Chicago Blues CDs

2011 is the centenary of Robert Johnson's birth and in addition it was in 1941 that Muddy Waters first recorded on Stovall's Cotton Plantation in Mississippi. This excellent 2CD compilation traces the impact and influence of the blues on popular music. '100 Years of the Blues' is supported by a r...

Songs of the American labor movement over the 20th century called for just wages, dignity, and a fair shake. They voiced grievances, affirmed the value of the worker to society, and expressed hope for life in a more just world. Classic Labor Songs from Smithsonian Folkways is a collage of these voic...

Seldom equalled and never surpassed, Muddy Waters changed the course of popular music. Beautifully remastered to capture Muddy's intoxicating power, this Rough Guide charts his early career in the Delta and pioneering time in Chicago. Comes with a bonus disc of Blues Legends featuring James Cott...

A true original with cult status, Robert Johnson was arguably the most influential bluesman of them all. Lovingly remastered to give exceptional clarity, this Rough Guide breathes new life into the work of a legend, who defined the blues and planted the seed of rock and roll.    Com...

AA living and dynamic tradition, blues is forged in hard times but powerful enough to bring on the good times. Legends such as Lead Belly, Memphis Slim, Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Cotten, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee, among others formed the "blues backbone" of Folkways Records. This c...

TOMMY CASTRO plays rockin’, blues-infused R&B music fired by his razor-sharp guitar work and urgent vocals. In 18 years and eight releases, he has built a huge live following and amassed over 220,000 Soundscans, with his last release, 2007’s Painkiller, currently over 27,000. HARD BE...

Funk #49 Tend My Garden The Bomber Walk Away Midnight Man Mother Says Turn To Stone Meadows Rocky Mountain Way Help Me Thru The Night Life's Been Good All Night Long The Confessor A Life Of Illusion Ordinary Average Guy

Michael Bloomfield's elegantly fluid (and equally as intense) solo guitar lines made him one of the best electric guitar players of his generation (which included none other than Jimi Hendrix), but his complete contentment at being a sideman on-stage and in the studio means he is often under-recogni...

  One of the great live documents from the blues master  Howlin’ Wolf: Live and Cookin’ at Alice’s Revisited (originally  released on Chess in 1972), the only live album released during his lifetime. The physically imposing and powerfully  voiced Howlin&r...

Gifted American Blues musician Otis Taylor is a master craftsman who has created his own signature "trance blues" style by melding haunting guitar and banjo work, syncopated rhythms and a combination of gruff vocals, shouts and yells with raw passion. Otis Taylor's Contraband is the 9th studio re...