Siegal and Mastro came together for a fantastic throwback rough and tumble session recorded live in New Orle-ans. Ian Siegal's whiskey soaked voice and guitar meshes perfectly with one of the rawest approaches on the scene. Johnny's harmonica drives his band like no one else and combined with Mr. Siegal the sound is refreshingly intoxicating. EASY TIGER!

Last year Ben Levin released the brilliant LP ‘Back To Baton Rouge’ with Lil’ Jimmy Reed. Now there’s ‘A Holiday Blues Revue’, a ten track album with a lot of help from a bunch of guest artists. The release was produced by Ben Levin and Matt Hueneman, and was recorded in Newport, Kentucky, not far from Levin’s home in Cincinnati. Ben co-wrote most of the songs with his father Aron. Pa Aron added great guitar to Ben’s overwhelming piano playing.
Cincinnati-based blues pianist/singer Ben Levin releases his sixth VizzTone album, Ben Levin Presents: A Holiday Blues Revue. This album features many quest artists, and spans many different styles of blues. Highly recommended!

‘Superposition’ is the concept where a quantum system exists in multiple states simultaneously until observed or measured. This succinctly captures the essence of Sam’s latest body of work. Beyond the dense physics, over the past four years, he undergone profound personal growth, navigating the complexities of embracing both of former self and a new identity simultaneously. 

​These five passionate and experienced musicians need only a subtle look to each other to bring out a rich range of musical styles. Live, they convey this feeling effortlessly. Their album Live On Tour isn’t a carefully orchestrated live gig or balanced studio recording; it’s the authentic sound of the band on tour. It captures the band’s original sound and dynamics, as if you’re experiencing them live. The raw energy on stage is there, without overdubs or edits. The album features several tracks from their highly-praised latest studio release, Unchained, as well as some band favorites.

Was there debut ‘Still Moving’ an intriguing album, ‘Sweet release’ also beats the common music. Great stuff!

Now Chad Rupp & band are promoting the album 'Gate C23' together with a whole list of guest artists. Eight original songs that Chad wrote in just two weeks, and three covers with ‘14 Dollars In The Bank’ by Paul Delay, ‘Blind Crippled & Crazy’ (OV Wright) and Roland Stone’s soul blues ballad ‘She Is The One’ color the album. Chad Rupp’s approach to the blues is very modern, it is soul-infused, funky, personal and extremely danceable. 

Renowned for his high energy, distinctive sound, and handmade oil can guitars, Joe Flip delivers a captivating blend of blues rock originals and timeless classics inspired by his musical heroes. With over 2 million YouTube views and 40,000 monthly Spotify listeners, Joe Flip has established a dedicated global fanbase, making “Old Soul: Live” a must-hear for blues rock enthusiasts everywhere. 

Cape Verdean Creole songs, melancholy mornas and vivid coladeiras with Carribean or Brazilian influences.

It has been since 2020 that female rock 'n' roll artists were able to show their talents via volume 5 in the 'Rock 'n Roll Kittens' series. Fortunately, there is now a sequel with volume 6 in this series with 'Hot Licks' as the title. What can you expect? Well, that is no less than 25 of the hottest rock 'n' roll, which the 'chicks' recorded between 1956 and 1963. Authentically rocking, Karen Wells immediately flies in with full conviction as 'The Wine Maker's Daughter' with 'Never Gonna Let Him Go'. She is followed by Betty McQuade who had Wanda Jackson in mind for the interpretation of 'Tongue Tied'. That 'Johnny B. Goode' also remains upright in a female version is shown by JoAnn Campbell. And also pay attention to that nice guitar solo. In the middle of the previous century it was not unusual for the artists on the A side of a single to differ from the B side. This also happened with the instrumental ‘Hot Licks’ by The Rendell’s. On the flipside was ‘Oh It Hurts’ by the female group The Karol’s. A song that can also be found on this compilation. It was not only teenagers and twens who recorded great rock’n’roll songs. Annisteen Allen was already 37 years old when she recorded ‘Rough Lover’. It is therefore completely normal that the song sounds more mature due to its somewhat bluesy slant.
Rick Nelson is no stranger. You do not hear him vocally here, but he and his band do provide the accompaniment on ‘Kiss Me Baby’ by Laura Lee Perkins.
‘Mother-In-Law’ was a big hit for Ernie K. Doe. ‘Son-In-Law’, a female adapted version, is provided here by Louise Brown. Nice, certainly because of the prominent presence of the piano and the excellent bass solo, is ‘You’ll Need My Help’ by Betty Jo.
For a headstrong lady, you should go to Charline Arthur. She didn’t like how the recording should sound according to her producer. She only wanted to record the way she wanted. I am sure she did the same for ‘Hello Baby’, given the unusual and minimal arrangement.
Girl groups, although they were still politely called ‘trio, sisters or twins’ in the fifties, are the Jaye Sisters. Sandy Schneider and the sisters Jean and June Hendon were the members. ‘G 3’ also contains wonderful harmonies as we are used to from such groups. More of this genre are also presented by The School Belles with ‘Waitin’ For My Date’, Austin Sisters in ‘It Happened At The Hop’, ‘Go On Baby, Cry On’ by Myra Sisters, the duo Tracey Twins with ‘Don’t Mean Maybe Baby’, The Joytones in ‘Gee What A Boy!’ and The Chantels in ‘Never Let Go’. The same goes for ‘Boys Guess Things Happen That Way’ by Apaapa Sisters. More in the direction of country, including fiddle, The Nettles Sisters did it in ‘Real Gone Jive’.
A contemporary recording is coming with Barbara Portland and the swinging ‘Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’. Barbara recorded the song this year in the Lightning Recorders Studio in Berlin, but the recording was not released before. Unbelievable, because it is a great version.
You can’t think of a more appropriate song than ‘That’s It’ as a closing track. The person responsible for this song is Babette Bain, who also played in many films as an actress. There is a lot to discover on this album. Songs that have remained unknown until now, but are now finally reaching the general public through series like this. I am now more convinced than ever that there are still many beautiful things that have not reached our ears.

​Anglo-American rockers Spooky Tooth released no less than seven albums between 1968 and 1974, two of which are now available in a remastered version as a double cd by BGO Records: ‘You Broke My Heart So … I Busted Your Jaw’ and ‘Witness’, both from 1973 and both filled with tunes written or co-written by singer and keyboardist extraordinaire Gary Wright.
The various lie-ups hosted a wealth of vocal, instrumental and song-writing talent, think Mike Harrison, Gary Wright, Luther Grosvenor, Mick Jones and Mike Patto.
Both albums sound like prog and then again, they don’t. Just when you think the album is getting heavy, it changes direction. The many roads travelled by the band in-between these two genres, are sometimes confusing. For instance: ‘You Broke My Heart’ houses the esoteric ballad ‘Moriah’, the robust R&B-inspired anti-slavery rocker ‘Cotting Growing Man’ and the near-gospel beauty of ‘Holy Water’.
‘Witness’ is more of a hard rock piece of work: a slowed-down tempo, high vocals, a leaden rhythm section and a guitar solo for good measure. It makes one think of Bad Co. or Humble Pie, only not that consistent.
Their forte? The wonderful vocals by Harrison and Wright. Their soft spots: too much repetition, not enough melody.
There’s a lot to discover here, also in terms of lyrics, but it does take time to tell the tree from its fruits.
Radio 68  presents a heavy helping on Wednesday 06 November from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. GMT. 

In The Real World is the latest album from blues troubadour Eric Bibb, following his Grammy-nominated 2023 studio release, Ridin’ and Live at The Scala Theatre album, released earlier this year. Recorded at Peter Gabriel’s iconic Real World Studios and produced, arranged and mixed by Glen Scott, the new disc is a vivid representation of Bibb's musical and personal evolution, offering a glimpse into the world he's experienced and the hope he continues to foster through his music. It is a continuation of the vision that informs his artistry as a modern-day Blues troubadour. Grounded in the folk and blues tradition with contemporary sensibilities, Bibb’s music continues to reflect his thoughts on current world events and his own lived experiences, whilst remaining entertaining, uplifting, inspirational and relevant.

A veteran of the DC music scene, J.P. has evolved from his early days as lead guitar for the psychedelic blues band The Next Step, to half of the acoustic blues/roots duo The Reali Brothers in the 90's, to his current solo career. The release ‘Blues Since Birth’ is one of the most contemporary contrasting blues albums.

A trip through ancient Istanbul on a modern eastern psych sound