These four records―for better or worse―meld traditional and electric blues with then-contemporary psychedelic sounds and arrangements. Some with adventurous musical palettes claim these as ground breaking releases while purists decry them as a sham. Whatever side of the Delta divide you stand on, these albums should have a spot in your collection.
Muddy Waters Electric Mud (Chess, 1968) – Looking to capitalize on the success so many musicians were having with the explosion of electrified psychedelic music, Waters cut this record. The arrangements are very Hendrix inspired, some might even say derivative. The version of the Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” is pretty awe-inspiring with the godfather playing tribute to the upstart punks who gave his career a new set of legs. It was ill-received upon its initial release and Waters himself later even disavowed it. Yet generations of fans from Led Zeppelin to Public Enemy have constantly cited this one-off as a seminal moment and direct influence on their music.
John Lee Hooker It Serves You Right to Suffer (Impulse, 1966) – This on-off outing pairs Hooker with the legendary jazz label Impulse (then an imprint of ABC), more famous for its Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders releases than any electric guitar driven blues records. Regardless, the playing is spot on, with Hooker on top of his game. There is even a little brass added in by way of William Wells’ trombone on the Motown classic “Money.” ABC would later spin off the BluesWay label from Impulse and go on to release a number of records that melted together traditional blues playing with the electric weirdness of the day.
Jimi Hendrix Blues (MCA, 1994) – Not really a proper Hendrix album, but this 1994 compilation collects a number of his blues recordings. Of course this isn’t your typical Delta experience. Jimi pulls out all the stops and adds his signature licks to standards (“Mannish Boy,” “Born Under a Bad Sign,” and the scorching “Catfish Blues”) as well as new twists on Experience staples (“Electric Church Red House,” “Voodoo Chile Blues”). For all that Hendrix did for rock music in the ’60s his sound and style owes a great deal to the players before him such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and B.B. King. Blues gives a nice tip of the hat.
Sky Saxon & the Seeds A Spoonful of Seedy Blues (GNP, 1967) – L.A.-based psychedelic pioneer, contemporary of the Doors, and a fixture on the Sunset Strip of the ’60s, Sky Saxon was everywhere. Leading the Seeds he even scored a few minor hits including the Nuggets-worthy “Pushin’ Too Hard.” Forty years later the jury is still out on A Spoonful of Seedy Blues. The Saxon originals meld the traditional sound with his L.A. garage rock vocals. Reverent treatments are given to the Muddy Waters (who also provided the liner notes!) and Luther Johnson songs but otherwise this record is certainly an acquired taste.