Otis Taylor, “Cold at Midnight” from Hey Joe Opus / Red Meat (2015): One Track Mind
Otis Taylor’s “Cold at Midnight,” a white-knuckle ride into the very heart of worry, advances the forthcoming ‘Hey Joe Opus / Red Meat.’

Otis Taylor’s “Cold at Midnight,” a white-knuckle ride into the very heart of worry, advances the forthcoming ‘Hey Joe Opus / Red Meat.’
‘Some Change,’ released on April 5, 1994, reestablished everything that made Boz Scaggs the master of both lover-man ballads and roots rock.

“Hell to Pay” doesn’t represent the rootsy Bonnie Raitt pushing Boz Scaggs into a new direction, so much as reminding him from whence he came.

If you’re expecting another rootsy upbeat rocker from the BoDeans, the frankly scarifying blues of “Slave” likely comes as something of a shock.

The Blues Brothers fought their label to make sure early heroes like Floyd Dixon, Steve Cropper and Isaac Hayes received royalties.

There’s a blessedly long list of food-based blues. Add Dallas-based Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King’s “Cornbread” to that lip-smacking list.

Here is a review of ‘In The Mix,’ the first album in almost five years by the multi-talented contemporary bluesman Bernard Allison.
There was no small amount of violence in Blind Willie Johnson’s original take, and that’s boldly recaptured in this unheard version by the Staple Singers.

Robben Ford’s new song is loose, truly collaborative — the opposite of those emailed digital confections so often dubbed “duets” these days.

Robben Ford brings his usual canny sense of craft to this collaboration with Warren Haynes, even as he — once again — more than holds his own.