Any one round these here parts listen to the blues

[Guest El Satanico]

I had several burnt CDs full of blues songs. I enjoy the blues but can't remember who all i had on those CDs.

 

I'd like to rebuild my blues "library". So if anyone here listens to this stuff can you give me some of the bands or guys that you like.

[Guest HellSpawn]

I have a few BB King cds, and also one Yardbirds cd with Eric Clapton.

I guess John Mayall is a good pick too.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

You can't go wrong with the original blues recordings from the one and only Robert Johnson.  Besides Clapton and B.B. King, don't forget about Buddy Guy (I saw him in concert with B.B. in '00 and he tore it up... but it's not really a fair comparison since B.B.'s nowhere near his prime any more), Muddy Waters, and Albert King.  There of course, many many many others, but since I don't own a lot of blues CD's (even though I love the genre), I only know the mainstream blues artists.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Am I the only one who finds it a little disheartening that there are only a couple people (myself included) that have posted in this thread?

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

well, I find myself taken by old Rythm and Blues in the style of early-Who and the Rolling Stones. But I haven't listened enough to warrant any kind of opinion on it.

[Guest El Satanico]

Yeah it is i agree. But thanks for your help to get me restarted .

[Guest ArkhamGlobe]

Well, you can always go for the classics in Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and so on. The Yardbirds (especially with Jeff Beck on lead guitar) were excellent. For a bit more recent, you can always check out Stevie Ray Vaughan. There are of course, many, many more, but their names escape at the moment.

[Guest toggle]

Jelly Roll Morton's stuff is very good as well. B.B. King Live at the Regal is considered a classic blues album. And don't forget Clifton Chenier- Two Steps From the Blues.

[Guest swan]

On top of the ones already listed I really like Keb' Mo'.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Does George Thorogood count as the blues? If so, I worshipped him before I got into metal...and still he has the highest respect from me.

[Guest Ripper]

Otis Redding....just ignore the up tempo happy little songs that he did to pay the bills, the treasure lies in the "My heart is broken" songs.  That man was a musical genius.

[Guest mw679]

I'd check out the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, also, his band, Double Trouble put out a good blues CD last year. For some others, how about Jonny Lang, Led Zeppelin's first 2 albums were quite bluesy, you can't go wrong with Clapton. You can also check out John Lee Hooker, that's about all I can think of right now...

[Guest evenflowDDT]

...also, his band, Double Trouble put out a good blues CD last year.

Double Trouble put out a solo CD? What's the title, and have they put out any other releases? I know Jimmie Vaughan has put out several blues CD's, but I didn't know Double Trouble had.

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

Gotta listen to SRV, man!

 

And AC/DC. Blues rock rules.

 

And WOOT George Thuroughgood!

[Guest El Satanico]

AC/DC? how in the hell can they be considered blues?

 

I don't think George Thuroughgood can be considered Blues. He's just rock with a bluesy feel so shouldn't be called blues.  

 

I don't really like most of the white boys that do the blues. Eric Clapton is great and i like him and all but i don't like his blues stuff. Stevie Ray Vaughan is good and plays blues guitar well but i don't really like him as a "blues guy".

 

Now my dislike of white boys doing the blues has nothing to do with race...i mean hell i am a white boy. I just think that most white boys don't have enough soul in their voice to pull of the blues well.

[Guest mw679]

Hey, evenflow, DT's CD is called "It's Been a long time" good, good stuff. Saw them live last year with Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, what a friggin show! Great blues all around. If you're into the blues, definitely check out that CD.

[Guest Anorak]

Eric Bibb and Robert Cray two good modern artists who are worth checking out. Cray's voice has a real soul leaning and some of his stuff is a nice mix between blues and soul. From my experience it seems there are loads of cheap blues compilations avaliable to get familiar with the genre.

[Guest razazteca]

enough soul in their voice to pull of the blues well

 

Janis Joplin was very emotional, for a white woman.

[Guest BottleRocket]

As far as modern blues artists go, I enjoy the Fat Possum stable. True, some people consider it to be exploitive "fetish" blues, but I much prefer it to the polished sounds of labels like Alligator. Most people are only familiar with R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, but their roster does go much deeper.

 

Oh, and even though he played blue-inspired music, Clifton Chenier is much more accurately described as a zydeco musician.

[Guest El Satanico]

enough soul in their voice to pull of the blues well

 

Janis Joplin was very emotional, for a white woman.

Yeah Joplin had some soul.

 

Elvis and alot of early rock n roll guys had soul in their voices as well.

[Guest BottleRocket]

Elvis and alot of early rock n roll guys had soul in their voices as well.

...because they were stealing other people's material

[Guest saturnmark4life]

Stevie Ray Vaughan. Playing bass to his songs in a blues band for about a year did me a world of good.

[Guest WildPegasusXXII]

All of the above are definate keepers...especially the three Kings,  (BB, Albert and Freddie) SRV, Muddy Waters, etc

 

I may have misread..but did anyone mention Robert Johnson or Johnny Winter (and for that matter his brother Edgar?)

 

I feel that I must add Susan Tedeschi (technically now Susan Trucks...she married Derek Trucks, Butch from ABB's nephew, an amazing guitar slinger in his own right, but he's more jazzy than blues) because she really really can go at it.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Yikes! I can't belive I forgot to mention Freddie King before... thanks for mentioning him WildPegasusXXII, I've had to learn a couple of his songs on guitar before, and, well, it was hard because he's pretty good.  If you can find it, check out his CD Just Pickin', even though I believe it's out of print.  A remastered CD re-issue of two instrumental LP's of his from back in the day.

 

Another one that I just remembered that I don't think have been mentioned yet is Leadbelly.  Modern rock fans might know him because Nirvana made a habit of covering his song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" on live shows (the Nirvana version appears officially on MTV Unplugged and countless bootleg shows).

 

I saw Susan Tedeschi live and I wasn't really that impressed by her.  Someone who I was impressed with, mainly because of her age, is a teenager named Shannon Curfman (I think she's 16 or 17).  Her CD (the name of which escapes me right now, big something and loud guitars...) isn't the greatest, but it's definitely pretty good and you could do a lot worse.

[Guest WildPegasusXXII]

I'll agree that Susan isnt the best, but she's gotten a lot better over the last year or so, especially given that she's only been playing guitar for 6 years or so, plus she graduated from Berklee. I'm more of a fan of her voice anyways...the only people I know who give singing more feeling are Jen Durkin(Former Deep Banana Blackout, now Bomb Squad) and Warren Haynes (been just about everywhere)

 

Shannon Curfman...went to the same high school as Johnny Lang...but she kicks his ass all over the music world.

 

I'm trying to think back a little bit for a few more guys...maybe Lightnin' Hopkins and Magic Slim.

 

They're not really only blues, but Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise is great...Robert Bradley's this crazy blind black guy who sure can sing.

 

Also, as odd a statement as it may be...after some thought, I'm definately going to have to add Duane Allman era Allman Brothers Band...his slide tone screams the blues...and back when Greg could sing halfway decently, he could belt songs out like nothing else. but after Duane died, Dickey couldnt pull up the slack all the way and they changed their direction a bit.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

They're not really only blues, but Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise is great...Robert Bradley's this crazy blind black guy who sure can sing.

Dude, I was really excited because I was going to see RBBS last Saturday at a free local concert, but they couldn't play because Robert Bradley was in an accident and broke a couple of his ribs! At least he's doing all right though... but they're a great band? That's cool, I heard a few clips from them back at the B.B. King Bluesfest in 2000, but I never got to see them or hear one of their full songs and was looking forward to it until fate intervened.

[Guest WildPegasusXXII]

yeah, RBBS are great...funny story about how they got together as a band though...the rest of the guys were in a different band who went into a studio to record, and Robert Bradley was outside the studio playing for change and whatnot, and they heard him through the window and went "holy crap, we oughta get him to guest vocal on a track or something, he sounds awesome" and he ended up joining the band.

 

on the blues topic...I dug through a couple CDs I have, and I gotta add Son House, Son Seals, and Sugar Blue. Son House wrote stuff like John The Revelator, Grinnin' In Your Face, etc...Son Seals wrote Funky Bitch, and lots of other tunes..Sugar Blue is a monster harmonica player. (none less than John Popper has publicly declared him an idol)

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band...I saw them open for Jimmy Page and the Black Crows...after that I ran out and got all of his cds.

 

Great stuff

[Guest WildPegasusXXII]

KWS=SRV lite....he's a good guitarist, but he ought to stop thinking he's SRV....I know he idolizes him, hell, I did for a time as well...but I don't scuff up my guitar so it looks exactly like his and play all his licks at my concerts.

 

I'll add yet another..Robben Ford...indescribabl great...wonderful guy and a great guitarist.

 

And another...more modern...John Scofield...Bump was a masterpeice...and Uberjam is even better.