To her credit, Carolyn Wonderland makes no bones about the Janis Joplin comparisons that, somewhat accurately, describe her whiskey-soaked voice and tough blues/soul musical palette. In fact, this album's opening track is a relatively obscure Joplin cover of "What Good ...

In practical terms, there's not much need for Robert Johnson's The Complete Recordings: The Centennial Collection. There are no undiscovered master or alternate takes, new remastering can only improve the original acetates and 78s so much, and apart from the ...

Soul, blues, gospel, and to a lesser extent, folksinger Ruthie Foster was probably tired of hearing fans say her albums were good but never quite captured the vitality of her live show. She rectifies that on this CD/DVD set. It ...

This blues-roots rock supergroup of sorts features musicians bred, if not always born, in the South. The only real royalty would be singer/songwriter/percussionist Cyril Neville, who shares lead vocals with younger but still established blues-rock journeymen guitarists Mike Zito and ...

If you've ever parked your truck around the block just so the repo man doesn't find it, Songs of the Ungrateful Living is the album for you. Spend irresponsibly or carry a double mortgage and tracks like "Gone for Good" ...

Janiva Magness hasn't recorded any of her own compositions since she cut "Good Car" on It Takes One to Know One, her 1997 debut. Here she makes up for lost time with three compelling co-writes with producer David Darling. The ...

Anyone who has paid attention to Otis Taylor's career understands that he is not a conventional bluesman, yet his diverse music, for all of its ambitious instrumentation, odd rhythmic meters, minor pentatonic scales, and textural strangeness embodies the spirit of ...

Eric Gales has developed a unique hybrid blues/rock sound that also draws upon influences ans diverse as Albert King and Eric Johnson. A unique amalgam of styles, Eric Gales stands head and shoulders among other guitarist in his genre. This ...

Guitarist and songwriter Dave Alvin left the Blasters in 1986, and it wasn't until 2004 that the band, under the leadership of lead vocalist and guitarist Phil Alvin, got around to cutting a new studio album, 4-11-44, so the gap ...

Recording information: Rax Trax Studios, Chicago, IL. Photographer: Chris Jacobs . Personnel: Magic Slim (vocals, guitar); Jon McDonald (guitar, background vocals); Andre Howard (bass guitar, background vocals); B.J. Jones (drums, background vocals). Audio Mixer: Blaise Barton.

Eric Bibb's version of the blues is calm, wise, hushed, and elegant, as much or more about redemption as it is about despair, and above all, Bibb sees the blues as narrative, part of the story we all drift through. ...

Lil' Ed and his band have been kicking butt since the group solidified in 1987, and while Jump Start still doesn't capture the crazed energy of the band's on-stage antics, it comes pretty close. Ed's slashing slide guitar work is ...

Pianist and ace session player Chuck Leavell's many fans consider him to be a true master of his instrument; his fills and solos possess imagination, lightning-quick twists and turns, imaginative chord voicings, and a very physical attack. His detractors claim ...

Recording information: Funk Headquarters, New Orleans, LA.

Track Listing: Taxi [Live]; I'm Just a Fool for You; Mr. Bus Driver; Meow; More Than a Woman; Two Different People; I'm Just a Fool for You; Picking Up Pieces; Put a Little Something Down on It; Sweeter He Is, The; L.O.V.E.; Long Ride Home; I'll Understanding;

It's not as if Albert King hadn't tasted success in his first decade and a half as a performer, but his late-'60s/early-'70s recordings for Stax did win him a substantially larger audience. During those years, the label began earning significant ...

With over two decades of experience together on stages around the world and over a dozen major CD releases, Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King now bring the essence of their signature brand of Texas blues to Delta Groove Music. ...

Recording information: Roundel Studios. Personnel: Peter Green (vocals, guitar); Nigel Watson (vocals, guitar); Roger Cotton (keyboards); Larry Tolfree (drums). Liner Note Author: Peter Green Splinter Group.

Recording information: Acacia Recording Studios, Mount Airy, MD. Photographer: Michael G. Stewart. Personnel: Deanna Bogart (vocals, piano); Dan Leonard (guitar); Jeff Reed (upright bass); Scott Ambush (electric bass); Mike Aubin (drums). Audio Mixer: Luke Rohwer.

Ron Hacker, former prot‚g‚ of blues legend Yank Rachell, has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting blues entertainers in the SF Bay Area. After releasing 9 studio albums Ron has released his first live recording ...

Recording information: Breezeway Studios, Brookpark, OH (12/2011). Photographer: Jim Stewart . Personnel: Mike Onesko (vocals, guitar); Jay Jesse Johnson (guitar, slide guitar); Kier Staeheli (bass guitar); Emery Ceo (drums). Audio Mixer: Don Moore .

Eric Clapton and the blues have been inextricably linked dating back to his mid-1960s stint as a string-bending phenomenon in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. A decade after the release of his blues homage FROM THE CRADLE, Clapton's ME AND MR. JOHNSON ...

SECOND HELPING is also available with PRONOUNCED LEH'NERD SKIN'ERD on one cassette. It was hard to believe that Lynyrd Skynyrd could possibly top its classic, near-perfect 1973 debut, PRONOUNCED LEH-NERD SKIN-NERD. However, the boys from Florida accomplished the near-impossible with their ...

Gov't Mule's self-titled debut is a scorching set of heavy blues-rockers. Although they have some difficulty coming up with memorable original material, the band is loose, funky, gritty, and real. They have enough burning licks to make the record a ...

Recorded between 1970 and 1980. Includes liner notes by John McDermott. Digitally remastered by Suha Gur (Universal Music Group Studios). Prior to Eric Clapton's pop- and MTV-driven mid-'80s work, he spent the '70s and early '80s playing languid, singer-songwriter soft rock evocative ...