On Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down, Bishop projects a good-natured, humorous persona in the extended spoken-word sections of his songs, but still finds time to play a lot of tasty blues guitar.

Montoya's first solo disc for Alligator finds the former Albert Collins sideman following in the doorsteps of his "godfather" with an album simply top-heavy with fiery guitar work and comfortable vocals. The production from Jim Gaines is as fat as any modern-day blues record has a right to be, and Montoya does not disappoint at any moment along the ride. He tips his hat to his old employer on Collins' "Get Your Business Straight," but the stronger tunes here come from Coco's own pen, like the closing "Nothing But Love." A strong and solid effort that also sounds great in the car when you're driving a little faster than the speed limit allows.

It's about time these early Canned Heat albums were made available once again! Thanks in part to their appearance in the Monterey Pop and later Woodstock festival films, these two albums, especially Boogie With Canned Heat, built Canned Heat's reputation as a top-notch white blues band of the late '60s. The self-titled disc from 1967 features a rough mix of originals and blues standards, including "Catfish Blues," "Rich Woman," and "Big Road Blues." Boogie was released the following year and actually contained a hit single, "On the Road Again." The other tracks on the album, especially "Fried Hockey Boogie" and "Amphetamine Annie," became staples of early FM underground radio. Canned Heat would rarely sound this together as a working unit in the studio again.

Robin Trower's peak commercial period occurred during the mid-'70s, when the bluesy guitarist specialized in a style that relied heavily on the power of the almighty riff (as evidenced by just about any selection from his best known release, 1974's Bridge of Sighs). But on his 1997 offering, Someday Blues, Trower tries a different approach, as he cuts back on the Jimi Hendrix-esque riffing, and focuses more on Albert King-style licks, and letting Hammond organ fill in much of the open spaces. This approach is best sampled on "Feels So Bad" (which features some great vocalizing by Trower – who handles all singing on the album as well) and the slow-burning title track. And for fans of a classic, searing Fender Strat tone, the album-closing "Sweet Little Angel" is a must-hear. While there's nothing here that matches the six-string pyrotechnics of, say, "Day of the Eagle," Trower still proves to be a major blues-rock force on Someday Blues. It's just that now Trower puts an added emphasis on the "blues" rather than the "rock."

Coming off his two-volume tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Electric Chubbyland, Popa Chubby is still high on rock & roll. While his love of the blues remains strong and dominates a handful of the tracks here, Deliveries After Dark features more heavy metal thunder and hard rocking than usual. The furious "Sally Likes to Run" captures that arena rock feel with enough cowbell to keep Christopher Walken happy while the title track crunches like Deep Purple in "Highway Star" mode. The epic "Man of the Blues" should easily satisfy longtime fans with its classic Chubby sound, but "Grown Man Crying Blues" and "I'll Piss on Your Grave" sound like the blues by way of a rock band.

Sacramento, California’s musically fearless, wildly entertaining and award-winning Rick Estrin & The Nightcats return with another superb collection of blues and roots music full of sharp-witted songs and brilliant musicianship. Celebrated throughout the blues world, the band has twice won the coveted Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year, and Estrin has won BMAs for Song of the Year, Traditional Male Blues Artist and Instrumentalist – Harmonica. The Hits Keep Coming is modern blues at its most potent, with ten sparkling new originals ranging from from crisp, hooky retro-rock to intense, noir-ish blues, along with sublime interpretations of Muddy Water’s “Diamonds At Your Feet” and Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows.” The songwriting is whip-smart throughout, and the band’s ensemble playing is infectious and jaw-dropping.

It's not obvious from listening to it, but Popa Chubby's Big Man Big Guitar is a compilation of two live albums that were previously only available in Europe: Live at FIP and Wild. The CD is the sister title to a DVD, too, and while the release may show every sign of being a souvenir of the video, or a thrown-together hodgepodge, it isn't at all. Chubby's known for his blistering live sets, but this collection takes a risk by having a gradual dramatic arc, starting slowly with a slinky version of "Hey Joe" and working its way up to the frenzied "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Time Is Killing Me" (consider the solo performance of "How'd a White Boy Get the Blues," a gutsy encore).

The album "Krissy Matthews & Friends" is a captivating collection of blues and rock tracks by the talented musician Krissy Matthews. Released by Ruf Records, this album showcases Matthews' exceptional guitar skills and soulful vocals, as well as his ability to collaborate with other accomplished artists.

Grammy-winning comeback set that brought Buddy Guy back to prominence after a long studio hiatus. Too many clichéd cover choices – "Five Long Years," "Mustang Sally," "Black Night," "There Is Something on Your Mind" – to earn unreserved recommendation, but Guy's frenetic guitar histrionics ably cut through the superstar-heavy proceedings (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Mark Knopfler all turn up) on the snarling title cut and a handful of others.

Whereas on 1993's Feels Like Rain Buddy Guy flirted with pop and R&B material, on Slippin' In, released one year later, he firmly reasserts his bluesness. From the very first track on, Guy lets his incomparable guitar loose. Throughout the album, he even experiments with Hendrix-esque effects on his guitar (perhaps at the prodding of producer/engineer Eddie Kramer), but the results never seem kitschy or gimmicky. Accompanied on half of the tracks by ex-Stevie Ray Vaughan associates Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, the groove is deep and swinging. It makes you realize how much of Vaughan's signature sound lay in his rhythm section. There are only two original Guy compositions on Slippin' In, but since he has always been better as an interpreter than a writer, this is a non-complaint.

Following his recorded debut as a leader for States Records, Junior Wells signed with Mel London, producing a number of sides for the producer's Chief and Profile imprints. Perhaps best-known for his spectacular harmonica playing, this period, documented on Calling All Blues, saw Wells emerging as an outstanding vocalist as well. A consummate performer with a firm grasp of the range of emotions the music can produce, Wells wrings every drop of feeling out of the lyrics. The singer growls, shouts, howls, moans across these 24 tracks including two versions of his great "I Could Cry" and other classics like "Little By Little," "Cha-Cha-Cha in Blue," and "Lovey Dovey Lovey One." While it has a great deal of overlap with the collections from Paula Records, Calling All Blues remains a fine introduction with no glaring omissions…

Years of apprenticeship with Albert Collins and John Mayall paid off handsomely for Montoya on this debut effort. Even with help from some famous friends (Debbie Davies, Al Kooper, Richie Hayward [Little Feat], and both former employers), Montoya asserts himself as the focal point. Sadly, this was one of Collins' last studio appearances before his death, playing on the Lowell Fulson-penned "Talking Woman Blues" (commonly known as "Honey Hush"). Although Montoya showcases his massive guitar muscle, it is merely a fraction of the power of his live performances.

After a career as a local bluesman and blues promoter in Texas and Oklahoma, Gary Coleman found his niche when he signed over his first album, a self-produced outing originally issued on his own label, to the fledgling Ichiban company out of Atlanta in 1986. Since that time, both Coleman and Ichiban have made their marks in the blues field: not only did Coleman release half-a-dozen of his own albums, he also oversaw production of the bulk of Ichiban's hefty blues catalog, bringing to the studio a number of artists he'd booked or toured with in his previous career (Chick Willis, Buster Benton, and Blues Boy Willie, among others). A singer/guitarist on-stage, Coleman often took on a multi-instrumentalist's role in the studio. His music remained true to the blues and to the King legacy saluted in his "B.B." moniker and in his acknowledged debt to fellow Texan Freddie King.