Blues, Funk and Soul - the holy trinity

Is this the Blues thread? Or is there a stand alone Blues thread I've missed?

Does anyone have the Lightin' Hopkins - Strums the Blues, the 2019 Third Man Records reissue? Just curious if folks have opinions on the quality. Thanks!
I think you are in the right place.

I'm eager to know the answer to your question as well. It's a good one in light of what I've heard regarding issues with the John Lee Hooker reissues.
 
Oohhh. I really dig the Johnnie Taylor I listened to this week. I’ll have to ask my shop about these
Shiiiiiit. Yeah, the Johnnie Taylor is probably a must buy. I have the David Porter and Booker T & MGs albums on CD and I don’t like them enough to duplicate.

Odds on VMP having colour variants of these?
Johnnie Taylor & David Porter are the must-haves for me, and a part of me thinks that a different album could be a Classics pick (have they had a Stax RotM so far this year?).
 
Im not overly experienced in listening to Blues as its not something I was ever exposed to until I actively started looking into the genre myself. About a year ago now I picked up a first press of Robert Pete Williams - Those Prison Blues at a carboot sale for a couple of quid and really enjoyed the music, and his back story. His albums rarely pop up so I got lucky with that one, but since then I have never seen anything in my local shops.

An ebay seller that I have bought from before listed a first UK pressing of his first album the other day in VG+ condition, and I put an initial low bid of £20 on it. The past 2 sales of that album went for £65 and £85 all in, so I didn't expect to win it. Low and behold I just found out that I won the bid, for a total (inc shipping) of £12.50!!! Im really excited to get it and delve into the genre again!

Heres a discogs link to the album - Robert Pete Williams - Angola Prisoners' Blues
 
In my own account, you might want to give Muddy What? a listen:
www.muddywhat.de

Here's their YouTube channel:

And here you can order their new album on vinyl:
 
So this is a surprise pick up. I posted over on the 'Blues, Funk and Soul group the other day and the record came today.

About a year ago now I picked up a first press of Robert Pete Williams - Those Prison Blues at a carboot sale for a couple of quid and really enjoyed the music, and his back story. I got lucky with that one, but since then I have never seen anything of his in my local shops.

An ebay seller that I have bought from before listed a first UK pressing of his first album the other day in VG+ condition, and I put an initial low bid of £20 on it. The past 2 sales of that album went for £65 and £85 all in, so I didn't expect to win it. Low and behold I just found out that I won the bid, for a total (inc shipping) of £12.50!!! Im really excited to get it and delve into the genre again!

Robert Pete Williams / Matthew "Hogman" Maxey* / Robert "Guitar" Welch – Angola Prisoners' Blues (1960, First UK Pressing)

View attachment 19214
Superb get! When I was heavy into buying blues records this was high on my want list but always evaded me at a good price. Very jealous.
Ah thanks, im pretty excited to give it my full attention. Is there anyone else that you would recommend?
Oh yeah. I've got the day off tomorrow so I'll pull a few choice selections out.

I’ve brought this over here so as not to clog the Fresh Grabs thread up.

Here’s some of my favourites from my collection. I haven’t bothered with the big names as I’m sure you’ll already be familiar.

Some from the Blue Goose label worth hunting out:

D83115AC-9B42-4DC0-A7BA-F0D57DBA9430.jpeg

Some gospel tinged blues that I love from time to time:

ADFF02D7-F6B8-4735-9D2D-A8D2858E5338.jpeg

Speaking of blind cats, here’s a few more visually impaired chaps worth checking out:

D5766402-B464-41E1-8739-DA61C7CDA587.jpeg

Both the above on Yazoo, more greats here from that label. I especially love the jug band. Skip James is a legend and the good Rev. Davis does a fantastic job of keeping Betty and Miles from fighting on your shelves.

DA7AF09F-C1B8-4867-9F73-9AAD3609E988.jpeg

Lightning strikes twice here. These dudes deserve your attention:

0CE6EF06-B541-43E0-BA5C-95815F4922C3.jpeg

Some excellent reissue work from Pure Pleasure. The Johnny Shines is a masterpiece.

48FB093A-A80D-4663-9F1F-0640154F7435.jpeg

Modern reissues of Arhoolie legends. I imagine the OGs sound a ton better than these standard presses but they get a bit on the pricey side in good nick.

DA6EE3CC-7826-4441-94EE-E5D9CB9531D4.jpeg

Some odds and sods worth mentioning. The Hayes McMullan is a superb ‘found’ recording from ‘68 that got its first release by Light in the Attic just a few years ago. Sleepy John Estes, Scrapper Blackwell, Peg Leg Howell, they all have really cool Blues names!

C42A84C1-65D9-40EA-AC30-334547DB6ECD.jpeg

Zydeco isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but I can’t resist Clifton Chenier. He definitely leans towards the Bluesier side of the genre so you might find him more palatable:

AE72247F-CA39-41C3-A1A0-24FFC03EBFA9.jpeg

Some more modern rock fused takes on Blues. Forget The White Stripes and Black Keys (don’t because they’re both great!) these fellas will melt your face off.

75FB42D2-CCE6-40F4-8EFB-7BD1BBC79E58.jpeg

More to follow:
 
I’ve brought this over here so as not to clog the Fresh Grabs thread up.

Here’s some of my favourites from my collection. I haven’t bothered with the big names as I’m sure you’ll already be familiar.

Some from the Blue Goose label worth hunting out:

View attachment 19275

Some gospel tinged blues that I love from time to time:

View attachment 19276

Speaking of blind cats, here’s a few more visually impaired chaps worth checking out:

View attachment 19277

Both the above on Yazoo, more greats here from that label. I especially love the jug band. Skip James is a legend and the good Rev. Davis does a fantastic job of keeping Betty and Miles from fighting on your shelves.

View attachment 19278

Lightning strikes twice here. These dudes deserve your attention:

View attachment 19279

Some excellent reissue work from Pure Pleasure. The Johnny Shines is a masterpiece.

View attachment 19283

Modern reissues of Arhoolie legends. I imagine the OGs sound a ton better than these standard presses but they get a bit on the pricey side in good nick.

View attachment 19282

Some odds and sods worth mentioning. The Hayes McMullan is a superb ‘found’ recording from ‘68 that got its first release by Light in the Attic just a few years ago. Sleepy John Estes, Scrapper Blackwell, Peg Leg Howell, they all have really cool Blues names!

View attachment 19284

Zydeco isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but I can’t resist Clifton Chenier. He definitely leans towards the Bluesier side of the genre so you might find him more palatable:

View attachment 19285

Some more modern rock fused takes on Blues. Forget The White Stripes and Black Keys (don’t because they’re both great!) these fellas will melt your face off.

View attachment 19280

More to follow:

Some of my favourite one man bands, old and new:

View attachment 19287

And finally, I’ll give honourable mention to the work of Fat Possum. These are some of my favourite releases of theirs and I believe they all come with the @Yer Ol' Uncle D seal of approval too.

View attachment 19286



Ooooooooooouh yeah!
 
Apologies if this has already been shared, but Craft are releasing Chet Baker - The Legendary Riverside Albums set in November:

Chet Baker - The Legendary Riverside Albums (180 Gram 5-LP) + Exclusive Riverside Records T-Shirt Bundle
I’ve brought this over here so as not to clog the Fresh Grabs thread up.

Here’s some of my favourites from my collection. I haven’t bothered with the big names as I’m sure you’ll already be familiar.

Some from the Blue Goose label worth hunting out:

View attachment 19275

Some gospel tinged blues that I love from time to time:

View attachment 19276

Speaking of blind cats, here’s a few more visually impaired chaps worth checking out:

View attachment 19277

Both the above on Yazoo, more greats here from that label. I especially love the jug band. Skip James is a legend and the good Rev. Davis does a fantastic job of keeping Betty and Miles from fighting on your shelves.

View attachment 19278

Lightning strikes twice here. These dudes deserve your attention:

View attachment 19279

Some excellent reissue work from Pure Pleasure. The Johnny Shines is a masterpiece.

View attachment 19283

Modern reissues of Arhoolie legends. I imagine the OGs sound a ton better than these standard presses but they get a bit on the pricey side in good nick.

View attachment 19282

Some odds and sods worth mentioning. The Hayes McMullan is a superb ‘found’ recording from ‘68 that got its first release by Light in the Attic just a few years ago. Sleepy John Estes, Scrapper Blackwell, Peg Leg Howell, they all have really cool Blues names!

View attachment 19284

Zydeco isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but I can’t resist Clifton Chenier. He definitely leans towards the Bluesier side of the genre so you might find him more palatable:

View attachment 19285

Some more modern rock fused takes on Blues. Forget The White Stripes and Black Keys (don’t because they’re both great!) these fellas will melt your face off.

View attachment 19280

More to follow:
Some of my favourite one man bands, old and new:

View attachment 19287

And finally, I’ll give honourable mention to the work of Fat Possum. These are some of my favourite releases of theirs and I believe they all come with the @Yer Ol' Uncle D seal of approval too.

View attachment 19286

This is just superb @Mr Moore, thanks so much for taking the time to collate all this. Plenty for me to look into!

As I mentioned, im pretty unexperienced in this genre but there are what I currently have (not including the two Robert Pete Williams):
Howlin' Wolf ‎– Moanin' In The Moonlight - I think this was the first proper blues album I picked up and I really enjoy it. The track 'Smokestack Lightnin' is a stand-out for me.

Lightnin' Hopkins ‎– Lightnin' Hopkins - Another cheapo pick up and I believe this is a UK only pressing of some of his later stuff. From memory I believe the track 'Down home blues' was the stand out for me.
Lightnin' Hopkins ‎– Lightnin' Hopkins - Same title, different album. I pcicked this up in the VMP sales before they stopped selling standard pressings.

Blind Lemon Jefferson ‎– 1926-29: The Remaining Titles - The issue I have with this one is the awful awful recording quality. It sounds like the speakers in a washing machine in the middle of a wind tunnel.

Then theres the VMP release of Big Bill Broonzy ‎– Big Bill Broonzy Sings Folk Songs which is fantastic.
 
I love all of this.

If I can add some records to this already impressive curation :


This one was actually by @Mr Moore as an accideal a few months ago and it's magnificent.

I also like a lot of european white dudes playing some blues or blues inspired style :

Bror Gunnar Jansson is swedish one man band, with some very cinematic blues / country folk tunes, all his records are great (I still have to listen to the very last one, released this month though), but if interested you should start with this one :


Another guy from northern Europe, Bjorn Berge is amazing with a 12 strings guitar or a cigar box guitar, he is a delight to see live as he can switch from covering Motorhead on acoustic guitar to pure blues standards, has an amazing sense of humour and stage presence. unfortunately only his last two records are on vinyl, but his discography is great from front to back.


Going south, The Legendary Tigerman is a one man band from Portugal, and is probably already well known for @Skalap but his blues garage style is outstanding, and to me Femina (all duets with woment) & True are his masterpieces :



France has also great blues acts, one of my favourite is Hoboken Division from Metz, with great artwork from Jean-Luc Navette, tattoo artist with a huge blues sensibilty as well and a fan favourite for album covers in the garage scene. He also co-direct Night Records, a blues reissue label.

Hoboken Division has also a female vocalist, and that's something worth noting as it's still quite rare.



Even if they are more on the gothic country side, I need to give a shout out to some close friends with Slim Wild Board & His Forsaken Shadow


Finally, if you're into metal, you might already know him, but the swiss Zeal & Ardor mixes blues, negro spiritual and avant-garde metal, and it's glorious :

 
This is just superb @Mr MooreThe issue I have with this one is the awful awful recording quality.

Yeah, this is sadly one of the downsides to the very old recordings. Most of the compilations of them tend to be needle drops from old 78s, many of which were pre modern recording techniques and technology to start with let alone all the wear and tear added to them over years of play and bad storage. A lot of the Yazoo records are like this but stand as about the best record of these legendary sessions we're left with sadly.
 
I love all of this.

If I can add some records to this already impressive curation :


This one was actually by @Mr Moore as an accideal a few months ago and it's magnificent.

I also like a lot of european white dudes playing some blues or blues inspired style :

Bror Gunnar Jansson is swedish one man band, with some very cinematic blues / country folk tunes, all his records are great (I still have to listen to the very last one, released this month though), but if interested you should start with this one :


Another guy from northern Europe, Bjorn Berge is amazing with a 12 strings guitar or a cigar box guitar, he is a delight to see live as he can switch from covering Motorhead on acoustic guitar to pure blues standards, has an amazing sense of humour and stage presence. unfortunately only his last two records are on vinyl, but his discography is great from front to back.


Going south, The Legendary Tigerman is a one man band from Portugal, and is probably already well known for @Skalap but his blues garage style is outstanding, and to me Femina (all duets with woment) & True are his masterpieces :



France has also great blues acts, one of my favourite is Hoboken Division from Metz, with great artwork from Jean-Luc Navette, tattoo artist with a huge blues sensibilty as well and a fan favourite for album covers in the garage scene. He also co-direct Night Records, a blues reissue label.

Hoboken Division has also a female vocalist, and that's something worth noting as it's still quite rare.



Even if they are more on the gothic country side, I need to give a shout out to some close friends with Slim Wild Board & His Forsaken Shadow


Finally, if you're into metal, you might already know him, but the swiss Zeal & Ardor mixes blues, negro spiritual and avant-garde metal, and it's glorious :


Legendary Tigerman tends to be more and more rock and less blues but the albums you mentioned are great (the firsts are more blues)! I had the chance to interview him a few years ago and as some of the members of his very first band Tédio Boys were from the very small village my parents are from too, it ended as a regular conversation between two Portuguese guys in a Parisian bar.
 
Luther Allison - Bad News is Coming is my second favorite Blues album of all time (behind B.B. King - Live at the Regal), definitely recommend it if you can find a good copy! I feel like he isn't talked about enough in the Chicago blues scene, but these two albums are amazing:
 
Holy hanna, nice haul my friend :)

..........and couldn't agree more on these two ;)
Lightning strikes twice here. These dudes deserve your attention:

0CE6EF06-B541-43E0-BA5C-95815F4922C3.jpeg
 
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