Jimmy Rogers was very much a musician's musician – the kind of guitarist that earned accolades from contemporaries and successors alike – yet one who never wins a wide, mainstream audience. Blues Blues Blues was designed as the album that would find Rogers a larger audience, and as such, it has all the bells and whistles of a big-deal blues album. It has the classics ("Trouble No More," "Bright Lights, Big City," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Don't Start Me to Talkin'"), remakes of Rogers standards ("Ludella," "That's All Right"), cult covers (Muddy Waters' "Blow Wind Blow," which kicks off the album on just the right note) and an astounding number of guest appearances, including cameos from (get ready): Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, Lowell Fulson, Johnnie Johnson, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, Ted Harvey, Carey Bell, Stephen Stills, and Jeff Healey.

On this CD are 2 Chicago Blues legends presented: Eddie "Chief" Clearwater and Carey Bell.
Once dismissed by purists as a Chuck Berry imitator (and an accurate one at that), tall, lean, and lanky Chicago southpaw Eddy Clearwater became recognized as a prime progenitor of West Side-style blues guitar. That's not to say he wouldn't liven up a gig with a little duck-walking or a frat party rendition of "Shout"; after all, Clearwater brought a wide array of influences to the party. Gospel, country, '50s rock, and deep-down blues were all incorporated into his slashing guitar attack. But when he put his mind to it, "The Chief" (a nickname accrued from his penchant for donning Native American headdresses on-stage) was one of the Windy City's finest bluesmen…

This brilliant effort by Carey Bell and his son Lurrie Bell, both of whom are blues legends, almost did not take place. Carey suffered a minor stroke and broke his hip, spending four months in the hospital. Three days after he left the hospital, he was on his way to Chicago to perform at a concert with Lurrie. Although still in a wheelchair, Carey is heard throughout at the peak of his powers, taking powerful and inventive harmonica solos along with most of the vocals. Lurrie's guitar work is excellent and he sings on "Baby Please Don't Go." There are two live sessions with a rhythm section, three numbers that were recorded at Lurrie's home as intimate duets between father and son, and a solo "Stand by Me" by Lurrie Bell for his wife. This is a classic and memorable program that is highly recommended to fans of Chicago blues and Carey and Lurrie Bell.

The 1988 album of the best blues harmonica player of his time, who was also a distinctive singer. This was the first brand new studio blues album to be issued on CD only, no vinyl issue at all. This was ahead of its time slightly.

Originally recorded for Germany's L+R label in 1982, this studio date for Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band finds the group stretching out on seven lengthy blues jams. Son Lurrie Bell contributes some nice licks, including a tortured solo to close out a nearly ten-minute version of "I Am Worried," and other son Carey Bell Jr. anchors the rhythm section on electric bass.

Four Chicago harmonica greats, one eminently solid album. Teamed with Junior Wells, Billy Branch, and Carey Bell, Cotton sings Willie Love's Delta classic "Little Car Blues" and Charles Brown's "Black Night." Wells trades harp solos and vocals, standing front and center on a fine rendition of Sonny Boy II's "Keep Your Hands Out of My Pockets" and the tailor-made "Somebody Changed the Lock" and "Broke and Hungry," obviously relishing the camaraderie between himself and his fellow harmonica giants. Meanwhile, Branch's showcases are the apt original "New Kid on the Block" and a deft cover of Little Walter's "Who."

Recorded on an off night during a European tour in 1991, this is a warts and all, no overdubs, unplugged session that captures the father and son duo at their most uninhibited. Basically, Carey and Lurrie Bell sat down in a studio in Kouvola, Finland, let the tapes roll for three hours, and this is the result. Why the finished product languished for 14 years in tour manager/co-producer Chip Covington's closet is unclear, but Alligator's long delayed yet welcome 2004 release shows the timeless quality of this deep Delta blues. The songs are sung by both guitarist son Lurrie and harpist dad Carey, and range from well-worn standards such as "Rock Me" (featuring a stunning acoustic guitar solo), "Key to the Highway," and "Five Long Years," to originals that follow established blues patterns. It's a relatively low-key performance, but the twosome show a natural affinity for each other…

The harpist hooked up with a young Maryland-based band called Tough Luck for this disc, certainly one of his better outings. The traditional mindset of the combo pushed Bell back to his roots, whether on the originals "Just like You" and the Horton homage "Big Walter Strut" or revivals of Muddy Waters' "Short Dress Woman" and "Walking Thru the Park" and the classic Little Walter title cut.

Carey Bell is an effective and surprisingly versatile singer but it is his powerful harmonica that really stands out. One of the last of the major Chicago blues harpists, Bell (an alumnus of the Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon bands) had led his own groups for most of the previous 30 years when he came out with this disc. His longtime guitarist Steve Jacobs offers some concise and stinging comments but the leader is virtually the whole show on his CD, which finds him leading a tight six-piece group. Nothing too unusual occurs but the music definitely has plenty of spirit.

An outstanding artiste on the Chicago musical scene, Carey, in addition to guiding his sons Lurrie, Steve and James towards the blues, did not fossilise his style into the urban one, but often enjoyed leaving the electric cage to perform acoustically in a duo. Although the results have been late in arriving, in spite of the occasional presence of famous musicians such as Louisiana Red, everything has changed after the issue of this CD. First of all the work is almost free of the usual standards, with the exception of ‘'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl’’ and ‘Stop Breaking Down’, and the parts between Bell and the guitarist/singer Spike Ravenswood (a linear and expressive partner, without instrumental egocentricities which are useless in the economy of work), are equally divided…

More than a quarter century after he cut his debut album, Bell recently made his finest disc to date. Boasting superior material and musicianship (guitarists Carl Weathersby and Lurrie Bell and pianist Lucky Peterson are all stellar) and a goosed-up energy level that frequently reaches incendiary heights, the disc captures Bell outdoing himself vocally on the ribald "Let Me Stir in Your Pot" and a suitably loose "When I Get Drunk" and instrumentally on the torrid "Jawbreaker." For a closer, Bell settled on the atmospheric Horton classic "Easy"; he does it full justice.

It's a mite ragged around the edges, but Bell's 1969 debut session certainly sports the proper ambience - and no wonder, with guitarists Eddie Taylor and Jimmy Dawkins and pianist Pinetop Perkins on hand to help out. No less than four Little Walter covers and two more from Muddy Waters' songbook dot the set, but many of the best moments occur on the original numbers. Delmark's CD reissue includes three previously unissued items.

These are from the first and only recordings that brought the entire, legendary, Bell family together into the recording studio. Carey Bell is justly renowned today as the best blues harmonica man around and is of course father of all the other bells here. Not just genetically though, musically too because his style of bard, "50s" blues has been brought down to one more generation. Lurrie Bell is a stunning blues guitarist who would be a star if it was a fair world. Steve Bell is a maturing but definitely inventive blues harp player and Carey’s younger sons, Tyson and James, are a supremely powerful and well oiled rhythm section. The music on this CD defines the best of recent Chicago Blues.

It's almost 50 years since blues harp master Carey Bell released his debut album on Delmark Records. Carey's children followed him into blues and performed with him often while growing up. Lurrie's debut recording was with Carey appearing on Heartaches And Pain and he joined with pops again in 2006 to record a live album / DVD, Gettin' Up only one year before Carey passed away. Now Lurrie, Steve, Tyson and James Bell join forces as The Bell Dynasty to present this tribute to their dad, Carey Bell. The Bell Dynasty is joined by special guests Charlie Musselwhite and Billy Branch.

Nothing flashy or outrageous here, just a meat-and-potatoes session produced by Al Smith that satisfyingly showcases Bell's charms. Once again, there are hearty tributes to Little Walter ("Last Night") and Muddy Waters ("She's 19 Years Old"), but there's some original stuff too, backed by a combo that boasted a daunting collective experience level: Taylor and Perkins return, along with bassist David Myers and drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.