The Jelly Roll Kings:
Frank Frost, Sam Carr, Big Jack Johnson
Rockin' the Juke Joint Down
Earwig 4901 CD/C
    ...The Kings cook with their own brand of gas, simmering rock, pop and c & w influences into the basic broth of authentic funk to create a piping hot Southern gumbo... a driving selection of instrumental and vocal burners...- Downbeat
   (Big Jack Johnson's) vocals are raw, and he plays raunchy, thunderous guitar... (Frank Frost) blows harmonica with a flair that recalls Sonny Boy Williamson... (drummer Sam Carr) gets the groove going...- The Seattle Rocket
 

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards, Walter Horton, Floyd Jones, Kansas City Red
Old Friends
Earwig 4902 LP (DJ)/CD/C
   The music has the unforced feel of (Chicago's) blues of the late 30s and 40s without once sounding anachronistic. The five musicians (playing as a quintet) share the vocal duties, providing striking contrasts...All the material is original in the true sense, not just old blues with reshuffled lyrics and new titles, and the quintet interprets it with real conviction. Horton is featured on seven of the seventeen numbers. - Manchester, England Evening News

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Jim Brewer
Tough Luck
Earwig 4904 CDR

   Tough Luck is Delta blues at its best -- its words and melodies sing of the human condition in its most expressive manner. Listeners who enjoy Son House or Mississippi John Hurt will welcome the music of Jim Brewer. - Cadence
    Brewer sang blues in the understated mellow manner that seeps inside of you even as you drink and chat; his deep soft voice and the light knowing touch of calloused fingers on the strings picked out many layered patterns of blue.    - Arts, The Michigan Daily

**CDR** $10.00 plus shipping

Big Jack Johnson
The Oil Man
Earwig 4910 LP/CD/C
    Johnson's fat, reverb-drenched guitar tone and convincing vocals make for a potent combination on such classics as Catfish and How Many More Years, and even help to compensate for such obviously derivative songs as I'm Gonna Give Up Disco (a thinly disguised rewrite of Jr. Parker's Mystery Train). Also worth hearing are Johnson's delightfully distinctive treatments of Steel Guitar Rag, and oddly enough, Tom Dooley.    - The Washington Post
   The band latches onto some irresistable grooves that are custom made for dancing (roll up the rugs) and Johnson's guitar has a big, fat sound that makes you want to swing and sweat. Catfish, with its subtle references to Jimi Hendrix and John Lee Hooker,... ought to attract those fans of Stevie Ray Vaughn and George Thorogood if they can handle a lot more meat and a lot less sizzle. - Jazz Times

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Frank Frost
Midnight Prowler
Earwig 4914 LP/CD/C
   Make it funky! For down-home blues fans it doesn't get much better than this. Vocalist/harp player Frost... comes on with the raw basics, accompanied by two different groups featuring his superb guitarist Big Jack Johnson. Well-balanced mix of covers and originals is rough and real, and will kick the butt of any died-in-the-wool blues nut. - Billboard
   Frank Frost is a country bluesman to the bone. the Sun Records veteran is in typically relaxed and inspired form on this session, where he's frequently supported by Jonnson and drummer Sam Carr's infectious backbeat. Slim Harpo's ghost looms large here, but if Frost proves one thing on this record, it's that he's clearly his own man. Listen to his outragous cover of Mustang Sally if you doubt it. - Jazztimes

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Sunnyland Slim
Be Careful How You Vote
Earwig 4915 LP/CD/C
   Premier Pianist/composer Sunnyland Slim grew into his blues roots in Chicago via the Delta. This collection of recordings from 1981-83 is quite possibly one of the most potent, diverse blues discs to ever haunt my CD player. - The Retriever
   This is a remastered reissue from Sunnyland's own Airway label, featuring the great guitarists Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor, Magic Slim, and Lurrie Bell, who turn in blazing guitar solos behind Sunnyland's deep vocals and rolling piano. Most of the songs had not been recorded by Slim prior to this session; many are quite topical in their lyrics. - Silo Independent Newsletter

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Big Jack Johnson
Daddy, When is Mama Comin Home?
Earwig 4916 LP/CD/C
   A major blues talent, guitarist/vocalist Johnson delivers topical material with knock-out force and man-woman songs with hard poignancy. - American Visions
   Crawdad Hole, I'm A Big Boy Now, and the title cuts are all standouts. AIDS, racism, and poverty are all here and Big Jack's insightful and often humorous commentary are a welcome and somewhat overdue statement. - Music Independent
   Besides Johnson's swaggering leads and rippling guitar, there's a torrid horn section of top Chicgo players. On two songs, Frank Frost takes a turn on synthesizer, adding a contemporary flavor. But no one should mistake this for a pop or rock session; it's hard-edged, undiluted Delta blues. - Memphis Commercial Appeal

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Little Brother Montgomery
At Home
Earwig 4918 LP/CD/C
   Little Brother was one of the finest of the first generation of blues pianists who came out of the barrelhouse and back rooms of the rural South in the early 1900s. This fine collection is mostly unissued cuts recorded from the late 60s to the early 80s. Excellent for collectors, and great old piano stylings as well. - Pittsburgh Press
   When Little Brother Montgomery died in 1985, a priceless quality departed American piano music: an easy-rocking swing, a graceful flow of movement seldom heard outside of New Orleans players... His boogie bass lines are flexible, and his playing is relaxed and fluid... he embellishes as often as he improvises in his solos... he is a dramatic player, as in his No Special Rider Boogie. His blues singing is special. - Chicago Tribune

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Louis Myers
Tell My Story Movin'
Earwig 4919 CD/C
   Emerging from a long bout of ill health, Myer's renewed vigor can be seen on this album. His harmonica, vocal, and guitar chops richly demonstrate why he is credited with a large role in helping develop shuffle and other uptempo blues. - Silo Independent Newsletter
   For a man over 60, his fingers are still nimble, varying from the stomping shuffle of Wiggle Tail and inebriated joy of Sloppy Drunk to the cathartic moan of In The Evening and Whooping Cough. His harmonica emits quite a moan, too, and gets the limelight on Bottom Of The Harp and Tribute To The Aces. - Option

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Jimmy Dawkins
kant sheck dees bluze
Earwig 4920 CD/C
   Jimmy has recorded the best set of his career, accompanied by a top-notch Chicago band of "Professor" Eddie Lusk on piano/organ, ace bass man Johnny B. Gayden, Ray Scott on drums, Billy Flynn of The Legendary Blues Band on rhythm guitar and two storming vocals by a young female singer, Nora Jean Wallace. (Jimmy) has a gift to say so, so much with a single note or riff that modern fret board wizards would do well to listen to... Unreservedly recommended. - Blues and Rhythm
   Jimmy Dawkins is a masterful musician. He's a brilliant song writer, an effective singer, and one of the very best West Side Chicago guitarists, with a staccato style of playing all his own... The emotional force of Dawkins' guitar is devastating... (kant shek dees bluze) is an essential album for lovers of blues guitar and anyone who looks to blues for no-holds-barred confrontation with the human condition. - Alabama Blues Society Newsletter

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Honeyboy Edwards
Delta Bluesman
Earwig 4922 CD/C
   This is a wonderful record... The first 14 cuts are from 1942 Library of Congress recordings... Edwards' playing is as Delta blues as it gets... Edwards worked with (Big Joe Williams and) other Delta greats such as Tommy McClennan, Charley Patton... Big Walter Horton, Robert Johnson, and Little Walter. His playing shows influences from all these men... There are seven songs on the CD recorded in 1991 with Carey Bell, Sunnyland Slim, Aron Burton, and Robert Plunkett, that show Edwards can still lay down some mean blues... If you have any interest in Mississippi blues, you've got to have this album. - Living Blues
   ...One is left with the feeling of the natural blues from way back from one of the last living masters... Interspersed with vocal reminiscences of a rich and celebrated life, this is one of the traditional blues treasures of the year. - Beach News, Encinitas, California

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Lester Davenport
When The Blues Hit You
Earwig 4923 CD/C
   Serving up 12 Davenport original tunes on the album, "Mad Dog" and his mates have cooked up a spicy stew of vintage blues sounds. Tracks like the hopping It Won't Work Like That, I'm Gonna Move, and the rousing I'm Gonna Give It Up find Davenport... singing convincingly in a gruff time seasoned tone, and blowing up a storm on harp. - Chicago Blues Magazine
   The "Mad Dog" is such a powerful soloist in the Little Walter vein (the Big Walter vein, too, before that worthy turned so introspective) such that you wish he'd just keep going. ...The model here is pretty clearly the Muddy Waters ensemble... That's OK with me -- the Morganfield model is a durable one and Lester even sings a bit like the Master... As for backup, we've got John Primer, guitarist in Muddy's last band and a student of Sammy Lawhorn... Add Sunnyland Slim, his accomplices Stroger and Covington, and the right amount of chugging and scratching from Willie Davis, and you've got a band that ought to tour... Excellent recording. Go for it. - Cadence

CD $13.00 plus shipping

John Primer
Stuff You Got To Watch
Earwig 4924 CD/C
   John Primer is a small gem of a blues guitarist, shaped under the pressure of years of hard labor in clubs and backup work, sparkling on his American solo debut. The Mississippi-born bluesman played lead guitar in Muddy Waters' last band, until Waters' death in 1982; he's since been a guitar slinger for Magic Slim And The Teardrops. His stinging guitar solos and tough vocals are equally at home with his original tunes or sturdy covers of solid blues... Every time you worry a bit about the blues disappearing as an American music, someone like John Primer shows up to case your troubled mind. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
   John Primer reveals himself to be a confident, expressive singer and a skilled and versatile guitarist on his American debut album... The disc features 13 cuts covering a wide range of blues styles, tempos, and song formats... (showcasing) Primer's fluid guitar work and hip vocal phrasing along with some biting harp from Mervyn "Harmonica" Hinds... (John Primer) certainly rates as an up and coming blues artist to watch. - Chicago Blues Magazine

CD $13.00 plus shipping

H-Bomb Ferguson
Wiggin' Out
Earwig 4926 CD/C
   H-Bomb Ferguson does not play the piano. He fights it. He punches the white keys and jabs the black ones. When he sings, he alternates between a deep growl and a high, hoarse howl. ...Ferguson's style -- wig and all -- is captured on Wiggin' Out... The album's 15 tracks have a warm, LP-era sound with Ferguson's vocals soaring over his four-piece band, the Medicine Men.
   ...With the Medicine Men, the piano-man does some serious blues. Meatloaf and Shake Your Apple Tree march to Keenath Malachi Williams' modified second-line New Orleans beat and Eric Neuhausser's sassy tenor sax as their lyrics wallow in the blues stew of sex and romance. Ferguson and Neuhausser team up for I Got A Love and Moon, Shine On Me. On each, Ferguson settles his piano into a steady, honky-tonk mode while Neuhausser's sax buzzes around like a big, brass-plated bee. Then he sings.
   His voice is feisty and quick like a bantam-weight prizefighter as it delivers love letters with the power of a left hook to the jaw. - The Cincinnati Enquirer

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Aron Burton
Past, Present, & Future
Earwig 4927 CD/C
   Aron Burton worked as a sideman on many classic recordings on the Alligator label as well as a stint with Albert Collins. But Past, Present, & Future isn't a tribute to another artist. It's a full-blown testament to the abilities of Aron Burton.
   The recording evolved from three different sessions, with eight selections included from a previously issued European recording. Burton, who holds down the lead vocal and bass chores, composed most of the tunes, all of which are saturated with a hard-edged urban blues feeling.
   Past, Present, & Future is an exceptional work by an artist who has been around for a good long time, but never really took center stage. Aron Burton has put together a first-rate collection of gritty blues that should bring him out of the shadows once in a while. Blues Review Quarterly
   Burton is one of Chicago's most underrated singers and songwriters -- a situation that this release should do much to correct. - Living Blues

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Lovie Lee
Good Candy
Earwig 4928 CD/C
   This CD reissue of several tracks produced by Eddie "Lovie" Lee Watson in 1984 and '89 features 58 minutes of piano-pounding Chicago blues fun... Lovie's songs, expressive vocals, and steady-rollin' piano playing shine... as do the playing of harmonica-ace Carey Bell and his highly underrated, guitar playing son, Lurrie, who amazes throughout. This entertaining set of blues features Lovie's penchant for songs about sex: his saucy Good Candy, bragging Whoopin' Thighs, downright dirty Sticky Candy, and stomping The Mule, all deal with steamy issues. His romping instrumental, Lovie's Boogie, and rousing Chief Police, on the other hand, are just good, old-fashioned, boogie-woogie fun. - The Record Roundup
   Lee released two self-produced (and overlapping) albums on his own Blues on Blues label. Material from those LPs is combined here with newer recordings.
   Throughout there is a consistently relaxed and informal feel to the music, with Lee proving to be a warm and engaging singer with a penchant for sly lyrics and traditional blues themes. - Living Blues

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Homesick James
Goin' Back In The Times
Earwig 4929 CD/C
   With a career in music that spans almost 70 years, Homesick James Williamson has worked with many pivotal figures in blues, including Sleepy John Estes, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Boy Fuller, and Memphis Minnie. The recent release features James' strangely interesting guitar playing and still-strong singing on several vibrant country blues that serve as a link to a vastly rich past and a reminder of his place in the music's formative period. On the title track, James talks about friends who've gone on, while his Livin' Like A Bear, Bitin' Me And Shakin' Me All Up And Down, and Memphis Minnie's Kissing In The Dark evoke a time and place, though now gone, that live on in this powerful and magical music. - The Record Roundup
   The material is superb. Homesick's covers...are both heartfelt and personalized, and is his own creations range from solid to brilliant. ...such creativity and vitality form an artist of Homesick's years is remarkable. - Living Blues

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Little Willie Anderson
Swinging The Blues
Earwig 4930 CD
   If you're a blues harmonica player, it's virtually impossible not to owe a debt to Little Walter Jacobs. Willie Anderson, sometimes known as Little Walter, Jr., was Little Walter's chauffeur, valet, drinking buddy, and occasional substitute on gigs.
   On this reissue of a 1981 LP, Willie is backed by some of the cream of Chicago sidemen: guitarists Robert Jr. Lockwood, Jimmy Lee Robinson, Sammy Lawhorn, and drummer Fred Below, another Walter alumnus.
   Though not quite as fleet and adept as Walter, Little Willie's tone has a raw biting edge and impassioned power. Like Walter, his blowing is horn influenced... Anderson is consciously carrying a flame here, but not with quiet reverence. He blows for broke, and this is one of the most exciting harp albums since Walter's death.   - CityPages

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Big Leon Brooks
Let's Go To Town
Earwig 4931 CD
   The late Big Leon Brooks was one of the unsung harmonica greats of Chicgo blues. It's sad and ironic that he passed away before he was able to enjoy the rave reviews he will no doubt receive for this album. In addition to playing soulful, wailing harp, Brooks proves here that he was a fine songwriter, bandleader, and vocalist as well. His shouting style cut through the gutsy backing of an all-star cast of blues players. Some might argue that Brooks was imitating Little Walter and others of greater renown, but there's no denying that he was a talent in his own right. - Goldmine
   Big Leon Brooks' story is sad but typical of the blues. Brooks is backed by journeymen players Louis Myers, Eddie Taylor, Pinetop Perkins, and his drummer Odie Payne, Jr. ...this is a highly listenable set by one of the more obscure lights on the Chicago scene.
   He left a good-rocking legacy. -CityPages

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Louisiana Red
Sittin' Here Wonderin'
Earwig 4932 CD
   This CD's brooding, dark sounds harken back to the mid-1950s when Red as a teenager was hanging out in the clubs of Detroit trying to emulate his influences John Lee Hooker, Eddie Burns, Lightin' Hopkins, and Muddy Waters. Red became one of the most prolific recording artists of the past four decades, recording for Chess, Fire, and Fury Records between 1953 and 1962, and during the 60s and 70s for Roulette, Atco, and Blue Labor. He has recorded and resided in Europe since 1982.
   Louisiana Red, long known for his raw, emotive vocals, extremely personal lyrics, and intense, country blues influenced guitar styles, recorded this album during a one-year residence in Phoenix, Arizona in 1981-82. The producer gave him free rein, and the result is this solo, heartfelt expression of Red's passionate approach to "playing the blues hard," as he puts it. These recordings are issued for the first time on this Earwig CD.

CD $13.00 plus shipping

16th Anniversary Sampler
Earwig 4933 CD
   This first Earwig blues sampler commemorates the 16th anniversary since label Producer and CEO Michael Frank began the label by taking Frank Frost, Sam Carr, and Jack Johnson -- The Jelly Roll Kings -- into a Memphis studio to record Rockin' The Juke Joint Down (4901). Since that magic session, these guys have made four Earwig albums between them.
   Earwig has concentrated on middle-aged and elder bluesmen who are under-represented in recordings and live performance. Honeyboy Edwards, Sunnyland Slim, Homesick James, and H-Bomb Ferguson - seminal figures in the history of the blues - all made new recordings on Earwig. The label also made the first album recordings of Lester Davenport, Aron Burton, Lovie Lee, Big Jack Johnson, and John Primer as bandleaders rather than as sidemen. And the label has proudly released private tapes produced by Little Brother Montgomery - one of the most important blues and traditional jazz pianists of all time.
   These musicians and more make up the Earwig story -- 16 years and 18 cuts -- featuring every Earwig artist. Check it out!

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Aron Burton
Live
Earwig 4935 CD
   In his forty-year career in the music business, Aron Burton has earned his title as the ultimate right-in-the-pocket bass player, backing such blues luminaries as the late Freddy King, Jimmy Witherspoon, Junior Wells, Jimmy Walker, Billy Boy Arnold, and Albert Collins, among many others. This new CD (his second Earwig recording) is knee-deep in traditional blues with a little bit of soul thrown in for good measure.
   "Aron Burton Live stands with the best of them. With the exception of two studio tracks, the album was recorded live last year at Buddy Guy's Legends and features guest appearances by harpist Lester Davenport and vivacious vocalist Liz Mandville Greeson. Vocals are spread amongst the band members, which is appropriate because Burton's avowed goal is to present a blues revue that puts the spotlight on all the stage talent. Aron Burton Live is a sterling example of just how good Chicago blues can still be...." -Illinois Entertainer

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Lil Ed and Dave Weld
with the Imperial Flames
Keep on Walkin'
Earwig 4936 CD
   Two acoustic guitars strummin and two feet tappin' open Lil Ed and Dave Weld's Keep on Walkin'. The song, Ed's North Carolina Bound, sets the tone for half of this magnificent album. The other half explodes forth with the electric blast of Combination Boogie. And so it goes throughout as these longtime partners alternate acoustic duo performances of raw Delta blues and full-band workouts in a variety of styles. Lead vocal and guitar chores are generally handled by the man who wrote the song, with eight for Ed and six for Dave. Their vocals and guitar playing complement each other perfectly; both possess deep, hard-driving voices. - Bluesprint
   Lil Ed and Dave Weld's Keep on Walkin' boasts some outstanding guitar work (including lots of screaming slide) from both featured artists, as well as some effectively gritty singing from Ed... Ed and Weld are at their best when they let their guitars do the talking. - Illinois Entertainer

CD $13.00 plus shipping

Johnny Yard Dog Jones
Ain't Gonna Worry
Earwig 4937 CD
   Johnny Yard Dog Jones' powerful debut album features blues originals which tell vivid stories, from joy to jealousy... and reflect everywhere he's lived and everything he's felt. Born a sharecropper's son in Arkansas, Johnny eventually followed other family members north. A vital force in the Detroit blues scene since he moved there from Chicago in the early 1970s, Johnny is recognized as an excellent vocalist and harmonica stylist. In Ain't Gonna Worry, he offers up not only his singing and harp playing talents, but also his skills as a guitar player on several cuts.
   1996 Living Blues Critic's Poll Best Contemporary Blues.
   1997 Handy Award Winner Best New Artist.