Buddy Guy - Out of Sight

Buddy at the American Folk Blues Festival 1965. Total cool! Love that shiny 60's suit. Only wish this was in color...

Thomas Feiner - For Now

Best of the best... both musically and visually:

James Blood Ulmer - Are You Glad To Be in America

Absolutely brilliant!

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Wow. Just powerful! If other artists cover Johnny, Johnny can cover other artists including NIN. This was shortly before his death.

"(Trent) Reznor praised Cash's interpretation of the song for its "sincerity and meaning", going so far as to say "that song isn't mine anymore." - wikipedia

Wall of Voodoo - Ring of Fire

Ok absolute fun! WOV does Johnny Cash. A true gem from WOV and 1980.

XTC - Strawberry Fields Forever

Just for fun lets see how closely we can sound like the fab four. This really IS XTC not the Beatles!

Listen to STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER by XTC

XTC - Ella Guru

An flatteringly true to original cover of Captain Beefheart. This really IS XTC not the Magic Band!

Listen to ELLA GURU by XTC

Seven Veils by Robert Rich

late 20th century (1998) perfection...

My Favorite Blues Numbers

This is a dynamic, continual work in progress list of the best blues numbers (according to my personal opinion). It would be impossible to put these in any kind of order as in best to worse, etc. Instead the list will continue to grow and expand as I have time to work on it. Also, most likely I will discuss particular tracks separately from time to time. Sometimes the same song is listed twice by different artists. This is because both the original and the cover versions are both so outstanding there is no way to only list one or the other.

Hopefully if you're new to the Blues genre, this list will give you a starting point. Again, this is all my own personal opinion.

Featured track (changes often):
Cassandra Wilson Vietnam Blues


Big Jack Johnson - Cherry Tree
Blind John Davis-Jersey Cow Blues
Blind Willie Johnson - The Soul of a Man
Bruce Cockburn - The Soul of a Man (Blind Willie Johnson cover)
Bukka White-Parchman Farm Blues
Cassandra Wilson - Vietnam Blues  (JB Lenoir Johnson cover)
Fabulous Thunderbirds - Wait on Time
Guy Davis - Uncle Tom's Dead
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin'
Hubert Sumlin - This Is the End, Little Girl
James Blood Ulmer - Are You Glad to Be in America
James Blood Ulmer - Katrina
JB Lenoir - Vietnam Blues
Jimi Hendrix - Red House
John Mooney - Buried Treasure
Junior Wells - Key to the Highway
Junior Wells - Vietcong Blues
Lightnin Hopkins - Buddy Browns blues  (98 degree blues)
Magic Sam's Blues Band-I Have the Same Old Blues
Mississippi John Hurt-Chicken
Muddy Waters - You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had
Otis Rush - Trouble, Trouble
Ronnie Earl-Catfish Blues
Shuggie Otis-12-15 Slow Goonbash Blues
Son House-Preachin' Blues
Sonny Boy Williamson II-Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets
Sonny Boy Williamson II-Nine Below Zero
Sonny Boy Williamson II-Cross My Heart
Sonny Boy Williamson II-Bring It on Home
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble-Mary Had A Little Lamb
Taj Mahal-Cakewalk into Town
Willie Dixon-Spoonful

... much more to come....

Markus Reuter

Is it ambient? Is it prog? Is it improvisation? Is it classical? Is it rock? It's all of the above and much much more. It's the brilliant work of Markus Reuter.

He's a master at touch guitar, composer, producer and even designs and builds touch guitars. He has one of the most extensive discographies around and has collaborated with many musicians, themselves masters in their own right. My personal favorite works of his (at this time, subject to change) are his collaborations with Robert Rich and Ian Boddy. However, one must keep in mind that he is also a member of The Stick Men and part of The Crimson ProjeKCt.

excerpt from Trace the Memory by Markus Reuter with Ian Boddy

AJ

This is AJ our cat (one of them).

He likes.... laying in boxes, food, sleeping, playing with paper balls, eating, dumpster diving (waste paper bin) and best of all sitting on my shoulder while I listen to music. What can be better than that?

oh...and keeping an eye on my chess moves...

Chameleons UK

One might ask the question "why has Manchester England produced so many outstanding artists"? Formed in 1981 by Reg Smithies, Dave Fielding and Mark Burgess, Chameleons are without a doubt one of the worlds most overlooked acts and one of Manchester's finest.

With catchy melodies and lyrics that actually have something intelligent to say, Chameleons produced 3 studio albums during their active years of 1981-1987 and 1 studio album during their re-formation years 2000-2003. Over these years there have also been various live releases, EPs and singles. Each of their releases have received very positive critical reviews in the 4 to 5 star range.

Besides being superb songcrafters, Chameleons have also proven their ability at doing justice to other peoples material. They covered Bowie with "John I'm Only Dancing" on the Strange Times album and "Moonage Daydream" on This Never Ending Now. The Strange Times album also included and outstanding rendition of The Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows".

If you've never heard the music of Chameleons UK, start with Script of the Bridge and work your way up from there. You're in for a treat!

Tears by Chameleons UK

1983
 Script of the Bridge

1985
What Does Anything Mean? Basically










1986
Strange Times











2001
Why Call It Anything

California Guitar Trio +2

A truly international ensemble, the California Guitar Trio consists of Paul Richards (USA), Bert Lams (Belgium) and Hideyo Moriya (Japan). They have an extensive discography spanning 1991 - 2016. This post is specifically about their album titled "CG3+2" which was released in 2002.

The +2 refers to Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto who joined CGT on this album. As a side point, CGT toured extensively with Robert Fripp and Trey Gunn as the Robert Fripp String Quartet between 1992 and 1993.

CG3+2 is an excellent album and well adding to your collection. A personal favorite track on the album is What I Am with outstanding performances by both Levin and Mastelotto.

Give it a listen, you'll be glad you did.

Cheers!

Listen to What I Am by California Guitar Trio



Tracklist
Melrose Avenue
Skyline
Dancing Ann
Heart Of The Sunrise
Hanagasa
Zundoko-Bushi
Blockhead
Dance Of Maya
Swampy Space
Swampy Return
Train To Lamy
Eve
What I Am
The Chase