The Billboard magazine blues chart for the week ending January 21, 2012 seems to define a "new normal," with Hugh Laurie and Wynton Marsalis/Eric Clapton hanging onto the top two spots, while blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. and the Tedeschi Trucks Band are hot on their heels. Etta James' new album The Dreamer inches back onto the chart, while Carolyn Wonderland's Peace Meal album bubbles under the Top Ten, popping back onto the chart at number twelve.
At least there are some fine albums scheduled for release this week. New Orleans music legend Little Freddie King checks in with Chasing tha Blues, his first new studio album in a few years, while guitarist Ray Bailey returns after a two-year hiatus with Cruisin' For A Bluesin'. From the vaults, Sony U.K. is releasing Etta James' Original Album Classics, a budget-priced box that includes five of the R&B legend's late-period (1998-2003) albums. The Reverend doesn't expect any of these new releases to climb the charts, though...I don't see any chart newcomers until the end of January when Ruthie Foster and Joe Louis Walker hit the store shelves.
Here are this week's Top Ten blues albums, ranked by sales:
10. Joe Bonamassa - Dust Bowl (J&R Adventures)
9. Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Don't Explain (J&R Adventures)
8. Etta James - The Dreamer (Verve Forecast)
7. Johnny Winter - Roots (Megaforce Records)
6. Etta James - Icon (Geffen Records)
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Playlist: The Very Best Of (Sony Legacy)
4. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Revelator (Sony Masterworks)
3. Gary Clark, Jr. - The Bright Lights EP (Warner Brothers)
2. Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Play The Blues (Warner Brothers)
1. Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk (Warner Brothers)
New Releases this Week: Etta James' Original Album Classics (Sony U.K.); Little Freddie King's Chasing tha Blues (MadeWright Records); Ray Bailey's Cruisin' For A Bluesin' (Tonedef Records)
Photo of Ray Bailey's Cruisin' For A Bluesin' courtesy Tonedef Records
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