Ted Nugent - Original Album Classics (5 CD, 2008/FLAC)

 

1975 - Ted Nugent

1976 - Free-For-All

1977 - Cat Scratch Fever

1978 - Weekend Warrior

1980 - Scream Dream

Otis Redding - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles Collection [3 CD, 2013]

 

The very face of classic Southern soul is Otis Redding, whose incendiary and passionate singing and stage presence came as close as anyone's to transferring the energy, explosiveness, and drive of Southern gospel into the secular pop world of soul. Otis Redding's recording career really only lasted five years, from 1962 through 1967 (seven studio albums in all), and the balance of it, along with his biggest hits, really only came in the last two years of that time, with his biggest hit and first number one, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," released after his death. All of it was enough, though, to establish Redding as the greatest performer of the classic deep soul era, a designation he undoubtedly deserves. This wonderful three-disc, 70-track set collects all of Redding's singles, both the A- and B-sides, including a couple of holiday releases, plus his singles with fellow Stax Records star Carla Thomas, in the original mono mixes. Mono is how these tracks were meant to be heard, mixed to sound powerful blasting from radios and jukeboxes, and even played through 21st century sound devices, these mixes are incredible to hear, all power and passion. This was -- and is -- soul.

VA - Plug It In Turn It Up : Electric Blues - The Definitive Collection! 1970-2005 [3 CD, 2011]

 In some ways, the fourth installment of Bear Family's four-volume Plug It In! Turn It Up! Electric Blues - The Definitive Collection is the most important -- not because this was the most innovative period for electric blues but rather the years of 1970-2005 are generally considered to be when the genre was rather dormant. Certain acts had hits now and then, but the blues weren't ruling the R&B charts and rock & roll starts to shed its blues influence during the '70s, so its presence doesn't seem as immediate. Nevertheless, this fourth volume proves that electric blues not only has a rich legacy but that it is one that continues into the modern era, both by old hands (Buddy Guy pops up with his 1991 "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues") and new (Robert Cray's "Smoking Gun," which actually crossed over into the Top 40). Most of the major names of soul-blues and mainstream blues are here -- B.B. King, Al Green, Z.Z. Hill, O.V. Wright, Bobby Rush, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Albert King -- and this also traces the rise of Alligator Records (Hound Dog Taylor's "Give Me Back My Wig" still sounds nasty all these years later), grapples with such rock bands as the J. Geils Band and ZZ Top, and makes a case for the influence of Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. While it doesn't necessarily make a case for the next generation -- some of the newer tracks toward the end of the set are by old guys like R.L. Burnside -- this fourth volume does prove that electric blues remained vital well into the new millennium.

Bobby Rush discography [1991-2019]

 

The creator of a singular sound that he dubbed "folk-funk," vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Rush is among the most colorful and enduring characters on the contemporary chitlin circuit, honing a unique style that brings together a cracked lyrical bent with elements of blues, soul, and funk.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Return To Greendale (Live) [2020/FLAC]

 Return to Greendale is a live album from American-Canadian folk rock musician Neil Young and American rock band Crazy Horse recorded in 2003 while touring to promote the album Greendale