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Snooks Eaglin - New Orleans Street Singer (1959) Expanded Reissue 2005

Posted By: Designol
Snooks Eaglin - New Orleans Street Singer (1959) Expanded Reissue 2005

Snooks Eaglin - New Orleans Street Singer (1959) Expanded Reissue 2005
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 199 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 154 Mb | Scans ~ 33 Mb
Label: Smithsonian Folkways | # SFW CD 40165 | Time: 01:07:31
New Orleans Acoustic Blues, Swamp Blues, Rhythm & Blues

Folkways Records released New Orleans Street Singer in 1959 and the album set the world of folk and acoustic blues fans on fire. Snooks Eaglin was in the early stages of his long R&B career when folklorist Harry Oster heard him playing solo on the streets of the French Quarter. That very recording, presented here with 7 previously unreleased tracks, captured Eaglin's genius and elevated him to the pantheon of eccentric, uncategorizable guitar virtuosos. 32-page booklet.

Taj Mahal - Taj's Blues (1992)

Posted By: Designol
Taj Mahal - Taj's Blues (1992)

Taj Mahal - Taj's Blues (1992)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 297 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 137 Mb | Scans included
Label: Columbia / Legacy | # CCK 52465 | Time: 00:50:40
Contemporary Blues, Electric Country Blues, Folk-Blues

Taj's Blues is an entertainingly diverse record, featuring a variety of blues and roots-music styles, all fused together into a distinctive sound of its own. Half of the album is played on acoustic, the other with an electric band (which includes guitarists Ry Cooder and Jesse Davis on a handful of tracks), which gives a pretty good impression of the range of Mahal's talents. It's a good collection, featuring many of his best performances for Columbia, including "Statesboro Blues" and "Leaving Trunk," as well as the unreleased "East Bay Woman".

Hans Theessink - Lifeline (1998)

Posted By: Designol
Hans Theessink - Lifeline (1998)

Hans Theessink - Lifeline (1998)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 400 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 137 Mb | Scans ~ 180 Mb | 01:00:08
Blues, Roots, Folk Blues, Country Blues | Label: Blue Groove | # BG-9020

From the opening bars of Soul on Fire you could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to a new Ry Cooder album at last but you would be wrong by a windmill or two. Influenced by the likes of Leadbelly and Big Bill Broonzy, Dutch guitarist Hans Theessink (pronounced "tay-sink") successfully moves across musical borders with ease on his 15th album. Lifeline is just the right mixture of deftly played acoustic blues, gospel and soul channelled into a union that highlights the diversity and durability of roots music at it's best with guests like Charles Brown and The Holmes Brothers. There are 11 excellent original tracks to soak up, as well as covers of Rev Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, and the Neville Brothers. A rare treat!

Lead Belly - Bridging Lead Belly (1999)

Posted By: Designol
Lead Belly - Bridging Lead Belly (1999)

Lead Belly - Bridging Lead Belly (1999)
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 167 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 101 Mb | Scans included
Label: Rounder Select | # CD 1151 | Time: 00:41:41
Oldies, Folk-Blues, Country Blues, Acoustic Blues

Bridging Lead Belly connects two Leadbelly recording sessions. The first is 12 tracks recorded for the BBC in 1938. The final five selections come from a 1946 live recording. Leadbelly is a master of the acoustic country-blues. We hear this on the yodeling of "I'm Goin' Mother" that he shares the same roots with another rural tradition, that of the "singing cowboy." Beside such melancholy ballads, there are hearty tracks full of pep such as "Boll Weevil" and "(Baby) Take a Whiff on Me." The live recording is from a house party. A real gem in this section is "Frankie and Albert." Here Leadbelly elaborates to great length on the relationship. He does this – to the point where it becomes part soap opera and part social drama – of these two mythical figures of the blues.

John Martyn - The Island Years (2013) 17 CD Box Set

Posted By: Designol
John Martyn - The Island Years (2013) 17 CD Box Set

John Martyn - The Island Years (2013) 17 CD Box Set
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 5.98 Gb | Scans ~ 891 Mb
Label: Universal-Island | # 374 228-8 | Time: 19:46:03
Singer/Songwriter, British Folk, Psychedelic, Folk-Rock, Folk Jazz, Guitar Virtuoso

The Island Years is the most exhaustive career retrospective from one of Britain’s most original and enduring singer/songwriters. Housed in an LP size hard-back slip case, this lavish box set including: 17 CDs featuring 12 key studio albums, recorded for Island between 1967 and 1987, now with previously unreleased mixes, Out-Takes, unheard songs and 2 complete, previously unreleased live solo concerts from 1972 and 1977 and the complete demos for The Apprentice, the last album Martyn delivered to Island. A hard-back book featuring a new essay by The Island Years compiler and researcher John Hillarby plus rare and previously unseen photographs and extensive memorabilia.

VA - Newport Folk Festival: Best Of The Blues 1959-68 (2001) 3CD Set

Posted By: Designol
VA - Newport Folk Festival: Best Of The Blues 1959-68 (2001) 3CD Set

VA - Newport Folk Festival: Best Of The Blues 1959-68 (2001) 3CD Set
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 874 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 395 Mb | Scans ~ 35 Mb | 02:52:09
Acoustic Blues, Delta Blues, Country Blues, Folk-Blues | Label: Vanguard | # 193/95-2

This three-CD set documents some historic country-blues performances by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Mance Lipscomb. The urban side of things is well represented by Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters with Otis Spann, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The Chambers Brothers turning in a riveting rendition of “See See Rider.” Included here are 11 previously unreleased tracks. A must for acoustic-blues fans.

Guy Davis - Sweetheart Like You (2009)

Posted By: Designol
Guy Davis - Sweetheart Like You (2009)

Guy Davis - Sweetheart Like You (2009)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 380 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 176 Mb | Included | 01:02:31
Modern Acoustic Blues, Folk Blues, Country Blues | Label: Red House | # RHR CD 211

Guy Davis continues to explore the almost forgotten territory of acoustic African-American folk music, field hollers, shouts, rags, and gospel songs in a style that predates the blues and has much in common with the white Appalachian music that existed until the record companies separated it into race and hillbilly music. "Slow Motion Daddy" is a salacious ragtime original with a syncopated rhythm that recalls Rev. Gary Davis and Willie McTell. Davis plays banjo and harmonica and hams it up giving the performance a sly humor. "Follow Me Down" is a 12-string guitar showcase that pays homage to Leadbelly's "Mr. Tom Hughes' Town" a tale of racism and high life in the big city. Nerak Patterson adds electric guitar to a cover of "Hoochie Coochie Man" in an arrangement that crosses the Delta with South Side Chi town. Davis delivers the tune with a growling sexuality and leaves Patterson room for a tasty solo. "Can't Be Satisfied" is another Muddy Waters' tune, this time played claw hammer style on the banjo, with Davis adding harmonica and delivering another playful vocal.

VA - The Original American Folk Blues Festival '1962 (1963) CD Reissue 1991

Posted By: Designol
VA - The Original American Folk Blues Festival '1962 (1963) CD Reissue 1991

VA - The Original American Folk Blues Festival '1962 (1963) CD Reissue 1991
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 255 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 112 Mb
Label: Polydor | # 825 502-2 | Time: 00:49:12 | Scans ~ 66 Mb
Blues, Folk-Blues, Country-Blues, Delta Blues

Recorded live in a studio in Hamburg, Germany, in October 1962. Includes artists involved with that year's American Folk Blues Festival tour. With generally relaxed and reflective performances. The artists include Memphis Slim, T-Bone Walker, Shakey Jake, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and John Lee Hooker.

Guy Davis - Skunkmello (2006)

Posted By: Designol
Guy Davis - Skunkmello (2006)

Guy Davis - Skunkmello (2006)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 382 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 151 Mb | Scans ~ 118 Mb
Label: Red House Records | # RHR CD 192 | Time: 01:05:38
Contemporary Blues, Folk-Blues, Soul-Blues

Guy Davis is a smart singer/arranger, having realized sometime back that the blues world encompassed more than electric Chicago bands and Delta-style soloists. On Skunkmello, he finds joy in moving from style to style, and even improvising by throwing several things into the mix to see what will happen. The collection kicks off with two covers, the first a rewritten version of "Natural Born Eastman" followed by a take on "Goin' Down Slow." The first moves at a brisk pace, fired by Davis' gruff vocal and backed by a spry acoustic mix, while the latter delves deeply into electric barroom blues. There's fancy claw-hammer banjo on "Shaky Pudding," and banjo blues on the lazy "Po' Boy, Great Long Ways from Home." To the average blues fan, this eclectic approach adds variety and keeps the collection intriguing from beginning to the end.

Chris Smither - It Ain't Easy (1984) Extended Reissue 1989

Posted By: Designol
Chris Smither - It Ain't Easy (1984) Extended Reissue 1989

Chris Smither - It Ain't Easy (1984) Extended Reissue 1989
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 217 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 110 Mb | Scans included
Blues, Folk, Folk-Rock, Blues-Rock | Label: Genes/Adelphi | # GCD 1031 | 00:40:09

Following two releases for Poppy Records in the early '70s, as well as a third recording that never saw the light of day, Chris Smither finally returned in 1984 with It Ain't Easy. Armed simply with guitar and voice, Smither delivers a dozen tunes (14 on the CD reissue) that embody the best tradition of blues and folk. Whether it's his originals, a standard like "Glory of Love," or material by the likes of Randy Newman, Chuck Berry, Mississippi John Hurt, and Howlin' Wolf, Smither infuses every track with the same timeless quality. Though he may, on occasion, choose rather standard folk, blues, and rock & roll fare ("Green Rocky Road," "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Maybelline") Smither never treats the songs as if they were museum pieces. In his hands, they're given a life and vitality they probably haven't seen in years. His masterful guitar work and dark, resonant baritone are ideally suited to the songs on It Ain't Easy. Like Mississippi John Hurt or Reverend Gary Davis, his playing is that perfect combination of simplicity and sophistication, discovering and filling harmonic voids without ever overstating or wasting a single note. There's not a false moment on the entire record. Highly recommended. (AMG)

John Lee Hooker - The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (1959) Remastered Reissue 1991

Posted By: Designol
John Lee Hooker - The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (1959) Remastered Reissue 1991

John Lee Hooker - The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (1959) Reissue 1991
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 235 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 109 Mb | Scans included
Label: Original Blues Classics/Riverside | # OBCCD-542-2 (RLP-838) | Time: 00:42:48
Country Blues, Acoustic Delta Blues, Folk Blues

In 1959, John Lee Hooker signed a one-off deal with the Riverside label to record an acoustic session of the country blues. It was a key change from his earlier recordings, most of which had featured Hooker on an electric guitar with his trademark reverb and stomping foot. Folk purists of the day were delighted with COUNTRY BLUES, believing Hooker had returned to his roots, leaving the "glitzy commercialism" of R&B behind. But some Hooker fans considered COUNTRY BLUES a "betrayal" of his true sound.

Ray Bonneville - Goin' By Feel (2007)

Posted By: Designol
Ray Bonneville - Goin' By Feel (2007)

Ray Bonneville - Goin' By Feel (2007)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 293 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 112 Mb | Scans ~ 66 Mb
Label: Red House Records Inc. | # RHR CD 206 | Time: 00:49:04
Singer/Songwriter, Folk-Blues, Country Blues, Americana, Folk-Rock

Ray Bonneville's unique musical artistry is a blend of funky, foot-stomping tunes framing rich story-songs, anchored by his smoldering guitar and harmonica talents. The infectiously groove-laden GOIN BY FEEL finds Bonneville stretching into new territory with gritty production and raw Americana instrumentation in a sonic masterwork featuring the finest writing of his career.

Lead Belly - The Definitive Lead Belly (2008) 2CDs

Posted By: Designol
Lead Belly - The Definitive Lead Belly (2008) 2CDs

Lead Belly - The Definitive Lead Belly (2008) 2CDs
EAC | FLAC | Tracks (Cue&Log) ~ 522 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 334 Mb | Scans ~ 34 Mb | 02:26:13
Folk-Blues, Country Blues, Acoustic Blues | Label: Not Now Music | # NOT2CD261

Incalculably influential folk and blues master and ground zero for much of the American folksong canon. A 'Definitive' collection of Lead Belly's finest recordings. All the big songs are here, including "Goodnight Irene", "Midnight Special", "In New Orleans (House Of The Rising Sun)", "Rock Island Line" and many more. All recordings have been digitally re-mastered.

Guy Davis - Chocolate To The Bone (2003)

Posted By: Designol
Guy Davis - Chocolate To The Bone (2003)

Guy Davis - Chocolate To The Bone (2003)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 272 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 115 Mb | Scans ~ 113 Mb
Label: Red House Records | # RHR CD 164 | Time: 00:49:44
Blues, Modern Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Folk-Blues

With each new release, the clothes of an old bluesman fit Guy Davis more and more comfortably. By now the blues are completely a part of who he is, so when he reworks an old Sleepy John Estes song into the opener, "Limetown," it feels completely natural; even with the familiar "Rollin' And Tumblin'" riff. He mixes it up well between covers and originals, taking in quite a range – there's John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, and Blind Lemon Jefferson all sitting amicably together in his style; as well as some pieces like "Step It Up And Go" that are just plain old. His own material is less familiar, of course, but just as good, with the careful (if not wholly accurate) patina of age about it. Perhaps the best thing about Davis is that he never tries to be something he's not; there's no fake Southern accent. What you hear is what you get. And while he's hardly the guitar genius that Charley Patton and Robert Johnson were, he's more than adequate, and his excellent band backs him up solidly and subtly, never stepping out too far. There's plenty of talent in Davis, but there's also an obvious and deep love for the blues, especially the rural country blues, and he brings to his music a real timelessness. The man just keeps getting better and better.

Guy Davis - Give In Kind (2002)

Posted By: Designol
Guy Davis - Give In Kind (2002)

Guy Davis - Give In Kind (2002)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue&Log) ~ 348 Mb | Mp3 (CBR320) ~ 135 Mb | Scans ~ 86 Mb
Label: Red House Records | # RHR CD 161 | Time: 00:58:39
Modern Acoustic Blues, Country-Blues, Folk-Blues

Guy Davis has developed into a consummate bluesman. He's listened hard to classic Delta blues and based his style on it, without ever becoming a carbon copy of the greats. Instead they're his jumping-off point into something as individual as "Layla, Layla," where didgeridoo makes an appearance, or the poignant "Joppatowne." Equally adept on guitar, banjo, and harmonica, he's become a force of nature, with the ability to write a song like "I Don't Know" that sounds as if it had come directly from the '30s, alongside covers of Fred McDowell, Big Bill Broonzy, and Sleepy John Estes. The originals and older work mesh perfectly, the sign of a real bluesman. And, of course, he's capable of working the other side of the coin to blues, in gospel, as the closer, "God's Unchanging Hand," clearly shows. This is the tradition reborn and revitalized. Davis' support is wonderfully sympathetic, but he's completely at the center of things, the motivator and mover of this music, and a purveyor of the real blues. His lineage is obvious, and he's the new generation, doing it right and keeping it real.