Blues Vinyl 216 Items

Not known for his acoustic work, Buddy Guy unplugs for a rare album-length excursion into folk blues. The guitarist gets down and dirty with 12 tracks that sound like they were recorded after hours in his living room or on his back porch.

"This release is my way of celebrating the memory of one of the most important figures in early blues and gospel - the great Blind Willie Johnson - who would have turned 125 this year. The recording of his masterpiece "Dark was the night, cold was the ground" (recorded in my favorite recording year, 1927) can be found on the golden records onboard Voyager I and II and was added to the National Recording Registry in 2010, which selects recordings annually that are deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Although his music is often very hopeful, when you look back at his life, hope is not the first word that comes to mind. Willie wasn't blind at birth but became blind at seven years old. Exactly how it happened is uncertain, but one statement is that his aunt accidentally threw lye in his eyes. In his older years a fire took his house, but him being poor and blind and black he wasn't left with much else of a choice than to stay and live in the ruins of his old home. Living in this environment gave him pneumonia which subsequently led to his death. But his beautiful music just might live forever - forever floating in space."

Like so many other Delta blues musicians of the 1930s and 40s, rock music owes a debt of gratitude to the works of Blind Willie McTell. Considered one of the finest guitarists and vocalists of the era, noteworthy for his then unheard of usage of a 12-string guitar, artists and bands from The Allman Brothers to The White Stripes to Taj Mahal have listed the blind bluesman as a key influence. From the start of his career in 1927, McTell cut numerous singles for Victor Records, and maintained a noteworthy level of popularity in his home of Atlanta, but like many of his contemporaries, his career skidded to a halt during World War II. McTell left music during the 1950s and later passed of a brain hemmorage in 1959. Not long after his passing would come the British blues explosion, which would not only make household names of Eric Clapton and John Mayall, but spark a renewed interest in the material of classic bluesmen like McTell. It wasn't long before innumerable collections of such material came into being. 1927-1935 is one such collection, covering the beginning years of McTell's career, pre-World War II. Many of McTell's earliest recordings for Victor Records are present here, many of which were recorded with his future wife Ruth Day providing duet vocals. Songs such as "Cold Winter Day", "Razor Ball", and "Ticket Agent Blues", which famously would be covered by The White Stripes decades later.

180 gram vinyl!

Bassekou Kouyaté is a musician from Mali. His new album is about love, friendship, family and true values in times of crisis. Miri means dream or contemplation in bamana. Miri is a very personal album. It talks about his mother Yakare that passed away. The album also pays hommage to two great Malian singers that have blessed quite a number of Bassekous albums: the one and only Zoumana Tereta & the golden voice of Mali Kassemady Diabate. May they rest in peace. They live on in their music.

Includes two bonus tracks.

Antibalas’ new studio album, Where The Gods Are In Peace, is an epic Afro-Western Trilogy searching for solace from American political opportunism, greed and vengeance. Through its battle cry of resistance against exploitation and displacement, ANTIBALAS’ long-form compositions investigate oppression in 1800s America that eerily mirror the current state of the country. Three explosive original arrangements cultivate an urgent call to heal a broken system. Ultimately, the sonic excursion lands on an island where love is our first instinct. A new ideology is born opening our hearts to the possibilities of living as one unified people, where all gods are equal and together we prevail.

True to traditional form, Where The Gods Are In Peace pays respect to the forefathers of Afrobeat with compositions spanning nine to 15 minutes in length. With a blessing from the Fela Kuti legacy early in the band’s career, ANTIBALAS has long been revered for re-popularizing the classic Afrobeat sound while adding their distinct New York City grit to the mix. Influences of punk rock, free jazz, and hip-hop seep into their expansive works to define a truly 21st century translation of the Afrobeat genre and beyond.

New West Records is proud to announce the revival of Antone's Records and the renaissance begins with Angela Strehli, one of the most legendary and iconic members of the Antone’s blues family. Mrs. Strehli is back with Ace Of Blues, her first solo release in 17 years and her first record with Antone’s since 1987’s Soul Shake. On Ace Of Blues, Strehli offers 12 rolling & funky tracks that celebrate and honor the classic influences that inspired her 50+ year career. Presented with extensive liner notes and never-before-seen historical photos, Ace Of Blues cements Angela’s legacy as one of America’s premiere blues singers.