Blues 24 Items

The son of a slave and of part-Native American heritage, Texan blues songster Mance Lipscomb began recording albums in 1960 after the Arhoolie label became aware of his talents, the work coming at the start of the country blues revival, which he became a key part of. The excellent follow-up Trouble In Mind, released by Reprise in 1961, has top-notch renditions of favourites such as ‘Alabama Bound,’ ‘Ballad of the Boll Weevil’ and ‘Motherless Children,’ the latter with great slide guitar work, yet somehow the LP sold poorly, rendering it a sought-after rarity. Definitely one of Mance Lipscomb’s best!

An exact repro vinyl reissue of this magnificent 1962 vintage blues delivery.

Paul Butterfield was an iconic blues harmonica player and singer, famous for his in 1963 formed Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Their 1966 releases classic East West is one of the outstanding albums in which they integrated psychedelic rock in traditional blues music. The supergroup consisted at that time of guitar hero Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Mark Naftalin, bassist Jerome Arnold, drummer Billy Davenport and, of course, the master himself, Paul Butterfield. The authentic blues sounds are woven in the sounds of jazz and raga music. It’s an exciting trip in which you can hear the talented individuals, but also how they created their music together. The album proved to be one of the essential albums in the blues-rock movement of the 60s.

Paul Butterfield died in 1987 at the age of 44. During that time he was still recording new songs. In 2006 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and in 2015 again as part of his own Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Why you'll love it...
The songs that populate Odetta and the Blues are 1920s blues and jazz standards sung by the likes of Bessie Smith, Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Mississippi John Hurt, Leroy Carr and other titans of the time and genre. Most are traditional, unattributable to any one songwriter — but all are linked to Black musicians. In this way, the album feels like an important (and understandable) aspect of Odetta’s quest to show America the myriad ways this country’s music wouldn’t be what it is without Black Americans.

Odetta makes each track sound timeless and true, but also utterly, entirely her own. I think that’s the hallmark of a true and truly unique talent — and a sign that the artist in question understands the assignment, as it were: to find the throughlines between their perspective and the art itself; to preserve the original message and add one of your own, like a constructive game of Telephone. There’s an art to being a cover artist and an art to being an archivist.

More than a compilation, this album is a complete document of the Bluesbreakers' recordings with Peter Green, of which "A Hard Road" was just the most prominent part. The 16 bonus tracks include several non-LP singles (among them the 1967 B-side "Rubber Duck," which has never before appeared on LP).

The Jungle, regarded as one of the best of B.B. King's many albums, is being reissued on P-vine! Recorded in 1961-62, at the height of his career, and released on Kent after he moved to ABC, six R&B charting hits came from this album. All of the songs are superbly crafted, and are truly the king of the blues. Slow songs such as '5 Long Years' are typical of B.B.'s music of this era. You can't talk about B.B. King without listening to this album!

Forget lightning in a bottle, we have Lightnin' on a vinyl! Recorded in New York in 1960 with famed producer Bobby Robinson, Mojo Hand is considered by many to be one of the finest blues records of all time. Since P-vine reissued it for the first time ever in 1983, word of the record’s quality quickly spread, with original copies now selling for thousands of dollars on the second hand market! Whether it’s the boogie of title song “Mojo Hand”, or the low and slow blues of “Have You Ever Loved a Woman”, the Lightnin’s acoustic blues is soulful. Don’t miss Mojo Hand, available for the first time ever on limited edition red vinyl with an obi-strip, only from P-vine Records.

In 1965, just one year after Paul Butterfield had formed his blues band – named after himself - and launched one of the very best groups among the white Chicago blues community, the band produced this dynamic and visionary album. The group presents a wide range of contrasting numbers, both eastern and western, which reflect the LP’s title – something totally new and innovative. In the first few titles, traditional standard numbers come over rather enigmatically while supporting original and rhythmic compactness, but this soon gives over to a tactically well-formed instrumentation and lengthy solo interludes. The all-embracing motto 'blues' is taken up by the band in Nat Adderley’s "Work Song" at the very latest, with mind-expanding ways of playing and varying sounds. Catapulted by Mike Bloomfield’s artistry on the guitar into the world of rock, all the musicians celebrate these well-known jazz standards and each man contributes his personal skill into forging a perfectly balanced team effort. The title number "East-West" ultimately demolishes the world of the blues. In the tonal mixture of confidently prepared rock ingredients and borrowings from Indian music (raga rock), we have an amalgamation of rock, blues, jazz and oriental melodies which result in an emotional, unheard-of sound that is well worth the hearing.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: July 1966 at Chess Studios, Chicago (il), by Jac Holzman Production: Barry Friedman, Mark Abramson, Paul Rothchild

Howlin' Wolf was a true bluesman who stuck to his own style. This LP reissue of an album compiled from his recordings in 1951-1952 for RPM label, sub-label of Modern Records and released in1962 on Crown Records, also a substance of Modern.

The album features Willie Johnston on guitar, a rule-breaking mix of primitive delta blues and fancy jazz chords; Willie Steele on drums and unidentified musicians providing unparalleled backing; and Ike Turner on vibrant piano, Wolf barked out wild and tough blues in West Memphis.

Although the piano, the guitar and the harmonica were clearly out of tune, the sounds were outstandingly thumping and beautiful - there was no greater shock. This is a classic in blues history that captured the rampaging blues wolf of the blues at the beginning of his career, when he made his recording debut after the age of 40. The reissue LP will be available with iconic OBI strip.

"Lightnin'" is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin' Hopkins delivered in the early '60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like "Thinkin' 'Bout An Old Friend" and the familiar "Katie Mae" and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's "Back To New Orleans" and Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco". Hopkins' only accompaniment consists of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Belton Evans, both of whom play in an understated fashion and do their part to make this intimate setting successful. From the remorseful "Come Back Baby" to more lighthearted, fun numbers like "You Better Watch Yourself" and "Automobile Blues", "Lightnin'" is a lot like being in a small club with Hopkins as he shares his experiences, insights and humor with you.