Review: P-Vine Japan does great work once more here by bringing back into print some hugely sought-after sounds from the blues and r&b world. The first release in their new series revives Larry Davis' 1969 Kent Records single, which was originally written by Sherwood Fleming. The A-side, 'For 5 Long Years' delivers a gritty mid-tempo funk-blues groove while the B-side, 'I've Been Hurt So Many Times' (a classic subject for a blues tune) channels Willie Cobbs' signature sound. These will be familiar to anyone who has danced at a Northern Soul event and cannot be slept on.
The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - "Darkest Light" (45 edit) (4:17)
The Outlaw Blues Band - "Deep Gully" (45 edit) (4:16)
Review: Mushi 45 prompt a history lesson: Hailing from Paris in the early 70s, Lafayette Afro Rock Band forged a fusion of American funk and West African rhythms, producing grooves that stuck like thumbtacks through later genera such as hip-hop and electronica. Their track 'Darkest Light' stands out for its piercing, mussitating bari sax riff, famously looped on Jay-Z's 'Show Me What You Got'. Another essential cut, 'Deep Gully', delivers sharp guitar stabs over a crisp drum break, also a backbone for numerous hip-hop and jungle tracks. The group's sessions at Pierre Jaubert's Parisound studio yielded records like Soul Makossa and Malik, both cult classics rich in percussion and horn work.
Goin' Where The Monon Crosses The Yellow Dog (4:48)
Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out (5:00)
"A" Blues (3:56)
Little Girl Blues (5:14)
George Street Blues (4:23)
Little Boy Blues (3:10)
Blues Before Sunrise (5:10)
"E" Blues (3:55)
Shady Lane (5:28)
Penal Farm Blues (4:33)
Review: Scrapper Blackwell's final recordings, laid down in Indianapolis in 1961, marked the return of a blues guitarist and singer who had been silent since the mid-30s. Mr. Scrapper's Blues was released posthumously in 1962, just after Blackwell was shot and killed - a stark coda to a career shaped by both brilliance and misfortune. First out on Prestige's Bluesville sublabel, this stark, unclipped LP finds Blackwell alone at the mic, handling guitar, piano and vocals himself. The South Carolina-born, Indiana-raised musician earned early fame through his trailblazing partnership with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and 30s, before vanishing from music entirely following Carr's death. This 180-gram reissue from Craft revives that late-career spark via an all-analogue mastering by Matthew Lutthan.
Review: Captured during a fiery two-night stand at the Fillmore Auditorium in October 1966, these recordings catch the Paul Butterfield Blues Band at full throttle: lean, charged, on the edge of (controlled) chaos. Broadcast six years later on KSAN during Bill Graham's takeover of the station, the sets offer a rare document of the band's searing live form. With Paul Butterfield on harp and vocals, Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop duelling on guitars, and Mark Naftalin's swirling organ lines, this was the group's classic lineup pushing electric blues into new terrain. The final stretch brings a heavyweight finale: Muddy Waters and Luther Johnson join for the last four tracks, adding deep Chicago grit to an already smouldering set.
Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure/Don't You Just Know It/Well I'll Be John Brown
Little Liza Jane
Review: Originally released in 1972, Dr John's fifth album is an upfront tribute to his inimitable hometown of New Orleans. A collection of covers, tracks chosen from the almost-endless archives of classic blues, jazz and creole tracks that have come out of the Big Easy over the preceding century or so. It also marked something of a character and stylistic sidestep for the legendary Louisiana player. Building a cult following and rather unique reputation for his eccentric stage performances and often pretty left-of-the-middle songwriting and arrangements, by comparison Dr John's Gumbo plays it much straighter, making this an authentic and respectful tribute to rhythm and blues as it has long been played. That's no criticism - the same masterful musicianship remains very much intact, while the personality still shines through. Simply put, the songs have been done again and again, but this album could only be Dr John.
Review: The Drones' fourth album, and one of their most sonically expansive, was written and recorded in near-total isolation in a forest cabin in rural Victoria - in Australia rather than London SW1 - running on diesel generators and hold-my-beer grit. That feral setting bleeds through the record's punk blues, scorched folk and sizzurped noise, with Gareth Liddiard delivering knotty, difficult-to-parse lyrics full of folkloric angst. It was one of the band's final releases before splintering into Tropical Fuck Storm, and it captures them in full primordial soup mode. This double vinyl reissue restores a vital chapter in Australian underground rock, overdue for rediscovery.
Review: In 1989, Oakland played host to a rare meeting of American rock heavyweights, with John Fogerty leading a set packed with Creedence Clearwater Revival staples and solo favourites. Joined by Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, as well as saxophonist Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, the night emulsified key figures from rock's most influential chapters. First aired live on FM radio, this now remastered CD captures the full performance, including raucous renditions of 'Born on the Bayou', 'Proud Mary', and 'Fortunate Son'. The set showcases Fogerty in commanding form, bridging his swamp rock roots with the celebratory energy of the guest ensemble.
Review: Recorded in 1969 and finally loved up with the deluxe treatment it deserves by Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series, Buddy And The Juniors finds Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy link up with longtime partner-in-crime Junior Wells and jazz pianist Junior Mance for a stripped-back, swing-happy studio session. Originally cut for Blue Thumb, the LP veers between relaxed takes on blues staples like 'Hoochie Coochie Man' and ramshackle originals such as 'Buddy's Blues'. Loose, spontaneous, and lurching, it also includes two unrehearsed studio jams, 'Riffin' and 'Talkin Bout Women Obviously', tossed off in a single inspired take. This reissue arrives on heavyweight 180g vinyl, remastered from the original analogue tapes and housed in gatefold packaging - a fitting presentation for one of the more casually brilliant chapters in Guy's long catalogue.
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