Talking Timbuktu is a groundbreaking record that vividly illustrates the Africa-Blues connection in real time. Ali Farka Toure, one of Mali's leading singer-guitarists, has a trance-like, bluesy style that, although deeply rooted in Malian tradition, bears astonishing similarity to that of John Lee Hooker or even Canned Heat. It's a mono-chordal vamp, with repetitive song lines cut with shards of blistering solo runs that shimmer like a desert mirage. Toure may be conversant with some blues artists, but it is unlikely that artists like Hooker or Robert Pete Williams ever heard these Malian roots, which makes the connection so uncanny. Ry Cooder, well versed in domestic and world guitar styles, is the perfect counterpoint in these extended songs/jams, his sinewy slide guitar intertwining with his partner's in a super world summit without barriers or borders. -Derek Rath.

The blues world lost a treasure when Luther Allison died in 1997, just as he was finally garnering the recognition he so richly deserved. If there's any question of that, this live album, recorded at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival and at Buddy Guy's Legends, will dispel any such notion. A performer and songwriter of the first order, Allison had the sort of mastery of his instrument that comes from long experience; whether rolling off licks on the "Gambler's Blues/Sweet Little Angel" medley, or playing extended solos on "All the King's Horses", Allison's on the ball and in control at all times. This album contains mostly newer material previously recorded for Alligator Records, like "Soul Fixin' Man", "Bad Love", "All the King's Horses", and "What Have I Done Wrong?" Overall, this is an excellent memorial to a musician who should be remembered. -Genevieve Williams.

This magisterial set opens with 1951's "Moanin' At Midnight", recorded for Sun Records, but appearing on Chicago's Chess label the next year. It was for Chess that the Wolf would record his formidable body of work, only entering the studio at the age of 41. Chester Burnett was given his performing name as a child, by his grandfather. He was taught guitar by Charley Patton and, later, harmonica by Sonny Boy Williamson II, his raw-throated delivery possessed of an unequalled authority, becoming a prime influence on later artists like Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits. The Wolf's fearsome personal reputation is audible in his music, charged with a trembling violence as he grinds through an unbeatable string of classics: "How Many More Years", "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Wang Dang Doodle", "Spoonful", "The Red Rooster", "300 Pounds Of Joy" and "Killing Floor", all written either by key blues composer Willie Dixon or The Wolf himself. Dixon plays double bass on most tracks, with Hubert Sumlin's stinging lead guitar also an essential part of Howlin's regular band. The rest of the revolving line-up reads like a who's- who of blues kingpins: Ike Turner, Otis Spann, Jimmy Rogers, Buddy Guy. To close, there's a rare solo acoustic glimpse on 1968's "Ain't Goin' Down That Dirt Road" and 1970's version of "The Red Rooster", with willing electric pupils Eric Clapton, Stevie Winwood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. -Martin Longley.

According to legend, it was Son House's blistering bottleneck guitar that prompted Robert Johnson to pick up a six string. House's potent early recordings from 1930 and 1941 to 1942 showcased his raw, emotionally powerful style, but never received the acclaim of Johnson's. When he was rediscovered during the '60s blues revivalist movement, House's voice still possessed wall-shaking intensity and his idiosyncratic slide guitar still had bite. These 21 recordings (including five alternate takes) offer superior fidelity and significant room for House to stretch out. The first disc features his classic "Preachin' Blues," a stirring a capella "Grinning in Your Face," and a nine-minute "Levee Camp Moan," with Canned Heat's Al Wilson on harp. Disc two (outtakes and alternates) includes an odd homage to President Kennedy and a riveting version of the spiritual "Motherless Children. " -Marc Greilsamer.

These were the last recordings made by Texan guitarist Albert Collins before succumbing to cancer on 24th November 1993. In the years just prior to his passing, he'd undergone something of a renewal, signing to the (at that time) ascendant Pointblank Virgin subsidiary and touring the UK with increasing regularity, then at the peak of his live powers. Albert's final dates are documented here, melting out in style. This last edition of his Icebreakers barnstormed across Europe, revisiting the Collins signature tunes of "Iceman" and "Frosty", as well as looking up old friends like T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Shuffle", Lowell Fulson's "Talkin' Woman" and Little Johnny Taylor's "If You Love Me (Like You Say)". The trumpet/saxophone horn duo act like they're multiplied three times, with several vein-bursting tenor solos contributed by Jon Smith. Collins himself virtually patented his direct, one-note cries, and is equally at home on a stretched-out coaster like "Lights Are On But Nobody's Home", heightened emotion sparking from his tiny guitar flares over its sparse, 10-minute course. -Martin Longley.

Sonny Landreth is a special guitarist. He has combined the idiosyncratic rhythms of his home state, Louisiana, with the intricate finger-picking of Chet Atkins, and the blues-rock slide of Duane Allman, into a distinctive style entirely his own. When he was backing up John Hiatt, John Mayall, or Beausoleil, his astonishing guitar licks were all Landreth needed, but now, as a bandleader himself, he has to rely on his songwriting and singing skills, which are considerably less impressive. On his 1996 solo album, South of I-10, Landreth does his best job yet in shoring up his weaknesses and showcasing his strengths. Landreth's best-known composition, a 1985 tribute to New Orleans called "Congo Square," has been recorded by Mayall, the Neville Brothers, Tom Principato, and Landreth himself, who re-records it for this album with help from guitarist Mark Knopfler and pianist Allen Toussaint. Landreth's vocal is much better this time, sticking close to the notes and timbres he can control and staying away from those he can't. With the help of his guest soloists and his producer R. S. Field (Webb Wilder), Landreth has his voice set the scene and then lets his guitar provide the eloquence. The new album features similar tributes to the music and weather of Louisiana: the title track, "Cajun Waltz," "Mojo Boogie," "C'est Chaud," and "Great Gulf Wind. [+]

Mississippi bluesman James Isaac Moore made the bulk of his recordings at JD Miller's Crowley, Louisiana studio, accounting for the deep, swampy sound and creeping rhythms of his hit singles. Another important influence on the Stones, Harpo's debut 1957 single "I'm A King Bee's" compulsive, chicken-scratch guitar motif became an essential part of their early sound. Although Ace have released a comprehensive series covering Slim's years with the Excello label, this Best Of draws together all the classic singles: "Baby Scratch My Back", "I Got Love If You Want It", "Rainin' In My Heart" (Louisiana pop of the highest order) and "Shake Your Hips" (rolling along with train-chugging intensity, rattling-sticks providing its percussion track). By 1967, he was recording in Nashville, producing even more light-footed material like "Te-Ni-Nee- Ni-Nu" and "Tip On In" ("let me see those fishnet hose", he drawls. ). Harpo had it all: a bittersweet soul moan of a voice, a squealing, wounded-hound harmonica sound and a feel for mixing genres that found him picking from country, rock 'n' roll and soul, perfectly placed to be one of the funkiest, most danceable blues performers so far in the music's history. Who knows how much more he would have contributed if not for his sudden early death from a heart attack in 1970. -Martin Longley Slim Harpo recorded really good rhythm and blues. He never got too fancy; he never forgot the importance of the groove. He died young in 1970, but his music reached the Rolling Stones (who covered his "I'm a King Bee"), the Kinks (who sang his "I Got Love If You Want It"), Van Morrison, and Them (whose first single was Harpo's "Don't Start Crying Now"). [+]