B. B. King “One Kind Favor”
On his new album “One Kind Favor” B. B. King, with help from producer T-Bone Burnett, recaptures the sounds of the late ’40s and early ’50s, with a set of songs from artists who influenced him. The King of the Blues maintains a regal bearing throughout the album “One Kind Favor,” with soulful singing and his classic guitar style, applied with the subtlety of performance that only the greatest masters of an art form can offer.
The Roadhouse 184
This hour of The Roadhouse is chock full of great blues by artists you’ve heard of and artists you haven’t. It’s music from Chicago and Dockery Farms, from St. Louis and Dallas, from the 1920s and 2008. Sometimes the essence of a thing is so clear it needs no further explanation or exploration. That’s the deal in the 184th Roadhouse - it’s blues, unaffected, pure and simple.
Pristine Audio - Old Blues Never Sounded So New
Andrew Rose, a British sound engineer now living in rural France, has applied the most modern technology, and lots of hard work and meticulous attention to detail, to restore the sound of old records. His Pristine Audio label inlcudes remastering of the complete recordings of Robert Johnson, and albums by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, and Tampa Red, as well as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and other jazz artists. This Blues File is a review of some of the blues albums from Pristine Audio, including an audio comparison with an older reissue of a Charley Patton song and some comments from Rose about his work.
Alexis P. Suter Band
A nice video introduction to an artist with amazingly strong pipes and a killer band.
The Roadhouse 183
The 183rd Roadhouse Podcast is an hour of brand new music. Music from the past few months and the months ahead make up a nice snapshot of the state of blues during four months in 2008. The hour includes Walter Horton, Alexis P. Suter Band, Carlos Del Junco, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue, Big Dave [...]
Byther Smith “Blues On The Moon”
Byther Smith’s blues is dark, brooding, and often unsettling. He writes songs by tapping his unconscious mind rather than carefully crafting an idea that’s on his mind at the moment. “Blues On The Moon” is a live album, available both on CD and DVD, that offers Byther’s actual show in Chicago. On some of his out-of-town shows, Smitty uses pick-up bands, and he does blues standards, not his own songs. This album offers the real Byther Smith, with all of his rough edges and contradictions. It’s passionate, and politically incorrect, and not for everyone, but it is deep blues from a man’s soul, unfiltered by polite sensibility.
The Roadhouse 182
We hop on a train in Chicago’s Union Station this week, heading for points west. Crossing through the plains, the mountains and the desert, we arrive at the place where the Pacific meets the land, and blues meets jazz. West Coast blues fill the hour of the 182nd Roadhouse Podcast, with Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, [...]
Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson with Blues Anatomy
A Philadelphia blues band called Blues Anatomy has put out an album called “Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson” that pays tribute to the pioneering blues guitarist. Lonnie Johnson was the first artist to play a guitar solo on a commercial recording. Headed up by guitarist Jef Lee Johnson (no relation to Lonnie), the group offers some innovative new interpretations of some of his great songs.
Muddy & Cotton
True pioneers of Chicago blues - Muddy Waters and James Cotton - performing “Got My Mojo Working” in 1966.
Complete Collection
As noted in the comments on the earlier post about the site index, there was a problem with my archived copy of Roadhouse 012. Thanks to Roadhouse listener Michael, that issue has been resolved. He kindly provided me with his own archived copy of the show this morning, and it’s now available from the show [...]
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