Blue Bella
Not since Taj Mahal put out his “Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home” double LP in 1968 has there been a double blues album with one disc electric, one acoustic. In fact, he and Moss may be the genre’s only two artists to hold that distinction.
Inside Out
Michael Sadler knows when to call it a day: After a couple of so-so studio albums and a pair of live releases (the first a fair performance of 1981’s “Worlds Apart” LP, the second an excellent harvesting of all the “Chapter” songs originally strung out across seven nonconsecutive albums), the master of the bombastic vibrato is leaving the Canadian prog-rock group.
Slide on Rye
Hill’s 1999 self-titled debut was an electric affair, a solid blues-rock effort with two or three songs displaying a penchant for Middle Eastern-accented arrangements á la Led Zeppelin or Derek Trucks. For his sophomore outing, the award-winning Arkansas singer/songwriter/guitarist takes a folk-rock route, choosing largely acoustic arrangements.
Skybucket
These guys must’ve thought the Beach Boys were singing “Let’s go trippin’ now” instead of “Let’s go surfin’ now.” Fans of Brian Wilson’s spaced-out period will love this Birmingham group’s avant pop, recorded at their appropriately named Alamalibu Studios.
Self-released
Thomas and Jordan Wynn (rhythm and bass guitar, respectively) come from Southern rock stock: Their drummer/dad, Tom, was on the first album by Capricorn recording artists Cowboy, and before that he was in Florida garage rockers We the People with Cowboy comrade Tommy Talton.
