In alt.music.blues kwam ik het volgende lijstje tegen en omdat jullie zo
graag lijstjes lezen wilde ik jullie deze niet onthouden.
Het leuke is dat ik zelf ook een aantal artiesten niet eens ken :-)
Maar het doet me goed dat Ike Turner weer eens in een lijstje staat. De man
heeft toch veel betekend voor de echte R&B.

Frans

cp: Guess Who - American woman

--
"Ze bloes en nozzing but ze bloes"

Top 30 Contemporary Blues Albums 2006

www.bluescritic.com

1. Jackie Payne Steve Edmonson Band "Master Of The Game" (Delta
Groove Prod.)

...This new Delta Groove Productions release, "Master Of The Game", is
the epitome of deep-in-yo-gut Southern Soul, Staxy Funk and raucous
Blues...Jackie Payne does have it (soul)...and in abundance. A
Gospel-hewn, gritty voice that masters both Soul and Blues games.

2. Billy Jones "Tha' Bluez" (Black & Tan)

...14 strong original jams comprise the debut CD for Black & Tan
Records by Delta-based Blues dynamo Billy Jones. Equal parts
Soul-drenched R & B, Funk and Mississippi Blues the immodestly-titled
"Tha Bluez" is one of the biggest surprises of the year for me.

3. Janiva Magness "Do I Move You" (Northern Blues)

...With a powerful voice every bit as good as the more celebrated Susan
Tedeschi, Magness gives it her all on a selection of R & B, Soul &
Blues

4. Eddie Kirkland "Booty Blues" (Hedda)

...Kirkland's Blues all have a hard-to-categorize pulse to them-
ragged, African-flavored, Jamaican born, forceful- with a soulful shout
and unpredictable progression that usually eschews the 12-bar formula.
Open chords, sevenths and disparate tunings don't make for the most
accessible of sounds but his raw emotion and conviction grabs your
attention and won't let go. He's the Ornette Coleman of the Blues
world- elusive, challenging, inventive yet committed to his art form.

5. Frankie Lee "Standing At The Crossroads" (Blues Express)

...with such all star support it's Lee who's the star of the show,
nearly cathartic in his gutbucket outpour of raw emotion on each and
every cut. After twelve impassioned vocals he saves the best for last
in the form of the instant classic "I Ain't Ever Had The Blues (Like
This Before)", augmented by icy organ and a canopy of mournful horns. A
dynamite closer to a heckuva show.

6. Joey Gilmore "The Ghosts Of Mississippi Meet The Gods Of Africa"
(Bluzpik)

...This potent, Soulful set is an inspired session of modern electric
Blues with Soul. Opening with "Ghosts Of Mississippi", a brilliant
piece written by Graham Wood Drout, with Gilmore and band hitting thick
and muscular ala Albert King's "Born Under A Born Sign". Gilmore's
pinched, slightly raspy voice and tart guitar licks get All Star
support

7. Watermelon Slim & The Workers (self titled) (Northern Blues)

...Raggedy, dusty Blues from an ex-truck driver with a Master's Degree
in...you thought I was going to say "in the Blues" or something pithy
like that but the dude really does have a MD in history. Following a
heart-attack in the 90s he decided to pursue the Blues and has turned
out a terrific Country Blues set full of clever lyrics and passion.

8. Ike Turner "Risin' With The Blues" (Zoho Music)

...Turner had already made a mini-comeback in 2001 when his record
"Here And Now" was nominated for a Grammy and scooped up honors from
leading Blues organizations but said record had it's problems (the drum
programming on some tracks was embarrassingly bad) so this new 14-track
effort is his true return to form. It's a musician's feast of tight
rhythm, Soul & style performed by Ike and his "Kings Of Rhythm".

9. Michelle Malone "Sugarfoot" (SBS)

...Malone's rich vocals blew me away on the tender "Beyond The
Mountain" and "Leather Bracelet. Bonnie Raitt you better start sweating
now...she's bursting with attitude and stomping like a prettier Janis
Joplin (sorry Janis)... straight up slide guitar rock that'll "drop you
to your knees"

10. JJ Cale & Eric Clapton "The Road To Escondido" (Reprise)

...The last time Eric Clapton teamed up for a record it sold in excess
of 2 million copies (with B.B. King on "Riding With The
King")...Artistically it's light years ahead of that all Blues project.
"Escondido"s an intoxicating, genre-bending mix of bits of Rock,
Country, Blues and a large measure of Folk.

11. Charlie Musselwhite "Delta Hardware" (Real World)

...A feast for Blues purists "Delta Hardware" is no fuss blue collar
Blues by a legend of Electric Blues harmonica... just raw, primal
boogie, shuffle & a little slow Blues from the real thing.

12. Billy Price "East End Avenue" (Bonedog)

... Pittsburgh, PA's favorite blue-eyed soulman Billy Price has joined
the Bonedog Records stable for the excellent "East End Avenue".
Co-produced by Price and Jeff Ingersoll, the set boasts 14(!) hard
hitting Soul, Blues & R & B numbers lead by a superb group of musicians

13. John Long "Lost & Found" (Delta Groove Productions)

...countrified T-Bone blueser named John Long...one of the finest debut
albums to "suddenly" appear in quite some time. Once you hear "Lost &
Found" you'll think Delta Groove Productions stumbled across some
cousin of T-Bone Walker who'd been in seclusion in some backwoods
shack. This is 100%% pure country blues that's instantly classic but
this record was recorded in a single day in August 2005.

14. Lil' Dave Thompson "Got To Get Over You" (Electro-Fi)

...As a guitar picker Thompson's slightly faster with the fingers than
Albert King; sharper, perhaps not as soulful, but the kind of player
you just sit back and listen to. He dazzles on every track, never
seeming to repeat the same lick. "Got To Get Over You", is more than
just a vehicle for his impressive chops. Produced by Andrew Galloway,
this set features 9 strong Thompson originals plus 1 written by friend
Cheryl Pinkney

15. Trudy Lynn with The Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra "I'm Still Here"
(Sawdust Alley)

...I had the privilege of hearing Rue Davis' songwriting demos so I was
"jazzed", no pun intended, to hear Trudy tear into this fine batch of
songs. There was no "blues orchestra" on them demos so I was a bit
worried what would be the result of this seemingly superfluous
hybrid... they didn't need to be jazzed up with a 24-piece orchestra.
Well, it turned out the new backdrop took this project to another
level! The arrangements are tasteful, not overblown like I feared, and
this is one fantastic band and bandleader (Calvin Owens). As always,
Lynn is a dynamic singer and she hasn't lost a hint of her vocal
prowess.

16. D.C. Bellamy "Give Some Body To Somebody" (Stack House)

...Bellamy has a seriously Funky Soul that pushes these mostly original
cuts beyond the standard competition...Bellamy wrote 8 of the 13 songs
and to my ears has catapulted himself to the upper echelon of Bluesers
today. Get one for yourself and them give somebody "Give Some Body To
Somebody" as a gift!

17. Ronnie Baker Brooks "The Torch" (Watchdog)

...Ronnie Baker Brooks, son of Blues legend Lonnie Brooks, would have
your attention regardless of his lineage. "The Torch" is his third,
most diverse and best record to date...boasts 17 tracks (!) and the
majority of them are keepers. From the sweet, Soulful "Be A Good Man",
manic instrumental "Train" to the machine-gun funk of "Mack Momma".

18. Lynwood Slim "Last Call" (Delta Groove Productions)

...It swings like a gate with jumpin' jive and rootsy
reverence...delightful new release from a cool cat named "Lynwood
Slim". Clean, slick production and a connoisseur's choice of covers
played superbly by vocalist/harpist Slim and Delya Groove allstars Kid
Ramos, Kirk Fletcher, Richard Innes, Jon Bazz et al.

19. Irma Thomas "After The Rain" (Rounder)

...The "Soul Queen Of New Orleans" was gigging in Austin when Hurricane
Katrina hit. This is not a somber elegy to the tragedy but an often
raucous gumbo of Blues/Folk ("Flowers"), Gospel ("I Wish I Knew How It
Would Feel To be Free"), Pop Standards ("Count the Tears") and a hint
of Jazz ("These Honey Dos"). After a six-year hiatus and "after the
rain" Irma Thomas is back as strong and lovely as ever.

20. Dan Treanor & African Wind "Mercy" (Plan-It Prod.)

...African music and rootsy Delta blues power...(Treanor refers) to
McDowell's quote about "natchel blues" because one could miss the fact
that underneath all this adventurous instrumentation it's straight
natural blues. Treanor calls his brand "Afrosippi Blues", which with
little imagination must mean "African Mississippi Blues!"

23. Big Shanty "Ride Like The Wind" (King Mojo)

...Is Big Shanty "the white Jimi Hendrix" with a Neil Young grunge
aesthetic? He certainly is on the anti-war diatribe "Killing
Fields"...Adding "alternative beats", often lazily dubbed Hip Hop, was
a success for R.L. Burnside & Fat Possom Records, but Shanty's use of
funky drumming is fully integrated with the song rather than feeling
like a remix. In a sense he's a Bluesier version of Beck (or perhaps
the other way around).

22. Little Phil "Out Of The Shadows" (Coffeehouse)

...Now he may look a bit like a country singer but "Little Phil" is big
on soul music...Phil sings his heart, nay soul, out with a voice that
reminds me a bit of Don Henley or Joe Walsh singing deep soul... and he
sells it

23. The Calvin Owens Show "Ain't Gonna Be Yo' Dog No Mo" (Sawdust
Alley)

...The working title of this blazing new disc was "Keepin' Big Band
Blues Alive Vol. 2" and I believe this chapter succeeds more so than
the first. Perhaps with a nod to his successful "True Blue" project the
trumpet wizard is accompanied by some heavyweight guests. The
incomparable Trudy Lynn is on board, as are Tommy Castro, Guitar
Shorty, Hamilton Loomis, Jabo The Crown Prince Of Zydeco, David
Maxwell, in addition to Owens' acclaimed 24-piece orchestra.

24. Maria Muldaur "Heart Of Mine: Love Songs Of Bob Dylan" (Telarc)

...Maria Muldaur is a great singer and has a beautiful voice- a
disparate instrument with both childlike charm and enough whisky
weathered weariness to keep it Bluesy. For "Heart Of Mine: Maria
Muldaur Sings The Love Songs Of Bob Dylan" she's created some of the
best Dylan covers to date.

25. Daddy Mack Blues Band "Slow Ride" (Inside Sounds)

...British/American rockers have a long history of borrowing from black
music via the likes of the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton to Led
Zeppelin so why not turn the tables on them? That's the concept on
"Slow Ride" in a nutshell: A Blues band turning white Blues/Rock songs
black...it works surprisingly well

26. Larry McCray "Live On Interstate 75" (Magnolia)

...an opportunity to bring out the best in a performer unrestrained and
unexpurgated... this new live set will make a fan out of anybody that
digs electric Blues- whether the funky, soulful or heavy kind. The 12
tracks play like a "best of" by drawing dynamic portraits of tracks
from each of his 4 records

27. Walter Trout & Friends "Full Circle" (Ruf)

...testosterone-fueled Blues/Rock..."Full Circle", his superstar duets
album, clocked in at #2 on Billboard's Blues chart recently. It's not
that he needed the help but this set boasts some of the leading Blues
artists on the circuit so you get more bang for your Blues.

28. Junior Wells "Live At Theresa's 1975" (Delmark)

..."Live At Theresa's 1975" is a real treasure. An intimate, no-frills
(and definitely no overdubs) set of classic Chicago-style Blues with
all the inbetween song dialogue intact...Wells and the gang are loose
with the lip, the quip and the hip

29. James Hunter "People Gonna Talk" (Rounder)

...Where did this British guy get the temerity to record such a
convincing classic R & B album? 14 original tracks that contemporizes a
classic era unlike few I've heard of late. Hunter, producer Liam Watson
et al heap much TLC to ensure the spirit of retro Soul/Blues here
remains a throwback but still sounds current.

30. Fiona Boyes "Lucky 13" (Yellow Dog)

...Raw-voiced Fiona Boyes may just be the next female Blues rocker to
break on through to bona fide album sales..."Lucky 13", is a
surprisingly eclectic set of Blues, Rock, N'Awlins & Rockabilly