Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood Audio Cassette

There is no real blues without torture. And what Stevie Ray Vaughan went through in order to produce his stunning range of guitar sounds and expressions was a severe punishment in itself.

To optimise the tone, he would use incredibly heavy and thick strings, which were actually painful to play in a blues style – sometimes slicing into the tips of his fingers as he pushed them into wide bends. The pain was clearly visible on his face, and the guitar fingerboard literally convulsed with the power of his vibrato. This was a man for whom no agony was too great in the name of musical expression.

Champion Jack Dupree – “New Orleans Barrelhouse Boogie” Audio Cassette

If you trace back the history of rock ‘n’ roll to its very roots, you’ll probably end up in 1949, with Fats Domino’s The Fat Man. Surely, you’re thinking, that has to be the first rock ‘n’ roll track. It pre-dates Rocket 88, and is frequently cited as the recording that started all. But…

John Lee Hooker – “Mr Lucky” Audio Cassette

The guest list was a who’s who of the late ’80s / early ’90s blues revival movement… Albert Collins, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Cray, Booker T, Carlos Santana, Keith Richards, Van Morrison, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Ry Cooder, Chester Thompson, Deacon Jones… And that’s not even close to the finish. Imagine how important an artist you would have to be to attract that calibre of backing group. John Lee Hooker was that person.