​It is not a must to only insert this album into the cd player during Christmas. The danceable and relaxed atmosphere of the mix of nostalgic swing, jazz, rhythm & blues and crooner songs, recorded between 1940 and 1967, ensures listening pleasure all year round. Bear Family’s ‘Headin’ For The Christmas Ball’ is a wonderful holiday collector.

​Goree Carter can certainly be seen as a second T-Bone Walker. His blues has, just like that of his great example, a wonderful light jazzy twist and his guitar playing clearly betrays the hand of the master. Formidable blues, rhythm & blues and budding rock & roll. A must!

​'Rockin' Soul Party, vol. 2' is, just like volume 1, a sublime disc. Rhythm & blues and rocking soul complement each other very well. Ray Charles, Jimmy Reed, Little Junior Parker, Esther Phillips, Ike and Tina Turner, Irma Thomas, The Shirelles and Booker T. and the MG's are just a few of the toppers who, in addition to some less known artists, make nice weather. Highly recommended!

​Born in Portsmouth, Virginia on January 30, 1928, Ruth Brown emerged as Rhythm & Blues Queen in the 1950s. A title that she deserved, but that actually did her a little bit too short, because in addition to her jazzy rhythm & blues style, she later also performed well in the then emerging rock and roll, teenager ballads, soul and gospel. All her well-known songs are on this compilation. But there is more! You will also find beautiful rare recordings of her, such as her live recordings  packaged as bonus tracks during the 'Rhythm and Blues Revue', which you will get on CD for the first time here. 'Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean' is definitely recommended. 

​Sam Joyner's blues and Rhythm & Blues are often framed with exciting New Orleans tunes. With the swinging track "Sam Joyner In Tha Hause" we are building another party, before we extinguish the lights with the slow blues "When You Need A Friend". The release 'When U Need A Friend' is an excellent album!

​Little Richard named Billy Wright as his greatest source of inspiration, which is also evident from the here collected A and B sides of all the singles Billy Wright recorded for Savoy between 1949 and 1954. Formidable blues and rhythm & blues by someone who, despite his talent, could not connect with the well known artists of the genres.

​Again, what a hell of an album released by the KokoMojo label. Exciting rhythm & blues, blues and soul in 30 tracks, including a large number of world-famous songs. Moreover, all amazingly well remastered, giving you a sublime sound quality.
Although this' Rockin 'Soul Party' never mentions that it is volume 1, I can't get rid of the opinion, and I secretly hope that the label will not leave it at this first album.

​Volume 8, like its predecessors, is an album to cherish. A lot of famous names, supplemented with some tasteful surprises, provide 28 atmospheric and exciting Texas rhythm & blues tracks. In addition, compiler Mark Armstrong reports that with ‘Got A Big Fine Baby’ volume 9 soon will be released. We are already looking forward to it with great interest!

Elvis had a great love and admiration for the black blues and rhythm and blues artists. Their songs were often the reason for Presley to completely customize them in his version. But his vocal performance has also been greatly influenced by them. The 30 songs by black artists brought together here also prove that the originals should not be inferior to Elvis' versions. Recommended!

​Beautiful compilation released by Bear Family. All the hits, supplemented with rare and hard to find recordings, can be found on this album. Stop looking for a decent compilation album from the great Dinah Washington. This' A Rockin 'Good Way' has it all!

​You should definitely not interpret the title of this compilation literally. There is no question of ‘Slow Down’ at all, but of overwhelming, all burning rhythm & blues and rock and roll of ‘The Golden Age Of American Music’. Wooooow what an album! Get your copy and enjoy!

​Just like on the previously released editions, this album also contains some nice recordings in the blues, rhythm & blues and soul genres, played in The London Clubs in the sixties.

​The Jasmine label highlights in the first volume of this series, as the title already indicates ‘R&B Answers, Copycats & Follow-Ups’. A nice approach, because if we take a closer look at the rhythm & blues, doo-wop, rock 'n-roll and pop from the last century, there are many songs that meet the requested selection. The nice thing about this album is that when you hear a song, you inevitably look for the link it has with well-known work. A fun activity in this era of corona!

​Also on this newcomer in the series "The Original Sound Of UK Club Land", the Jasmine label puts the spots on the songs that could be found on the turntables of the London clubs in the 1960s. On ‘Stirring Up Some R & B’ the emphasis is on upbeat rhythm & blues. The album is very varied and some rare recordings ended up on this compilation.

​Eddie Bo, born on September 30, 1930 and deceased on March 18, 2009, may have recorded a lot of catchy New Orleans blues and rhythm & blues, yet he is one of the most underrated artists in the genre. Just listen to the 43 often piano-driven New Orleans blues and rhythm & blues songs that you get served on this doubler. Recommended!

​One of the most underrated guitarists and arrangers is undoubtedly this René Hall. And yet he had a not to be underestimated contribution to several classic pop, rock and rhythm & blues recordings between 1950 and 1970.
The Jasmine label focuses on this collector more on the obscure recordings than on the most famous of Hall. The latter are easy to find, which is not the case for the songs bundled here. The 29 mostly instrumental songs on this album show a Hall that could hold its own in both rhythm & blues and early rock 'n' roll. Quality that the filmmakers also appreciated, such as Jacques Tati who chose Hall's Allied recording ‘My Uncle’ as the theme for his film classic ‘Mon Oncle’. The film won an Oscar in 1958 in the category ‘Best Foreign Language Film’.

​Volume 2 'Bip Bop Bip' in the 'Boss Black Rockers' series once again contains steamy rhythm & blues and razor sharp rock & roll from the 'Golden Age' of American Music. We are already looking forward to the next albums that Little Victor Mac aka The 'Mojo' Man will compile in this serie.

​After the previously released 'Get These Blues Off Me' by the Jasmine label, which included T-Bone Walker's recordings for Imperial and Atlantic between 1950 and 1955, this album goes back in time. It bundles the songs he recorded in 1946 and 1947 for the labels Black & White and Comet. 26 beautiful tracks including 'Call It Stormy Monday' and 'T-Bone Shuffle'.

​'Mumbles Blues' his first recording for the Chess label, already shows a great rhythm & blues artist. In 1961, Bobby Lewis scored his biggest hit with 'Tossin' And Turnin '', of which more than 3 million copies were sold. Unfortunately, he then slowly slid back to the live circuit. Unjustified as it appears from this album, which is full of sublime rhythm & blues.

​Texas brought a large number of artists in the rhythm & blues genre to the surface. It is therefore logical that they cannot be captured in one album. That is why volume 7, just like its predecessor, focuses on the Lone Star State. However, the emphasis is now on artists who are known to the general public, as well as on the rhythm & blues with a jive or jump approach. Once again, highly recommended!

On volume 6 in the fantastic series 'Southern Bred', compiler Mark Armstrong focuses on the Texan artists. Excellent rhythm & blues from the heydays of the genre.

​Nice overview of the career of pianist Gus Jenkins and his wife, also talented singer Mamie Perry. Two CDs filled with beautiful emotional blues, tight 'old school' rhythm & blues and this both vocally and instrumentally. Recommended!

The name Bobby Charles may not immediately ring a bell and yet there is a good chance that there will be songs from him in your recordcase. Songs not sung by him, but by greats such as Fats Domino, Clarence "Frogman" Henry or Bill Haley & The Comets. But as this compilation shows, Bobby also had the talent to record beautiful rock 'n' roll and New Orleans inspired rhythm & blues under his own name.

​'Chief Whoopin' Koff ', the next volume in the Indian Bred serie, gives an insight into the identity and lifestyle of the Native-Americans through varied music genres. Recommended!

​'Rockin' Horse Cowgirl ', volume 2 in the' Rock 'n Roll Kittens' serie is once again full of exciting rock' n roll and tasty rhythm & blues.