Blues Suggestions Please

DWR

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Jul 26, 2010
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Well for some unknown reason I was bitten by the blues bug in the last few days. I have very little in the way of blues recordings John Lee Hooker - The Healer and a couple others up until today. I hit the used record shop and picked up some Freddie King on vinyl and Muddy Waters and Lightnin' Hopkins on the little silver discs. I really do enjoy the blues "Chicago Blues" especially, so if there are any blues lovers here that could make some suggestions for good blues albums either cd or vinyl I would greatly appreciate it.
 

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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Doug MacLeod
John Mayer
Mighty Sam McClain
kebMo
Altman Bros.

To name just a few.
 

rsbeck

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Apr 20, 2010
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Classic Chicago Blues:

Muddy Waters (originally from the Mississippi Delta)

Howlin' Wolf (originally from the Mississippi Delta)

Next Generation Chicago Blues

Junior Wells (Wells also plays a mean Harmonica)

Buddy Guy (Also a guitar hero)

Bobby "Blue" Bland

Blues Featuring Harmonica

Rice Miller "Sonny Boy Wiliamson" (Made his name in Memphis, but originally from the Delta)

Paul Butterfield Blues Band (also from Chicago)

Charlie Musselwhite (also from Chicago)

Little Walter (also from Chicago)

James Cotton (also from Chicago

Modern Harmonica Based Blues

Blues Traveler

J Geils Band

Classic guitar hero type blues:

Albert King

BB King

Modern Guitar Hero based blues:

Mike Bloomfield

Early Allman Brothers with Duane Allman

Eric Clapton

Jimmy Hendrix

Jeff Beck (Truth Album)

Led Zeppelin (I and II)

Cream

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Johnny Winter

Robert Cray

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (early Brittish blues band that featured Eric Clapton among many others)

Link to Bluesbreakers info -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mayall_&_the_Bluesbreakers

Classic Delta Blues

Charley Patton

Robert Johnson

Skip James

Son House

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Big Bill Broonzy

John Lee Hooker

Elmore James

Mississippi Fred McDowell

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee

Next Generations Delta Style

Taj Mahal

Keb' Mo
 
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DWR

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Jul 26, 2010
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Western burbs of Detroit
Rsbeck, which of the above sub groupings would you put Lightnin Hopkins in? The disc I purchased today, - sittin in with Lightnin' Hopkins is one I really like it is all recordings from 1951,52,&53, the recording is excellent and so is the music. Thanks for putting the groupings up, it will help me a lot. I can already see that I really like Classic Chicago, Classic Guitar hero, and Classic Delta blues.
 

rsbeck

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Apr 20, 2010
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Rsbeck, which of the above sub groupings would you put Lightnin Hopkins in? The disc I purchased today, - sittin in with Lightnin' Hopkins is one I really like it is all recordings from 1951,52,&53, the recording is excellent and so is the music. Thanks for putting the groupings up, it will help me a lot. I can already see that I really like Classic Chicago, Classic Guitar hero, and Classic Delta blues.

Lightnin' Hopkins was from Texas and is generally grouped into a catch-all grouping called "Country Blues."

IMO, Lightnin's sound has common roots with classic Delta Blues like Robert Johnson and Skip James.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Earl...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288915474&sr=1-1

The earliest known pioneer of that sound was Charley Patton and IMO it is very instructive to listen to Patton to really hear the earliest roots of the blues.

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Charlie-...=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288915290&sr=1-6

The fidelity on Patton's recordings is not very good because in the early part of the 20th century, recordings of music made by black musicians (it was called "Race Music") were usually made on the lowest quality plastic and they were long out of print and originals never preserved, to get examples of these recordings, it was necessary to go to the Mississippi Delta and go house to house looking for old copies that residents had in their collections.

But, Patton had a student, Robert Johnson, who learned everything Patton had to teach and there are better sonic examples of Johnson's music.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Reco...=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288915424&sr=1-3

Eric Clapton credits Robert Johnson as his earliest and strongest influence.

Charley Patton was the first to sing songs like "Spoonful" that would go through Robert Johnson and appear on Cream's Wheels of Fire LP."

Modern guys who play in this style are Taj Mahal and Keb Mo.

You might call Taj the son of the Delta Blues and Keb the Grandson.

Check out Keb Mo....

http://www.amazon.com/Keb-Mo/dp/B0000029J5/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288916866&sr=1-1
 
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DWR

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Jul 26, 2010
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Western burbs of Detroit
I really appreciate all the info rsbeck, I have most of Keb Mo's albums including the linked one you provided. All of this info is very helpful for me just starting to collect and enjoy the blues music. I will certainly check out some of the Charley Patton music.
 

rsbeck

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Apr 20, 2010
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As you can see, the Blues is a real favorite of mine, too. I'll be curious to hear what you think of Skip James, too. Glad I could help.
 

DWR

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
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Western burbs of Detroit
I will let you know about the Skip James. I will have to make a trip back to my favorite used music store now that I am loaded up with all the suggestions you provided. It saves some good money finding what I can used first, I picked up a Muddy Waters 4 disc compilation today - King of Chicago Blues for $14, its not the one you linked on the Chess label but should be some good listening.
 

Gregadd

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Apr 20, 2010
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Although I listen to the blues 12-1pm weekdays and Saturday afternoons WPFW 89.3 Washington DC also available online WPFW.org. I could not put together a discography like this. Thanks rsbeck.
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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If you really want to hear someone who could play blues on guitar....listen to early Jimi Hendrix:D
Some of his early work is frankly UNBELIEVABLE!! The famous saying attributed to Hendrix from Les Paul, when he first saw Hendrix play... the Blues I believe: " Now I have seen how God plays guitar":D

For some more interesting players: Robin Trower...Someday Blues and of course Ronnie Earl
 

rsbeck

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Apr 20, 2010
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London Howlin' Wolf Sessions --

Here's something a little different; It's an album of electric blues with Howlin' Wolf singing (and in the intro to one song, you hear him teaching his licks to Clapton). You've got Howlin' Wolf, the Rolling Stones' rhythm section of Wyman & Watts, Clapton on lead guitar & Stevie Winwood on keyboards.

A lot of times, these kinds of concept albums don't live up to their potential, but in my opinion, this is a case where the set-up pays off and the results are excellent ---

http://www.amazon.com/London-Howlin...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288930625&sr=1-1
 

rsbeck

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Apr 20, 2010
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Muddy Waters The Folk Singer.

This is one of my absolute favorite Muddy Waters albums. It's basically Muddy Waters, unplugged. Waters started in the Mississippi Delta playing acoustic slide guitar.

Later, he moved to Chicago and added electricity, pioneering the Chicago blues sound. On this album, he goes back to his roots and the results are incredible. Luckily, it is also a really excellent recording.

In the early sixties, during the Folk Music craze, this album was released and in an effort to appeal to the folk music crowd, it was given the sub-title, "The Folk Singer."

Don't be fooled, this is pure Delta blues, pure Muddy Waters.

http://www.amazon.com/Folk-Singer-M...=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1288931034&sr=1-1
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
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La Jolla, Calif USA
Muddy Waters The Folk Singer on MFSL 200 gram is IMHO one of the best sounding LP's in existence. If you have a good system and want to see what it can do, get this LP and sit back and grin.
 
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