“Slant 6 Mind is Greg's thirteenth album on Red House Records and a Grammy nominee! It's got a swampy, funky, lowdown sound that ranges from driving rhythms to sensuous folk and back again. The musicians are great and the combination of guitar players Greg, Kelly Joe Phelps, and Bo Ramsey is superb. The feel of Slant 6 Mind reaches back to Greg's earlier albums, such as Down in There as it evokes the landscape and people that created him a world he sketches with the artistry of writers like Will...
Aug 18, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 30
“Blues scholar Guy Davis is an equally adept player, singer and storyteller in the tradition of his mentor, Taj Mahal. On Skunkmello, named for a legendary chicken thief who was caught and hanged for his crimes around 1900, rootsy troubadour Davis travels from the straight country-blues of “Natural Born Eas’Man” and his Piedmont-flavored original “The Chocolate Man” to the gritty South Side Chicago blues of “It Takes Love to Make a Home” without missing a beat. He blows some mean harmonica on a ...
Aug 11, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 29
The roots of the style that would become Otis Taylor’s most recognizable contribution to blues can be found on Truth Is Not Fiction (Telarc Records) released in 2003. Music critics were both enthralled and a bit mystified by Taylor’s signature “Trance Blues” electric, psychedelic style. Truth is Not Fiction earned a top 10 album of the year listing from the New York Times and was also featured with rave reviews from USA Today, Washington Post and NPR, and the record culminated in a Downbeat crit...
Aug 04, 2025•1 hr 54 min•Season 5Ep. 28
“Tony Joe White's 2013 album is awash in danger, spiritual uncertainty and environmental fury. Hoodoo's lyrical concerns are matched by a particularly intense strain of White's trademark swamp funk. Hence the title's double edged meaning: 'hoodoo' referring both to the songs' ominous tone and the palpable vibe that filled the studio as the songs were cut. Cut mostly live to tape - vocals and all - much of Hoodoo consists of first takes. Culled from an initial stack of 17 tunes, the 9 songs that ...
Jul 28, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 27
The return of the legendary harmonica giant from the 1950s Chicago blues scene. "A triumphant comeback"— Billboard Billy Boy Arnold is back. With his 1992 Alligator Records debut, Back Where I Belong, Arnold firmly reestablished himself as one of the foremost practitioners of classic Chicago blues. His wailing harmonica playing and soulful vocals are a perfect match for his streetwise songwriting. The combination of Delta-influenced blues with a more urban sophistication not only defines Arnold'...
Jul 21, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 26
“Cotton’s long, fabled career is unrivaled in terms of its historic import….a name that is mentioned alongside some of the very best performers ever to play the instrument. Cotton’s playing has cemented his place in the top tier of blues harmonica masters: that muscular tone, those brawny wails, the stinging high note bends. …sends a shiver down the spine. Fiery, inimitable, ferocious attack, dominance and power. The well of talent he draws from is as deep as the blues he plays.” – Living Blues ...
Jul 14, 2025•1 hr 58 min•Season 5Ep. 25
Albert Collins Classic Album Feature – Cold Snap “This Grammy-nominated album features some of Albert's most popular tracks like I Ain't Drunk , Lights Are On But Nobody's Home and Too Many Dirty Dishes . The Master of the Telecaster's last Alligator release, and his favourite, finds him backed by a hand-picked all-star band featuring organist Jimmy McGriff and guitarist Mel Brown, plus the Uptown Horns.” I’m excited to be featuring this Collins classic this week. Plus new releases from Buddy Gu...
Jul 07, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 24
“Genius doesn't even begin to describe the greatness of The Genius Sings the Blues. Comprised of a dozen songs Ray Charles made between 1952 and 1960, the collection was released in 1961 by Atlantic Records to counter the singer's migration to rival ABC Paramount. What Atlantic originally underestimated is that the album contained many of Charles' greatest works, all unified by their bluesy emotions and stirring arrangements. A classic of the soul and R&B canon, The Genius Sings the Blues is...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 23
Taj Mahal Classic Album Feature – Dancing The Blues “Songs from Fats Domino to Louis Jordan. Etta James joins in on the classic “Mockingbird” along with a “slamming” band including Texacali Horns, Tony Braunagel, Chuck Domanico, Mick Weaver, Johnny Lee Schell, and Bill Payne & Ritchie Hayward from Little Feat. Dancing The Blues will get ya shakin’ your tail feathers!” Tajmahal.com I’m excited to feature this wonderful record this week, a favourite of mine from the very early 90s, this is Taj...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Season 5Ep. 22
“The first of Freddie King’s three albums for Leon Russell’s Shelter label set the tone for his work for the company: superb electric blues with a prominent rock/soul influence. The massive Texan and the longhaired Oklahoman got it right the first time around with the aptly titled Getting Ready LP. Recorded at the legendary Chess studios in Chicago, it might well rank as Freddie King’s most creatively satisfying work.” I’m super excited about featuring this classic from Freddie King from way bac...
Jun 16, 2025•1 hr 51 min•Season 5Ep. 21
“Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live - 1979 brings you the electrifying and unforgettable live performance of one of blues' most legendary artists, Muddy Waters. Capturing his raw energy and soulful presence, this live album is a testament to Muddy Waters’ profound influence on the blues genre. Featuring classic tracks like "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Mannish Boy" this collection offers an intimate experience of his unforgettable stage presence.” I’m excited to present this classic live set from Mudd...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 20
“When they referred to consistently amazing guitarist Snooks Eaglin as a human jukebox in his New Orleans hometown, they weren't dissing him in the slightest. The blind Eaglin was a beloved figure in the Crescent City, not only for his gritty, Ray Charles -inspired vocal delivery and wholly imaginative approach to the guitar, but for the seemingly infinite storehouse of oldies that he was liable to pull out on-stage at any second -- often confounding his bemused band in the process!” All Music C...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 19
“The Blues Foundation has announced its 2025 Blues Music Awards winners. The winners were revealed on Thursday, May 8, in Memphis, Tennessee. Big winners from the night included Ruthie Foster, Sue Foley, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Curtis Salgado, and John Primer, who all took home multiple awards. Ronnie Baker Brooks led the way with three wins.” With the announcement of the Blues Music Awards winners a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was overdue for me to shine a light on the winners. Featuring son...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 52 min•Season 5Ep. 18
“Magnificent, staggering, almost beyond belief. Utterly Blues approved.” --“GUITAR PLAYER” MAGAZINE, U.S.A. “There’s no more explosive Blues guitar player in the world.” --“ESQUIRE”, U.S.A. “DAVE HOLE is a musician whose time has finally come. In fact, considering the acclaim he's received in the past few months, it's hard to understand why he has remained unknown for so long. The reason is simple-Dave developed his amazingly intense slide guitar sound and strange playing style in almost total o...
May 19, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Season 5Ep. 17
“One of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll bands ever to strut the 50 States, these sharp-dressed Texas titans-Billy F. Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill-are a righteously hell raisin' power trio boasting a 30-plus year hit-making legacy, both in the studio and at concert arenas. With their revved up blues 'n' boogie, they always make the most of their Texas birthright with with a distinctive sound that shakes up rock, blues, soul, garage-funk, Americana, and more. Nowhere is their force of n...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 52 min•Season 5Ep. 16
On the Jimmy Reed Highway began as an Omar Kent Dykes album, but once Jimmie Vaughan came into the studio “the songs took on their own life,” remembers Omar. “I figured Jimmie would come in and play a couple of solos, but he got so excited about it he stayed for the rest.” Ain't nobody can do Jimmy Reed like Jimmy Reed could. But this drive down Jimmy Reed Highway with fellow Mississippian Kent "Omar" Dykes at the wheel with Jimmie Vaughan riding shotgun and folks like, Kim Wilson, Miss Lou Ann ...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 15
The center of Clarence Gatemouth Brown's taste is post-World War II jump blues and R&B with a distinctly Southwestern feel. Tasty as his guitar playing is, he likes to add horns and even a bit of country fiddle to the mix. As its title indicates, Back to Bogalusa particularly investigates the Louisiana influences… notably on the tracks "Going Back to Louisiana," "Breaux Bridge Rag," "Bogalusa Boogie Man," and the Cajun-styled "Louisian'." He adds in some sympathetic songs by writers of a lat...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 14
"Basic and bare-boned West Coast jump blues, down home Texas grit, and Memphis rockabilly . . . wild, funky and menacing." -- Guitar Player "Sizzling roots rock . . . gutbucket power . . . no-holds-barred excitement." -- Billboard Music writers have likened The Paladins' high-energy blend of rock 'n' roll, R&B, swing and rockabilly to the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and other hard-working roadhouse rock bands. A Washington Post critic may have described The Paladin...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Season 5Ep. 13
“Smokey is difficult if not impossible to categorize. Possessor of a powerful voice, he can bellow like Wolf or cry sweetly like B.B. King. Smokey's guitar playing is equally diverse as he romps through the stylings of Elmore James and Jimmy Reed (which Smokey calls "countryfied blues") one song and then polished urban blues the next. He also digs into the soulful side a la Z.Z. Hill and Tyrone Davis, which was extremely popular with the patrons of the Pioneer Club. Smokey's singing and playing ...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 53 min•Season 5Ep. 12
“Clarke's timing and music are right on the money, with the great Alex Schultz on lead guitar. There is no doubt that Clarke is one of the few modern bluesmen who are exploring and extending the amplified blues harp tradition without violating any of its principles. No one plays chromatic blues harp with this kind of passion and sheer conviction.” All Music A classic album from the early 90s, William Clarkes debut for Alligator records stands as a modern blues classic and I’m thrilled to to feat...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 55 min•Season 5Ep. 11
“The band were at the peak of their powers as a live unit at this point, so it made sense that their next release should reflect that; the self-explanatory Live was recorded at a rapturously received gig held at Cincinnati Gardens on 23 May 1986. Including firm favourites such as ‘Who Do You Love?’, ‘I Drink Alone’ and ‘Madison Blues’, the LP was a terrific snapshot of The Destroyers in viciously good nick and – after climbing to No.33 on the US Billboard 200 – the LP eventually earned itself a ...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Season 5Ep. 10
"Recorded in both Memphis and Texas and prominently featuring the amazing Bill Willis on Hammond B-3 (who doubles on bass pedals -- leaving this as one of the few blues albums without an official bassist), Jimmie's more subtle approach leaves lots of spaces to nail a groove that gets deeper as the album progresses. Guests like James Cotton on harp and longtime associate singer Lou Ann Barton (who just about steals the show on the songs where she duets with Vaughan) inject extra spice, but the si...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Season 5Ep. 9
“He was one of the most gifted blues guitar players of all time. A mere thirty two years old at the time of his passing, Fats had already made a big splash in this small pond. His playing however continues to make waves and has had an impact on blues guitar players worldwide.” David Mac Blues Junction Productions With the legendary Hollywood Fats birthday this week, I thought I was long overdue to feature The Hollywood Fats Bands debut album “Rock This House” on the show. Plus new releases from ...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 31 min•Season 5Ep. 8
“That Little Ol’ Band From Texas” has been at it for well over a half century, delivering rock, blues and boogie on the road and in the studio to millions of devoted fans. With classic songs such as “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs” and “Gimme Me All Your Lovin” and iconography as distinctive as their sound, ZZ TOP is virtually synonymous with beards, hot-rod cars, spinning guitars and that magic keychain, all of which transcend geography and language. With ZZ Top heading to Australia in April, I’m co...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Season 5Ep. 7
“A soul-blues revivalist who isn't strictly a traditionalist, Eli "Paperboy" Reed synthesized several strands of 1960s soul, marrying gritty Southern funk with gutsy Chicago blues.” With Eli “Paper Boy” Reed set to tour in Australia in May, I sat down for a chat with him about 20 years in the biz, about those amazing times chasing his muse following school, and our favourite Sam Cooke album. Plus songs from four of his incredible albums, released since 2005. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Season 5Ep. 6
"Thorogood deals strongly in early '50s style rock and timeless blues and this album captures him at his slidin', pickin', wailin' best." Cashbox With the announcement that George Thorogood & the Destroyers will return to Australia in April for a month of gigs, I’m digging deep into the bands incredible multi-million selling back catalogue to feature the bands debut album “George Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers” Plus new releases from Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, Tommy Castro,...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 29 min•Season 5Ep. 5
“This captures Magic Sam and his band in more laid-back form, playing a small, booze-free venue rather than a rowdy bar or a festival audience in the thousands. Magic Sam may be in a more relaxed temper here, but his guitar work is absolutely on point; Sam's agile, incisive lead work, his dazzling string bends, and his fiery solos in which he fires off notes with the precision of a machine gun are all on display, confirming Sam's status as one of the most exciting and underrated players on the C...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 31 min•Season 5Ep. 4
“The Taj Mahal Sextet’s Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa won the Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy Award. The award was announced on February 2, 2025. Swingin’ Live at the Church in Tulsa captures a live performance at the historic Tulsa studio once home to Leon Russell. The album features ten tracks spanning multiple genres, performed by his long-time quartet, bassist Bill Rich, drummer Kester Smith, and guitarist/lap steel player Bobby Ingano, along with dobro player Rob Ickes and guitar...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Season 5Ep. 3
“After detours into jazz, pop and country, Etta James is back in the smoking eye of an R&B maelstrom, singing with controlled fury and vinegary bite. Surrounding this queen bee of the blues are two fresh princes: sons Donto and Sametto, who produced and engineered, and played drums and bass, respectively. The young bloods balance classic and contemporary approaches, leaving Mama free to breathe fire into an intriguing mix of tunes… Matriarch of the Blues finds Etta James reclaiming her thron...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 5Ep. 2
“ With a formula that began a serious legacy, ‘ZZ Top’s First Album’ introduced the Texan trio as one of the best blues-rock acts in history. Released on 16 January 1971 , it established a blueprint that would serve the trio well for the next 50 years, and make them possibly the most enduring and successful blues-rock band of all time.” With ZZ Top announcing plans for their 2025 Elevation tour of Australia and New Zealand, I’ll be taking a deep dive into the bands earliest released in the month...
Jan 27, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Season 5Ep. 1
