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About Tony Russell

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Synopsis

From its roots in the American South to today's world stage, the journey of the blues has encompassed countless artists and recordings. But how can you find the best of them? The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings is a uniquely informative, insightful and easy-to-use guide through the jungles of the record shop and the online music store. It surveys the recorded work of more than a thousand blues artists, from towering figures of the past like Charley Patton, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson to stars of the modern era such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan, providing crisp, expert and witty reviews of almost six thousand CDs. Whether you're a blues aficionado or just starting a collection, this is required reading.

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Interview

Below is a top ten list of more unusual blues records recommended by Tony Russell, one of the authors of the Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings.

From its roots in the American South to today's world stage, the journey of the blues has encompassed countless artists and recordings. But how can you find the best of them? The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings is a uniquely informative, insightful and easy-to-use guide through the jungles of the record shop and the online music store. It surveys the recorded work of more than a thousand blues artists, from towering figures of the past like Charley Patton, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson to stars of the modern era such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan, providing crisp, expert and witty reviews of almost six thousand CDs. Whether you're a blues aficionado or just starting a collection, this is required reading.

Naturally, the writers give their due to the acknowledged classics of the blues, and the book's highest rating, the coveted crown symbol, is awarded to the best presentations of famous recordings by Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many other leading figures.

But seasoned readers who think they know their way round the blues record store will find surprises here, too. Also winning the crown rating are albums like these ­ lesser known, but, the writers argue, of compelling craft and power. How many do you have in your collection?

J.B. Lenoir - Vietnam Blues (Evidence)
Joe Louis Walker - Blue Soul (Hightone)
Frank Hovington - Gone With The Wind (Flyright)
Junior Kimbrough - Most Things Haven¹t Worked Out (Fat Possum)
Deacon John Moore - Deacon John¹s Jump Blues (VCC)
Johnny Shines - Standing At The Crossroads (Testament)
Sippie Wallace - Women Be Wise (Storyville)
Mighty Joe Young - Mighty Man (Blind Pig)
Robert Belfour - What¹s Wrong With You (Fat Possum)
Baby Face - Leroy Foster (Classics)
Beau Jocque - Git It, Beau Jocque! (Rounder)
Jesse Thomas - (1948­1958) (Document)

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