BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
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Welcome to the 2022 version of Dave’s Top Ten List of Top Ten Lists.
Here as part of our annual “Best of…” edition of BLUES JUNCTION, we continue our tradition of bringing you the top ten blues albums of the year, as submitted by ten individuals who have been part of the blues scene for many years.
This feature remains one of my favorite projects that I work on each year. In pulling together this annual celebration of achievement in the blues recording field, I get a chance to interact with other like-minded individuals who share my love and passion for this music.
The one thing each has in common with the others is that they are true listeners, connoisseurs, and lovers of the music.
We have participants coming from four separate continents and as many countries. In the U.S. we have participants from all over this country. I can’t think of a better testimonial to the long-held notion that blues is an international language.
My question to them was simple: “What are your ten favorite blues albums of 2022?”
How we do things around here is pretty simple. The only criteria for these recordings are that they must be made up of new recordings which was released in the calendar year of 2022. They also must be available in a physical format. CD and/or vinyl…The lists are presented in alphabetical order.
Now, the fun part is hearing from you, our readers, and your thoughts on any or all of this. What is your favorite blues album(s) of 2022?
Derral Alexander Campbell - Redding, California (USA)
Let’s let Derral tell his own story. “I got the blues bug when I saw Junior Wells at the Fillmore in December of '66, with Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Jack Myers, Fred Below and A.C. Reed.” Yeah, that would do it. Derral goes on to say, “I went to the first San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973 to hear my eventual namesake, L.C. "Good Rockin" Robinson, but I became a logger and didn't come back to the city until 1982, when Little Charlie and the Nightcats knocked me out. By '86 I was back at Humboldt State and on the air for KHSU. I've been steady at it since then, in Humboldt and Shasta Counties, on commercial and public radio. I'm very thankful to be able to share the music that resonates with me and proud to have this connection to the blues.” After years of correspondence from either end of California, Derral and I finally crossed paths in person last fall when I attended the Redwood Coast Music Festival in his hometown of Eureka, California.
Diunna Greenleaf - I Ain't Playin'
Trudy Lynn - Golden Girl
Lovelight Orchestra - Leave the Light On
Charlie Musselwhite - Mississippi Son
Anthony Geraci - Blues Called My Name
The Phantom Blues Band - Blues for Breakfast
Silent Partners - Changing Times
Bob Corritore & Friends - You Shocked Me
John Primer - The Hard Way
Gary Smith Blues Band - Live at the Poor House Bistro
Chico Blues - Sao Paulo, Brazil
I first became aware of Chico in 2007, when Lynwood Slim told me about this cat from Brazil who was hip to the blues. Even though I don’t speak Portuguese, Chico’s native tongue, we speak the same language of music. He was interviewed here in BLUES JUNCTION way back in 2011, with the help of his daughter. We first met in person a couple of years later when he joined The Igor Prado Band on a tour of Southern California where they backed up Lynwood Slim. Chico is the founder and president of Chico Blues Records out of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is widely recognized as the leading blues authority in South America. His label and extensive roster of artists has continued to produce some of the finest blues recordings in recent years. Some of the most renowned blues musicians in the world have traveled to Brazil to record with the numerous world class blues players on his own label.
Bob Corritore & Friends - You Shocked Me
Diunna Greenleaf - I Ain't Playin'
Buddy Guy - The Blues Don't Lie
Martin Lang & Rusty Zinn - Mr. Blues, Mr. Blues
Larry McCray - Blues Without You
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On The Board
Charlie Musselwhite - Mississippi Son
John Németh - May Be the Last Time
John Primer -Hard Times
Bob Stroger & The Headcutters - That's My Name
Don “T- Bone” Erickson - Des Moines, Iowa (USA)
Don is a long-time blues journalist. Back in the early 2000s he was a founding editor of one of the first online blues journals entitled BluesWax. It is where I first became aware of his work in the blues field. He is the former editor for the Central Iowa Blues Society Newsletter and author of 76 monthly feature articles entitled Legends of the Blues. Don is the host of T-Bone's House Rockin' Blues Party and The Groove Zone at KFMG 98.9 FM, Des Moines (see our links page). His program is featured on the station rated ‘Best Radio Station’ in Cityview’s ‘Best of Des Moines’ reader's survey for the last several years. T-Bone continues to garner recognition for his broadcasts. Don also served as the Chairman of the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame for 15 years. He has been an occasional contributor to BLUES JUNCTION and has participated with this feature since its inception a few years ago.
Big Creek Slim & Rodrigo Mantovani - Stone In My Heart
Blue Moon Marquee - Scream, Holler & Howl
Nathan James - I May Crawl
Ron Kraemer Trio w/the Nashville Cats - Sarasota Swing
Lil' Red & the Rooster - Keep On!
Yates McKendree - Buchanan Lane
Mikey Junior - Mikey Junior's South Philly Blues Party Live!
John Nemeth - May Be The Last Time
The Duke Robillard Band - They Called it Rhythm & Blues
The Wicked Lo-Down - We Hot
Jeff Scott Fleenor - Garden Grove, California (USA)
I first met Jeff when I returned to California after living abroad (Texas) for twelve years. This was in the mid-90’s and by then he was already developing a fairly sophisticated aural palette. In those intervening twenty-five years Jeff has become a blues historian and archivist of the highest order and is universally recognized as the world’s leading authority on the international blues scene. He spent a decade employed by the Virgin Megastore as a Southern California Specialty Music Buyer and hosted his own radio show The Blues Disease on KUCI 88.9 FM for 15 years (1996-2011). From 2000-2003 he was involved as the talent buyer and M.C. for the prestigious Blues on the Bay Festival in Newport Beach, California, and has held a role as talent adviser to the Doheny Blues Festival for 20 years. Additionally, he has written liner notes for dozens of albums, as well as produced numerous projects for Delta Groove Music, including the Mannish Boys' Double Dynamite, BMA winner for Traditional Blues Album of the Year. Jeff has become an invaluable resource to me, as we discuss this music for hours at a time every week of the year.
Big Creek Slim & Rodrigo Mantovani - Stone in My Heart
Al Blake - Dr. Blake’s Magic Soul Elixir No. 2
Balta Bordoy & the Bad Boys - Rock My Blues Away
Kurt Crandall - Starts on the Stops
Rick Holmstrom - Get It!
Nathan James - I May Crawl
The Love Light Orchestra - Leave the Light On
Yates McKendree - Buchanan Lane
The Duke Robillard Band - They Call It Rhythm & Blues
Sven Zetterberg - Rain On
Lee “East Side Slim” Howland - Saint Louis, Missouri (USA)
Lee is a former South Dakota resident who moved to Saint Louis in 1989. It was in the historic blues hot bed of the Gateway City where he fell for the blues hard. Lee is a DJ and Programmer at KDHX 88.1 FM in Saint Louis and world-wide at kdhx.org. East Side Slim hosts a program entitled Rhythm Highways. Tune in to hear blues, soul, rock ‘n’ roll…jazz, swing and everything, including a weekly gospel set and even the occasional honky tonk and western swing (see our links page). Thanks Lee for returning to Dave’s Top Ten List of Top Ten Lists.
Big Creek Slim & Rodgrigo Mantovani - Stone In My Heart
Bob Corritore and Friends - You Shocked Me
The Dig 3 – The Dig 3
Kirk Fletcher - Heartache By The Pound
Diunna Greenleaf - I Ain't Playin'
Howell Devine - Strange Time Blues
Lily Locksmith - Lily Locksmith
Doug MacLeod - A Soul To Claim
Larry McCray - Blues Without You
Vaneese Thomas - Fight The Good Fight
Ken Johnson - Washington Township, New Jersey (USA)
I first met Ken Johnson and his wife Linda a few years ago in a coffee shop in Dana Point, California. We were directly across the street from the site of the Doheny Blues Festival which was scheduled to take place in a few hours. I was having breakfast with David Kiefer aka San Pedro Slim who was singing and blowing harp with Mark Mumea (g/v) and Jerry Carega (b) of the Silver Kings at the festival. Ken walked by our table and introduced himself and knew David, Mark and Jerry by name. He told us he was from Baltimore (his home at the time) and was in California to attend the festival. I reached out my hand to introduce myself. Ken interrupted me and with a broad smile said “I know you Dave and know these guys because of you and BLUES JUNCTION”. Needless to say, Ken, his wife Linda and myself remain friends. They have since gotten to know Tracy and we get together when they come to California. Ken remains a loyal subscriber to BLUES JUNCTION and is a true friend of the blues.
Big Creek Slim & Rodrigo Mantovani - Stone In My Heart
Bob Corritore & Friends – You Shocked Me
Rick Holmstrom – Get It!
Martin Lang & Rusty Zinn – Mr. Blues, Mr. Blues
Tomi Leino – Play That Thing
Mike Morgan & The Crawl – The Lights Went Out in Dallas
Charlie Musselwhite – Mississippi Sun
John Nemeth – May be the Last Time
John Primer – Hard Times
Duke Robillard – They Called It Rhythm & Blues
Michael Kinsman - Memphis, Tennessee (USA)
I first met Michael at a private event for which he was largely responsible. He assembled young music students from the San Diego area who wanted to learn to play blues music. He put together a band with Scottie Blinn who lent his home to host this tutorial. Guitarist Anson Funderburgh flew out from Texas to perform, visit with the kids and share with them some pointers he has accumulated in a lifetime of playing blues music at the highest level. For more than three decades, Michael has written about blues and roots music for various publications, including the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, Blues Revue Magazine, Blues Music Magazine and VH1.com. He has interviewed more than 500 roots and blues music artists and written more than 800 hundred CD reviews. He is the founder and producer of the San Diego Blues Festival, which had emerged as one of the premier blues festivals in the country. He now resides in Memphis. Michael and I remain good friends. I cherish those evenings after his San Diego Blues Festival where after parties included kicking back with Michael (a world class raconteur) in a hotel room. Those stories would go on ‘til all hours of the morning.
Kirk Fletcher - Heartache By The Pound
GA-20 - Crackdown
Diunna Greenleaf -I Ain't Playin'
Dashawn Hickman - Drums, Roots & Steel
Dave Keyes - Rhythm Blues & Boogie
Doug MacLeod - A Soul To Claim
Charlie Musselwhite - Mississippi Son
John Nemeth - May Be The Last Time
Johnny Sansone - Into Your Blues
Silent Partners - Changing Times
Craig Lawrence - Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Craig is a native of Perth. This is Western Australia’s capital city. He is a blues music fan. The blues bug, as they say, hit him back in 1961 when he was still a child. He has continued to pursue this music which has led to a lifetime of discovery and joyful listening. He moved a couple of years ago to thousands of miles away from Perth, Western Australia to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. He recently wrote an album review on the 2022 release by Yates McKendree which we were happy to “publish” here in BLUES JUNCTION.
Blue Moon Marquee - Scream Holler & Howl
The Dig 3 - The Dig 3
Foreday Riders - Durn Tootin
Hash Brown - Stop! Your Evil Ways
Rick Holmstrom - Get It!
Pacey King and Doley - Better Together
Yates McKendree - Buchanan Lane
Mike Morgan & The Crawl - The Lights Went Out In Dallas
Bob Stroger & the Headcutters - That’s My Name
Rusty Zinn/Martin Lang - Mr. Blues Mr. Blues
John Mitchell - Farnham - Surrey, United Kingdom
John Mitchell is a UK-based blues enthusiast who contributes reviews and interviews to a wide range of publications, including Blues Blast, Crossroads Blues Society (Illinois), Blues in Britain, Blues Matters and Blues & Rhythm. We feel very fortunate to be able to “publish” his contribution for a second year in a row in this feature.
Cinelli Brothers – No Country For Bluesmen
Shemekia Copeland - Done Come Too Far
Ronnie Earl – Mercy Me
Diunna Greenleaf – I Ain’t Playin’
The Lovelight Orchestra – Leave The Light On
Larry McCray – Blues Without You
John Primer – Hard Times
Duke Robillard - They Called It Rhythm & Blues
Mighty Mike Schermer – Just Gettin’ Good
Kai Strauss – Night Shift
Mark Thompson - Bradenton, Florida (USA)
Mark has been listening to blues music for more than fifty years. Growing up in the Chicago area, he got to experience many of the legendary blues musicians live and in-person. He served for twelve years as the president of the Crossroads Blues Society, based in Rockford, Illinois. After relocating to Florida in 2016, Mark served as the president of the Sun Coast Blues Society, based in Tampa, Florida. Mark writes for Blues Music Magazine and Blues Blast as well as the Chicago Blues Guide. Mark is a veteran of this feature.
Big Creek Slim & Rodrigo Mantovani - Stone In My Heart
Bob Corritore & Friends - You Shocked Me
The Dig 3 - The Dig 3
Lee Fields - Sentimental Fool
Diunna Greenleaf - I Ain't Playin'
The Love Light Orchestra - Leave The Light On
Charlie Musselwhite - Mississippi Son
John Nemeth - May Be The Last Time
Duke Robillard - They Call It Rhythm & Blues
Johnny Sansone - Into Your Blues
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BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info