11. Steve Rowe – 'Live In Montreal' (Blue Skunk Music)
Photo courtesy Blue Skunk Music
Capturing a soundboard recording of Rowe's blistering set at the 2005 Montreal International Jazz Festival, Live In Montreal, the guitarist's fourth album, landed on the 2006 "best of" lists of several publications, including Living Blues magazine. Reissued stateside by Blue Skunk Music, this is one for those blues music fans that appreciate raw, inspired fretwork. (Release date: 03/17/09)
12. Taj Mahal – 'Happy Just To Be Like I Am' (Wounded Bird Records)
Photo courtesy Wounded Bird Records
The good folks at Wounded Bird are reissuing a slew of the great Taj Mahal's Columbia Records titles from the 1970s this month, including Music Keeps Me Together (1975) and Satisfied N Tickled Too (1976). The best of the three, Happy Just To Be Like I Am was originally released in 1971, and showcases the first incorporation of Caribbean island rhythms into Mahal's usual acoustic-blues style. Mahal's fifth album release, Happy Just To Be Like I Am is often overshadowed by the bluesman's stellar earlier work, but it remains an underrated gem in the Taj Mahal catalog. (Release date: 03/17/09)
13. Too Slim & The Taildraggers – 'Free Your Mind' (Underworld Music)
Photo courtesy Mark Pucci Media
For 20 years, Washington state's favorite sons have rocked the house as one of blues music's most underrated trios. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tim "Too Slim" Langford, and with better than a dozen albums under their collective belts, the Taildraggers' Free Your Mind mixes up raw blues with roots-rock and honky-tonk twang. The gang will hit the trail this summer to promote the new album; throughout their lengthy career they've shared the stage with high octane folks like Bo Diddley, Robert Cray, Jeff Healey, and Delbert McClinton, so you know they gotta be great! (Release date: 03/17/09)
