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In May 64, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Muddy Waters braved the Manchester rain for an epochal TV special: the Blues & Gospel Train, which proved catalytic in the proliferation of [...]

This Is Goldwax: 1964-1968 **** Kent KENT 2 530 (2LPI Soak up the sounds of Tennessee label gold Memphis's Goldwax Records released some superb southern soul 45s in the mid-60s, [...]

John Mayall Thru The Years Live 60s-80s **** Indigo IGOLP 009 B (LP) Eight live tracks from late Godfather of British Blues Mayall's discography is gargantuan. It commenced in 1965 [...]

Muddy Waters Hard Again/I'm Ready/King Bee **** Floating World FLOATD 6458 (3CD) Blues icon's late-career albums Muddy debuted for Len and Phil Chess' Aristocrat Records in 1947 and went on [...]

Ghana Special 2: Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds In The Diaspora 1980-1993 **** Soundway SNDWLP148 (3LR 2CD) Belated second instalment of infectious Ghanian grooving Twenty-five years after Soundway issued Ghana [...]

Dickey Betts Live At The Lone Star Roadhouse, New York City 1988 **** RockBeat ROC 3472 (CD, LP) Allman Brothers stalwart caught live Dickey Betts, who died in April aged [...]

Edgar Broughton Band Gone Blue--The BBC Sessions **** Esoteric ECLEC 42872 (4CD) Warwick rock'n'roll crew collated Doyens of the late 60s/early 70s free gigs and college scene, the anarchic Edgar [...]

The Chicago Blues Of ... Jazz Gillum Guido van Rijn **** Agram Books, 40 Euros ISBN 9789082657098, 346 pages Ace addition to blues series The fifth in a series of [...]

Congo Funk!--Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982) **** Analog Africa AALP 0098 (CD, 2LP) Another crack compilation from Analog Africa The 1974 Ali-Foreman fight [...]

John Broven's Walking To New Orleans history of New Orleans R&B celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer with a 65-track 2CD. Tony Burke asked him about them What first attracted [...]

Hit The Bongo! (The Latin Soul Of Tico Records) **** Craft Recordings CR 0660 (2LP) Celebrating 75 years of George Goldner's label This set features 1962-1972 mambo and boogaloo Eddie [...]

Robinson's, on the Manchester/Salford border, was owned by Edna and Arthur Robinson. The shop bulged with vinyl records. They also ran a wholesale business (they were the UK agents for [...]

Blowin' Like Hell: The William Clarke Story Paul Barry **** Palmetto Publishing, 18.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN 9798822914568, 141 pages Blues harmonica ace's ultimately tragic tale William Clarke hailed from a [...]

Jazz With A Beat: Small Group Swing 1940-1960 Tad Richards *** Excelsior Editions, 21 [pounds sterling] ISBN 9781438496009, 188 pages Diggin' the roots of the rock'n'roll revolution Tracing the history [...]

CHARLEY PATTON AND BERTHA LEE Oh Death/Troubled 'Bout My Mother (Vocation 02904, 10', 78rpm, 1935, US) 39,000 [pounds sterling] Just when one ultra-rare blues record is found, another copy--in beautiful [...]

A spate of burglaries of rare record stores in Chicago in November/December has obliged owners to band together to try to stop organised shoplifting that has seen thieves plunder specialist [...]

Family Bandstand **** Esoteric ECLEC 2850 (CD) British rockers' 1972 classic The fourth Family reissue from the Cherry Red stable revisits a record originally issued by Reprise in September 1972 [...]

On The Honky Tonk Highway With Augie Meyers And The Texas Re-Cord Company **** Bear Family BDC17700 (CD) Buckle up for a wild ride with the Texan don From Bear [...]

No 7: Barry's Record Rendezvous, Manchester Barry's Record Rendezvous, at 9 Blackfriars Street, where the River Irwell and Blackfriars Bridge connect Manchester and Salford, was one of Manchester's favourite record [...]

Nanci Griffith Working In Corners **** Craft Recordings CR 00640 (4CD, 4LP) The late singer's first four albums Inspired by Loretta Lynn and Townes Van Zandt, the Texan's 1978 debut [...]

Andrew Gold The Fraternal Order Of The All--Greetings From Planet Love **** Esoteric ELEC 2758 (CD) Late US songwriter's tribute to the 60s Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold originally [...]

William Bell One Day Closer To Home **** Wilbe Cat No TBC (CD) Soul legend still knocking them out One of last of the great soul singers and songwriters of [...]

Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick 1958-1971 ***** Smithsonian Folkways SFW 40260 (CD, 6LP) A trip inside the world's best blues [...]

Thanks for the excellent article on radio transcription discs ('Spirit Of Radio') in RC 529 by Ian Shirley. You asked about other BBC and radio transcription discs. I don't own [...]

Chuck Berry: An American Life R.J. Smith *** Omnibus Press, 16 [pounds sterling] ISBN 9781913172954, 416 pages Digging into the dark side of a rock'n'roll trailblazer Another biography of Charles [...]

John Lee Hooker Burnin' **** Craft Recordings CR 00545 (CD, LP) Blues don captures the magic Originally recorded in one day in November, 1961 for Chicago's Vee Jay Records with [...]

James Booker Behind The Iron Curtain Plus ... **** 1002 (5CD) Much-loved Louisiana keyboardist caught live Born in New Orleans, Booker was a teenage piano prodigy who could play R&B, [...]

Sam Phillips ran the Memphis Recording Service, cutting blues artists for the Modern Records imprint in Los Angeles and Chess Records in Chicago. That was a success. So, why did [...]

A Pig's Taie: The Underground Story Of The Legendary Bootleg Record Label Ralph Sutherland & Harold Sherrick **** Genius Book Publishing, $75 ISBN 9781947521896,328 pages Viva Hooky Street, Los Angeles [...]

Soul Serenade: King Curtis And His Immortal Saxophone Timothy R Hoover **** University Of North Texas Press, 31.50 [pounds sterling] ISBN 9781574418811, 352 pages Born in Fort Worth, Texas in [...]

Frank Zappa Zappa '75: Zagreb/Ljubjana **** Zappa/Ume Z R 20040 (2CD) Thrilling live document of a band hitting their peak Twenty-seven tracks performed in November 1975 in Yugoslavia by a [...]

Albert Collins Cold Snap **** Alligator 4752 (LP) Feted axeman's mid-80s set revisited Known for his intense blues guitar-playing, Albert Collins' 1950s and 60s singles appeared on small Texas labels [...]

Blind Willie McTell Statesboro Blues--The Early Years 1927-1935 **** Document DOCD 5677 (3CD) Blues icon's formative years Born in 1898, street singer Willie McTell was the master of the 12-string [...]

Keef Hartley Band Sinnin' For You: The Albums 1969-1973 **** Esoteric ECLEC 72809 (7CD) Replacing Beatles-bound Ringo in Rory Storm's band, Keef Hartley played in The Artwoods before joining John [...]

The Rough Guide To Delta Blues Vol. 2 **** World Music RGNET1417 (CD) The origins of the blues, take two This follow-up to 2017's initial volume features Son House's Dry [...]

Mavis Staples & Levon Helm Carry Me Home **** Anti- EPIT 27859-2 (CD) Two greats combine on lost set from 2011 Recorded before an audience at Levon Helm's studio in [...]

George Duke No Rhyme, No Reason: The Elektra/Warner Years (1985-2000) **** SoulMusic Records QSMCR 5203 T (3CD) US singer-songwriter's major label years A multi-talented keyboard player, singer, composer and producer, [...]

Within You, Without You: A Sociological, Cultural And Musical History Of Great Britain, 1945-1967 Phil Jackson **** Austin Macauley Publishers, 12.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN 9781788789363, 362 pages Expansive document of [...]

The Blues Dream Of Billy Boy Arnold ... Billy Boy Arnold with Kim Field **** University Of Chicago Press, 24 [pounds sterling] ISBN 139780809205 288 pages The fascinating tale of [...]

Deep Blues ***** Film Movement Classics (DVD, Blu-Ray, Digital) Landmark blues doc remastered in 4K Filmed in 1990 and screened a year later, this 90-minute documentary was directed by Robert [...]

The St. Louis Blues Of Walter Davis Guido van Rijn **** Agram Blues Books, 40 [pounds sterling] ISBN9789082657043, 326 pages The life of iconic bluesman What a story charted here: [...]

Son House Forever On My Mind Easy Eye Sound EES 00141 (CD, LP) **** Lost treasure from a master bluesman Mississippi's Son House first recorded in 1930 for Paramount Records [...]

Highway Butterfly: The Songs Of Neal Casal **** Royal Potato RPF 2112 (3CD, 5LP) Tribute to late US artist Americana singer, songwriter, guitarist and a member of Ryan Adams' Cardinals, [...]

Jerry Lee Lewis Last Man Standing **** Demon DEMREC 342 (2LP) Rock'n'roll icon ropes in friends and followers This set, originally released in 2006, sees Jerry Lee Lewis duet with [...]

Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds Stormy Monday & The Eagles Fly On Friday **** Repertoire REPUK1366 (3CD) Soul man's 60s output collated In 1966, Chris Farlowe became Britain's premier blue-eyed [...]

New York City Blues: Postwar Portraits From Harlem To The Village and Beyond Larry Simon; edited by John Broven; photos by Robert Schaffer University Press Of Mississippi, 16.99 [pounds sterling] [...]

The Pretty Things Live At The BBC **** Repertoire REP UK 1373 (6CD, 3LP) Wild R&B revivalists' radio cuts Dubbed the bad boys of pop for their long hair and [...]

In the Xmas issue [RC 526], in Joe Geesin's excellent article on 'pirate metal', there was a request for further information on readers' pirate cassettes. I have three interesting pirate [...]

Robert Cray Band That's What I Heard **** Nozzle/Thirty Tigers 72098 (CD) Evergreen blues Twenty-five albums and 37 years since bluesman Robert Cray broke through with his second album, Bad [...]