In the 80's, as the roots-rock movement was beginning to gather steam, musicians began to revisit the blues; Stevie Ray Vaughan deserves special credit for repopularizing blues-rock, and updating it for a new generation. Other rootsy blues-rock bands like Fabulous Thunderbirds also produced a modernized form of blues-rock. Lou Ann Barton was one of the best female practitioners of roadhouse blues in the 80's.
It has been with us ever since, although it has spent a large part of the 90's and 00's as a niche genre. Some recent artists that qualify as blues-rock or at least dabble in it are Doyle Bramhall II, Crosscut, Gov't Mule, Ian Moore, and Chris Whitley.
A sample playlist of 10 influential blues-rock tunes:
1. Cream: Crossroads
It was this recording that helped make Robert Johnson a well-known name again, after decades of obscurity. Cream's version of his "Crossroads" takes the tune places Johnson surely hadn't dreamed of; Clapton, Bruce, and Baker virtually define the new possibilities of blues-rock in their ungency and intensity. For Clapton especially, this was a career-defining record; it even was a pop hit, reaching #28 on the charts.
2. Jeff Beck: I Ain't Superstitious
In some respects, Jeff Beck's debut album may well be the very first heavy metal album ever, bearing a sound not dissimilar to the not-yet recorded Led Zeppelin I (both albums even featured a version of "You Shook Me"). If this album isn't heavy metal, then it surely is some of the heaviest blues rock ever recorded. "I Ain't Superstitious" is a Willie Dixon number, and it closes the album with a good Rod Stewart vocal and some blazing Jeff Beck guitarwork.
3. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Pride And Joy
This was one of the most important blues-rock albums ever released. When it came out, blues had been gone from the charts for nearly a decade; nearly two decades had passed since blues-rock's heyday. From the very first chords of "Pride And Joy", you knew Vaughan was the real deal; he could deliver in spades all that those very first chords promised. Suddenly, guitar-based blues-rock became viable again, right when all hope seemed lost. Some critics accused Vaughan of not having a style of his own, of leaning too hard on his influences. This misses the point of his music; he was a celebration of his influences and had a shrewd ability to deliver them freshly, without over-reverence, so that in a hostile marketplace, he still turned people on to the blues.
Article comments
1 - SFC SKI
When Blues-Rock is done well, it is probably the best form of music for me, but when he becomes a self-parody of cliched riffs and overlong solos, it's almost unlistenable.
I think there is a case to be made for Los Lonely Boys to be added to the list of great blues rockers. If you get a chance to see them in concert, go!
2 - Paul Roy
Blues and Rock. Has there ever been a better marriage? Check out Gary Moore's recent stuff, Joe Bonamassa, Los Lonely Boys (especially live), Doyall Bramhall II, and Gov't Mule for great some "newer" blues rock.
3 - Taloran
A nicely written article, with a well-selected playlist. Not necessarily the tunes I would have picked, but an excellent cross-section nonetheless. Makes me want to go through my vinyl and listen to the tunes again!
You say "The long story" of Fleetwood Mac "will have to wait until another day" - I wrote up a brief history of the band for Blogcritics a while back.
4 - crooked spine
I know your list isn't intended to be comprehensive, but I wanted to add the following tunes:
- Jeff Beck was in the above list for his solo work, but I always felt his best stuff was with the Yardbirds. Hendrix always gets credit for expanding the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar, but this track shows that Beck deserves some credit too.
The Rolling Stones: "Little Red Rooster" from The Rolling Stones, Now! - From back in the day when the Stones still considered themselves pretty much a straight blues band. They did a good job on this Howlin' Wolf song.
Jimi Hendrix: "Red House" from Are You Experienced? - You gotta have some Hendrix on any blues-rock list. And this was Hendrix's greatest blues song.
The Yardbirds: "Jeff's Boogie" from
John Mayall: "The Stumble" from A Hard Road - Like Jeff Beck, Peter Green was mentioned in the above list. And like Beck, Green was better with the band in which he replaced Eric Clapton--in this case, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Just listen to the way Peter Green makes this Freddie King song all his own.
The J. Geils Band: "Pack Fair and Square" from The J. Geils Band - Years before they went all pop with "Centerfold" and "Freeze Frame," these guys were one of the greatest blues-rock bands around. Check out their debut album is you're doubtful.
5 - HW Saxton
Mr uao,I'd just like to correct a couple
of points in your enjoyable article here
on BC.
The Butterfield Blues Band.They were NOT
a psychedelic Blues/Rock band from the
Left Coast.Lumping them in with some of
that turgid hippiefied sludge is unfair
to them. Seriously.
They(BBB)were a straight up,pure blues
band who absorbed their craft directly
at the source.They learned & honed their
chops from such 1st and 2nd generation
masters of electric blues as Billy Boy
Arnold,Muddy Waters,Magic Sam,The Wolf,
Little Walter,Bo Diddley,Junior Wells,
Otis Rush and Elmore James. They sat in
with and watched these cats and many
others at rough and tumble blues haunts
like Silvio's,The Checkerboard Lounge &
Theresa's in the early 60's in the very
dangerous South & West Side ghettos of
Chicago. Given the racial climate at the
time,they were a ballsy bunch of white
boys in anyones book.
The BBB rhythm section included at times
Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay.Jerome Arnold
being the brother of Billy Boy and a vet
of Howling Wolf's band and Sam Lay being
behind the skins on many of Muddy's late
50's/early 60's gigs and recordings.This
isn't to mention all of the many other
artists and studio work he did before he
joined up with The B.B.B. They were the
first integrated working blues band to
my knowledge.
Anyway to make a very long story short,
they were a straight ahead blues band
that dabbled very briefly in "Rock" as
opposed to being a blues rock band."East
West" and "Mary,Mary" off their second
LP being the only examples that really
could be applicable to this tag. If by
chance this isn't what you meant to say
& it was just a minor case of ambiguity
on behalf of the writer, for that I do
apologize.If it wasn't I just wanted to
politely clear up these points.
On a closing note,I'm surprised that you
did not mention any Bob Dylan in your
"Blues/Rock" list.The marriage of blues
& of rock on such Bob Dylan tunes like
"Obviously Five Believers" from the LP
"Blonde On Blonde" & "It Takes A Lot To
Laugh,A Train To Cry" on "Highway 61 Re-
visited" is real obvious and is solidly
rocking to boot. The presence of Michael
Bloomfield on the latter LP playing no
small part in this to be sure.
Anyways, don't take this as rude please.
I'm just a very detail oriented person
when it comes to my favorite music and I
have trouble letting even the smallest
amount of what I see as mis-information
go unchecked and/or unchallenged.
I enjoyed the post or I would not have
even bothered to write back regarding it
at all. Rock On!
6 - uao
Hi HW:
My apologies; I really did mischaracterize Paul Butterfield Blues band there.
I try to be careful, but sometimes I make some real gaffes; your reply does a very excellent job of clearing it up though.
No worries; I prefer any misinformation from me be corrected by those who care about the music as you do.
I can't edit the Blogcritics post anymore (it's been archived), but I will correct the entry as it appears on my blog.
Wrong info bugs me too; I do appreciate your taking the time to read the piece and caring enough to amend it.
uao
7 - HW Saxton
Uao, Thanks for the response. I enjoyed
the article and your heart is the right
place. I never knew what made that cool
drone on the Canned Heat tune "On The
Road Again".I'd always figured it was
Henry Vestine doing a unitar type thing
with feedback and sustain. There is an
alternate version of "On The Road Again"
on a Canned Heat's greatest hits package
that is about 7&1/2 minutes long and is
minus the drone,a bit faster and has an
approximately 3 minute long guitar solo
that burns. You might want to check it
out if you don't already have it.
Peace,Love and Goofer Dust.