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"King of the Electric Blues" (10/07/1997) Blues Waters, Muddy, Legacy RecordingsProducer: Johnny Winter. Compilation producer: Lawrence Cohn. Recorded between 1976-1980. Includes liner notes by Charles Shaar Murray. This is part of Legacy's Mojo Workin' series. From 1977 to 1980, Johnny Winter undertook a mission to counterbalance Muddy's iffy crossover attempts of the last decade. By recording in an atmosphere designed to emulate a live stage environment, with the right musicians and loads of enthusiasm, Winter pulled the old fire out of Muddy, the kind of energy he'd generally been emitting only in live performance. Like its companion collection BLUES SKY--with which there's no overlap--KING OF THE ELECTRIC BLUES cherry-picks those sessions recorded for CBS imprint Blue Sky, resulting in an anthology nearly as satisfying as any from Muddy's Chess days. The live cuts from MUDDY "MISSISSIPPI" WATERS LIVE showcase Muddy and his band at their most unfettered. Unhinged slide solos intersect with pounding, near-primal drums, and Muddy's own razor-sharp growl. The studio recordings are equally impressive; just when you thought you'd heard it all from Muddy, he's promoting the use and bemoaning the illegality of marijuana on "Champagne & Reefer." Despite his usual randiness, he sounds like the soul of sorrow on a track like "Sad sad Day." "No Escape from the Blues," the final studio recording of Muddy's life, is more manifesto than elegy.

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"Homemade" (01/27/1999) Blues Cephas & Wiggins, Alligator RecordsCephas & Wiggins: John Cephas, Phil Wiggins.

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"Juke Joint Saturday Night Vol. 2" (06/10/2003) Blues Various Artists, Ecko RecordsPerformers include: Denise LaSalle, Lee Shot Williams, Barbara Carr. Contains 12 tracks.

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"The Definitive Collection [Remaster]" (05/23/2006) Blues Waters, Muddy, Geffen Records (USA)Personnel include: Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar); Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy (guitar); James Cotton (harmonica); Otis Spann (piano); Willie Dixon (upright bass). Liner Note Author: Mary Katherine Aldin. Recording information: 1948 - 1976. Outside of Robert Johnson, there are few blues musicians as iconic as Muddy Waters. Chess's superbly selected and compiled DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is as close to a perfect compilation as listeners are likely to find on one disc. Arranged chronologically, the 24 tracks start with 1948's slinky "I Can't Be Satisfied" and end with 1976's "Crosseyed Cat." In between are the immortal Waters classics "Rollin' & Tumblin'," "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want To Make Love To You," among others that changed the sound of the blues and helped birth a genre called rock & roll.

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"Blues Deluxe" (01/26/2009) Blues Bonamassa, Joe, J&R AdventuresPersonnel: Joe Bonamassa (vocals, guitar); Jon Paris (harmonica); Benny harrison (Hammond B-3 organ); Eric Czar (electric bass); Kenny Kramme (drums). Recorded at Unique Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Harris Cohen. As the electric guitar ace Joe Bonamassa was so strongly inspired by blues and blues-oriented six-stringers (i.e., Clapton, Johnny Winter), many of his fans would politely pester him about doing a disc of blues standards. Originally done as a lark, the results of such a session were deemed by Bonamassa good enough to be released--hence, BLUES DELUXE, on which he covers some lesser-known songs and includes three originals. Of course, his fierce, scorching guitar is center stage. If axe-men such as Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, and Buddy Guy are your cup of tea, this DELUXE item is a necessity.

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"Ain't Gonna Hush" (06/05/2001) Blues Saffire The Uppity Blues Women, Alligator RecordsSaffire-The Uppity Blues Women: Gaye Adegbalola (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Andra Faye (vocals, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass); Ann Rabson (vocals, guitar, piano). Producers: Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, Bruce Iglauer. Recorded at Cue Recording Studios, Falls Church, Virginia.

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"Peace, Love & Respect [PA]" (05/11/2004) Blues Chubby, Popa, Blind Pig RecordsPersonnel: Popa Chubby (vocals, guitar, electric sitar, percussion);Mike Lattrell (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Nicholas D' Amato (Fender bass, fretless bass, five string bass); Steve Logan (bass); Steve Holley (drums, percussion). Recorded at Alchemy Studio, New York, New York between March 2002 and June 2003. Personnel: Popa Chubby (vocals, guitar, sitar, percussion); Mike Latrell (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Nicholas D'Amato (bass guitar, fretless bass); Steve Logan (bass guitar); Steve Holley (drums, percussion). Recording information: 03/2002 - 06/2003.

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"Me and Mr. Johnson" (03/30/2004) Blues Clapton, Eric, ReprisePersonnel: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar); Andy Fairweather-Low, Doyle Bramhall II (guitar); Jerry Portnoy (harmonica); Billy Preston (keyboards); Nathan East (bass); Steve Gadd (drums). 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 pays tribute to his hero Robert Johnson. Rounding up a stellar backing crew, including Andy Fairweather-Low and Jerry Portnoy (both of whom appeared on CRADLE), Slowhand approaches the Johnson canon with a relaxed and confident touch. Applying liberal amounts of slide and fuzz guitar, this English rock legend saunters along fare such as "Traveling Riverside Blues" and "Love in Vain," time-honored Johnson classics better known through renditions by Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, respectively. Portnoy's unobtrusive harp provides subtle accompaniment to Clapton's heartfelt playing, be it the swirling dirge "Hell Hound on My Trail" or the harmony-soaked "Come on in My Kitchen." The proceedings are also enhanced by the Hammond organ and piano work of sideman Billy Preston, whose trips up and down the eighty-eights give added punch to songs like the rollicking "32-20 Blues" and the barrelhouse "They're Red Hot."

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"The Definitive Collection (Hip-O)" (05/23/2006) Blues Hooker, John Lee, Hip-O RecordsLiner Note Author: Colin Escott. Recording information: 1948 - 1988.

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"His Best" (05/20/1997) Blues Williamson, Sonny Boy, Chess (USA)This is part of Chess Records 50th Anniversary series. The definitive HIS BEST collects some of Sonny Boy Williamson's finest work from his tenure at Chess Records, a period widely conceded to be his most artistically fruitful. He's backed by a who's who of Chicago blues musicians, in particular the astonishingly metallic sounding two guitar team of Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker, bassist/songwriter Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters' great pianist Otis Spann, and future Blues Brother Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Highlights are almost too numerous to mention, but don't miss "Fattening Frogs for Snakes," which features one of Williamson's most metaphorically interesting lyrics. The great harp workout "Bye Bye Bird" has here been thoughtfully remixed for stereo.

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"The Sky Is Crying" (11/05/1991) Blues Vaughan, Stevie Ray, Epic Records (USA)THE SKY IS CRYING is a collection of 10 previously unreleased studio tracks compiled by Stevie Ray's brother Jimmie Vaughan. Personnel: Stevie Ray Vaughan (guitar, vocals); Reese Wynans (keyboards); Tommy Shannon (bass); Chris Layton (drums). Producers: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Richard Mullen, Jim Capfer, Jim Gaines. Recorded at The Power Station, New York, New York in January and February, 1984; The Dallas Sound Lab, Dallas, Texas in March and May, 1985; Kiva Studios, Memphis, Tennessee in February and April, 1989; Sound Castle Studios, Los Angeles, California in April and May, 1989. Vaughan's death in August 1990 brought to a tragic end the surging wave of his popularity. The album he had made with his brother Jimmie, FAMILY STYLE, had just been released and this album, prepared by Jimmie from the various album sessions, was not expected to amount to much. In fact, this was at least as good as any of them--and better than LIVE ALIVE. "Little Wing" was perhaps his best adaptation of a Jimi Hendrix song. His take on the Elmore James title song was also a fitting tribute to both the writer and the performer. There are bound to be further compilations and live recordings released, but these studio recordings are testimony to Stevie Ray's devotion to his craft.

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"Jeff Chaz in Exile *" (01/10/2006) Blues Chaz, Jeff, JCP Records

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"Deluxe Edition [Remaster]" (01/31/2006) Blues Saffire The Uppity Blues Women, Alligator RecordsFormed in the late 1980s, Saffire is a trio of self-described "uppity blues women," who play a mix of traditional blues, ragtime, and the kind of riotously bawdy material performed since the birth of the genre by singers from Bessie Smith to Millie Jackson. These middle-aged women bring both raw earthiness and irrepressible delight to songs like "In My Girlish Days," "Silver Beaver," and "Elevator Man"--these aren't polite recreations of a dying genre, but vibrant, down-and-dirty expressions of real life that'll be familiar to anyone who's ever had an unsatisfying job or a relationship gone bad. Raucous and unlikely, this trio sings the real blues, in all their messy, contradictory splendor.

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"Deluxe Edition" (01/22/2002) Blues Taylor, Koko, Alligator RecordsPersonnel includes: Koko Taylor (vocals); B.B. King, Buddy Guy (vocals, guitar); Mighty Joe Young (guitar); Carey Bell (harmonica); Willie Henderson, Henri Ford, Mark Colby (saxophone); Larry Bowen (trumpet); Steve Berry (trombone); Pinetop Perkins (piano); "Professor" Eddie Lusk (organ); Kenny Hampton (bass); Brady Williams, Vince Chappelle (drums). Producers include: Koko Taylor, Joe Young, Bruce Iglauer, Richard McLeese, Criss Johnson. Compilation producers: Bob DePugh, Bruce Iglauer, David Forte. Engineers include: Stu Black, Freedie Breitberg, Justin Niebank. Recorded between 1975 and 1999. Includes liner notes by Bruce Iglauer. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Neatly boiling down Koko Taylor's quarter-century with the blues-specialist label Alligator Records into one unbeatable compilation, DELUXE EDITION is a perfect introduction to Taylor's immense charms. Kicking off with "I'm a Woman," a no-nonsense response to Muddy Waters's "I'm a Man," the 15-track compilation skims the cream from nine already good-to-great albums and adds one excellent new track, the sassy in-praise-of-younger-men testimonial "Man Size Job." The selection skews heavily to duets and other collaborations, such as a rollicking version of the Willie Dixon standard "Hey Bartender" with Pinetop Perkins contributing his familiar barrelhouse piano licks, and a soulful duet with B.B. King on "Blues Hotel." Although Taylor remains better known for her '60s sides on Chess Records (the version of "Wang Dang Doodle" here is no match for her '65 original, one of the great blues records of that decade), DELUXE EDITION is the best single-disc introduction to her music.

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