You'll find fewer reissues and more new material on your record store shelves this month as the labels gear up for the summer. May will see the reissue of a classic Ray Charles album, a career-spanning Johnny Winter anthology, and cool new music from blues music veterans and newcomers like Alvin Jett, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Eddie C. Campbell, and others. Here's what you'll be listening to in May.
1. Alvin Jett & The Phat Noiz Blues Band – 'Honey Bowl' (Blues Boulevard)
Photo courtesy Blues Boulevard
Everybody knows the Chicago blues, and Texas has a blues reputation of its own; the San Francisco Bay area scene is thriving, but few people think of St. Louis when they think of blues music. 'Tis a shame, too, 'cause Honey Bowl, from Alvin Jett – a quarter-century veteran of the St. Louis blues community – promises to scorch your speakers with some of the funkiest, greasiest blues your ears have ever enjoyed. Backed by his Phat Noiz Blues Band, Jett mixes it up with traditional electric Delta-style blues, R&B romps, a little Chicago flavor, a dash of gospel, and a little blues-rock attitude. In St. Louis they call it "in your face blues," and after hearing Honey Bowl, I agree! (Release date: 05/12/09)
2. Charles Wilson – 'Troubled Child' (Severn Records)
Photo courtesy Severn Records
Veteran soul-blues singer Charles Wilson earned a Blues Music Award nomination for his 2004 Delmark album If Heartaches Were Nickels, and Troubled Child is his first recording for the Severn Records label. The nephew of R&B legend Little Milton, Wilson is joined on the album by a talented line-up that includes guitarist "Monster" Mike Welch and bassist Steve Gomes, the band and Wilson tackling material from Bobby "Blue" Bland, Bob Marley, and uncle Milton. Wilson remains an underrated vocalist, and Trouble Child is well worth checking out for soul-blues fans. (Release date: 05/19/09)
3. Chicago Blues Harmonica Project – 'More Rare Gems' (Severn Records)
Photo courtesy Severn Records
A long-anticipated follow-up to the 2005 album Diamonds In The Rough, the twelve-track More Rare Gems includes raucous performances by harp masters like the late Little Arthur Duncan, Harmonica Hinds, Charlie Love, Reginald Cooper, Jeff Taylor, and Russ Green, all of 'em backed by the the Chicago Bluesmasters and proving that blues music is alive and well and rockin' the house in the Windy City. (Release date: 05/19/09)
4. Eddie C. Campbell – 'Tear This World Up' (Delmark Records)
Photo courtesy Delmark Records
For better than 25 years, Eddie C. Campbell has thrilled Chicago blues audiences with his stylized guitar attack, his skills honed by years spent apprenticing with legends like Jimmy Rogers, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter. An imaginative songwriter and instrumentalist, Campbell's songs have been covered by both Lynyrd Skynyrd and the blues-lovin' former head of the Republican National Committee, Lee Atwater, among others. Tear This World Up is Campbell's first album in almost a decade, and it promises to include Campbell's trademark blend of blues, funk, and rock. (Release date: 05/19/09)
5. Fiona Boyes – 'Blues Woman' (Yellow Dog Records)
Photo courtesy Yellow Dog Records
Yeah, they have the blues down under in Australia, too, and few do it better than singer and blues guitarist Fiona Boyes. A talented string-bender and songwriter, Boyes made a major league splash with the 2006 release of her stateside debut album, Lucky 13. The upcoming Blues Woman promises more of the same – Boyes' skilled fretwork behind a combination of original and traditional blues songs that mix up Chicago, Mississippi, Texas, and Memphis styles for a heck of a lot of fun. (Release date: 05/05/09)
6. Jim Byrnes – 'My Walking Stick' (Black Hen Music)
Photo courtesy Mark Pucci Media
Multi-instrumental talent Jim Byrnes is a legitimate blues music hero in Canada, but he remains, sadly, unknown and underrated in the United States. Hopefully My Walking Stick will earn Byrnes the stateside respect that he deserves. A follow-up to his award-winning 2006 album House of Refuge (recipient of a "Blues Album of the Year" Juno Award as well as an "Album of the Year" award from the Maple Blues Awards), the new album features Byrnes' trademark mix of blues, roots-rock, and 1960s-era R&B, with a touch of gospel thrown in for good measure. There's a thriving blues music scene north of the Canadian border, and Byrnes is one of the best bluesmen they have to offer. (Release date: 05/19/09)
7. Joanne Shaw Taylor – 'White Sugar' (Ruf Records)
Photo courtesy Ruf Records
Singer and blues guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor hails from Birmingham in England, where she was discovered some years ago at the young age of 16 by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. In the seven years since her discovery by Stewart, Taylor has honed her skills, and she entered a West Tennessee studio with a number of Memphis session professionals to record White Sugar. A collection of scorching blues-rock fretwork and soulful vocals, the album represents Taylor's "coming out party" to blues fans everywhere. (Release date: 05/12/09)
8. Johnny Winter – 'The Johnny Winter Anthology' (Shout! Factory Records)
Photo courtesy Shout! Factory Records
The Johnny Winter Anthology is the first collection to truly span the blues-rock guitar legend's entire career. The two-disc set from Shout! Factory begins with one of Winter's earliest recordings with his Progressive Blues Experiment band for Imperial Records in 1967 and goes on to include a number of tracks from his 1970s-era albums for Columbia Records as well as his Columbia-distributed Blue Sky label. The title track from the 1973 Still Alive And Well album features some tasty slidework from Rick Derringer (see below), and The Johnny Winter Anthology also includes a handful of tracks from Winter's albums for Alligator Records, Pointblank, and Virgin Records labels. (Release date: 05/26/09)
9. Ray Charles – 'A Message From The People' (Concord Records)
Photo courtesy Concord Records
Brother Ray's classic 1972 album A Message From The People will finally see release on CD this month from Concord Records. The first shot in the label's attempt to restore Charles' post-1960 catalog on compact disc and as digital downloads, A Message From The People was originally released in 1972 on Charles' Tangerine Records label. The album features the artist's classic take on "America The Beautiful," and Charles was joined in the studio by talents like Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown, and Jean “Toots” Thielemans. A milestone in Charles' storied career, made available on CD for the first time. (Release date: 05/05/09)
10. Rick Derringer – 'Knighted By The Blues' (Blues Bureau)
Photo courtesy Price Grabber
Rick Derringer is usually remembered as the talented foil to brothers Johnny and Edgar Winter, the talented guitarist logging time with both artists' bands. Seldom is Derringer thought of when the blues are mentioned, but the truth is that Derringer released his first album of blues-rock styled material better than a decade and a half ago. Knighted By The Blues represents the guitarist's return to the style, a collection of mostly original and totally bluesy barn-burners that just might surprise some folks. (Release date: 05/05/09) PG
11. Various Artists – 'It Ain't Over: Delmark Celebrates...' (Delmark Records)
Photo courtesy Delmark Records
Last year marked the 55th anniversary of the legendary Delmark Records label, and they released two excellent compilation albums to recap their impressive history in jazz and blues music. With It Ain't Over: Delmark Celebrates 55 Years of Blues, they're letting everybody know that they're not just resting on their laurels. Capturing the best of the label's 55th anniversary celebration blues bash that was held in March 2008, the CD features 11 red-hot performances from folks like Lurrie Bell, Tail Dragger, Zora Young, Jimmy Johnson with Dave Specter, Aaron Moore, Little Arthur Duncan, Eddie Shaw, and Shirley Johnson. A companion DVD offers a visual account of the show, and three extra songs. (Release date: 05/19/09)
