Best Blues Rock recommendations?


I just started listening to Blues Rock and have been bowled over by recents CDs I bought like Robert Lucas, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zep, Jeff Beck etc. I intend to increase my collection and am keen on soem worthwhile recommendations. What are some of the Blues Rocks albums you've heard, especially the newer releases over the last few years?
raymond_tan

Showing 2 responses by paul_frumkin

Many great suggestions above. But I am surprised no one mentioned Tab Benoit ("warm and nice" and "What I live For") or Savoy Brown (especially "A Step Further" and "Raw Sienna").

Tommy Castro's "Exception to the Rule" is very good. Curtis Salgado (he was mentioned above). Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" still has to rank as one of the all-time best blues rockers ever (wish somebody would put out an audiophile edition of it). Rory Gallagher was also very good (he has joined SRV, a victim of his alcohol abuse). And how about Blind Faith, guys ... and did I miss something ... did no one really mention Eric Clapton?

Elvis Costello's "Imperial Bedroom" is nearly blues, and very good. Here's a little-known one, with some cajun influence: Willy DeVille's "Loup Garou." Willie Dixon's "I am the Blues" is outstanding. Tinsley Ellis' "Storm Warning" has the hottest version of "Texas Flood" I've ever heard ... sorry, SRV, but Tinsley's got you beat on this one. John Hiatt, "Bring the Family." Sonny Landreth, "South of I-10" (cajun-infected slide guitar blues). Los Lobos, "Kiko" (rock/blues with an Hispanic flair). Morphine, "Cure for Pain" (jazzy blues). The Police, "Ghost in the Machine" (reggae-inflected bluesy rock). The Radiators, "Zig-Zagging through Ghostland" (more cajun-inflected bluesy rock). Chris Rea, "The Road to Hell." Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Guitar Slinger." Taj Mahal, "The Natch'l Blues" and "Dancing the Blues." Pat Travers, "Crash and Burn." Muddy Waters, "Folk Singer."

Good collections can be found in "The Blues Masters -- The Essential Blues Collection," (Rhino) especially volumes 4 ("Harmonica Classics"), 6 ("Blues Originals"), and 9 ("Post-Modern Blues").
OOOPS ... SORRY, GUYS. Above I referred to Tinsley Ellis' version of "Texas Flood" as the all-time best. *SHAKES HEAD* Nooooo ... big boo-boo.

I was thinking of Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band, S/T, Evidence Music, Inc., ECD 26073-2 (1995). Some of Taylor's stuff can be going-through-the-motions, uninspired, would-be-great-if-heard-live-in-a-bar type stuff. BUT, this version of "Texas Flood" is absolutely amazing ... it alone is worth the price of the CD. Sorry for the error, guys.