Blues

A deluxe TRIPLE-CD BOX SET containing never before released vintage live recordings, capturing Ritchie Blackmore's hugely influential band on tour in support of the stellar 'Down To Earth' album! Here are three performances, each packaged in its own individual CD miniature LP jacket with separate sleeves. The set comes in a gorgeous black velvet lined box and includes a 28-page colour booklet, a metal bottle opener/key chain, an embroidered fabric patch, a 1-inch colour button and an autographed guitar pick. Record Label: Cleopatra Style: Metal

Artist: Mindi Abair And The Boneshakers Label: Heads Up

Artist: Richy Nix Label: FiXT Records

Artist: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Label: Yep Roc Records

Artist: Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Label: Yep Roc Records

Record Label: Pias UK/Fat Possum Style: Blues

4 NIGHTS OF FORTY YEARS LIVE DVD and Blu-ray Accompanying 2-CD Set Features 90 Minutes Of Live Concert Footage Alongside An In-Depth Interview With Cray And His Band, and Testimonials From Legends Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Jimmie Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt. - Open ears and an open mind are the essence of singer, guitarist and songwriter Robert Cray, whose career spans from the roots of the blues to the pinnacles of rock, from the 80s to this moment. He grew up listening to the gospel of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Bobby Bland's soul, Jimi Hendrix's rock guitar and the Beatles pop sounds. Those influences and the signature sound Cray has imprinted on modern popular music are brought together in the Robert Cray Band's double CD and video package 4 Nights of 40 Years Live. The first CD is fresh, live recordings from four nights recently recorded at four venues in the LA area. With his current band --longtime bassist, collaborator and friend Richard Cousins, keyboardist Dover Weinberg (who was in Cray's first band) and drummer Les Falconer (O'Jays, Keb 'Mo) – Cray fronts a group that is solid, seasoned and vital. The playing is in the moment, and the sound is singular. The thirteen cuts are selected from the Cray Band's recording library of 20 releases. Among them are rock radio favorites “Bad Influence” and “Right Next Door (Because of Me),” the soul searing “Love Gone to Waste,” and “These Things,” a bluesy ballad that features one of Cray's string-bending and mind-blowing guitar solos. The live CD is the fourth Cray Band release produced by Steve Jordan, who plays drums on several cuts. Also guesting are vocalist Kim Wilson and harmonica player Lee Oskar, tenor saxophonist Trevor Lawrence, trumpeter Steve Madaio and saxophonist Tom Scott. The bonus CD is a revealing glimpse of Cray's early career and the promise of a future that would reward fans for decades. Selected from the band's set at the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival and a 1987 appearance on the Dutch TV Show “Countdown,” the music captures the band's youthful presence and its ability to revive the blues without abandoning it. Included are favorites from the Cray's Band 80s set lists; “Smoking Gun” and “Too Many Cooks.” The 94 minute video in 4 Nights of 40 Years Live is a Cray Band convergence. Coming together are a mesmerizing blend of clips from the San Francisco Blues Festival, the Dutch TV show and the four concerts featured on the first CD. Between clips Cray comments on the band's history and his personal philosophy of music. There is also behind the scenes footage of the band collaborating with producer Jordan. And putting the Cray Band in perspective are interviews with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmie Vaughan and Buddy Guy each giving their personal response to the music and the man. It is extraordinary for musicians to thrive over four decades, and the Robert Cray Band is just that, extraordinary. The group has won five Grammy Awards, put 15 studio albums on the Billboard Charts, sold millions of records and toured the globe, playing clubs, concert halls, festivals and large arenas. Whether opening for John Lee Hooker or Eric Clapton, the band has captured audiences with music that is original, a sound that is distinctively rootsy and a performance style that keeps fans flocking back to see the Robert Cray Band headlining. 4 Nights of 40 Years Live is a testament to the band's past success and proof that the Robert Cray Band is as live as ever. Record Label: Mascot Label Group Style: Blues Rock

Fans of progressive metal are offered a real treat when Simulacrum release their new concept album, Sky Divided through Inverse Records on the 28th of August 2015. The artwork is by Jan Yrlund, who has worked with such artists as Manowar, Stratovarius & Sirenia and the cover portrayes the post-apocalyptic mood of the album’s title track. The album is a hefty 62 minutes long Record Label: Inverse Style: Progressive Metal

Record Label: Metro Tins/Union Square Style: Pop

Little Howlin' Wolf is a street musician, bluesman, actor, storyteller and truth seeker. He is also a true outsider, whose wrenching soulfulness and fire-brained intensity have been captured in a breadcrumb trail of confounding and intentionally obscure self-released records. In the late 1960s Wolf -- born James Pobiega in 1950 -- was already a saxophone wailing fixture at the legendary Chicago hangout, Maxwell Street Market. By the mid-1980s he released nearly three dozen 45s. Those singles are sprawling journeys into Wolf's world vision, as told through his gravelly voice and an array of instruments in styles and influences not limited to: American Indian, Polish and gypsy folk musics, Voodoo, vocal chants, blues, calypso and avant jazz. Often, it's all filtered through overdubbed abstraction. Wolf issued two LPs collecting some of those singles -- "The Guardian" (1982) and "Cool Truth" (1985) -- both now reissued by Family Vineyard. "The Guardian" is a baffling, hyper-creative statement recorded between 1976 and 1982. It's also vastly sincere and some of Wolf's most accessible and deeply emotional songs, yet it orbits a universe known only by the likes of Captain Beefheart or Albert Ayler. This reissue features replicated LP jackets, with Wolf's original transcendent liner notes, and labels bearing the Solidarity Solidarnosc Records name; never before seen photos; new essay by ethnomusicologist Ian Nagoski; and download coupon. Record Label: Family Vineyard Style: Blues

Even Norwegians get the blues. On “Tears Of The World,” guitarist Knut Reiersrud and his band find themselves in the company of the Grammy-nominated, 72-year old vocalist Mighty Sam McClain, originally from Louisiana. Together, they have dedicated themselves to the music of the deep south and have given impressive proof that, when it comes to playing hard-driven R&B, soul or blues, it's not where you come from that's important. Record Label: ACT Music Style: Blues

Artist: Pete Sears Label: Gonzo

Artist: B.B. King Label: Enlightenment

Artist: Jeff Healey Label: Stony Plain Records

Artist: J. B. Lenoir Label: Jasmine Music

Artist: Andra Faye & Scott Ballantine Label: Vizz Tone

Artist: Mitchell T. - Brian Calway Palmer Label: Topcat

Artist: Mike LeDonne Label: Savant

Artist: A.J. Croce Label: Compass Records

Artist: Various Artists Label: Dynamite