Review: P-Vine Japan does great work once more here by bringing back into print some hugely sought-after sounds from the blues and r&b world. The first release in their new series revives Larry Davis' 1969 Kent Records single, which was originally written by Sherwood Fleming. The A-side, 'For 5 Long Years' delivers a gritty mid-tempo funk-blues groove while the B-side, 'I've Been Hurt So Many Times' (a classic subject for a blues tune) channels Willie Cobbs' signature sound. These will be familiar to anyone who has danced at a Northern Soul event and cannot be slept on.
Goin' Where The Monon Crosses The Yellow Dog (4:48)
Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out (5:00)
"A" Blues (3:56)
Little Girl Blues (5:14)
George Street Blues (4:23)
Little Boy Blues (3:10)
Blues Before Sunrise (5:10)
"E" Blues (3:55)
Shady Lane (5:28)
Penal Farm Blues (4:33)
Review: Scrapper Blackwell's final recordings, laid down in Indianapolis in 1961, marked the return of a blues guitarist and singer who had been silent since the mid-30s. Mr. Scrapper's Blues was released posthumously in 1962, just after Blackwell was shot and killed - a stark coda to a career shaped by both brilliance and misfortune. First out on Prestige's Bluesville sublabel, this stark, unclipped LP finds Blackwell alone at the mic, handling guitar, piano and vocals himself. The South Carolina-born, Indiana-raised musician earned early fame through his trailblazing partnership with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and 30s, before vanishing from music entirely following Carr's death. This 180-gram reissue from Craft revives that late-career spark via an all-analogue mastering by Matthew Lutthan.
Review: From 1989 to 1999, and again from 2000 to 2009, MTV Unplugged hosted and broadcast some of the greatest live rock performances of all time. Eric Clapton's 1992 appearance on the late-night show was the *sine qua non* of the Unplugged format before Nirvana and Mariah Carey, with the corresponding live album released through Reprise going on to sell over 26 million (!) copies worldwide. From the contemporaneous 1992 hit single 'Tears in Heaven' eviscerated in bare live bones, to an acoustic version of the endurer 'Layla' and later album tracks 'My Father's Eyes' and 'Circus', us pro musos do certainly recommend this one for new Clapton fans: start here, and see where the obsession takes you.
Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure/Don't You Just Know It/Well I'll Be John Brown
Little Liza Jane
Review: Originally released in 1972, Dr John's fifth album is an upfront tribute to his inimitable hometown of New Orleans. A collection of covers, tracks chosen from the almost-endless archives of classic blues, jazz and creole tracks that have come out of the Big Easy over the preceding century or so. It also marked something of a character and stylistic sidestep for the legendary Louisiana player. Building a cult following and rather unique reputation for his eccentric stage performances and often pretty left-of-the-middle songwriting and arrangements, by comparison Dr John's Gumbo plays it much straighter, making this an authentic and respectful tribute to rhythm and blues as it has long been played. That's no criticism - the same masterful musicianship remains very much intact, while the personality still shines through. Simply put, the songs have been done again and again, but this album could only be Dr John.
Review: Genre-defying trio Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto - their bassist Lewis Wharton is the third one, if you're wondering - have created an album brimming with explosive energy and diverse influences fusing rock 'n roll, deep funk, jazz, and fuzzy atmospherics. Barrie Cadogan (guitar/vocals) has played with everyone from The The to Primal Scream, but this LP moves well away from indie templates, employing a freeform approach, experimenting with tempos, volumes and textures. Tracks like 'Spektator' and 'Sick 8' showcase their ability to build subtle momentum and then let it slip back, allowing space for intricate instrumentation and lots of vivid expression.
Review: British outfit Little Barrie - guitarist Barrie Cadogan and bassist Lewis Wharton - team up with Malcolm Catto, known for his experimental edge as producer and drummer with Heliocentrics, on this raw-edged collaboration. Cadogan and Wharton, whose distinctive sound helped define the opening notes of Vince Gilligan's own-right spinoff Better Call Saul, bring their tightly wound energy into Catto's sonically unpredictable world. What emerges is a tense, scorched blend of overdriven guitar stabs, thicketed percussion, and eerie atmospheres that play like a weather report from a collapsing city. Catto's rhythmic instincts create a fractured foundation where Little Barrie's gritty melodies can unravel or coil without warning. Far from polished or predictable, the record thrives on friction and volatility, capturing three musicians testing the limits of structure and sound.
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