Surprising albums by veteran artists gave the blues scene a creative boost this year. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Amos Garrett, in particular, took unanticipated turns with their latest discs. And others, including Delta stylist Rory Block and Chicago slider Lil’ Ed Williams, made soul stirring records that stuck to the music’s roots. Here’s a rundown of the 10 best blues albums of 2008.
Amos Garrett, Get Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield: Mayfield was the sad poet of the blues, penning lyrics for “The River’s Invitation,” “Never Say Naw” and other classics that gave voice to primal heartache. Sensitive six-stringer Garrett ― who made his bones as an R&B sideman and studio ace playing on ’70s pop hits like “Snowbird” and “Midnight at the Oasis” ― proves himself the perfect interpreter of this music. His playing is graceful and as carefully shaded as a Renaissance masterpiece; his singing a perfect reflection of the hollow souls who inhabit Mayfield’s 11 achingly beautiful tales.
B.B. King, One Kind Favor: Octogenarian King doesn’t step out of his comfort zone often, but when he does the results are impressive. That’s why this is King’s best recording since his 2000 collaboration with Eric Clapton, Riding with the King. His new co-conspirator is roots production impresario T-Bone Burnett, who vowed to inspire King to play guitar like he did in the ’50s. That doesn’t happen, although King’s laid-back picking is plenty artful. Instead, King turns in a lionine vocal performance on tunes outside his usual songbook, by the likes of Howlin’ Wolf and Bessie Smith, backed by a hard-churning version of his big band powered by two drums kits.
Buddy Guy, Skin Deep: Focused by producer Tom Hambridge, Guy returns to the daredevil guitar work that’s his early career signature, bolstered by big-butt contemporary tones. At times the album veers into standard blues-rock, but then songs like the title track and “Whose Gonna Fill Those Shoes,” dealing with race and blues mortality, charge in to stir the air.
Dr. John and the Lower 911, City That Care Forgot: This is the funkiest protest album ever. The piano doctor delivers a scathing indictment of the feds, insurance companies and developers, and the lingering racism that have made the state of New Orleans post-Katrina a national disgrace. He gets help from pals Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Terence Blanchard, Ani DiFranco, and Terrance Simien, who all rally to a soundtrack that ranges from Crescent City parade beats to dirty blues to ’70s Blaxploitation cool.
Rory Block, Blues Walkin' Like a Man: A Tribute to Son House: When Block met Delta blues giant House as a teenager it changed her musical destiny. This acoustic solo disc is payback. Decades later Block does more than assimilate House’s soulful grind. She puts her own stinging brand on one of the most distinctive catalogs in blues.
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials, Full Tilt: Like the title says, this is unfettered slide guitar madness just like Elmore James, Robert Nighthawk, and Ed Williams’s uncle J.B. Hutto used to create ― amped up a notch by Ed’s versatile blend of their styles and his own bloody knuckled virtuosity.
Janiva Magness, What Love Will Do: From the Little Milton-penned title track to the closing piano ballad “Sometimes You Got to Gamble,” Magness emerges from the trenches to become the blues’ reigning female song interpreter.
Susan Tedeschi, Back to the River: Tedeschi sings hard on her first album of original tunes since her 1998 breakthrough Just Won’t Burn, with just the right amount of rasp to stand toe-to-toe with her powerhouse guests. They include hubby and slide guitar demon Derek Trucks, Gary Louis of the Jayhawks, and guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. A highlight is “700 Houses,” a New Orleans elegy where Tedeschi’s warmest vocal performance is balanced by Trucks’ delicately warbling slide.
Albert Collins, Live at Montreux 1992: If you’ve ever wondered why they called late Texas string-wrangler Collins “the Master of the Telecaster,” listen up. His teeth-baring mile-wide tone is the star of this concert, where he rips out rippling leads with absolute funky authority.
Ike and Tina Turner, Sing the Blues: This is the reissue of the year, a soul oozing spectacular that’s full of Tina’s honey-coated-sandpaper singing and Ike’s radical retakes of classics by Elmore James and Lowell Fulson, as well as “Grumbling,” a crazy Strat-spanking sequel to “Prancin’ ” that captures the late rock and blues giant’s dizzy guitar attack in his prime.