut directly from the original 35MM tapes though Classic’s “all tube” cutting system by Bernie Grundman. Pressed on Classic’s 200g Super Vinyl Profile II ensures that the listener will hear ever nuance of this great Eugene Goossens /LSO recording by Bert Whyte. This is truly a “golden age” recording that will delight the train nuts and audiophiles alike.

Import

Robert Pete Williams is the most avant-garde blues performer ever recorded. No punk rock band has ever matched the jagged, acerbic fury of the riffs Williams played 35 years ago. No rapper has approached his ability to evoke the torment of life in prison or bend language to cast an eerie spell over a chance encounter with a seductive woman. His blues was extremely original, sometimes even hard to understand. No other performer has captured the emotional effect of a desperate situation like he did. He had never been recorded when he was discovered in Angola Penitentiary in Louisiana, convicted of murder. Robert Pete probably has the most unique blues style of all bluesmen. Neither his guitar work nor his singing can be categorized into any established regional style such as East Coast, Mississippi Delta or Texas Blues. His music and lyrics are spontaneous and original. No major influence of other bluesmen can be found in his idiosyncratic, intensely personal performances. Blues scholar Pete Welding described his music as "tough, mean, and, above all, impassioned like the man himself."

Robert Pete Williams With Big Joe Williams Track Listing

1. Doctor Blues
2. Got On His Mind
3. Meet Him Over In Paradise
4. Goodbye Baby
5. It's Gotta Be Jelly 'Cause Jam Don't Shake Thataway
6. Texas Blues
7. Talkin' Blues
8. Greyhound Bus

This title is not eligible for further discount.

In true honky tonk style Country Club is the bastard child of a drunken promise. A post show hang-out between X and the Knitters' John Doe and The Sadies produced the idea to join forces to make an album of country songs. Timeless sounds abound on Country Club driven by Does gorgeously rough-hewn vocals, the dueling thousand pound chops of the guitar-wielding Good brothers and The Sadies world class rhythm section of Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean. Classic tunes by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings stand along side corkers by Tammy Wynette and Roger Miller, all of them getting unique treatments by Doe and The Sadies. The album also features four originals; three from The Sadies and one courtesy of the timeless pairing of John Doe and Exene Cervenka. On Country Club John Doe and The Sadies find the perfect blend of the reverent and the experimental resulting in a slightly psychedelic brew that just might pass for straight if you're not lookin'.

Track Listing:
1. Stop the World and Let Me Off
2. Husbands and Wives
3. 'Til I Get It Right
4. It Just Dawned on Me
5. (Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I
6. The Night Life
7. The Sudbury Nickel
8. Before I Wake
9. I Still Miss Someone
10. The Cold Hard Facts of Life
11. Take These Chains from My Heart
12. Help Me Make It Through the Night
13. Are the Good Times Really Over for Good
14. Detroit City
15. Pink Mountain Rag

Blues Control might just be the missing link between Van Halen and legendary experimentalist Henry Flynt. They are a duo. Lea Cho plays swank but grounded atmospheric keyboard parts (think Harold Budd), through which guitar player and manipulator of assorted junk-on-table Russ Waterhouse cuts, whittles and lays to waste. It's a hazy, spaced world that exists between fuzzed distortion, jabbering electronics, and a lazy, stay-in-bed psychedelic glaze, with rhythmic keyboards pulsating below it all a la a guy named Florian-- and you can choose which one you want. Oh yeah, I gotta mention the humid bikini-vibe that permeates the entire album.

Track Listing:

Blues Control
Boiled Peanuts
Migration
Double Chin
The Blue Sheep
Frankie's Problem
Hummum
No Sweat

Blues fans will absolutely love this Limited Edition 12” vinyl LP compilation of vintage recordings from Delta blues legend Skip James!

Track Listing:

1. Devil Got My Woman
2. Cypress Grove Blues
3. Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues
4. Drunken Spree
5. Cherry Ball Blues
6. Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader
7. Illinois Blues
8. How Long Buck
9. 22-20 Blues
10. If You Haven't Any Hay, Get On Down The Road
11. Be Ready When He Comes
12. I'm So Glad
13. Jenny Jenny

An absolute collector's item, this box features Charley Patton's recordings from 1929 to 1934, all in one extremely limited treat. Four albums, four different colored slabs of vinyl and all you want to hear from the incredible King of Delta blues. If you're not already a blues maniac, you'll become one when you get your hands on this. Ultra limited edition of 275 copies: each record on a different color of vinyl. Includes a poster and a booklet. Contains the 3 different volumes of the Electrically Recorded trilogy (Prayer Of Death, High Water Everywhere and Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker) plus a forth LP available only in this box.

Track Listing:

LP 1
1. Pony Blues
2. A Spoonful Blues
3. Down The Dirt Road Blues
4. Prayer Of Death, Pt. 1
5. Prayer Of Death, Pt. 2
6. Screamin’ & Hollerin’ The Blues
7. Banty Rooster Blues
8. Tom Rushen Blues
9. It Won’t Be Long
10. Shake It & Break It (But Don’t Let It Fall Mama)
11. Pea Vine Blues
12. Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues
13. Lord I’m Discouraged
14. I’m Going Home

LP2
1. Hammer Blues [Take 1]
2. I Shall Not Be Moved
3. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 1
4. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 2
5. I Shall Not Be Moved
6. Rattlesnake Blues
7. Going To Move To Alabama
8. Hammer Blues [Take 2]
9. Joe Kirby
10. Frankie And Albert
11. Magnolia Blues
12. Devil Sent The Rain Blues
13. Runnin’ Wild Blues
14. Some Happy Day
15. Mean Black Moan
16. Green River Blues

LP 3
1. Some Of These Days I’ll Be Gone
2. Elder Green Blues [Take 2]
3. Jim Lee, Pt.1
4. Jim Lee, Pt.2
5. Mean Black Cat Blues
6. Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker
7. Elder Green Blues [Take 2]
8. When Your Way Gets Dark
9. Some Of These Days I’ll Be Gone [Take 2]
10. Heart Like Railwood Steel
11. Circle Round The Moon
12. You’re Gonna Need Somebody When You Die

LP 4
1. Some Summer Day
2. Bird Nest Bound
3. Dry Well Blues
4. Moon Going Down
5. High Sheriff Blues
6. Stone Pony Blues
7. Jersey Bull Blues
8. Hang It On The Wall
9. 34 Blues
10. Love My Stuff
11. Poor Me 6.Revenue Man Blues

Blues guitar simply would not have developed in the manner that it did if not for the prolific brilliance of Lonnie Johnson. He was there to help define the instrument's future within the genre and the genre's future itself at the very beginning, his melodic conception so far advanced from most of his pre-war peers as to inhabit a plane all his own. For more than 40 years, Johnson played blues, jazz and ballads his way;he was a true blues originator whose influence hung heavy on a host of subsequent blues immortals. Johnson's influence was massive, touching everyone from Robert Johnson, whose seminal approach bore strong resemblance to that of his older namesake, to Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, who each paid heartfelt tribute with versions of "Tomorrow Night" while at Sun. Remastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios.

Lonnie Johnson Portraits In Blues Volume 6 Track Listing

1. Tomorrow Night
2. Clementine Blues
3. See See Rider
4. Raining On The Cold, Cold Ground
5. Jelly Jelly Side
6. Too Late To Cry
7. Call Me Darling
8. Why Did You Go
9. Swingin' With Lonnie
10. Please Help Me

This title is not eligible for further discount.

M.C. Records presents R.L. Burnside’s Acoustic Stories released for the first time on 180 gram vinyl. This stripped down 1988 recording captures R.L. at the height of his powers. Burnside travels back to his acoustic roots for this 1988 country blues session creating a stark and intimate setting with his incisive fingerpicking and deep, resonate singing. Nominated for a W.C. Handy Award.

R.L. Burnside Acoustic Stories Track Listing

1. When My First Wife Left Me
2. Death Bell Blues
3. Skinny Woman
4. Monkey in the Pool Room
5. Hobo Blues
6. Walking Blues
7. Long Haired Doney
8. Poor Black Mattie
9. Meet Me in the Bottom
10. Miss Glory B
11. Kindhearted Woman Blues

One of the all-time great urban blues records and the best-seller in the famed Delmark catalog. Hoodoo Man Blues is so full of bravado and snap it'll make you feel tough just listening to it. Not all of the Delmark titles were recorded very well, but this one certainly was. And at 45 RPM, this now stands as the undisputed definitive version. Hoodoo Man Blues, which features Buddy Guy on guitar, is not only Junior Wells' first LP appearance, it's damn near the first LP by a Chicago blues band. Chess and a few other labels had reissued 45s by Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, etc., but virtually no one had tried to capture the Chicago blues sound free of the limitations of juke box/airplay promotion. Hoodoo Man Blues went a long way in the popularization of real Chicago blues and of Junior Wells.

Track Listings

1. Snatch It Back and Hold It
2. Ships On the Ocean
3. Good Morning Little School Girl
4. Hound Dog
5. In The Wee Hours of the Morning
6. Hay Lawdy Mama
7. Hooddoo Man Blues
8. Early in the Morning
9. We're Ready
10. Do You Love Me, Baby
11. Chiltin Con Carne
12. Yonders Wall

This title is not eligible for further discount.

1. My Home Is in the Delta
2. Long Distance Call
3. My Captain
4. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
5. You're Gonna Need My Help
6. Cold Weather Blues
7. Big Leg Woman
8. Country Boy
9. Feel Like Going Home

1. Coffee For Mama
2. Awful Dream
3. Black Mare Trot
4. Have You Ever Loved A Woman
5. Mojo Hand
6. Sometimes She Will
7. Shine On, Moon
8. Santa
9. Glory Be

Track Listing

Side One

1. The Come Back
2. Steppin' Out
3. Blue And Lonesome
4. Rocking The House
5. Slim's Blues
6. Gotta Find My Baby

Side Two

1. Messin' Around
2. Wish Me Well
3. My Gal Keeps Me Crying
4. Lend Me Your Love
5. Sassy Mae
6. Mother Earth

Track Listing

1. Boogie Chillen
2. Sally Mae
3. Drifting From Door To Door
4. Crawlin' King Snake
5. Hobo Blues
6. Whistlin' And Moanin' Blues
7. Hoogie Boogie
8. Burnin' Hell
9. Miss Sadie Mae
10. Weeping Willow
11. Low Down Midnite Boogie
12. Goin' Made Blues
13. Helpless Blues
14. Landing Blues

Import

In October 1963, Otis Spann toured Europe as part of that year's American Folk Blues Festival and recorded some superb solo, contemplative blues in a broken, husky voice for Storyville Records in Copenhagen.

Otis Spann Portraits In Blues Volume 3 Track Listing

1. Good Morning, Mr. Blues
2. Love, Love, Love
3. Riverside Blues
4. Must Have Been the Devil
5. Jelly Roll Baker
6. Trouble in Mind Side
7. Worried Life Blues
8. T. B. Blues
9. Spann's Boogie
10. Don't You Know
11. Goin' Down Slow

This title is not eligible for further discount.

Track Listing:

1. Mother's Dead
2. Insane Instrumental
3. Blue Jumped the Rabbit
4. Booster
5. Nothin' Man
6. Hoopin' and Hollerin' >br> 7. Been Here and Gone
8. Natchez Fire
9. Do Your Thing
10. Let It All Go

Track Listing

Side One

1. Honest I Do
2. Go On To School
3. My First Plea
4. Boogie In The Dark
5. You Got Me Crying
6. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby

Side Two

1. You Got Me Dizzy
2. Little Rain
3. Can't Stand To See You Go
4. Roll & Rhumba
5. You're Something Else
6. You Don't Have To Go

Track Listing

1. I've Got Papers On Your Baby
2. Tomorrow Is Another Day
3. A Fool Too Long
4. Come By Here
5. The Woman I Love
6. My Silent Prayer
7. I Love You So
8. Sweet Thing
9. We Can't Make It
10. Treat Me Right
11. Time To Say Goodbye
12. I'm Crackin Up Over You

Track Listing

Side One

1. Get Out Of Here
2. Bad Luck Soul
3. Shut Your Mouth
4. Baby Look At You
5. My Reward

Side Two

6. Don't Cry Anymore
7. You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now
8. Lookin The World Over
9. Going Down Slow
10. Worried Life

Only 200 Copies

Limited Edition 12” Vinyl of blues rock legend Bo Diddley performing some of his best songs live!

Bo Diddley Live 1984 Track Listing

Side A

1. Intro/Bo Diddley
2. Doctor Jekyll
3. Everleen
4. I Don’t Know Where I’ve Been

Side B

1. You Can’t Judge A Book
2. Roadrunner
3. I’m A Man
4. Mona

Born in 1898 in Norton, Virginia, singer/songwriter and banjo player Dock Boggs got his start playing in the mining camps while working in the mines all over the Appalachian region. In 1927 he got a contract with Brunswick Records and began recording and playing parties all over the area. This collection represents his complete recordings from 1927-1929 when Dock was at the beginning and height of his short-lived recording career. 1929, however, was also unfortunately the beginning of the Great Depression and like many musicians Dock was forced to give up playing professionally due to lack of audience (no one had money for records or parties anymore). He thankfully was rediscovered in the 1960s by the folk revival movement and went on to record three great albums for Folkways, before his death in 1971.

Track Listing:

1. Sugar Baby
2. Down South Blues
3. Country Blues
4. Sammie, Where Have You Been So Long
5. Danville Girl
6. Pretty Polly Side
7. New Prisoner's Song
8. Hard Luck Blues
9. Lost Love Blues
10. Will Sweethearts Know Each Other
11. Old Rub Alcohol Blues
12. False Hearted Lover's Blues

Track Listing:

1. Raining In my Heart
2. Blues Hangover
3. Bobby-Sox Baby
4. I Got Love, If You Want It
5. Snoopin' Around
6. Buzz Me Baby
7. I'm A King Bee
8. What A Dream
9. Don't Start Cryin'
10. Moody Blues
11. My Home Is A Prison
12. Dream Girl

Originally released in 1971, America is one of the artistic high points of John Fahey’s career. And yet, for nearly 30 years it was not heard in its entirety, as what was originally intended as a double album was pared down to a single LP. 4 Men With Beards is proud to present the complete America double album, released on vinyl for the first time ever. Fahey himself had this to say about America: “Out of all the songs I ever wrote, I consider only two of them ‘epic’ or ‘classic’ or in the ‘great’ category and they are both on this record.” Deluxe gatefold packaging that includes a reproduction of the original illustrated booklet. Limited edition of 3,000 numbered copies.

Track Listing:

1. Jesus Is a Dying Bedmaker
2. Amazing Grace
3. Song #3
4. Special Rider Blues
5. Dvorak
6. Jesus Is a Dying Bedmaker 2
7. Finale
8. America
9. Dalhart, Texas, 1967
10. Knoxville Blues
11. Mark
12. Voice of the Turtle
13. Waltz That Carried Us Away & Then a Mosquito Came & Ate up My Sweetheart

Texas born Blind Willie Johnson is one of the most talented bottleneck guitar players to have ever lived, beginning to play with self-made instruments like a cigar box guitar when he was five. Performing a blues style that often borders on spiritual, Johnson always took great inspiration from religious music, as shown in songs like, "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed," "Jesus Is Coming Soon" and all throughout this compilation taken from his 1927-1930 recording sessions.

One step further into the life and music of this true superstar of early blues, this compilation features the two-part "High Water Everywhere," considered to be one of the greatest blues songs of all time, along with other pearls like "Devil Sent The Rain Blues," making this second episode of Monk's retrospective on Charley Patton, another must have. Patton's ability to put the harsh everyday struggle of the Delta dwellers into music makes him one of the most enduring and soulful musicians in the entire history of Blues.

Track Listing:

1. Hammer Blues [Take 1]
2. I Shall Not Be Moved (Alt. take)
3. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 1
4. High Water Everywhere, Pt. 2
5. I Shall Not Be Moved
6. Rattlesnake Blues
7. Going To Move To Alabama
8. Hammer Blues [Take 2]
9. Joe Kirby
10. Frankie And Albert
11. Magnolia Blues
12. Devil Sent The Rain Blues
13. Runnin’ Wild Blues
14. Some Happy Day
15. Mean Black Moan
16. Green River Blues

Twelve more tunes from Charley Patton's 1929 recording sessions. Here the 'Acknowledged King of the Delta Blues' perform some of his finest spiritual material, like the title track, and "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die." One of the most seminal blues artists of all time, this collection helps keep the legend alive.

Track Listing:

1. Some Of These Days I’ll Be Gone
2. Elder Green Blues [Take 2] (Alt.version)
3. Jim Lee, Pt.1
4. Jim Lee, Pt.2
5. Mean Black Cat Blues
6. Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker
7. Elder Green Blues [Take 2]
8. When Your Way Gets Dark
9. Some Of These Days I’ll Be Gone [Take 2]
10. Heart Like Railwood Steel
11. Circle Round The Moon
12. You’re Gonna Need Somebody When You Die

William Samuel McTier was born in Georgia in 1898 (according to some sources), and despite his blindness was a talented musician since early childhood. He began his recording career in 1927 for Victor Records in Atlanta and is credited with having created an entire blues sub genre by mixing the hard roots of the Delta style with the more refined East Coast style (Piedmont Blues). His unique "country blues" can be heard on the grooves of this double LP collection brought to you by Monk records.

Track Listing:

1. Writing Paper Blues
2. Stole Rider Blues
3. Mamma, Tain't Long Fo' Day
4. Mr. McTell Got The Blues (Take 1)
5. Mr. McTell Got The Blues (take 2)
6. Three Women Blues
7. Dark Night Blues
8. Statesboro Blues
9. Loving Talking Blues
10. Atlanta Strut
11. Travelin' Blues
12. Come On Around To My House Mama
13. Kind Mama
14. Teasing Brown
15. Drive Away Blues
16. This Is Not The Stove To Brown Your Bread
17. Love Changing Blues
18. Talkin' To Myself
19. Razor Ball
20. Southern Can Is Mine
21. Broke Down Engine Blues
22. Stomp Down Rider
23. Scary Day Blues
24. Rough Alley Blues
25. Experience Blues
26. Painful Blues

This is the third volume of work for Folkways by one of the most important acoustic guitarists of the 20th Century, originally released in 1965. Produced by musician Alice Gerrard and recorded by folklorist/musician Mike Seeger, When I’m Gone is the perfect introduction to the queen of folk-blues. An absolute classic lovingly reissued in a perfect replica of the original Folkways jacket and including a reproduction of the original information booklet.

Track Listing:

1. New Year's Eve
2. Praying Time Will Soon Be Over
3. Time To Stop Your Idling
4. Gaslight Blues
5. Jenny
6. Street Blues
7. Home Sweet Home
8. Freight Train
9. Casey Jones
10. Willie
11. Boddie's Song
12. Wilson Rag
13. When I'm Gone

Originally released in 1964, this is the first of three volumes that Dock Boggs recorded for the Folkways label after being rediscovered by Mike Seeger during the folk revival of the early 60s. Incredible, sparse and haunting country blues featuring only Dock’s banjo and voice. Absolutely essential Appalachian folk music lovingly reissued in a perfect replica of the original Folkways jacket and including a reproduction of the original information booklet.

Track Listing:

1. Down South Blues
2. Country Blues
3. Pretty Polly
4. Coal Creek March
5. My Old Horse Died
6. Wild Bill Jones
7. Rowan County Crew
8. New Prisoner's Song
9. Oh Death
10. Prodigal Son
11. Mother's Advice
12. Drunkard's Lone Child
13. Bright Sunny South
14. Mistreated Mama Blues
15. Harvey Logan

Perkins began his blues existence primarily as a guitarist, but a mid-40's encounter with an outraged knife-toting chorus girl at a nightspot left him with severed tendons in his left arm. That dashed his guitar aspirations, but Joe Willie Perkins came back strong from the injury, concentrating solely on piano. He traveled to Helena with Robert Nighthawk in 1943, playing with the elegant slide guitarist on his radio program. Perkins soon switched over to rival Sonny Boy Williamson's beloved King Biscuit Time radio show and remained for an extended period.

Perkins accompanied Nighthawk on a 1950 session for the Chess brothers that produced Jackson Town Gal, but Chicago couldn't hold him at the time. He hit the road, pausing at Sam Phillips's studios in Memphis long enough for Perkins to wax his first version of Pinetop's Boogie Woogie in 1953, then headed back to the windy city in 1969 when Otis Spann split from Muddy Waters. That is when the stage was set for Pinetop Perkins's reemergence. It was only then that his rolling mastery of the ivories began to assume outsized proportions.

After joining Muddy Waters, Pinetop made up for precious lost time in the studio. Discs for Antone's, Omega (Portrait of a Delta Bluesman, a solo outing that includes fascinating interview segments), Deluge, Earwig, and several other firms ensure that his boogie legacy won't be forgotten in decades to come.

Pinetop at a young 87 years old admits he wasn't the originator of the seminal piano piece Pinetop's Boogie Woogie, but it's a safe bet that more people associate it nowadays with Pinetop than with the man who devised it in the first place, Clarence Pinetop Smith. Pinetop plays 6 songs on a Steinway Concert Grand 9' model D with Jimmy D. Lane on guitar.

Track Listings:

1. Pinetop Shuffle
2. Down in Mississippi
3. They Call Me The Grindin’ Man
4. Look Over Yonders Wall
5. How Long Blues
6. Just A LIttle Bit

Harpist Lazy Lester swears he never was lethargic. People say he seldom was in much of a hurry either, although the relentless pace of his swamp blues classics "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" and "I Hear You Knockin'" might contradict that statement.

Lester's entry into playing professionally was by accident. While riding on a bus in the mid-50s, he met guitarist Lightnin' Slim, who was searching fruitlessly for a harpist. Their styles meshed seamlessly, and Lester became Slim's choice. In 1956, Lester stepped out front at Miller's Crowley, La., studios for the first time. He waxed such gems as "Sugar Coated Love", "If You Think I've Lost You" and "The Same Thing Could Happen to You".

Lester proved invaluable as an imaginative sideman for south Louisiana producer J.D. Miller, utilizing everything from cardboard boxes and claves, to whacking on newspapers in order to locate the correct percussive sound for the producer's output.

This cult legend of swamp blues and bayou harp master has worked with some of the finest in the business (Slim Harpo, Katie Webster, Derek O'Brien, Guitar Gable and Teddy Morgan to name a few) mixing his roots in Louisiana along with back-country blues. Lazy's low-down, raw sense of grittiness and leisure seasoned with a touch of stripped down, bare guitar-vocal tunes captures insight to a side of Lazy that most have never heard. Lester returned with a 1988 album for Alligator, Harp & Soul and a W.C. Handy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Artist. His swamp blues sound remains as atmospheric (and dare we say it, energetic) as ever on subsequent releases, including 1998's All Over You. On side A, Lazy Lester plays solo acoustic guitar, harmonica and foot percussion. On Side B, Lazy Lester is accompanied by Henry Gray on Piano and Jimmy D. Lane on rhythm guitar.

Track Listings:

1. Riding In The Moonlight
2. Five Long Years
3. Blue Lester
4. Down Here In Prison
5. Nothin’ In This World
6. You Do Something

From all accounts, George Butler came by his nickname Wild Child honestly. On Sundays, some of the older ladies would come to the shack where he lived to visit his mother. Even as a toddler, little George would grab their legs and tug their skirts. The ladies would tell his mother that she had to "do something about that wild child," and the name stuck. Fortunately, he found time between the youthful shenanigans to learn some harp basics at age 12. He was gigging professionally as a bandleader by the late 1950s, but the harpist didn't have much luck in the recording wars until he moved to Chicago in 1966 and signed with Shreveport, La., based Jewel Records.

Wild Child's resume is top notch. He has toured with Jimmy Rogers, Lightnin' Hopkins, Cousin Joe and Roosevelt Sykes. His biggest influence is John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson and yet his sound is all his own. A prolific songwriter, Wild Child Butler performs mostly original compositions. George Butler is one of the most stylistically interesting and underrated blues performers in the business today.

In this, an era when Blues is so frequently fused with rock, soul and other more commercially viable music forms, Wild Child stands his artistic ground. Wild Child still plays and sings his blues in exactly the same authentic style that he developed and learned from his rural Alabama sharecropping mentors more than 40 years ago. When asked if he would change his style to be more commercially successful, Wild Child's didn't hesitate. "No I would not! Record companies have asked me to do that before. I wouldn't do it then, and I wouldn't do it now, just to sell more records. The way I do my blues, that's me! The blues isn't just something that I do, it's something that I am."

George is polite but firm with his audiences. In fact, when you meet George Butler, one finds him to be a pleasant, highly personable man with a ready smile as big as an Alabama cotton field, and in no way keeping with the image conjured up by the name Wild Child. He was asked "Why in spite of all the hard times and bad luck, do you still keep going?" He replied with an audible grin, "The blues is the facts of life, the truth, and the blues is what I'm about."

Indifferent agents, unethical record companies, insensitive audiences and the tough life on the road have not squelched the blues fire in Wild Child Butler. The swamp-harp king is one authentic original folk blues artist who can, in his own words, "Sho' 'nuff make the blues come down." Side A is Wild Child and his electric band. Side B is acoustic with Jimmy D. Lane accompanying on guitar. 6 songs.

Track Listings:

1. Weak In The Knees
2. Treat Me Like I Treat You
3. Forty Year Old Woman
4. Anyone Can Say They Love You
5. Can you Use A Man?
6. My Baby Done Put Me Down

The lustrous Chicago blues scene of the 1950's was predominated by great pianists. Otis Spann, Henry Gray, Johnnie Jones and Sunnyland Slim were among the era's very best. Henry's rolling two-fisted keyboard work graced countless Chicago blues recordings during the '50s for leading labels. Unlike most of his contemporaries there, he was from Louisiana rather than Mississippi-and since 1968, he's been living at his boyhood home just outside of Baton Rouge once again, a stalwart on the swamp blues circuit.

Born in Kenner, Louisiana, Henry arrived in Chicago in 1946, fresh from a stint in the Philippines during World War II. Strongly influenced by ivories master Big Maceo, Henry's rapidly escalating talents were soon in heavy demand. After starting out with Little Hudson's Red Devil Trio, Henry appeared on classic sides by Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, Billy Boy Arnold and Morris Pejoe before joining Howlin' Wolf's combo in 1956 for a 12-year run.

Although Henry's ability on the 88s is renowned worldwide, his warm expressive vocals may come as something of a revelation. There's more than a hint of Henry's Louisiana roots in his music. The brilliant piano style of Henry Gray once represented the very best Chicago had to offer. You know, some things never change. Henry cut 5 songs solo on this direct-to-disc. He plays a Steinway Concert Grand 9' model D.

Track Listings:

1. Out On The Road
2. I Ain’t Goin’ For That
3. Watch Yourself
4. How Long Blues
5. Let Me Go

In 1962, Ray Charles turned the musical world on its ear with his soulful take on popular country and western music of the day with his Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music. The album became his first number one on the Pop Albums chart, staying there for 14 weeks, and included four charting singles ("Born to Lose," "Careless Love," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "You Don't Know Me"). The album represented the culmination of a lifelong love affair Ray had with the genre from his days listening to the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts as a child to his time playing piano with the hillbilly band, the Florida Playboys in his late teens to early Atlantic Records rehearsals playing Bill Monroe's "Kentucky Waltz."

Charles had been contemplating an LP of country chestnuts for years, so to him it wasn’t a radical concept. What was earth shattering was the way Ray redefined each song. His sanctified voice would never be mistaken for that of the original artist and there was a huge difference between traditional country fiddles and the cosmopolitan strings gracing this groundbreaking release.

Track Listing:

1. Bye Bye Love
2. You Don't Know Me
3. Half as Much
4. I Love You So Much It Hurts
5. Just A Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)
6. Born to Lose
7. Worried Mind
8. It Makes No Difference Now
9. You Win Again
10. Careless Love
11. I Can't Stop Loving You
12. Hey, Good Lookin'

Maybe Arthur "Blind" Blake did not live too long but it was certainly long enough to prove to the world that he was one of the blind geniuses the history of blues seems to be made of. Born in Florida in 1893, he died at the age of 40 in controversial circumstances; booze? ;Car accident? ; leaving a good number of recordings for Paramount that made him famous as "the king of ragtime guitar." His astonishingly odd style made his riffs sound like a ragtime piano and his particular finger picking inspired many modern blues artists, Jorma Kaukonen among the best known.

Jimmie Lee Robinson doesn't dance for the approval of others nor does he thin his music to seduce a wider audience. The self-proclaimed Lonely Traveller's work is an artistic achievement that illustrates why enduring reputations are earned slowly, over time, not swiftly via shrewdly orchestrated media blitzes. His music, honest and unspoiled, comes as a welcome and refreshing alternative in an age of crowd-mesmerizing pyrotechnics, outlandish tempos, and incendiary solos. Remember Me, Robinson's first effort for the APO label and the first album recorded at Blue Heaven Studios, is an adventure deep into the blues of Mr. Robinson's Maxwell Street neighborhood, a neighborhood that has included residencies with musicians such as Little Walter, Howlin Wolf, Freddie King, Elmore James, Luther Tucker, Eddie Taylor, Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, Shakey Jake, St. Louis Jimmy, Eddy Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim and more.

On Remember Me, Robinson accompanies himself on acoustic guitar to create The Lonely Traveller's distinctive brand of blues, which he says represents a lifetime of work, the trials and tribulations of growing up on and experiencing Maxwell Street. If you listen closely, you'll also hear Jimmy D. Lane (son of the late blues legend Jimmy Rogers) accompanying on one tune.

Robinson sings in the powerful and sometimes piercing voice that inspired the Lonesome Lee sobriquet when he began recording for Bandera Records in the 1950s. Boot-stomping, spur-jangling highlights include a rousing performance of "Wait For Me", Jimmy Reed-inspired "Boss Man" and a spirited rendition of "Wagon Wheels".

Track Listings:

1. My Name Is Jimmie Lee
2. Boss Man
3. Wagon Wheels
4. See See Baby
5. Wait For Me
6. Keys To The Highway
7. Rosa Lee
8. The Boll Weevil
9. Angry Lover
10. Rollin' and Tumblin'
11. Remember Me

Pull up a porch chair, lean it back on two legs and enjoy the music of Kansas City blues legend Little Hatch on Goin Back. They love the little man in Kansas City - where the traditional blues harmonica player's birthday has been proclaimed Little Hatch Day in honor of his broad fan support - and you'll love the sound that has been lighting up the KC nightclub sky and other venues for years.

APO owner Chad Kassem first heard the harmonica player in the early 1980s at the Grand Emporium in Kansas City - when Kassem was still flipping burgers and not even thinking about the music business - and was amazed at how few recordings Little Hatch had made (one at the time, The Little Hatchet LP in 1972).

Little Hatch (who was once nicknamed Little Walter Jr. but changed it becuase his music deserved a name of its own), made this unplanned and unrehearsed recording for Kassem's APO label at Blue Heaven Studios when Hatch found himself as a spectator during another recording session. He couldn't help himself and cut loose while the tape rolled along with the masterful guitar accompaniment of longtime associate Bill Dye.

In about three hours, Little Hatch completed 15 cuts, most on the first take. The result was traditional, raw, dirty blues at its finest with hamonica and slide guitar. The acoustics of the grand old church make it sound like Little Hatch is, indeed, playing just for you on your back porch or in your living room.

So go on back to the porch. Pull up that chair and take a listen.

Track Listings:

1. Rock Me baby 2. Woke Up This Morning 3. She's Nineteen Years Old 4. Fannie Mae 5. Baby, Scratch My Back 6. Buzz On 7. Your Friends 8. I Got A Woman 9. Glory Glory

This is Chicagoan, Eomot Rasun's recording debut. Listening to it, however, one would never know. Three Days Walkin shows the musical maturity of a man who has been recording for decades. His clean soulful voice echoes many blues traditions and his harp playing harkens back to his Delta roots and his South Side Chicago boyhood, yet has a modern edge. Listening to this disc, you will know he has an appreciation for Little Walter's music. He is true to Walter's Chicago blues sound but brings his own voice to it, infusing it with a freshness that is a joy to listen to. The same can be said of the rest of the disc. His reverence for tradition is apparent but his own musical vision shines through. If there is any doubt Eomot feels a spiritual connection to the blues, this album proves it. He summons up the spirit of 1950s Chicago as if he just got back from the 708 Club gigging with Walter or Wolf. This may be his debut, but there is a lot of history on this disc.

Eomot is walking in the footsteps of his elders, but he is also wearing his own shoes.

Track Listing:

1. Going to Chicago 2. Walkin' These Blues Away 3. Last Night 4. Let's Jump 5. Poor Boy 6. Sons Too Young 7. Blues With A Feeling 8. So Tired 9. Biscuits & Gravy 10. Try Your Best

79-year-old Weepin' Willie (Robinson) may very well be the best classic R&B singer you've never heard of, unless of course, you happen to live in the Boston area. There, Weepin' Willie is something of a local legend, thrilling audiences with his deep blues vocal style. None of this is lost on other stalwarts of the Boston blues scene, such as Mighty Sam McClain, Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Earl and Bruce Katz. "You've got to hear Willie" is repeated almost like a mantra by them. Now, with the release of At Last On Time everyone can, at last, hear Willie.

Lending strong support for Willie's recording debut is one of the brightest new blues lights to emerge in recent years, Susan Tedeschi, whose Just Won't Burn album has spent an unprecedented 41 weeks on the Billboard Blues Chart! The man behind Willie's emergence is none other than the great Mighty Sam McClain, a living R&B legend if there ever was one. Sam co-produced the album (along with Joe Harley) and also contributes his patented brand of soul singing and songwriting. Along with Jimmy D. Lane, who joins in on one track with his blazing guitar, At Last On Time proves the wisdom of the phrase "better late than never!"

Track Listing:

1. Love Call
2. Fever
3. Can't Go Wrong Woman
4. Big Mary's House
5. They Call Me Weepin' Willie / Mighty Mighty
6. Glory Train
7. At Last, On Time
8. Dirty Old Man
9. Weepin Willie Boogie
10. Love Me If You Want To
11. Let The Good Times Roll

Author Alex Haley stated that to be raised right in Mississippi meant to sit at the feet of your elders after Sunday dinner and hear stories about the ancestral past. There are precious few elder musicians still alive who were present at the birth of the blues in the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s. Sit and meet 84 year old David Honeyboy Edwards.

If you're thinking the music recorded by this octogenarian might sound like the rehashed stories of the elderly, guess again. There's nothing stale or feeble about the blues Honeyboy plays. Whether he played jukes in the 1930s, Maxwell Street in the 1940s, Houston and Memphis in the 1950s, or travels the globe today, Honeyboy continues to play the same original, first generation country blues he's always played. The only difference is here, he shakes 'em on down using today's cutting edge, DVD recording technology. Whether you listen or view Edwards, APO captured exactly what should happen when traditional meets contemporary. Those who know Honeyboy and the musical paths he has traveled would expect nothing less.

"A succession of grizzled old blues men have passed through the Blue Heaven Studio doors and all without exception have proved worthy of audiophile treatment be it on SACD or 180g LP. Edwards, a magical and quite vigorous guitarist, is another of those who has the Mississippi Delta running through their octogenarian veins...sends out an unmistakably authentic message to all those younger pretenders like the Eric Bibbs and Keb Mos who can't really hope to match these earthy and tightly grained life experiences which inform his every chord." Recording = 9.5/10 Music = 9.5/10 - Reuben Parry, Hi-Fi+, Issue 31, page 135 For a closer look at this outstanding bi-monthy audio magazine, please visit http://www.hifiplus.com

Track Listing:

1. High Water Everywhere
2. Drop Down Mama
3. Monkey Face Woman
4. Shake 'Em On Down
5. Louise Louise Blues
6. Pony Blues
7. Anna Lee
8. Standing On The Corner
9. West Memphis Blues
10. Bald Headed Woman
11. Bullfrog Blues
12. Gambling Man
13. Take Me In Your Arms

Rock With Me Baby is the comforting addition to this awesome, down-home blues artist's sparsely-documented career. A fire that cannot be faked or accurately imitated fuels each note and puts this title in perfect fit with APO Records' mission of finding "the real blues." Recently deceased at 81 years old, Little Hatch is a little-known legend; little-known, that is, outside of Kansas City, where his birthday was long ago declared "Little Hatch Day" and where harp up-and-comers actively pay homage to the master.

Little Hatch, born Provine Hatch, Jr. in 1922 in Sledge, Mississippi, began blowing the harp obsessively at 8 years old and came under the direct spell of Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf when his family moved to Helena, Arkansas in 1935. Sonny Boy became Hatch's hero, and from there, another sure-fire bluesman was born. Rock With Me Baby oozes with blues purity and recalls the gritty roots of a time before blues needed polish to shine. If Hatch's harp is technically imperfect, his soulful voice is unmatched. Fans of the real thing will drool, and rockers may at least understand blues heritage through this release.

Jimmy D. Lane and Ron Edwards accompany Hatch on guitars. The trio lays down 13 tracks of exquisite traditional blues that's a treat to both ears and soul. Lane is of course son of blues legend Jimmy Rogers, and he's a fast-rising star in his own right with two great releases on the APO label and a third soon to come. Edwards has been playing sweet-sounding slide guitar for more than 30 years, having been tutored by such slide luminaries as Houston Stackhouse and J.B. Hutto. His regular gig for 15 years now has been as accompanist to St. Louis bluesman and APO recording artist Henry Townsend. Rock With Me Baby, Hatch's second APO release, is surely his best album to date.

Track Listing:

1. Rock With Me Baby
2. I Believe I'll Go Back Home
3. Driving Wheel
4. Union Hall
5. Next Time You See Me
6. Hold That Train, Conductor
7. Baby Please Don't Go
8. Sweet Little Angel
9. Help Me
10. Mellow Down Easy
11. Everything's Gonna' Be Alright
12. Country Blues

At an age, 85, where she is virtually without musical peer, who could imagine a jazz singer sounding as vibrant, aggressive and progressive as she did in her hit-filled 20s? That's Myra Taylor. Prepare to be amazed.

With My Night To Dream, Taylor brings to the contemporary jazz scene a vivid glimpse of the past. This is the same Myra Taylor that scored chart-busters for Mercury Records in the 1940s. Some of those hits - most notably Spider And The Fly, Take It Easy Greasy and Still Blue Water - are redone here. And to some that are familiar with Myra's career, these takes sound better than the originals. Perhaps this shouldn't be so amazing, but to those who have heard this release so far, it has been.

Returning to the studio after a hiatus of over 50 years, Taylor has reclaimed her music. She also was inspired to write again. The result was Hey There, a coy invitation penned especially for the session. Taylor rounded out the record with a choice selection of jazz and blues standards, including her signature songs, This Is My Night To Dream and I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire.

Taylor's rich tone and resonant delivery are perfectly complimented by the crack band drawn from Kansas City's top players and jazz legends. My Night To Dream was recorded in Salina, Kansas at Blue Heaven Studios, the home of APO Records and just a few hours drive west of Taylor's Kansas City home. As has become the Blue Heaven norm, this recording reflects perfectly why this studio in a converted church has won national acclaim for its astounding acoustics. The natural ambiance only enhances the charisma that is so much a part of a Myra Taylor performance. With a new recording and legions of fans and friends, Taylor is not content to rest on her hard-won laurels. She is busily looking to the future and performing regularly, writing new songs and preparing for her next recording session.

Recently, Taylor bought a new set of luggage and renewed her passport. Smiling broadly, she said, "you'll never get to Paris unless you go to France."

"Beautifully sung and sympathetically played blues and jazz standards like these don't come around too often...Taylor simply couldn't wish for better support both here and with the technical expertise on offer at Chad Kassem's Blue Heaven Studios. This vibrant and lively church acoustic, together with her closely miked voice, has immediacy and plenty of fine detail that radiates throughout all twelve tracks."

Track Listing:

1. Spider And The Fly
2. Take It Easy Greasy
3. Straighten Up And Fly Right
4. Still Blue Water
5. Lady Be Good
6. Sunny Side Of The Street
7. This Is My Night To Dream
8. Hey There
9. Since I Fell For You
10. Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean)

"Jimmy D. Lane's guitar playing will knock you over. His control of his guitar, from the most delicate tonal nuances to the flashiest, fastest licks, is almost superhuman. Only the most masterful guitar players can command their instruments this way, and all the practice in the world can't develop it. Jimmy D. Lane is a natural-born guitar monster." - Bob Margolin, guitarist in the Muddy Waters Band for seven years

It's Time could just as well have been titled It's Overdue. It's long been time for one of today's most powerful and expressive musicians to break the chains of relative commercial obscurity. Time to seize the reins of blues leadership, just as his father, Jimmy Rogers, did in the 1940s. Masters Eddie Kramer (engineer for Hendrix, Zeppelin, Woodstock etc.), Chris "Whipper" Layton and Tommy Shannon (of Double Trouble) and Mike Finnigan (organ in the bands of Etta James, Taj Mahal and CSN&Y) are all onboard to give Jimmy the nudge he needs to clear the launching pad. It's Time.

"Just wanted to let you know how much Frank and I are enjoying Jimmy D. Lane's new CD - It's Time. It is truly wonderful! We are looking forward to experiencing the Blues Masters concert in Oct. Take care and thanks so much for such a hauntingly awesome CD. Please convey to him that we are hoping not to wear out the CD we enjoy it so much." - Peggy Ulasek, Maryland

"Lane's certainly got the goods. The guitarist and singer - he plays bass and drums, too, on a pair of tracks - wrote all but one of the disc's 12 songs. And he's got a knack for mixing Hendrix- and Vaughan-influenced contemporary blues with old-school roots learned from his father...what makes It's Time a fun listen is its textural variety...Kramer's production offers a bright, modern sound that still has the warm feel of live performance. He and Lane keep the set tightly focused...For Jimmy D. Lane, now's as good a time as any." - Michael Cote, Blues Revue, February/March 2005

Track Listing:

Side One

1. What Makes People
2. 'Til I Loved You
3. Half Love

Side Two

1. Ain't It a Pity
2. It's Time

3. Stuck in the Middle

Side Three

1. Hand on the Door
2. Bad Luck
3. My Nature

Side Four

1. 24-7
2. Bleeding Heart
3. Salina

Louisiana-born singer and harmonica blower Sidney Maiden first made his mark in the blues world during the late Forties with Eclipse of the Sun, a number cut in Oakland with guitarist K.C. Douglas. Unlike many other Southern bluesmen who urbanized their styles after relocating to the West Coast, Maiden and Douglas stuck close to their rural roots. Maiden spent much of his career entertaining farm workers around Fresno, while Douglas became a favorite in Bay Area folkmusic circles. This 1961 reunion, recorded in Berkeley by Kenneth S. Goldstein and Chris Strachwitz, reveals that the two men had lost none of their old musical empathy and shows Maiden, in the words of annotator Larry Cohen, worthy of being mentioned along with the select few greats of the mouthharp.

Track Listing:

1. Buy Me an Airplane
2. Sweet Little Woman
3. My Black Name
4. Sidney's Fox Chase
5. San Quentin Blues
6. Tell Me, Somebody
7. Blues An' Trouble
8. Hand-Me-Down Baby
9. Sidney's Worried Life Blues
10. Me and My Chauffeur Blues
11. Coal Black Mare
12. I'm Goin' Back Home

With All My Life, his second APO Records release, Jimmie Lee is aiming for goose bumps and tears. And if you've got appreciation for acoustic, front porch blues, you'll have a tough time escaping his spell.

No doubt Jimmie Lee Robinson offers a delightful taste of traditional blues. His work through the years with such stalwarts as Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Freddie King, Elmore James and Jimmy Reed have made their impressions on the man called The Lonely Traveler just as he has been credited with inspiring them.

On All My Life you'll hear standby classics like a haunting, slowed-down version of Muddy Waters' Forty Days and Forty Nights with eerie harmonica accompaniment by Madison Slim. And Jimmie Lee even covers a non-blues favorite with What a Wonderful World. His live version of that song at a 1999 concert in Blue Heaven Studios - the converted church that is home to APO Records - brought tears to scores of the 400 in attendance.

But All My Life is also packed with Jimmie Lee originals like the title track, which was once covered by John Mayall, where Jimmie Lee pleads with the woman of his dreams to return all the respect and love he's paid to her. That track is also a perfect showcase for the classic Jimmie Lee growling vocals and the spurs jangling from his boots as the only percussion.

Unlike his first APO release, Remember Me, an almost entirely-solo effort, Jimmie Lee is joined on most of the All My Life tracks by APO artist and noted-guitarist Jimmy D. Lane and journeyman harp player Madison Slim, whose knack for acoustic blues is highlighted on this release.

Jimmie Lee has gained national attention for his protest of the destruction of Chicago's famed Maxwell Street, said to be the birthplace of Chicago blues and the neighborhood where Jimmie Lee grew up. He fasted for 81 straight days, shunning solid food as if it was the wrecking ball he so badly wants to stop. His efforts were even documented on the front page of the New York Times.

Track Listing:

1. Forty Days and Forty Nights
2. I'll Be Around
3. Love My Baby
4. The Sun Is Shining
5. Driftin' Blues
6. The Girl I Love
7. Ludella
8. All My Life
9. I'm Ready
10. What A Wonderful World
11. Too Late
12. If I Get Lucky

Willie Dixon once told Wild Child Butler, "You are the moan of the suffering woman, the groan of the dying man. You ain't nothing but the blues."

Here's a man who's been heavily praised by Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Rogers just to name a few; a man who those blues legends were proud to accompany. As traditional as the blues on this album are, there's no mistaking a Wild Child tune. They can't be played this way by anyone else - not so boisterous, not so Wild Child. His blues sometimes sound angry and raw, other times soft and country-polished.

This release offers a fine mix of Wild Child's down-home acoustic sound, his slow, muscular blues and his up-tempo shuffle or snapping blues. As Wild Child himself said, "If you can't dig these blues, you got a hole in your soul [to borrow from a Jimmy Rogers saying]. Talkin' 'bout sho' 'nuff."

"George 'Wild Child' Butler is one of the last original, hard-workin' delta bluesmen. Although his career started not until the 1960s, the old times' tradition is still clearly heard on his music. You may call it blues, you may call it southern soul, you may even call it rock 'n' roll, but you just can't categorize him to any particular field. There's just one George Butler, and then there are the others." - "Butcher Pete" Hoppula, Wang Dang Dula!...It's Time To Rock'n'rolla!

Track Listing:

1. Open Up Baby
2. You Had Quit Me
3. I Got To Go (Sweet Daddy-O)
4. Can You Use A Man Like Me
5. Moaning Morning
6. Slippin' In
7. Funky Things
8. I's All Over
9. I Changed