Best Blues Albums 2018 – so far.

There have been a lot of very good releases this year so far. Here’s our selection of twelve of the best:

Joe Bonamassa/Beth Hart: Black Coffee

You really can’t go wrong with an album of music from guitar genius Joe Bonamassa and vocal tour de force Beth Hart. Individually brilliant. Together, they make magic.

Ry Cooder: Prodigal Son

An album of wonderfully reinterpreted old gospel songs and hymns, from the guitar virtuoso. Highly recommended.

Dana Fuchs: Love Lives On

Fine album of bluesy American from the talented singer-songwriter, which features her utterly engaging, raspy vocals and a wonderful set of 13 songs, including a blues-soaked, stripped back version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.  “Love Lives On is about hope and perseverance…I hope in some way this album can give some of that back to you,” said Fuchs.

Janiva Magness: Love is an Army

Twelve hugely enjoyable songs which tap into a deep well of both Americana and Memphis soul. Read our interview with Janiva Magness here.

Ian Siegal: All the Rage

Ian Siegal rages against the poison in the veins of the world in a very fine album of blues rock. His trademark rasping vocals never felt so menacing and appropriate.

Buddy Guy: The Blues is Alive and Well

15 tracks from the veteran bluesman, with Guy’s still formidable vocals and blistering guitar work aided and abetted by the McCrary sisters, Mick Jager, James Bay, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards.

Keeshea Pratt Band: Believe

One very fine album of soul-soaked blues, featuring an outstanding 7-piece band and the wondrous Ms. Keeshea Pratt, whose soaring and thrilling vocals sparkle on each of the twelve tracks. Here’s our full review here.

Chris Smither: Call Me Lucky

Double album of terrific acoustic songs from the gravel voiced and rhythmic guitar picker. As usual, the songs are clever, incisive and creative. Great stuff.

Paul Thorn: Don’t Let the Devil Ride

Unabashed album of gospel music, with Paul and his band, and a group of top notch collaborators including the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, Bonnie Bishop and New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Horns, all in scintillating form. Read our interview with Paul Thorn here.

Various: Strange Angels: In Flight with Elmore James

Top notch tribute album to Elmore James featuring Bettye LaVette, Keb’ Mo’, Warren Haynes, Shelby Lynne/Allison Moorer and others

Luke Winslow King: Blue Mesa

Wonderfully upbeat, positive album of rocking blues. Read our interview with Luke Winslow-King here.

Mike Zito: First Class Life

Rocking, honest 15^th album from Zito who sings about his “second chance at a first class life,” charting his journey from addiction to sobriety to a life in music.

 

 

 

Best Blues Albums 2014

2014 was another excellent year for the blues, as you can see from the list below. Blues music is so diverse that it’s very difficult to make a list that contains both acoustic and electric blues and everything else in between. But…notwithstanding that, here is Down at the Crossroads Best 25 Blues Albums of 2014. Feel free to disagree…

First of all, our top 10 – 

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Goin’ Home

Still only in his mid 30s, Shepherd has a 20 year career behind him. This is a wonderful, mature album, where he gives us 12 of the songs which first got him excited about the blues. We get guest appearances from Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, Robert Randolph, Kim Wilson and the Rebirth Brass Band in a hugely enjoyable journey through the some of the absolute classics of the genre.

Keb Mo: Bluesamericana

Slick return to his blues roots, this is a very fine album from Keb Mo. A highly enjoyable set of songs, all but one are originals and there is some excellent guitar work. And nice to see a couple of songs dealing with topical issues in The Worst is Yet to Come and More For Your Money.

 

Luke Winslow-King: Everlasting Arms

Luke Winslow-King, ably assisted by his talented wife, Esther Rose, have given us a stunning album of rootsy, bluesy Americana in Everlasting Arms. It’s old-time, yet always manages to be fresh, and it’ll bring a smile to your face every time you listen to it. With 13 songs that weave seamlessly through the blues, country and folk with hints of jazz, the whole album is a delight from start to finish.

Walter Trout:  The Blues Came Callin’

Willie Dixon once famously said, “The blues is the truth.” Walter Trout has given us a blues album that tells the truth, is all its starkness and rawness. Recorded prior to his liver transplant when he was quite ill, the music on the album attests to his remarkable strength of spirit. Here and there, Walter’s voice isn’t as strong as we’ve heard it and despite the subject matter of some of the songs, the album is life-affirming.

John Mayall:  A Special Life

The Godfather of British blues, after more than 50 album releases, presents us with a very well crafted and excellently produced classic blues album. Four of the songs are originals and all eleven are beautifully performed by a talented band. Most enjoyable.

 

Kaz Hawkins: Get Ready

Kaz Hawkins’ new album, Get Ready, is inspirational, honest, warm, full of energy and infectious passion. Blues and gospel with a dollop of soul and R&B served up by an excellent band and a truly remarkable singer. Kaz’s voice is powerful, emotional, rasping, passionate, bluesy. And her music comes from a deep well of personal experience, trial and hope for the future. One not to be missed.

JP Soars: Full Moon Night in Memphis

JP Soars’ third studio release, Full Moon Night in Memphis, is one of the most enjoyable albums I’ve listened to this year. Every track of the 14 is simply a joy, with divergent blues styles which show off Soars’ fabulous guitar chops and excellent, gritty vocals.  Entertaining, engaging and enjoyable.

 

Eric Bibb: Blues People

Top notch acoustic blues from blues troubadour Eric Bibb, with his characteristic upbeat songs and delicious guitar picking. In part a tribute to the memory of the Dr. Martin Luther King, the album is a fine mixture of country blues, folk, gospel and soul. Taj Mahal, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ruthie Foster and Popa Chubby all guest in what is one of Bibb’s consistent offerings.

 

Luther Dickinson: Rock n Roll Blues

Luther Dickinson’s take on the blues is, I guess, not for everyone, but his quirky vocals, handy guitar chops and a terrific set of songs makes this a stand-out album of acoustic folk, blues, and country. This is raw and honest music, a welcome relief from much of the slick, over-produced stuff that is all too common.

 

Janiva Magness: Original

This is LA-based artist Magness’s best work to date, to be sure, 11 original songs, 7 of which she co-wrote. Wonderful vocal variation and control throughout these excellent bluesy, soul-laden songs. A treat.

 

 

And – here are our next 10 Best Blues Albums of 2014…

Gary Clark Jr.: Live

Often hailed as the future of the blues, Gary Clark’s Live is a very fine album of the best live versions of his song. Intense and passionate, it showcases his considerable guitar playing and grabs your attention from the get-go. Classic and traditional blues are fused here into a compelling fresh sound, which holds great promise of things to come from Clark.

 

Joanne Shaw Taylor: The Dirty Truth

Classy fourth studio release from Taylor who gives us ten strong songs of hugely enjoyable blues rock. The guitar work is outstanding as we would expect, but Taylor’s vocals are delivered with considerable aplomb. Much to enjoy here.

 

Ian Siegal: Man and Guitar

Ian Siegal – prolific songwriter, gifted guitarist, commanding performer – it’s all on display on this album recorded at the Royal Albert Hall by the BBC.  With outstanding sound quality, this is a wonderful concoction of blues, folk, rock and roots music that is punctuated here and there with Siegal’s witty banter with the audience.

 

Rory Block: Hard Luck Child

Following her excellent tributes to Robert Johnson, John Hurt, Fred McDowell and Gary Davis, Block has given us a fine album of acoustic songs by Skip James. As usual, Block’s guitar work is terrific and she doe full justice to one of the most important early country blues artists, whose music was often haunting and unusual. The album has one original song, Nehemiah James, which serves as an introduction to James’s life story.

John Hiatt: Terms of My Surrender

Prolific Americana artist Hiatt offers us a compelling set of blues-infused  songs with echoes of J.J. Cale, recent Bob Dylan and Guy Davis. Hiatt’s voice is as world-weary as ever, the songs heavy with a life-time of experience. Hugely enjoyable stuff.

 

Royal Southern Brotherhood: Heartsoulblood

HeartSoulBlood is remarkably upbeat and inspirational. Outstanding guitar work and lovely harmonies characterize the whole album which is funky and full of good tunes. There’s a lot of hope here, exemplified by the song “Love and Peace Will Heal the World.”

 

Nick Moss: Time Ain’t Free

This is a band in exceptional form here, with a heady blend of blues. soul, funk and rock-and-roll. No nonsense blues rock of the highest calibre.

 

Jo Harman: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Recorded and produced by the BBC, this is a 2013 performance at Blues Fest at the Royal Albert Hall. There are 8 songs, all showcasing Jo’s excellent band and most of all her wonderful, emotional vocal performance. There is much to enjoy here – some very tasteful guitar work, versitile keyboards, terrific interaction between the two, and overall the band is a tight unit which seems to be enjoying itself.

Bad Brad & the Fat Cats: Take A Walk With Me

Bad Brad and the Fat Cats reach out and grab you by the lapels from the opening guitar riff of Take a Walk With Me and pull you right inside their rockin’ bad ass blues whether you like it or not, until finally they spit you out at the end of the Les Paul-laced Uma, thirteen tracks later.  13 original tracks of classic blues rock that always manage to stay fresh.

 

Joe Bonamassa:  Different Shades of Blue

Guitar virtuoso’s first album of all-new material in two years. Blues rock, but at the same time should appeal to a wide audience. With help from a couple of Nashville songwriters, Bonamassa has given us a fine, varied album, well produced and featuring, of course, his trademark guitar chops.

 

And, Down at the Crossroads’ final 5 Best Blues Albums of 2014

Mark Harrison:  The World Outside

Joe Louis Walker: Hornet’s Nest

Thorbjorn Risager: Too Many Roads

Ruthie Foster: Promise of a Brand New Day

Devon Allman: Ragged and Dirty

 

Royal Southern Brotherhood: Love and Peace will heal the world

Royal Southern Brotherhood’s 2014 album, HeartSoulBlood, is remarkably upbeat and inspirational. Outstanding guitar work and lovely harmonies characterize the whole album which is funky and full of good tunes. There’s a lot of hope here, even if the guys show no signs of being in denial about the way the world is. The opening song, Cyril Neville’s World Blues, talks about “watching the news” and says that “hope feels outta range.” That’s the way most of us feel as we’ve watched recently in horror the atrocities of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the pain of the innocents in Gaza and the plight of the hungry in South Sudan. The sheer brutality of human beings to other humans, and the massive scale of the problems sure makes us feel that hope is indeed out of range. “World blues be runnin’ through my veins,” – that puts it about right..

But I like the optimism, the note of hope in this song as it powers along, driven by some tasty slide guitar – “We can rise above this pain,” along with the recognition that we’ve all a responsibility for the state of the world – “Rise up brothers and sisters…can we all get together and break free from these chains?”

This idea of everybody playing their part in change comes through in Mike Zito’s haunting Takes a Village, which celebrates the old African proverb that it takes a whole village to raise a child. There are “Too many evils in this world to leave them to the wild, It takes a village to raise the child.” Despite the rampant individualism that prevails in Europe and the US, the pressure to consume more and to defend what we have more – actually, we’re all connected, we need each other and communities are important. It takes more than one person or a couple to successfully raise a child.

And I love Charlie Wooten’s song on the album, Love and Peace. The lyrics are made up of just seven words, repeated over and over: “Love and peace will heal the world.” That’s actually not too popular a notion these days. We guard our way of life zealously, with an industrial-military complex that is deeply embedded into our society and psyches. We have bought deeply into the myth of redemptive violence. But as Gandhi once famously said: “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”

All of this is at the heart of the Christian gospel, of course. Jesus pronounces the peace-makers, the merciful and those who pursue justice blessed and tells his followers to love their enemies, while the New Testament writer, Paul, tells the vulnerable Christians in Rome to pursue peace, not to repay evil for evil and to bless those who were persecuting them. Yes the world is a complicated place, yes there are questions about how best to protect the vulnerable and to deal with naked aggressive evil – but in general we far too easily resort to violence as a first, rather than last resort. And sadly, Jesus’s words and example of peace and love in the face of opposition and violence get lost even for many Christians, for whom they are just an inconvenience, an impracticality.

And yet, “love and peace will heal the world.” The willing submission, out of love, of a man two thousand years ago to torture and execution and his subsequent resurrection from the dead by God, is the pivotal point where we begin to see that it is precisely love and peace that heals the world. And us. So that together “we can rise above this pain.”

 

Best Blues Albums 2012

Best Blues Albums 2012

2012 was an outstanding year for the blues. Whatever way you like it, electric or acoustic, there were a spate of superb offerings. Here is our choice of the top 20 blues albums of 2012. See if you agree…

Brother Sinner and the Whale:   Kelly Joe Phelps

Passionate, gospel blues, with superb finger-picking and slide guitar. In probably his best work yet, we get wonderfully constructed songs, full of melody and grace, with outstanding singing. For courage, musicianship, performance and lyrical brilliance, it’s top of the pile for Down at the Crossroads.

 

 

Blues for the Modern Daze: Walter Trout

Walter Trout’s take on the ills of the modern world – bankers, politicians, useless gadgetry are all in his sights – 15 fantastic songs, sung with passion and laced with Walter’s stunning Fender Strat guitar licks. Stand-out track – Brother’s Keeper.

 

 

Peace Meal:  Carolyn Wonderland 
Outstanding album from Texas blues woman Carolyn Wonderland. Great take on blues classics like Dust My Broom along with a terrific set of self-penned songs, including the wonderful God Only Knows.

 

 

 

Driving for Daylight:  Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa goes from strength to strength. His singing and playing just get better and better on songs that include Robert Johnson’s Stones in My Passageway and Howling Wolf’s Who’s been Talking?

 

 

 

Nothing but Love: Robert Cray Band
Return to his best form with a wonderfully, crafted and funky approach to the blues. Cray also takes a tilt at the dishonesty of the age with that ever so sweet voice.

 

 

 

 

Shelter :  Brian Houston

The artist that most people reading this will be most unfamiliar with. Houston is an Irish artist who has recently changed musical direction with this outstanding blues album, full of raw passion, great songs and clever lyrics. Oh, and a dose of the McClary Sisters as well for good measure.

 

 

 

I Belong to the Band: Rory Block
Rory Block’s tribute to Rev Gary Davis. 11 of his best religious blues & ragtime songs, including I Belong to the Band and I Am the Light of the World, arranged and sung by Block in the Rev’s own style. Wonderful, inspirational stuff.

 

 

 

La Futura: ZZ Top

With the Texan’s bluesmen’s first album in nine years, we get no surprises – it’s all characteristically ZZ Top, in-your-face, knock-out grooves. On-form, blistering, just great.

 

 

 

Candy Store  Kid:  Ian Siegal & the Mississippi Mudbloods

Ian Siegal, who gets better and better by the album, is joined by Cody & Luther Dickinson, Garry Burnside, Lightni’ Malcolm and Alvin Youngblood Hart. With that line-up this could hardly fail to be an outstanding album – top class blues with Siegal’s signature growling vocals stealing the show.

 

 

 

33 1/3: Shemekia Copeland

Featuring a cover of Dylan’s I’ll be your Baby Tonight and Buddy Guy on I ain’t Gonna Be Your Tattoo, Shemekia fearlessly covers domestic violence, injustice and religious hypocrisy in a very fine set of blues songs. Standout feature of the album – Shemekia’s powerful, arresting, but superbly harnessed voice.

 

 

Delta Time:  Hans Theessink & Terry Evans

Hugely enjoyable acoustic blues from two of the finest blues singers around. Great chemistry from the combination of these two contrasting voices with a wonderful gospel sound and lovely harmonies throughout. Guest appearance from Ry Cooder.

 

 

Royal Southern Brotherhood:Royal Southern Brotherhood

The future of blues rock? Top class combination which includes Mike Zito, Devon Allman and Yonrico Scott delivers an outstanding set of bluesy, inspirational, soulful and funky songs. Top drawer stuff from a group of top class musicians.

 

 

 

Everybody’s Talkin’  : Tedeschi Trucks Band

Fantastic live music from the Tedeschi-Trucks Band, featuring Derek Trucks’ sizzling electric slide and Susan Tedeschi’s sultry, emotive vocals.

 

 

 

Slipstream: Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie’s first album in seven years doesn’t disappoint. Classic Raitt seductive singing and understated but effective slide guitar. Wonderful stuff, including two recent Dylan covers.

 

 

 

Hellfire: Joe Louis Walker

Energetic, exciting blues from Joe Louis Walker. There’s some terrific guitar work here and the struggle between the devil and the Lord is graphically depicted in both Hellfire and I’m a Soldier for Jesus.

 

 

 

Live from the Hills Vol 2: North Mississippi Allstars

Live set of the unique music of the Allstars, featuring Luther Dickinson’s uneven, but engaging vocals. Rough edged, country-tinged, down and dirty blues that makes you feel you’re right in the Delta.

 

 

 

Contraband: Otis Taylor

Outstanding album of “trance-blues” from Taylor, “a modern blues record that even non-blues fans can love and that blues fans can outright cherish”, as another reviewer put it.

 

 

 

 

The Devil Ain’t Got No Music: Lurrie Bell

After turning his life around a few years ago, Chicago bluesman Lurrie Bell has come up with a wonderful gospel blues album that gives full rein to his rasping vocals and cool, bluesy guitar work. Includes Tom Wait’s Down in the Hole

 

 

 

Deeper in the Well: Eric Bibb

The superb Eric Bibb, one of the foremost exponents of acoustic blues, gives us an album that adds Creole and country influences from Louisiana. Eric is joined by a terrific set of banjo, mandolin, fiddle and accordion players to give us a classy and charming set of songs that includes gospel, blues and folk.

 

 

 

Sings Big Bill Broonzy: Billy Boy Arnold

Album of Bill Broonzy songs by aging bluesman Arnold, who remembers seeing Big Bill play. Excellent celebration of Broonzy with tasteful harmonica playing throughout

“It makes me mad, it makes me sad”. Royal Southern Brotherhood’s vision for a better world

Royal Southern Brotherhood bemoan the state of the world but look hopefully for change to come.

Royal Southern Brotherhood

The Royal Southern Brotherhood’s recently released album is a brilliant fusion of blues, soul, southern rock and latin grooves. Band member Devon Allman has called it “amplified soul for the new generation”. Great songs, solid grooves, tasty guitar licks, cool percussion and vocals, the whole album is a treat.

And it’s full of positive vibe as well – New Horizon and All Around the World are stand-out songs in this regard. But in Hurts My Heart, there’s a solid bit of realism about the way the world is. On the one hand,

I see the people livin on the streets

They got nothing to hold on to

Some are crazy, some are just lost…

And on the other:

A man is livin up on the hill

In this mansion made of gold…

Livin’ like there’s no tomorrow

The growing discrepancy between the rich and the poor becomes explicit with:

The rich get rich, the poor get poorer, Don’t you dare cross that line, boy

You stay on your side of the tracks, And I’ll stay on mine.

This is indeed the reality in today’s world. We in Europe and America, despite our economic woes, live in an island of wealth in a great sea of want that is the experience for  most of the rest of the world. The numbers are staggering but are absolutely real. 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day. 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day – this is what is defined as “extreme global poverty.” Here are some statistics:

• An estimated 30,000 children die each day due to poverty – i.e. 18 children a minute, a child ever 3 seconds.
• Approximately 600 million children live in extreme poverty.
• 67.5 million children are out of school around the world, a figure equivalent to the entire primary school-aged population in Europe and North America.

As a result to the Global Economic Recession, those living in extreme poverty have suffered the most.  Recent increases in the price of food and oil have had a direct and adverse effect on communities that were struggling for survival even before the recession hit. The long-term effects of this recession are expected to potentially push millions more into extreme poverty.

When we turn the spotlight back on ourselves, the reality is that the disparity between rich and poor in both the US and the UK has never been greater. According to the OECD, only Turkey and Mexico have more unequal societies than the United States. The idea of the American Dream – to rise from humble origins to become part of the wealthy elite – has become completely outdated as the rich have become richer and the poor more mired in poverty.

Little wonder Royal Southern Brotherhood’s Hurts My Heart concludes with:

It makes me mad, It make me sad

I said Lord it hurts my heart.

But the bad state of the world is not the last word for Royal Southern Brotherhood, because, although “sometimes this world, You know it gets the best of me” –

But I can say a prayer, baby

And I try to have a little faith

There’s optimism here that things can be better, a theme that’s taken up in All Around the World.

We sing & pray for joy

Holding our hands up and shouting out loud

This world will become one.

Things can be different, there’s room for joy if only “We walk together hand in hand”. We do that and “No man will hold us down”. Things can be different, the rich-poor divide doesn’t have to keep increasing, global poverty can be defeated. But it’s up to us, each one of us to “walk together hand in hand”. There’s lots we can do, from pressurizing our politicians into making humanitarian, not selfish choices, to supporting organizations that work for change at home and abroad, to giving our money to help those in need. We need to turn off our TVs, get off Facebook for a while, open our eyes, see the world the way that it is and begin to ask – what can I do?  As Royal Southern Brotherhood say, “Our time has come to take a stand”.

Two thousand years ago, a courageous young man took a stand by setting out a vision of change that didn’t sit well with the political authorities of his day – he said he wanted to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and to set free those who are downtrodden. It got him executed, but it was a vision that has gripped people and grown ever since and in his name and with his resurrection power, people the world over are working and believing to bring real change.

It’s not a time for the faint-hearted. It’s time for us all to grasp the vision of the young prophet of Israel, to stop sitting on the sidelines and to:

Sing & pray for joy, Holding our hands up and shouting out loud

This world will become one.

Feel the joy – Royal Southern Brotherhood with All Around the World