What blues are you listening to today?

I cannot believe the is no mention of Howling Wolf.  The man had presence!

How about Alvin Lee’s Pure Blue's

He was one of the greatest guitar players.

rockin some Mississippi hill country blues with R L Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and some North Mississippi Allstars today.

@alvinnir2 

I find level the of guitar playing technically is now through the roof but sometime at the cost of a lack of feeling and soul. 

 

Like it or not, among guitar fans in particular, there has always been a segment that seems to value technical virtuosity above all else and there are players who provide this. 

Having said that, there are still players with terrific chops that I enjoy. Derek Trucks has otherworldly skills but I never find myself feeling held at arm’s length by his technical facility. Marcus King has got great chops but again, I’m always fully engaged by his emotional expression. Ry Cooder, while not solely a Blues player, is another great example. How about SRV? Absolutely.

Personally, I would always rather listen to someone who plays just a few notes that knock me over with soulfulness than someone who blasts me with volleys of notes at high speed but fails to actually reach me emotionally. Consider Albert Collins. He did not play a lot of notes but he sure made every one of them count! 

If we're just mentioning favorite blues artists, here's a few more,

Jimmy Rogers 

Jimmy D Lane

Sonny Boy Williamson 

Peter Green

ZZ Top