Even the plants get it.

June 5, 2006 4:40 PM

I would like to find some more Blues songs that I would like.

Lately I have really been enjoying the White Stripes song "Instinct Blues". I know its a bit on the "rock" side of things.
Things I like about it are, the slow stomping pace of it, and the rawness of his voice.
What are some other good Stomping, hollering , stripped down blues tracks that I would enjoy? How about some other non-blues tracks that are in a similar vain as this?

posted by JonnyRotten to media & arts (29 comments total)

Electric Mud.
posted by klangklangston at 4:43 PM on June 5, 2006

You might give Pandora a shot at this. Plug in the name of the song, and it tries to identify songs that share similar characteristics.
posted by sellout at 4:49 PM on June 5, 2006

Get as much Howlin' Wolf as you can find...
posted by AJaffe at 4:53 PM on June 5, 2006

everything Son House

but to whett your whistle listen to his 'Death Letter Blues'
posted by Satapher at 5:04 PM on June 5, 2006

John Lee Hooker is the ultimate bluesman and Boom Boom Boom is the ultimate blues song. This Amazon sample does not do justice to the full version as the good stuff starts after 30 seconds. This is an issue with many, many blues songs - they start slow and build up as they go along.
posted by caddis at 5:08 PM on June 5, 2006

Two previous AskMeta threads.
posted by fandango_matt at 5:09 PM on June 5, 2006

on the pandora tip (and I may be blind here) how can I re-search a new song if I allready made a station quite some time ago? I go to the main page it and plays a song automatically..
posted by JonnyRotten at 5:11 PM on June 5, 2006

fandango, read both of those threads, was looking for something a bit more specific then the best blue songs ever, as its such a diverse genre
posted by JonnyRotten at 5:14 PM on June 5, 2006

That should read
"I read both" and blues should have a s on the end of it.
posted by JonnyRotten at 5:29 PM on June 5, 2006

John Lee Hooker is the ultimate bluesman and Boom Boom Boom is the ultimate blues song. This Amazon sample does not do justice to the full version as the good stuff starts after 30 seconds. This is an issue with many, many blues songs - they start slow and build up as they go along.
posted by caddis at 5:08 PM PST on June 5

Boom Boom is also the lead-in to the pawn shop scene in the "The Blues Brothers" movie.
posted by Doohickie at 5:31 PM on June 5, 2006

I second Howlin' Wolf, along with John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon. Some newer (but still very raw) bluesman to checkout: RL Burnside and T-Model Ford.

There is also a ton of stuff out there that sounds similar to the White Stripes, but falling more on the rockin'/garage punk side. I emphatically recommend The Gories--much more lo-fi than the White Stripes, but godamnit they rock! If you like them, I'd move on to some more obscure bluesy garage punk--like the Oblivions and the Revelators.

I'm starting to stray a bit here, but I also recommend some of the earlier Makers albums. Howl and All Night Riot have some fun, up-tempo White Stripe-esque songs. Their next two albums, the s/t and Hunger, are much more punk-rocking (but great, if that's what you want) and the albums after that are just bad.
posted by mullacc at 5:31 PM on June 5, 2006

Hendrix' 'Hear my train a comin' is a pretty good bet. There's a great 12 string version on his blues album which also contains a fantastic live version along with a few other classics such as Mannish Boy and Catfish blues.
Certainly can't go wrong with Robert Johnson, Crossroad blues being the obvious one.
Second the Howlin' Wolf (on preview third - smokestack lightnin' being the obvious choice).
Blind Willie Johnson can stomp with the best of them too!
posted by TwoWordReview at 5:36 PM on June 5, 2006

And of course Rory Gallagher - absolutely everything of his you can get your hands on. BBC sessions is a good album to start with as it's got some great live stuff! Irish tour would be another good choice!
posted by TwoWordReview at 5:37 PM on June 5, 2006

Hmm...here's a link for the Revelators album I mentioned above. There seems to be another band with that name coming up in my Google searches. The album I linked to is my definition of "stomping, hollering, stripped down" (though not so much blues)--but it is incredibly lo-fi and is, frankly, an acquired taste.
posted by mullacc at 5:38 PM on June 5, 2006

These are among my favorite threads on AskMe. Just ask my local record seller - they are always followed by a spending frenzy.
posted by caddis at 5:40 PM on June 5, 2006

George Thorogood & the Destroyers

Robert Cray
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:57 PM on June 5, 2006

Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Life by the Drop' is one of my favorite blues songs. Also, The Doors put out some surprisingly good blues songs as well. 'Roadhouse Blues' is my favorite from them.
posted by triolus at 5:58 PM on June 5, 2006

try some older stuff, maybe
Bukka White's "dust my broom," Robert Johnson's "Phonograph Blues," Blind Willie McTell's "Dying Crapshooter blues." I've been getting good recommendations from
last.fm, though not so much for old-time blues. Good mp3s,
especially if you're not bothered by early recordings' sound quality. Nothing famous (i.e., commercially released).
posted by lw at 7:24 PM on June 5, 2006

Mullacc, the Gories are more lo-fi than pretty much anyone (I mean that in a good way)!

Also, Captain Beefheart's pre-Trout Mask stuff is worth checking out.

And of course find you some John Lee Hooker. I recommend "Urban Blues," which has the original version of the MC5's "Motor City Is Burning."
posted by AJaffe at 7:42 PM on June 5, 2006

i'd recommend some early zz top. a bit fuller then the white stripes, but something both blusey and a bit more.
posted by lester at 8:21 PM on June 5, 2006

Check out the soundtrack to "The Color of Money". BB King, Willie Dixon, Robert Palmer, Eric Clapton, et al. Good bluesy rock.
posted by forrest at 8:22 PM on June 5, 2006

other good Stomping, hollering , stripped down blues tracks

I think what you're looking for is punk blues (notice the White Stripes on the list). If so, I third the Gories and add The Gibson Brothers and one of my faves, Doo Rag. Also try Blue Cheer, and 4th for the early Howlin Wolf recordings. Amazingly raw and powerful.
posted by mediareport at 8:39 PM on June 5, 2006

There's a similar kind of raw intensity in some of the early acoustic blues stuff--hunt down "Devil Got My Woman" by Skip James or "God Moved Over The Waters" by Blind Willie Johnson. Son House, too--the White Stripes covered his "Death Letter Blues" and "John the Revelator".

For electric stuff, I'd recommend Muddy Waters--"More Real Folk Blues" or "Electric Mud". Tom Waits dabbled in this style a little, on the albums "Heartattack & Vine" and "Mule Variations."
posted by arto at 9:22 PM on June 5, 2006

Otis Taylor Scary raw blues. Best bluesman alive in my opinion.
posted by afu at 10:18 PM on June 5, 2006

Led Zeppelin II is among the best white-boy blues records ever made, IMO. I'm a big fan of the Lemon Song - it's kind of an unacknowledged medley of blues standards.

I recommend smoking an enormous amount of cannabis and then going to see "The Song Remains the Same" at a cinema where they're not afraid to overload their speakers.

I know it's terribly fashionable to parody the whole ferret-down-the-trousers look that Robert Plant showcased in that movie. To my way of thinking, that's just an acknowledgement that Plant is the only performer who ever truly got away with it.
posted by flabdablet at 1:00 AM on June 6, 2006

You might want to listen to the Count Basie band with either Joe Williams, Big Joe Turner, or especially Jimmy Rushing. The music is very polished but they put out some wonderful blues with some very powerful vocals. While you're at it find some Dinah Washington.
posted by rdr at 1:25 AM on June 6, 2006

If you like the Gories, then you have two places to go— The Dirtbombs and the Demolition Doll Rods. The Dirtbombs are Mick's new band, and they're more power pop than blues though they do play more than a few blues licks.
The Demolition Doll Rods' best stuff is on Bulb Records, a label that's foundering and needs all the cash it can get. But it does make the Gories sound like Metallica recording with an orchestra. Also on Bulb and worth it if you like screamy bluesy garage: Voodoo Boots and The King Brothers, both from Japan. They make Guitar Wolf sound like Burt Bacharach.
And, frankly, as soon as you start looking to the White Stripes for blues, you should be looking to Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones (before about '72), The Animals, The Yardbirds, Cream and The Doors. I tend to think of the Doors overwraught psychedelic poetry as bullshit, but they were pretty competent at playing sleazy electric blues.
I'd also recommend Killing Floor Blues as a good blog to pick up things like this on the dl.
posted by klangklangston at 6:30 AM on June 6, 2006

I second the Doo Rag recommendation above too, with a note that if you like Doo Rag, you'll like Bob Log III, who came out of Doo Rag to sing about Boob Scotch.
posted by klangklangston at 6:33 AM on June 6, 2006

Along the Led Zeppelin line, their recording of "In My Time of Dying" is probably my favorite blues song. It's on Physical Graffiti
posted by Doohickie at 5:51 PM on June 7, 2006