best blues albums

7/27/2019 Best Blues Albums

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Essential Albums

If you were to own only 10 Blues albums, which would they

be?

Let us help you decide. Here is our list of the BEST BLUES RECORDS ever.

These albums, as well as being the greatest music ever heard, also tell a story.

Before the 60s, most Blues records sold as singles, so most of the selections here are

compilation albums. After the 60s we have selected the outstanding album or the live set

which shows the best of the artists talents.

Our list covers all ages of the Blues, from the early Country Music styles through to the electric

Blues of the City. The Blues has travelled around the world and back again, and our list reflects

this. Sonny Boy Williamson may have stated These white boys want to play the Blues so bad and

they do! but to our ears they sound pretty good.

In no particular order of preference

THE CHESS BOX MUDDY WATERS

Why you should own;

Modern electric Blues startshere. Born in the Delta and

recorded at Stovells Plantation

by Alan Lomax, Muddy was a

revelation when he got to Chicago and plugged

himself in. This 3 album set covers his work from

47 to 72, and mixes the essential singles with rare

unreleased tracks to give a comprehensive

chronicle of the King of Electric Blues.

BESSIE SMITH THE ESSENTIAL BESSIE SMITH.

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Why you should own;

The Empress of the Blues, Bessie

was a genuine superstar in the

20s and a Force of Nature all her

life. She put the Blues on stage

and proceeded to knock em in the aisles. From her

first recordings in 1923 to her final sessions, this fully

rounded collection includes collaborations with Louis

Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman.

WHERE DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT ? THE

ESSENTIAL LEADBELLY LEGACY.

Why you should own;

Leadbelly is the quintessential

old-time travelling songster, with

an enormous and varied

repertoire of folk, blues, ballads,

work songs, prison songs, political songs and

childrens ditties. His career fully spanned the first

half of the twentieth century, from the cat-houses

of Shreveport to the stages of Paris. More of the

same fantastic quality on a second volume-

Bourgeois Blues.

THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS ROBERT

JOHNSON.

Why you should own;

King of the Delta Blues. Legend

says this haunted young man

sold his soul to the Devil in

exchange for his extraordinary

skills on guitar. His complex, polyrhythmic

technique influenced every generation of guitarists

and he wrote some enduring Blues classics. His

total recorded output was confined to two sessions

in Texas in Nov. 36 and June 37.

BIG BILLS BLUES- BIG BILL BROONZY

Why you should own;

Big Bill was the Main Man on

the Chicago Blues scene in the

inter-war years, encouraging

many players arriving from the


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South to adapt to life in the city, and fostering the

transition from rural to urban Blues. His own

considerable skills and huge repertoire reflect this

change, and made him a star of the folk/blues

revival.

HIS BEST SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON II

Why you should own;

Rice Miller hung around

Mississippi with Robert Johnson,

yet his career lasted long enough

to see him play with Eric Clapton

and Jimmy Page. In between he drank a lot of

whiskey, was a radio DJ for 15 years and wrote and

played some of the finest harmonica Blues ever

recorded. A consummate showman with a bag full

of juke-joint tricks, these 20 tracks from the sly,

laconic maestro include backing from Robert Jnr.

Lockwood and Buddy Guy.

LIVE AT THE REGAL BB KING

Why you should own;

If you plan to own just one live

Blues album, this IS the one.

Nuff said.

BLUESBREAKERS with ERIC CLAPTON

Why you should own;

Known as The Beano Album, this

opened up the Blues to a new

young audience on both sides of

the Atlantic. Eric left the

Yardbirds because he thought they were going

commercial and this album, recorded with John


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Mayalls superb band, is a statement of intent.

Powerful stuff.

IRISH TOUR RORY GALLAGHER

Why you should own;

And if you plan to own just two

live Blues albums, this is the

other one. The energy positively

crackles as Rory plays to his

home-countrymen, even in the acoustic numbers.

Combining some of his own best songs with

masterly versions of some classic Blues, Rory

brings it home in style.

TEXAS FLOOD STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

Why you should own;

Recording over three days in

1982 with his band Double

Trouble, Stevie Ray doesnt try tohide his influences, he positively

celebrates them. This fiery blues-rock album spent

six months in the charts, giving the Blues to a new

generation, and showing how an established genre

can be re- interpreted as something fresh and

personal.


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best blues albums

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