CD-Charts Position 161
Average Rating:

In Progress & in Motion: 1965-1998

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Taj Mahal

Release Date October 13, 1998
I bought my first Taj Mahal LP sometime around 1968 and have kept tabs on the dude ever since...because my vinyl collection shows signs of wear (to be expected after 40 years of repeated play) I went looking for replacements for my many Taj recordings, something like 20 total records, and was hard-pressed to find a collection that represented what I felt was his best material. This three-disc offering comes nowhere near covering it all, but is a fine place to start.

Over the years many people have tried to "turn me on" to Taj as someone they just discovered, largely through the many so-called Greatest Hits releases under his name...many folks have the impression that he's a Mississippi blues man, a roots-cliche sharecropper's son ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 162
Average Rating:

First Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: R.L. Burnside

Release Date June 10, 2003
I hunt for music, and the hunt leads down paths that dead-end, aren't my thing, or whatever, but sometimes I get lucky. I discovered R.L. by chance after following links from a blues guitar instruction book page. Of all the R.L. stuff, this seemed the most basic and raw, and I bought it. Who knew I'd just discovered my favorite blues album ever!

This was recorded in R.L.'s living room one night after another explorer was lead down the Mississippi dirt road to the "best bluesman around". The recording has a raw quality but the sound is very good. But the music itself is spectacular. This is the real thing, no doubt about it. No Chicago blues here, this is raw and droning and hypnotic and tuneful. The guitar work is great, and ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 163
Average Rating:

Railroad Bill

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Etta Baker

Release Date April 12, 2005
Etta Baker is such a lovely lady who is one of the leading practioners of the Piedmont blues guitar. This, one of the wonderful albums issued in conjunction with the Music Maker Foundation, showcases her fluid picking. The lack of vocals is the only complaint about this release. Otherwise this showcases of her fluid finer picking on a variety of tunes shows why Etta Baker is so highly regarded by fans of acoustic blues.

CD-Charts Position 164
Average Rating:

Classic African American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date April 25, 2006
Brilliant!
Authentic artists at their best, performing blues, folk, folk-blues - who cares what is the right name of the genre. Just check the samples from the songs and get it!

CD-Charts Position 165
Average Rating:

Come on in This House

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Junior Wells

Release Date September 24, 1996
This record is real blues, great harp playing, singing, slide playimg! It doesn't get better than that!

CD-Charts Position 166
Average Rating:

The Uppity Blues Women

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Saffire -- The Uppity Blues Women

Release Date February 15, 1990
This is the first Saffire album. I "discovered" the group in 1996, just before going to Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere. Throughout my travels, I had the music of Saffire with me everywhere.

Saffire is a wonderful blues group. Many, if not most, of the songs have been written by Gaye Adegbalola. Like any good blues, they range from incisive social commentary to just plain fun. Listen to the words, and not just to the music. These women are terrific!

A must for any blues fan, and particularly for women who love the blues.

CD-Charts Position 167
Average Rating:

Lead Me On

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Kelly Joe Phelps

Release Date July 29, 1994
I stumbled upon this album a few years back, when I was looking for some good acoustic blues. One of my favorite albums is Clapton's Unplugged, and I was searching for something similar, but there was nothing until I found Kelly Joe. When I first heard this CD, I really thought "This is it. This is the Holy Grail of Acoustic Blues". This is in the top 5 of the hundreds of albums I own and is one that I play frequently and never get tired of it. His guitar and his voice have so much soul & passion & feeling here, it gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Every song on this CD is great. You will not be tempted to skip over any track. Though I will say some standouts are "I've Been Converted", "Where Do I Go Now", "Lead Me On", ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 168
Average Rating:

Blowin' the Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Little Walter

Release Date April 08, 2008
I stumbled upon this album a few years back, when I was looking for some good acoustic blues. One of my favorite albums is Clapton's Unplugged, and I was searching for something similar, but there was nothing until I found Kelly Joe. When I first heard this CD, I really thought "This is it. This is the Holy Grail of Acoustic Blues". This is in the top 5 of the hundreds of albums I own and is one that I play frequently and never get tired of it. His guitar and his voice have so much soul & passion & feeling here, it gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Every song on this CD is great. You will not be tempted to skip over any track. Though I will say some standouts are "I've Been Converted", "Where Do I Go Now", "Lead Me On", ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 169
Average Rating:

Medicine Show Man, Vol. 2

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Pink Anderson

Release Date July 20, 1999
Pink Anderson's "I Got Mine" and "Travelin' Man" are both fantastic. However, the rest of the material on this disc is not quite as great as the stuff on the first and third volumes of Anderson's recordings on the Bluesville label. That is the sole reason I'm giving this disc four stars, and not five. Pink's few recordings with Simmie Dooley from the heyday of Country Blues are fantastic, and one should definitely seek them out. Listen to Frank Stokes' "I Got Mine" and then Pink's version. They are quite different, but both are highly memorable.

CD-Charts Position 170
Average Rating:

Chess Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Acoustic Blues
by: Various Artists

Release Date February 02, 1993
How should I put this...?

subtle? historic? passionate? Let's just leave it at this.

IT'S A 4 CD BOX WITH BLUES FROM CHESS!! THAT'S MUDDY WATERS AND HOWLING WOLF!! DUH!!! OF COURSE 5 STARS!!