J.J. Cale's debut album, Naturally, was recorded after Eric Clapton made "After Midnight" a huge success. Instead of following Slowhand's cue and constructing a slick blues-rock album, Cale recruited a number of his Oklahoma friends and made a laid-back country-rock record that firmly established his distinctive, relaxed style. Cale included a new version of "After Midnight" on the album, but the true meat of the record lay in songs like "Crazy Mama," which became a hit single, and "Call Me the Breeze," which Lynyrd Skynyrd later covered. On these songs and many others on Naturally, Cale effortlessly captured a lazy, rolling boogie that contradicted all the commercial styles of boogie, blues, and country-rock at the time. Where his contemporaries concentrated on solos, Cale worked the song and its rhythm, and the result was a pleasant, engaging album that was in no danger of raising anybody's temperature.

Luther Allison seemed to be on a roll when he died in 1998. He was back home after many years in Europe, and was winning awards and making a good living. This, his debut album, was cut in 1969 when he was 30 years old. He sang as if barely able to keep a lid on his emotion, and the elegance and precision of his guitar playing belied the fact that he had only been playing the instrument for a few years. If this debut can be faulted it's only in that it relies too heavily on overfamiliar standards like "Little Red Rooster," "Five Long Years," "Dust My Broom," "Sky Is Crying," and "Every Night About This Time." The CD reissue has been expanded with alternate takes and bonus cuts.

In this 2003 performance from the Austin City Limits series, New England's Susan Tedeschi demonstrates a range that extends well beyond her blues base. Following the blueprint employed by Bonnie Raitt a few decades earlier, she covers John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" (a signature tune for Raitt), inserting a snippet from the Grateful Dead's "Sugaree." The piano balladry of her "Wrapped in the Arms of Another" could fit just fine on a Raitt album. The set also finds her sampling from the songbooks of Sly Stone ("You Can Make It If You Try"), Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), and Stevie Wonder ("Love's in Need of Love Today"), in addition to the more straightforward blues of Koko Taylor ("Voodoo Woman"). Though Tedeschi's stinging lead guitar provides the focus, she receives strong support from a band featuring the interplay of electric pianist Jason Crosby (who doubles on violin) and William Green on Hammond B-3 organ. Highlights include a tribute to jam-band inspiration Col. Bruce Hampton on "Hampmotized" and the simmering "Wait for Me," with its echoes of Aretha Franklin.

Though the Austin City Limits series often spotlights Texas talent, this 2003 taping finds New England blueswoman Susan Tedeschi making herself right at home. Like Bonnie Raitt a few decades earlier, Tedeschi extends her musical inclinations beyond blues purism, sampling from the songbooks of Sly Stone ("You Can Make It If You Try"), Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), Stevie Wonder ("Love's in Need of Love Today"), and John Prine ("Angel from Montgomery," also a signature tune for Raitt) in addition to the more straightforward blues of Koko Taylor ("Voodoo Woman"). Though Tedeschi's stinging lead guitar provides the focus, she receives strong support from a band featuring the interplay of electric pianist Jason Crosby (who doubles on violin) and William Green on Hammond B-3 organ. Highlights include a tribute to jam-band inspiration Col. Bruce Hampton on "Hampmotized" and the simmering "Wait for Me," with its echoes of Aretha Franklin. Tedeschi has yet to show the suppleness as a vocalist to complement her guitar chops, but the musical range she displays here bodes well for her artistic development.

Martha J. (vocals) and Francesco Chebat (keyboards), along with Francesco Marzetti (drums), have been working together since 2013. Their project the Soul Mutation born from the desire to experiment with new sounds that pool past experiences of each, different musical backgrounds. The Soul Mutation offers full music horseback groove between jazz, funk and blues.

First released in 1969, after guitarist Jimmy Dawkins had served a long apprenticeship as a sideman in the Chicago electric blues scene, Fast Fingers remains one of the finest pure electric blues albums of its era. Dawkins proves to be a solid songwriter and an able singer, although the best moments on the album invariably come when he tears off a casually perfect, deeply soulful, but never showy electric solo. Highlights include the stomping instrumental "Triple Trebles," featuring an outstanding Dawkins solo over a funky horn-driven rhythm, and the mellow, laid-back opener, "It Serves Me Right to Suffer."

Decades before Corey Harris, Guy Davis, and Keb' Mo' wed the Delta blues to various folk forms, there was Taj Mahal. Almost from the very beginning, Mahal provided audiences with connections to a plethora of blues styles. Further, he offered hard evidence connecting American blues to folk styles from other nations, particularly, but not limited to, those from the West Indies and various African countries, bridging gaps, highlighting similarities, and establishing links between many experiences of the African diaspora…

Out of several live Hendrix albums, The Jimi Hendrix Concerts stands as one of the very best. Taken from shows at Winterland, The Royal Albert Hall, and from various venues in New York, Berkeley, and San Diego, the set includes hits like "Fire," "Voodoo Chile," and "Hey Joe," as well as fine blues like "Red House," "Bleeding Heart," and "Hear My Train a Comin'." Highlights include a definitive version of "Little Wing" and one of the most assured and driving versions of "Voodoo Chile" (these and four other stellar tracks come from what must have been an amazing concert at Winterland in the fall of '68). Another standout is "I Don't Live Today," which features a fine mix of jazz-inspired soloing and various feedback and distortion "tricks" (tricks that figure into Hendrix's way of "playing with the electronics," and which make up one of the more innovative aspects of his guitar playing). Hendrix gets adept and sympathetic support throughout from bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell (Band of Gypsies' bassist Billy Cox replaces Redding on "Red House" and "Hey Joe").

Joe Bonamassa has moved far past his initial incarnation as a kid guitar wiz with a Stevie Ray Vaughan fascination, and has developed into an elegantly reverent guitarist and a fine singer as well, bringing a little R&B blue-eyed soul to the blues. For Different Shades of Blue, Bonamassa co-wrote songs with veteran Nashville songwriters Jeffrey Steele, Gary Nicholson, James House, Jerry Flowers, and Jonathan Cain, then took 11 of the songs and tracked them in Las Vegas at Studio at the Palms with producer Kevin Shirley and a solid band of studio musicians including Reese Wynans (organ, piano), Carmine Rojas (bass), Michael Rhodes (bass), Anton Fig (drums, percussion), Lenny Castro (percussion), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone), Ron Dziubla (saxophone), the Bovaland Orchestra (strings), and background vocalists Doug Henthorn and Melanie Williams.

Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 40 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Hook, Line & Sinker features twelve carefully chosen songs from Little Richard, Dave Bartholomew, Amos Milburn, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Floyd Dixon and others. Produced by Vachon, the CD is a ferocious and enthusiastic blast of rocking guitars, punching horns and huge, room-filling vocals. The results are a non-stop hip-shaking party. It’s clear why People magazine said Roomful’s music “can turn a dull evening at home into a heel-clicking night of fun.

Dan Patlansky delivers a seriously fierce, fiery representation of his take on old-school blues and early rock. It’s a 10-track musical accomplishment that is sure to leave any blues fan wanting more of his work. The album is a strong testament to Patlansky’s talent, and a welcome addition to any blues enthusiast’s library. With Patlansky himself a producer of the album, his creative control was certainly able to flourish and produce something genuinely his.

For the first time in her career, Blues diva Dana Gillespie releases a live album. After four studio sets for Ace, dating back to 1982's Blue Job, this CD is released in response to the demand by her audiences around the world. Recorded with the London Blues Band in Poole in 2006, the set features the dynamic guitar skills of Dino Baptiste. No fancy studio tweaks are used here. Dana and the Band cut the mustard, with the very highest level of musicianship, spiced up with a lot of fun, to create this straight-ahead record of a fabulous gig from a great singer with a great band.

It is no coincidence that Eric Gales is listed as providing "guitar and vocals" rather than "vocals and guitar" in the credits of The Story of My Life. While Gales is a competent singer, he is an excellent guitarist; what one hears on The Story of My Life and previous Gales releases is really singing in service of guitar playing rather than guitar playing in service of singing. Of course, competent doesn't mean weak or bad – and while Gales' vocal chops aren't in a class with his guitar chops, he has no problem getting his emotional points across on this 2008 release. The Story of My Life finds Gales forming a power trio with bassist Steve Evans and drummer Jeremy Colson; comparisons to the Jimi Hendrix Experience (one of the 1960s' most influential power trios) are inevitable, and there is no getting around the fact that Hendrix is a huge influence throughout this blues-rock/hard rock/psychedelic rock CD.

If the big heels and the high-production fashion values have you skeptical about this lady, keep reading. Purring and snarling through “Your One And Only”, crowing danger through the tasty acoustic gem “Behind My Back”, double-daring her way through the buoyant “Purple Tattoos”, Cathy Jean has a natural gift for pairing her formidable voice with some pretty mean presence and solid song-writing (not a single cover on the entire CD). Blues fans will want to skip string-coated pop fare like “You Don’t Know”, but most of the rest is great stuff– seductive, tough and convincing, backed by a terrific group. Excellent and recommended.

With a fast, gritty, and furious slide and electric guitar style, Johnny Winter fused the blues to its rock nephew and became a white guitar legend (an albino one, no less, further adding to his stage allure) with his albums and live performances in the 1970s. This set collects some of the best of those performances at shows played between 1969 and 1977, including soaring versions of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," all of which helped set the stage for later guitar slingers like Stevie Ray Vaughan and others.