Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo I got them blues...Help!

I recently purchased the companion 5 CD set to Martin Scorsese's "The Blues". I am now hooked. Any of you guys aficionados of the blues? I need some suggestions as to what CD's I should target for future acquisition.

What are the essential CD's to get of old time blues masters such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Bo Diddly, etc? Who are some good contemporary blues artists?

I've already targeted CD's by The Bluesbreakers, the original Jeff Beck Group, Buddy Guy, Albert King, the original Allman Bros., Robert Cray, and the Peter Green Fleetwood Mac. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mark

I like Johnnie Johnson and Jimmy Vaughn a lot.

I'm not a blues aficionado but do love the blues. Rober Cray's Shame + a sin just knocks my socks off. Especially track 5.

You might try Doug MacLoud. And you being a blues lover, I'm sure you already have many Ray Charles and Otis Redding recordings. And don't forget Taj Mahal (I met him once). Keb' Mo' is a must also.

I'm a huge Allman Bros. fan. But it's kind of sad that so many of thier recordings are so sonicly poor (come to think of it, many of the old blues recordings are). Its' sometimes hard to listen to on a hi resoultion play back system (damn recording engineers). If you know of any Allman Bros. albums that are well recorded(engineered), please let me know.

Forgot to mention Johnny Lang.

Stevie Ray Vaughan!!!! Johnny Winter,Kenny Wayne Sheppard,Bonnie Rait,All of BB King.Theres a few.And do'nt forget Robert Johnson.

Some good ones:

Eric Clapton -- From the Cradle
Mississippi John Hurt -- Best of
Chet Baker -- Best of
Robert Lockwood Jr. -- Delta Crossroads

In reply to:

---

And you being a blues lover, I'm sure you already have many Ray Charles and Otis Redding recordings.

---

Don't assume anything. I'm basically starting from scratch. I have a few BB King records, and a couple by Stevie Ray Vaughn, but that's all.

Mark

T. Bone Walker, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Lucky Peterson, Jimmie Thackery, Cocoa Montoya, Tab Benoit, Sweetman, and with respect to the females, Etta James and Koko Taylor.

Alright! Another convert!
You might want to try searching online for some of the Chess Records compilations done some years ago. They had a whole series of 2-album sets done by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and others, which are all excellent. I have no idea if these have been re-released on CD, as I have the vinyls.

More modern artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan are readily available. There's one CD by Albert King and Stevie Ray which was released on CD by Stax which is outstanding!

I was lucky enough to get introduced to the blues when I was 16 (I'm now 55!), and I've never looked back!

More great stuff:

Duke Robillard: start with Duke's Blues, try more if you like it. And you will like it!
Roomful Of Blues: try The First Album, move on from there. A truly swingin' outfit! In business for about 30 years, through many personnel changes (including Duke Robillard and Jimmie Vaughan, therefore the sound of the band varies from disc to disc. Also highly recommend Hot Little Mamma!
Charles Brown: on the jazzier side. Try Honeydripper. Fabulous song selection, and wonderfully warm production.
More: Delbert McClinton comfortably, and in a most satisfying fashion, straddles blues and country. Clapton's From The Cradle is a dynamite contemporary tribute to the old masters. Jonny Lang's first cd is a plenty impressive blues-pop hybrid, 'tho a touch too polished for my taste. Almost anything by Albert Collins (his ruminations on male-female relations are pretty funny). Even funnier, try Elvin Bishop (amusing, and a hot guitar player, too). Buddy Guy, natch. And Colin James' two Little Big Band discs are not to be missed. Purists might call for my lynching, but the origianal soundtrack to the Blues Brothers movie has been getting steady rotation in my house for better than 20 years.
You're just beginning a journey of musical joy, and I envy you your discovery. The blues is a pretty big world (and jazz is just a step away), so enjoy it, my friend! Cheers.

DS.

Thanks to everybody who has replied. Right now I am enjoying the remastered "Layla", and the 2 CD version of the Allman Bros at the Fillmore. I have some more CD's coming from Amazon tomorrow.

Again, thanks for the suggestions...feel free to keep them coming!

Mark