Tuesday , March 19 2024
Janiva rises to the top spot and some new albums make their Blues Power Ranking debut...

Blues Power Rankings: Janiva Magness Ascends To #1

It took longer than I expected but didn’t take long for Janiva Magness’ The Devil Is An Angel, Too to land the top spot on our Blues Power Rankings, courtesy of the Roots Music Report. Magness continues to draw and and connect with an increasingly large audience of blues fans and critics alike. Peter Karp and Sue Foley spent three weeks at #1 and fall one spot this week to #2.

There are some names new to this week’s chart joining recent mainstays like The Holmes Brothers’ Feed My Soul, Guitar Shorty’s Bare Knuckles, Nick Moss’ Privileged, Moreland & Arbuckle’s Flood, Kilborn Alley Blues Band’s Better Off Now, and Joe Bonamassa’s Black Rock.

Among this week’s newbies is the latest from retro queen Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and veteran bluesman Magic Slim & The Teardrops. Harp master Mark Hummel’s Retro-Active and Peter Parcek’s The Mathematics Of Love also make their chart debut this week. Hummel’s latest features a cameo from recent Blues Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Musselwhite among others and pieces together tracks recorded over the past 10 years.

One minor surprise on the charts is not seeing a resurgence from any of the big winners at last week’s 31st Blues Music Awards. I would have thought Tommy Castro’s Hard Believer might have gotten a bounce after he and his band picked up four awards in Memphis, the most of anyone.

Looking forward, I expect to see the new album from blues dymanic duo Chris James and Patrick Rynn to start working its way up these charts. Their debut Stop And Think About It caught on with blues fans in a big way and their followup arrives this week. I’ve not yet heard it but G0nna Boogie Anyway is a record I’m dying to hear and should be another in a long, long line of great 2010 blues releases. I’ve spent this past week wishing I were part of the Blues Foundation’s nominating committee. As I look at the number of releases on this list that I love and that were released during the eligibility period for next year’s awards, I’m not so sure I want that pressure or responsibility afterall.

  1. Janiva Magness – The Devil Is An Angel, Too
  2. Peter Karp / Sue Foley – He Said She Said
  3. Anders Osborne – American Patchwork
  4. The Holmes Brothers – Feed My Soul
  5. Mississippi Heat – Let’s Live It Up
  6. Jonny Lang – Live At The Ryman
  7. Guitar Shorty – Bare Knuckle
  8. Seasick Steve – Man From Another Time
  9. Popa Chubby – The Fight Is On
  10. Joe Bonamassa – Black Rock
  11. Cash Box Kings – I-94 Blues
  12. Nick Moss – Privileged
  13. Rick Taylor – Lucky Room
  14. Moreland & Arbuckle – Flood
  15. The Kilborn Alley Blues Band – Better Off Now
  16. Mike ‘Shrimp Daddy’ Reid – Messin’ With My System
  17. Ken Tucker – Juke Joint Serenade
  18. Forrest Mcdonald – Certified Blue
  19. Tail Dragger – Live At Rooster’s Lounge
  20. Woodleg Odd – One Step Ahead
  21. Magic Slim & The Teardrops – Raising The Bar
  22. Sharon Jones And The Dap – Kings – I Learned The Hard Way
  23. Mark Hummel – Retro-Active
  24. Kirk Fletcher – My Turn
  25. Peter Parcek – The Mathematics Of Love

About Josh Hathaway

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