Music » Regional Blues Music

Another day, another Lightnin' Hopkins collection. It's only to be expected for a musician whose career lasted six decades, and whose recorded output was so profuse (often for several labels simultaneously) that the neophyte is hard pressed to determine which of the many albums, compilations, and box sets to acquire. One could do worse than this collection from Rhino Records, which includes classics such as "Coffee Blues" and "Mojo Hand," and even includes a few songs that aren't to be found on Mojo Hand: The Lightnin' Hopkins Anthology, generally considered the ideal collection for the beginning Hopkins aficionado. While hard-core fans probably have all these songs somewhere in their extensive collections, this CD is ideal for those seeking an introduction to the seminal bluesman. After all, he did help develop Texas blues, played a hand in developing the blues from rural to urban art form, and rode the 1960s folk-blues revival to one of the longest careers in blues history. Covering the 20 years of Hopkins's career between 1941 and 1961, the collection also provides a brief history of the development of the blues over the same period. --Genevieve Williams

Release Date: 1996-01-30, Rating NR (Not Rated),

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: HOWLIN' WOLF
Title: LONDON SESSIONS
Street Release Date: 08/08/1989
Domestic
Genre: BLUES TRADITIONAL

No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: BLAND,BOBBY BLUETitle: TWO STEPS FROM THE BLUESStreet Release Date: 02/27/2001

Wild Tchoupitoulas - Wild Tchoupitoulas - CD FONTANA ISLAND CAJUN / ZYDECO / NEW ORLEANS.

Release Date: 1996-11-19, Audio CD, Mca

Release Date: 1990-08-13, Audio CD, Narada

The classic "Hound Dog" is usually associated with Elvis Presley, but blues fans know: Presley's recording wasn't the first. That honor belongs to singer Big Mama Thornton, whose own recording of "Hound Dog" was eclipsed by Presley's. Her version is on this collection in all its glory, opening a CD of 17 killer tracks. Thornton's voice, by turns growling and richly melodic, was indeed unusual, and the spare accompaniment on Hound Dog makes it stand out all the more on songs such as "They Call Me Big Mama," "How Come," "The Big Change," "Hard Times," and "The Fish." Thornton had talent and attitude to spare, and both come through loud and clear on this essential collection. --Genevieve Williams

Over the 1952-82 time-span covered here, Bobby "Blue" Bland united tough-as-pavement blues singing with heartbroken Southern R&B, and helped to create chitlin-circuit soul as we know it now. Too raw for most oldies radio, Bland was a major presence in his time: 30 of these 50 songs hit the pop charts, and almost all of them were significant R&B hits. The first disc-and-a-half documents his long-running Duke Records collaboration (in Chicago, Texas, and Nashville) with trumpeter Joe Scott, who wrote ambitious arrangements that ran from tender love-man pop to howling, honking blues terrorism, but usually gave Bland a chance to emote harder than his microphone could handle. The remainder finds Little Boy Blue on his own in L.A. in the '70s, spicing up smoother blues-inflected soul (and even a stab at light disco, "It Ain't the Real Thing") with the famous squall in his voice. --Douglas Wolk

Release Date: 1993-05-06, Audio CD, Rounder / Umgd