CD-Charts Position 11
Average Rating:

American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours 1963-1966 [DVD]

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
starring: Various

Release Date May 08, 2007
This is a must buy for all of you blues enthusiasists!! Just wish it lasted longer...I could have watched this all day! The performers were outstanding as well as the audio. For the great old blues music, it could not have sounded better!!

CD-Charts Position 12
Average Rating:

The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Elmore James

Release Date April 06, 1993
Love the blues? This is for you. One of the early up from Mississippi to Chicago bluesmen (I think he died in '43). "Madison Blues" and "The Sky is Crying" the way 'lonesome George' heard them first.

CD-Charts Position 13
Average Rating:

Anthology Of American Folk Music (Edited By Harry Smith)

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

Release Date August 19, 1997
There are some truly haunting performances here, and some funny ones, and some of everything, really. This stuff is so far deeper and weirder and spookier than any folk I've ever heard. It's the motherlode; Harry Smith wandered around and got these recordings before radio started, and thus we get true folk music, passed down the generations and from that area, or from the motherland of the musicians, with the spirit of the New World.
The vibes are palpable, varied, and intense. Lots of "mistakes", but so much feeling that missed notes only add to the experience.
If you've ever liked any folk music at all, whether Leadbelly, the Seegers, the Carter family, early Dylan, or if you need to know where real country music comes from, this is your ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 14
Average Rating:

The Search for Robert Johnson

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
starring: John Hammond, Son House, Keith Richards (II), Wink Clark, Honeyboy Edwards
directed by: Chris Hunt

Release Date October 31, 2000
While this may not be for everyone, it is an outstanding look at the legend of Robert Johnson who himself was a blues legend. It is a search through the Southeastern US for the real truth about him and includes interview footage of people who knew him well. Fascinating material if you love the Blues.

CD-Charts Position 15
Average Rating:

The Original Delta Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Son House

Release Date February 01, 2008
For all those pursuing deep blues this is essential listening. Sound quality is excellent. Guitar playing is rough and ready by modern technical standards, but hey - that's the way it is - all feel. Vocals are stunning. Great to hear his homage to Patton's 'Moon going down' -'Empire State Express'. This is your chance to hear real deep delta blues sans the crappy dynamics of 78RPM recordings. If only more of the old Delta players had survived long enough to be able to be re-recorded with such quality.

CD-Charts Position 16
Average Rating:

The Complete Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Robert Johnson

Release Date August 20, 1990
I bought a single CD version of this same material (all the songs) for $9 at the local mall. Look around for better deals.

CD-Charts Position 17
Average Rating:

The Definitive Collection

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Howlin' Wolf

Release Date April 17, 2007
This album simply cannot be beat. You get some of the greatest songs from one of the all-time great post-war bluesmen, Chester Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf. If BB King is a fine wine, Howlin' Wolf is a shot of strong scotch. The CD starts out with Moaning at Midnight, a song which will send chills up your spine the first time you hear it....if anyone can be said to have an inimitable voice, it can be said of Chester Burnett.

Personally, I was not sure I would like Howlin' Wolf as I was just getting into the genre of the blues, and so purchased this album instead of his 3 CD box set. Later, I also added His Best, Volume 2, to my collection. In any case, this album (or the box set), is a must have for anyone who loves the blues. Though it must be ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 18
Average Rating:

Swingin' Miss 'D'

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Dinah Washington

Release Date September 22, 1998
Dinah's style and execution are amazing and Quincy Jones' orchestra is about the tightest thing I've ever heard. You should have this album!

CD-Charts Position 19
Average Rating:

Love Songs

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Billie Holiday

Release Date March 12, 1996
This one is a must-have if you want to assemble a top-flight Billie Holiday collection. All the recordings were made between 1935-1942 when her perfect natural voice was still like a bell, and her musical instincts were in full bloom. Unlike her later recordings, there is no sign of the sad toll her lifestyle took on her voice. The best treat in this candy dish is hearing her sing with Count Basie on the piano, in THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME. The Sony remasterings are brilliant and even, and very far above the so-so quality of most Lady Day anthologies - don't pass this one up. A NOTE ABOUT THE ALBUM COVER ART - Take a look at the second version of the cover art with Holiday's portrait - this is the cover of the CD we picked up.

CD-Charts Position 20
Average Rating:

The Complete Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > Traditional Blues
by: Robert Johnson

Release Date October 08, 1996
I bought a single CD version of this same material (all the songs) for $9 at the local mall. Look around for better deals.