It's exactly that, A Fine Day. Kinda like theose first days of Spring, people finally leave their houses and shake out the Winter Blues. Great to hear at a club and dance to. The epitome of house breaks.

From a career supplying funky/hunky, cheezy/sleazy grooves to a series of late Sixties/early Seventies German soft-core flicks, Gert recently apeared on "Eurotrash"...perfect music for when you're feeling a little "saucy", in the European parlance.

Guitar strummin', laid back tune from Fran�oise Hardy. Cool, bluesy.

Stinging instrumental version of James Brown's "I Feel Good". Earl is a great blues guitarist and the band is tight.

Sun Ra does a kind of classically themed mambo blues thing here. Great stinging guitar work, mambo (cha cha) beat and then he launches into classical themes on organ. Not as wierd as it soungs - it all works perfectly.

A very tasty and rather 'European-sounding' cover of the 1967's psyche-jazz Tom Scott's original from the well-known session percussionist-vibraphonist Emil Richards. Although it comes in a compilation of Emil's best late 60s latin-jazz recordings (interestingly, not a single horn instrument is used in the whole set!), this is an energetic percussive jazz-rock piece, with great vibraphone and bells(!) solos.

Firstly, John Cash is a god! This is the first song of his that really grabbed me. He has a real sorrow in his voice that rings true when he sings about people being hung for murder and such.

featured on the albumn Folsom Prison Blues which is one of the best things you can buy, regardless of weather you're a country fan or not

Here is another lush ballad by the Moody Blues frontman. A fantastic single from the Moving Mountains cd.

A foray into blues and r&b from a neo-Mod group.

Classic blues-progression, considered one of the first and finest Blues-rock intrumentals. Please ingore the indulgent Gary Moore version.

Finest cover of a Delta-blues track by heavy blues band. Pounding and relentless, and retains a semblance of delta-mississippi feel.

Find the original too! The lyrics are very interesting.

The most eeire, scary and downright supernatural blues track ever recorded. Robert Johnson's vocal style sends shivers down anyone's back on the first, and repeat, hearings of this masterpiece.

Take time and notice the evidence of Hoodoo pratice in lyrics (hot foot powder) and a brief history of a failed relationship once believed to have been Robert Johnsons...

Introduction to post-war Chicago Piano Blues, by its master Otis Spann. The piano-work on this track in particular is extremely impressive and follows a wonderfully flowing blues / r&b pattern.

Early urban blues from the master of all that is politically incorrect (listen to his lyrics on most tracks regarding women). Recorded as a tribute to a friend, full recording has a 3 minute rant by Blind Willie recounting the story of writing this, andsinging it at a friend's funeral. The finest early urban blues track - playful chord progression and a perfectly sophisticated urban take on his normal country blues output. Sharp lyrics are a joy to listen to.

Despite the vocal style of James (not appreciated by myself) this track is a true masterpiece - listful, solemn and mysterious. Numerous good covers inc. Kelly Joe Phelps, & Chris Thomas King (O Brother Where art thou). The original's guitarwork is superior to other versions - sparse and perfectly timed. However Phelps has, in my oppinion, a more appripraite voice for the track.

The first proto-heavy metal band and a direct link between metal and blues. Heavy driven blues. Free sound extremely sparse compared with similar bands and this is part of their appeal.

Cheesy beyond all belief, but one of the cutest tracks you could get from a band like Screeching Weasel. Lifting part of its chorus from the Flintstones, of all things, it encourages you to "let the sun shine in, and chase away your blues because smilers never lose and frowners never win". The elements differentiating it from the cartoon might make a big difference though. For instance, this track uses curse words and is seemingly directed towards a prostitute or rape victim.

For the Flintstones reference and everything, one might assume that this is a throwaway, jokey type track, but it's not. It's sung totally heartfelt, and the beat is killer.

Recommended for: punk fans with a soft side

"Marjorie's wingspan is made up of coke cans, tv dinners and letters she won't send."

Love the piano sound - great lyrics

Nigerian blues roots music that is great for anyone chillout

Really good song not a genre i usually listen to found it on the soundtrack for a game called "borderlands"

My fav beck song, bluesy/western feel

evolving blues, warms the soul.

Real southern American blues. You can really tell how deep the roots go.

newer song by Tom Petty but it sounds just like his classic hits with the heartbreakers. more of a blues/rock feel

Beetles and eggs and blues and pour a little everything else...

The arrangement in this song is perfection. Everything fits together so well but it all stands out in its own turn. Also, the lyrics are superb:

I was raised up believing I was somehow unique/
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes; unique in each way you can see/
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be/
a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me

Soulful and Bluesy with a punk edge.

Bessie Smith - here is a real woman, not an Allie McBeal stick-insect, but the type of woman that makes you want to throw back your head and howl like a Coyote. Bessie vibrates in places that most women don't even have places, and every man who hears her is transfixed.
She doesn't need to use any siren-like feminine wiles. This is the kind of woman who makes you feel glad to be alive. Mae West eat your heart out!

From the driving introductory rhythm to when Bessie bellows "If I call three times a day,
Come and drive my blues away,
When you come, be ready to play,
Do your duty" you know exactly where you are.

So sit back and close your eyes, grab the oxygen and slip back to late 1933 ................

Talk about double entendre! Quite possibly the best song ever to use fried chicken as a euphemism for sex with an underage girl. An excellent example of mid-40s rhythm & blues...the entire compilation is highly recommended.

Dinah Washington was known as "queen of the blues" but she also had a great flare for jazz singing. This is a remarkable example of her phrasing ability and exquisite style. Quincy Jones' genius shines in his musical arrangement and orchestral conduction.

This is one of my favourite Elvis songs. Its very blue-sy but not at all downbeat. Its got the swagger that he has on his late '50s - early '60s records.

A slow modal jazz blues from the record that defined modal jazz.
Miles - Trumpet
Julian "Cannonball" Adderly - Alto Sax
John Coltrane - Tenor Sax
Bill Evans - Piano
Paul Chambers - Bass
Jimmy Cobb - Drums
Like allways with Miles all musicians are outstanding. The modal form - in short very few chords and more based on notes in scales - whas new and fresh so the musicians had to be very creative and innovative. And They Succeded in making some of the best music ever created.

Wonderful arrangement with lush string backing, great tune and sentiment, beautifully delivered, even a beautiful recording...just the blues exactly the way I like to hear it.

From an excellent early hi-fi album, this is a hilarious slow blues number in which Alvino makes his steel guitar talk. In fact, he has a conversation with it. In spite of what you might think, this actually stands up to repeated listening, unlike the 'Talking Guitar' records made later in the sixties by Pete Drake, which I find harder to handle. Incidentally, I've never heard an Alvino Rey record I wasn't astounded by.

Maybe it's just me getting older, but I lap this kinda stuff up these days. I can't get enough of ol' style R&B, jump blues or a song like this: swingin', heartbreaking and outstandingly sung by a woman who is undeservedly just a footnote in musical history.

Ernestine (who sometimes recorded under the name Annisteen) works her smooth chords to a blues vocal with light jazzy backing. Almost Peggy Lee like in places, but with the benefit of King Curtis' sax and an amazing rhythm section that Ernestine obviously connects with.

The lyrics are beautiful, too: "You cry so hard, you cry like you never cried before; you moan and you groan so sad, you give the blues to your neighbour next door."

A beautiful Mancini piece from one of his best-known soundtracks that I had somehow managed to neglect completely. The Pink Panther was never at the top of my wish-list, but after picking up the CD last week for a mere 50p, I was very impressed. The score utilizes the accordian slightly more than I would have liked, but has some fantastic textured tracks, such as this one.

The track opens with a 'Blues in the night' style riff on the piano. The lead is then taken by a blistering muted trumpet sound. I've always thought of Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks work as being heavily Mancini-influenced, but that link has never been more clear to me than on this track, which has a similar moody tone to some of the best tracks on the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me soundtrack. The classic Mancini string sound is also in evidence, as well as a gentle wordless chorus. About half-way through, legendary tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson takes up the melody. The dreaded accordian gets a brief look-in before the track concludes with some more riffing on the trumpet. Fantastic stuff; Mancini really was an inspirational arranger.

The album title is a bit of a misnomer; Muddy Waters is a gin-you-wine Blues singer, and "My John the Conqueror Root" is a triumphant Blues song. Here Muddy Waters describes his "root" as a source of confidence, power, and I think mojo. Kinda makes me wonder what he means by "root"... In any case, put this song on when you need to look hard-times straight in the eye and go'n wit yo' bad self!

Cass Elliott at her sassy best. A jazzy/bluesy song wherein Ms. Elliott lays it on the line. If her man doesn't do right by her she is going to send him packing!
This world is a slightly dimmer place since Cass departed...

A powerful, emotional, sophisticated song, the kind that Brit-girl Julie does the best. Without resorting to mawkish affectation, the sheer hush and force of her voice can make tears well up. This was her final single for the Pye label, and a fitting tribute to one of the most consistantly good careers of all the 60's UK female singers.

"The Witch" was the Sonics' debut single, released on Etiquette, the Tacoma, WA-based label owned and operated by local hero Buck Ormsby, member of garage rock pioneers the Wailers, who are known for unearthing the obscure R&B song "Louie, Louie." Reworking the tunes of Little Richard and Bo Diddley, the Sonics worked the local teen-hop circuit as a rock & roll cover band until eventually coming up with some original material with "The Witch" and what would become the flip side to the single, "Psycho." After revamping the lineup, taking on various members of the Searchers, Gerry Roslie commandeered the vocal duties with a bracing blues shouter style that would become the group's trademark. "The Witch," roughly recorded in mono, is a brooding rocker based around a revved-up blues progression with quivering guitar and a basic sax line holding down a simple riff, drums kicking away in the background. Roslie belts his cautionary tale, sagely advising all to steer clear of "evil chicks," with vocal-chord-shredding wails: "So you know the little girl/Who's new in town/Well you better watch out now/Or she'll put you down/'Cause she's an evil chick/Say, she's the witch, oww!" The band barrels on, lacking any semblance of finesse, stomping into a tempo shift and doubling the speed as Roslie howls, "Well she walks around/Late at night/Most other people sleepin' tight/If you hear her knockin' on your door/You better say get away/Wha whoo!" Guitarist Andy Parypa lets loose a note-stumbling guitar solo in a style similar to Dave Davies of the the Kinks. "The Witch" would become a regional hit, receiving extensive airplay on the powerful Seattle AM station KJR, but the Sonics would never break nationally, most of the country not yet ready for the extremely aggressive attach of the group's rough-and-tumble music.
(AMG)

The 1966-original of this great raw soul tune from a much underrated blues/rnb singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. That's a smoking song, an underground rare-groove hit with many known djs in the scene; also covered in a great psyche-funk way by an unknown Silky Spearman (appearing in a Counterpoint compilation).

Just a great slow blues. Ellington - what a pianist! 1966 - what a great year!

the song is live at the monterey pop festival. it is one of the cleanest, tightest, most rippin' songs i've ever heard from the jimi hendrix experience. one of the best classic rock guitar songs.

Original member Syd Barrett wrote this about a cross-dresser named "Arnold Layne" who used to steal bras and panties from clotheslines in Cambridge, England. The song has a Blues sound which the band was known for.

Slow but haunting and bluesy tune about a gal dying from lung disease

A very cool track, but not in the way I normally find Walter Wanderley's quick-draw hammond organ technique cool. This is a simple, bluesey number on which he is joined by the Brazilian singer Luiz Henrique. Luiz doesn't sing though, he just contributes some nice scat vocals, rather like the work Marcos Valle does on 'Garra'. In my experience, this is about as close as Walter gets to 'funky', and this version from the 'Popcorn' album is a great improvement from the 1967 'Kee-ka-roo' LP version.

A near-perfect take on this classic song. Ronnie dispenses with vocals, instead building a beautiful mood with some great strings, a relentless beat and percussive guitar. The bluesey melody is carried delicately by the piano. I'm not really getting it across here, but the track is astounding - astonishingly addictive and well recorded, building wonderfully to a warm and incredibly groovy climax.

Another amazing version of this fantastic tune. This features several very different-sounding multitracked guitars, and really is quite astounding. It feels very short at a little under 2 and a half minutes. The opening features an acoustic guitar playing a wonderfully delicate and precise rhythm, accompanied by a nice wall of strings and electric guitar hits. A twangy picked guitar plays the melody, building gradually for about a minute.

The track then explodes into a quite amazing sequence, in which a dirty-sounding fuzz guitar picks out a bassline while a manic and jazzy improvised guitar solo moves around over the top and the strings maintain some solid bluesey chords. The sound is extremely funky, and vaguely reminiscent of some tracks from the late 60s 101 strings album 'Astro Sounds from beyond the year 2000', but ends up being more tasteful. Pure genius!

A wonderful track. As you may have read elsewhere, Wendy and Bonnie were young sisters who wound up releasing an album on the Skye label, which was owned by Cal Tjader, Gary MacFarland and Gabor Szabo. This recording benefits from some superb session musician work, and opens with a bluesey riff. The arrangement is simple, with a haunting organ joining the guitar and drums, and the Wendy and Bonnie singing and occasionally harmonizing over the top. The voices are clear and carry the melody very well. This short song has a rather enchanting moody feel to it, exemplified by the fade-out ending. The mix of earnest female vocals and great session musicians recalls the Feminine Complex.

Regular visitors to this site will know I'm partial to this song and to the era of this recording. But nothing could have prepared me for the mind-blowing grooviness this Petula Clark version from 1968. It has a 'slightly too slow to dance to' funkiness, kind of like the tastiest version of 'Watermelon man' you ever heard. The arrangement has piano, bouncy drums, peppy brass, flutes, and to top it all, some beautiful strings adding some complexity to what is basically a simple bluesy composition.

Isn't it great when you come across a track and just think 'this is the best thing ever'?

The entire CD is great - 28 of Petula's grooviest tracks. I recommend it!

A nice funky instrumental with simple blues chords. Ramsey plays electric piano, and the beat is sweet, like a lot of Cadet label stuff from the late 60s. Groovy stuff, and quite easy to come by on the reissue 2 LP - 'Inside Ramsey Lewis'.

An amazing, slow, funky cover of William Bell's classic electric blues. The whole thing serves as a great reminder of how instrumental the rhythm section of Al Jackson, Jr. & Duck Dunn was to "the Memphis Sound".

Groovy! groovy! This is one of the better versions of Tom Scott's indo-jazz swinger, and has been compiled a lot over the years. It has this great buzzy sitar played by Bill Plummer, and some sweet flute by Ira Schulman, who's presence on the album just sets the whole thing off! Dave Mackay's the blind pianist behind a lot of great west coast jazz like Don Ellis & Emil Richards, and his touch is just effortless. The two harmonize on the best tracks, like this one, sounding an awful lot like Jackie & Roy at times! Also, Vicky does a great Gismonti-inspired piece called "Moon Rider" and there's a version of Mackay's moody "Here" that's just sublime. A winner all the way, and must for J&R fans for sure.

Superb slow blues. Nice arrangement blending a rather distant-sounding orchestra with the very precise, restrained (yet very expressive) vocal and guitar. Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green were really quite something.

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin played on 3 tracks of Joe Cocker's 1st album. This is an old song which has been slowed down and Page's guitar work is really decent on this track. Cocker's voice (he was touted as the best blues singer in UK at that time by Eric Clapton)is pristine. Also check out "Sandpaper Cadillac" and "Do I Still Figure in Your Life" as well!

Not usually a great folk lover but this has such a beauty to it. In terms of texture its flawless, swinging between the fluctuating notes of Dobson and two guitars. A very pure sound darkened in a positive way by Dobson's lyrical treatments.

Certainly one to put on if you wake up in the middle of the night.

Here's Mancini at his moodiest, really digging deep for an eastern-meets-baroque vibe. With banks of silky brass, dreamy flute, harpsichord and marimba! Such a master of color and image, right down to the gong strike at the end, fabulous! Part of an often overlooked LP that details sides he recorded during some of his famous soundtrack sessions, utilizing the talents of his many players at the time. A must for the Man-fan!

A simple blues/funk instrumental with a fuzzy bassline and an incredibly infectuous groove. It's short and sweet, and the drum sound super fresh and funky. This is typical of Pete Moore, who made some incredibly cool records in the easy-funk vein, which are rarely seen outside his native UK.

Al Cooper is a great overlooked songwriter.His album,Easy Does It,is a double length tour de force.He wrote more than half the tunes for this double LP,and played a myriad of instruments as well!This one is my favorite right now, mainly because it mixes well with my miserable winter. Instumentally, it has a sort of"Indo-blues"quality, with sitar(played by Mr. Cooper himself) and tablas against a lilting string ensemble.It's a song of lost love and it's dreaded illumination:"...As the sun it slowly rises, there is judgement in it's glare/And it seems too much to ask, to light a face that isn't there..." A real treat of a tune, and a must for any fans of american songwriter stuff with a touch of sad humor.Also check out his sprawling version of the Big Joe Williams tune "Baby Please Don't Go" and another original,"She Gets Me Where I Live".

Taut and elegant. A cut above most of the progressive teapot folk-rock of the era. Broadcast and Stereolab fans - or those who think all this stuff is a mix of dull traditional tunes and clodhopping blues guitar - should give "On The Shore" a listen.

so politely rocking, monster riff.

These days van the man seems merely content going down the pub and making up another zzzz soul blues jam that makes him dream of his younger days. But boy did he make music once ! Especially this hidden gem of blue eyed soul with a dash of that brown eyed girl melody he does so well. Perfect for escaping a grey november day .

The soundtrack to november. This or any other year. Brazilian Jose Mauro only made one album before the brazilian military or drugs (info anyone ?)pulled him in but me oh my how beautful that record is.
If there could be such a thing as bossanova-blues than Jose Mauros "obnoxius" is the blueprint. Joses songs which comes along like a blend of early milton nascimento with doses of Marcos Valle and Edu Lobo. The album was arranged by gaya and is filled with wonderful string arrangements. One modern reference would be another Jose,namely,the swedish indietroubadour Jose Gonzales. The highlight of the album comes at the end, Excaltacao e lamento..,which sends shivers down my spine everytime i hear it.

If you like psychedelic like Jimi Hendrix o Janis Joplin, you must liten to Aguaturbia the greatest psychedelic band from Chile, a real nice distortion, folk sounds, blues, crazy to the max! the real deal when you want to talk about south american psychedelic.
Totally recommenden for having a great time.

The first track on the seminal 'Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse' LP McDaniels cut in 1971 is the most furious and energetic of the album. Spiritual afro-soul-rock with a politically aware attitude. A very 'dirty' psychedelic electric bass guitar with a top-class drummer (Alphonse Mouzon) comprise a hard-hitting rhythm section to remember. I prefer this very bluesy track over the more obvious selections from this top-notch release, e.g. the haunting Jagger the Dagger, and Freedom Death Dance.

anyone who loves emotional songwriting with inspired lyrics will be blown away by this song, one of the best i've ever heard.

A very neatly-executed bluesy number of considerable sophistication. I prefer it to anything on "Crime of the Century" and to many of their more famous songs. Please note that the heavily-tattooed breasts that adorn the front cover of the album have never held any great personal appeal for me. Your mileage may differ.

Really suprised to see this one in a thrift store recently. I was taken back by the bad cover photo of some blue cheese in tin foil with saltines and a bottle of wine.(?) Anyway, the music is fantastic, much in the vein of Jobim's CTI work from the same period. This piece grooves almost more in a Deodato way, with a nice funky nocturnal jazz bite. Nice to see the gap close on the years between his Bossa Rio stint and the records he did for Discovery.

Strangely enough it was recorded in Minneapolis MN while he was living there. On the RCA subsidary Daybreak.

rhythm and blues, rock, soul and funk. Just a fantastic song which really has to be listened to, rather than explained.

Bluesy guitar and piano

After he Moody Blues released "Seventh Sojourn" late in 1972, they took a hiatus during which each of them released at least one solo LP, and Hayward and Lodge collaborated on "Blue Jays". By this time the mellotron had been put out to pasture permanently with the departure of keyboard player and 'tron expert Mike Pinder; as a fan of their late'60s - early '70s style I regard this as mostly unfortunate, but most of the solo LPs contained some superbly orchestrated material like this song, which really is glorious! All manner of strings, horns, and flute (not by Ray Thomas, I don't think) combine to make this one of the best-arranged songs in rock history. Moodies veteran producer Tony Clarke did the honours here, although he didn't last beyond 1978's "Octave", which coincidentally (or not?) was their last really good LP!

John Lodge's "Natural Avenue" was overall the best of the Moody Blues' solo ventures of the mid-1970s, being almost up there with the "Blue Jays" effort on which he collaborated with the band's guitarist Justin Hayward (whose own solo LP "Songwriter" was the biggest disappointment of the lot). This track has a wonderfully exotic feel to it, what with lyrics like "Show me your island of a thousand names" as well as orchestration including strings, oboe and bassoon, and some kind of bubbling thingy which may be a synthesizer. On a darker note, some of the other lyrics seem to indicate the alleviation of an addiction to certain substances, e.g. "Paint all the clouds the colour of 'No'" and "Gone is the white horse that carried us home", but hell, every band was addicted to stuff back then and I'm happy that 99% of them seem to have survived intact. Anyway, it's a lovely exotic song that if you haven't heard it, it's about time you did!

On "Aja", Donald and Walter reached the zenith of their perfection, with an unsurpassed attention to sonic detail and texture. In fact, the recording of these 40 minutes of music took them about a year of studio work. They assembled an incredible array of the finest session musicians around at the time, creating 7 timeless tracks of jazz-rock fusion, impeccably engineered and produced by Roger Nichols (this is the other Roger Nichols!) and Gary Katz. "Deacon Blues" is certainly one of the most heartfelt, mellow tracks they ever created. It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly effortless they create this elegance in the harmonies and chord progressions.

I'm a sucker for soft lilting melodies, and I have to say, Justin Hayward always delivers on that. This song is just beautiful with lyrics that go "Time waits for no one at all, no not even you..Don't leave me driftwood on the shore" You get transported to some mythical time and place, that only Hayward can take you too.

Meeeeoooow!! Geez... This song is mad-mad-mad! Everone makes a big deal about E.V.A., but for my money, this is the track on the album that makes the most of the MOOG. It's just soo wild! It's like somebody gave The Shadows a couple of Mini Moogs and they just jacked-in with this crazy spy-blues groove! People like Perrey & Gershon Kingsley did more with those instruments in the first few years of their existence than anyone else did in the 30 years following.... Barbaric!!

Usually I'm bored to tears with Mr. Muriat's over the top orchestral take on stuff... but this track is a total exception. Starts out with this reeling Beethovenesque orchestral intro, and then lays flat into this funky latin workout, almost in a Deodato meets Zarathustra way. Really nuts. Just a great dancefloor track for loungecore types.

A fantastic 8 minute epic from Pete Wylie's overlooked Wah! As part of the crucial three (along with Julian Cope and Ian McCulloch) Wylie deserved to be a superstar, but, alas, fate conspired agaist him. This is the best song in a strong back catalogue, the final four minutes containing some of the most inspiring lyrics in pop history.

A beautiful love song by Justin Hayward, who has the sweetest most romantic voice in Pop Music.

King's X is my favorite hard rock band by far. This song is on Faith Hope & Love, a very psychedelic record with a sound different from their others. They must have had the fairy dust going on at the recording sessions for this album because the sound is just beyond bluesy and groovy. The guitar just sounds...slinky! that's the word. Slink and snaky and dark. Their harmonies are a wonder to behold as usual, and the lyrics are mystical and weird.

Wonderfully melodic virtuoso blues guitar work. Minor key tonality. As usual on Gary's tracks, the vocals are rather dwarfed by the over top magnificence of his guitar playing.

Holly's always been prolific, but never more so than in the mid nineties when this fantastic tune was released. There were usually a couple of her own albums out every year, plus releases with her girl group Thee Headcoatees, and the quality never dropped.

This is a typically brilliant slice of Holly's sound - pop blues riffing with her who-cares vocals. It fixes me within such a groove whenever I hear it.

Random reminicense: One of the best live performances I have seen was Thee Headcoats and Thee Headcoatees on stage in North London at Hallowe'en, treating the crowd to the BEST EVER version of Monster Mash. At that gig I saw Holly milling around the crowd before Thee Headcoatees took to the stage and was struck by her luminescent beauty and remarkable poise. Truly she has everything. She's worthy of heroine status.

After her brief burst of mainstream recognition guesting with the White Stripes, Holly's back in the comfortable indie heartland these days. I really can't think of enough nice things to say about her.

This song is like buttered corn bread. So smooth, mildy, sweet,and homey, you'll want a porch, a rocking chair, a piece of wheat to chew on and a sunset in the south to listen to it.

The King of Rock And Roll excells himself in this 1996 track from the various artists album ' The Songs Of West Side Story ' . Done as a kind of Blues / Waltz, it is of course a girls song as a norm and only Richard could get away with this gender reversal version and boy it really works !

The album also has a great version of 'Somewhere ' from Aretha Franklin too.

As a huge Moody Blues fan, I'm always excited to hear a new track by the frontman, Justin Hayward. This track from his 96 solo album is one worth listening to.

Somewhere between 91 and 96, Justin learned to handle his guitar like George Harrison. You'll notice this if you listen to the Moody Blues' 99 offering Strange Times, but that's not the point. On this particular song, you get the Harrison-like guitar-riff along with the haunting vocals that Hayward is famous for. Combined the two are a powerful mix. This song and all the others on the CD are worth taking a listen too.

The consistent high quality of the ever expanding oeuvre of Fay Lovsky doesn't make it easy to pick one song to examplify her work, so I'll just go by the moment and will choose my present favorite Sequoia, a humorous ode to a wooden californian characterised by a laid back bluesy pizzicato groove and tremelo glissandi especially towards the end, where they tickle the tree to a dramatic finale. All instruments on this track are acoustic (drums, bass, guitar, violins) and the sound is warm and direct as usual.

Not to be confused with that Ugly Kid Joe kindergarten rock song.

No, this is a rock/blues song, almost a ballad, with pretty good lyrics and a fabulous melancholic feel. It's catchy, and yet original in it's melody.

Steve Lukather (Toto, numerous sessions) is considered to be one of the best guitar players - ever, actually. This song, however, isn't just a display of guitar virtuosity (although that one solo in the middle of the song does give me shivers each time and again) - it's a display of how perfect and beautiful a simple song can be, and how it sounds if it's sung and played by someone breathing and living music.

There have never been drums with as much texture
and style ever recorded as in this song. Nor has
there ever been a song that has capture an energy
like this. Screw INC, Hives, and any talk of garage
rock revival. Eat this. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
meets Prince and the New Power Generation.

*3:00*
Svenonious' perfect screaming that sets off the
battle between Michelle Mae's bass versus James
Canty's dirty little guitar riff. Oh so perfect.

This is a great song to listen to on days when nothing seems to be going right. In my case: when driving my blind sister around in a delapidated taxi, with broken windows, and a gas meter on empty. The best line in my opinion is: "Blind or crippled, Sharp or dull. I'm reading the Bible by a 40 watt bulb. What price freedom. Dirt is my rug.
Well I sleep like a baby with the snakes and the bugs". I love this track! Keith Richards played lead guitar and sings backing vox on this one. Their voices/styles mesh together very well. It's one of the more bluesy tracks on the record, but it's done very well...not like a lame neo-white boy blues revival thing. It's actually believable...after all, IT'S TOM WAITS FOR CHRIST SAKE! I think this is one of the more powerful songs on the record. Well...maybe a toss-up between this one and "Chocolate Jesus"...or "Hold on"...or "Get Behind the Mule" (you can't beat the lyric: "Punctuated birds on the power line. In a Studebaker with the Birdie Joe Joaks. I'm diggin all the way to China with a silver spoon, while the hangman fumbles with the noose..."). Hell...it's just a damn good record.

The opening track to 1999's Strange Times CD. Justin Hayward lyrically explores what it means to be British.

The girl from Ipanema is the greatest song in this planet. I got (belive!) 320 versions of it. And wht I guess so cool is that it has been recorded in all styles of music: Jazz, blues, Reggae, Techno, Rock, Salsa... Its very nice. My favouritte version is played by the brazilian singer "GAl Costa" in album "Gal Canta Tom Jobim". Its a swinger jazz. Very nice!!!

Please... is anyone got unknow versions of this song or enjoy it as me, send me a e-mail, ok?:
[email protected]

This Neo-Swing Song from the American Pie soundtrack. Kinda blues, kinda rock... Pretty cool. And John Bunkley's voice!! Wow it's really something. This song cheers me up a lot.

Romanian gypsy music at its best:
- fast rhythm and chord progressions that make you listen in anticipation
- singer's voice (singing in Romanian/Gypsy?) rough sincerity reminds me of an old black delta bluesman
- the coolest violin riff ever.

'Love Will Take Its Time' is from the soundtrack to the film 'Apartment Hunting'.

O'Hara devotees like myself have been waiting for 15 years for a follow-up to 'Miss America' and we got a fine one in 'Apartment Hunting'.

'Love Will Take Its Time' is a jump blues/jazz number with few of the vocal tics/tricks that make O'Hara a singers singer.

Those who love creative vocals must check it out!

It is not being distributed widely so you may have to go here: http://www.apartmenthunting.com/ if you want it.

It's jazz, but very bluesy.... her vocals are so smooth and the music is sensual and personal. I love it...

Funky Rock. Nice Title! Sweet Lyrics. And i love the Beach Boys break. Move over George Martin!
Is this the best concept album since "Dark Side Of The Moon / Wish You Were Here". Or Maybe even "�Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/�Magical Mystery Tour"? Very Trippy Rock! Nice electronics. How do you sound like Neal Young, Bread, America, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, David Bowie, Beach Boys and the Beatles all at once? You can hear the full album through the thier site: www.flaminglips.com
Super Generous & Super Talented. One of the most beautifully produced albums ever!
POP HEAVEN! "Light Side of the Moon" for the new millennia.

Great sleazy short 'n' snappy blues number from two girls deeply influenced by Howlin' Wolf.

If you like the blues, i dare you to defy me.

Karen Peris shakes the blues of her previous recording and explores the hopeful possibilities of life and death.

Nobody knows, darling.
Nobody knows how they are loved.

With Don's usual shimmering guitar given a touch of lounge-y bossa nova.

This is the last tune on the disc "Make REady" by Scott. It is a gorgeous slow love song with a killer refrain and title; "The Hardest Part of Hurting Is The Hope". It features Scott's voice as well lap steel and acoustic guitar. They fit together so well--it is like they are a single performer. It is a great finish to this wonderful disc. It makes me want to start the song all over again [I think I will--grin!].

Although Buck's "ragged old man" routine can be charming, it usually comes off feeling more like a Tom Waits rip-off than a Tom Waits homage. "Sore" is my favorite track on "Talkin' Honky Blues" because it does away with the overly-cute oddball beat poetry that Buck often indugles in and offers a more sincere and unaffected portrayal of the wayfaring nomad / poor white trucker.

Buck's in a one horse town with a broken down pick-up, left to set up shop in a shoddy motel and reflect on his life. The lyrics are country gold all rapped up pretty: "I'm drawn to familiar environments and dangers / I look in my photo albums and all I see is strangers / What is my problem?"

I'm a sucker for good desolation-hop (unfortunately for me, there isn't much out there), and "Sore" fits the bill perfectly.

Dan Auerbach plays slide guitar in this raw and emotional song. Simple yet moving. The Blues comes out in all of us in one point in time.

God damn, I love Jack White. This song blows my mind... it absolutely blows my mind. I can't believe that any rock and roll band is doing something so incredibly original and startling and at the same time so basic and so primitive. The White Stripes make me believe that rock and roll, real bluesy wild rock, still lives and breathes.

I love how this scottish girl spice up her pop songs with a little blues. This song gives me a lot of energy. Makes me dance in the streets!!

Rootsy, Bluesy.
In the vain of Robert Johnson meets Robert Cray...

Great Baseline, Harmonies that make you smile, All around great "throwback" sound.

Hard rock with a hint of blues, this song features ZZ Top guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons. I think the song's brilliant and definitely would recommend it to anyone who enjoys rock.

Where is the soul of America? - In these times of warring political factions putting the government in unproductive grid lock Mike Stout asks what happened to the driving American spirit that united Americans to do great things. In this bluesy slide guitar driven tune a big chorus of singers asks:
�Where is the soul of America? Where is the spirit that made you great? Where is the soul of America? We need it now more than ever today. Where�s the will, that brought the Bill of Rights to stay, The ways and means to bring about our common dreams�now?�

Hear it at http://www.reverbnation.com/mikestout/song/18784586-where-is-the-soul-of-america