The nearest offering we haveto a well-known song is Cannons JugStompers Walk Right In, well worthy ofinclusion here (apart of course frombeing a corking record) for the accompanying anecdote ofCrumb on what happened to Gus Cannon when he belatedlyreceived song-writer royalties for this song from thebig-selling version of The Rooftop Singers in the earlysixties.

And without Crumb pointing it out, who would spotthe anomaly of a cello solo in Washboard Cut-Out by theexuberant Bobbie Leecans Need More BandElsew here, as well as obscure, the unearthed treasurepresented here is also marvellously varied, from the beautifulGuenene Tini by Cheikha Tetma, recorded in Algeriain 1930, through to excursions into sacred and religiousrecordings.

These include the excellent Ill Just Stand AndWring My Hands And Cry by Reverend J.C.

Burnett AndCongregation and the delightful Down On Me from EddieHead And Family.

And for more secular blues, the deeplyaffecting Last Kind Words by Geeshie Wiley is claimed byCrumb to be one of the greatest sides ever recorded.Not that it is essential to be briefed about this music toappreciate its various charms.

Crumb himself appreciatesthis and admits to knowing little about Joe Linthcombewhen introducing his sublime Humming Blues, a pre-bluesballad with a ukulele and trumpet backing and lyrics notreally attuned to the political correctness of today - a samplebeing I know a good woman is like asecond hand car, she keeps you busy butshe doesnt go far.

QuiteAnd should you somehow already have anyof these tracks, Ill wager they dont soundas good as they do here.

I dont know whatmasters the compilers of this programmewere working from but the music jumps outof the speakers as clearly and directly asthe discussions of Crumb and Zolten.All told, a fabulous way to spend an hour, allpresented in a lovely digi-pack featuringnice notes and an original Robert Crumbillustration on the cover.

Whats not to likeAsk for ERSB1006 - on offer at a special review price ofonly 12.15 pp if bought before 21st FebruaryMAGIC SAMLive At The Avant Garde - June 22 1968Delmark CD - DE833This is just the latest of a growing number of live recordingsfeaturing Magic Sam that havesurfaced over recent years.

While thesound quality of these are variable, theperformances have been uniformly excellent.Thankfully we get the best of bothworlds here; a committed and energeticperformance from a top-drawer Chicagoblues trio and a sound that captures theatmosp here of the intimate setting.Not that Jim Charne, who engineered andproduced these recordings is having any ofit.

In the informative notes to this release,Charne writes that the recording equipmentwas primitive and the layout of the roommeant t here was no place to put the tapemachine except againstthe bandstand.

The only thing he had tocompensate for the limitations was hisexperience of working the room and knowingw here to place microphones to besteffect.

Across each of the 16excellent tracks, Big Mojo Elems bassthrobs, Bob Richeys drums swing andMagic Sams guitar stings and stabs.And, as always, Sams voice is at turnstender and powerful on a set that mixeshis own classics (such as the soulfulThats All I Need, the propulsive instrumental Lookin Goodand funky You Belong To Me) alongside some great coverversions such as Still A Fool, Dont Want NoWoman, Thats All Right, Hoochie Coochie Man and(of course) All Your Love.Some 45 years after his premature, unexpected andfatal heart attack at the tender age of 32 (a mereyear and a bit after this hot night in Milwaukee) theuntapped genius of Magic Sam continues to captivatethe minds of blues fans across the world.These 16 tracks provide further evidence that thesefans know a thing or two.Ask for DE833 - on offer at a special review priceof only 11.75 pp if bought before 21 February0DUST MY RHYTHM BLUES - THE FLAIRRB STORY 1953-1955Ace 2CD - CDTOP2 1382You have to take your hat off to Ace.

Not only are they thebest around in researching, re-mastering, compiling andpackaging great music, they also have a keen eye for aconcept.

Luckily, thischange of direction made an immediate difference, by luckor judgement the first non-hillbilly artist signed was the trulygreat Elmore James, who went on to release some of hisvery best sides for Flair; seven of which are featured here,including the definitive Dust My Blues,loose-limbed Cant Stop Lovin andemotionally-charged Sho Nuff I Do.Other big names featured includeJohnny Ace, Richard Berry, ClarenceGarlow, Mercy Dee Walton, LittleJohnny Jones and Johnny Fuller.

Themost influential involvement however isthat of Ike Turner, who was the Biharisgo-to-guy for supplying booked sessionswith artists, supporting musicians,arrangements and songs.

Ike onlyappears once here as a featured artistbut he casts a giant shadow over mostof these sides (especially those recordedfor Flair rather than licensed).T here are also lots of fine little-known artists featured,many now on CD for the first time.

I am particularly takenby Anna Maries An Angel Cried heart-breaker and BobbyRelfs softly-sung vocal harmonies on Farewell.So a great start to what will undoubtedly be a highly-prizedseries.

Not sure when the next will appear but it cant comesoon enough for me.Ask for CDTOP2 1382 - on offer at a special review priceof only 15.45 pp if bought before 21 February0LOBI TRAORBamako Nights - Live At Bar Bozo 1995Glitterbeat CD - GBCD003Captured live in 1995 while still on the road to becoming alegend of African blues, this enormously atmospheric andearthy performance provides a riveting snapshot of howLobi was transforming theacoustic Malian blues byincorporating rock, funk andmore into a broader musicalsoundscape.The venue for this amazingperformance was a nightclubin a less than salubrious partof downtown Bamako, capitalcity of Mali.

The club wasclosed down by the authoritiesa few weeks after thisappearance and, whateverthe reasons for this closure, itsurely couldnt have been amusical decision.

In front of a raucous but appreciative andgood natured audience, the music smoulders and hypnotises,helped in no small part by the acoustics and atmosp here of the club.Opening solo with Ni Tugula Mogo Mi Ko, a showcase forLobis warm and expressive vocals over a simple buteffective delta blues riff, this is a captivating nine minutesthat passes all too quickly.

This track alone is sufficientevidence that we are listening to a major artist and is worththe admission price alone.For the remaining eight tracks, Lobi is joined by a rocksolid band, allowing his spectral electric guitar riffs andsolos to float and shimmer.

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