Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents - I Gave My Life To The Blues (1996)

An excellent disc all around, available domestically and at domestic prices. The band is in a solid groove with the usual stomps, shuffles, good-time funk and delicious slow blues. During the last few years, Bassett has begun to sound less like '60s-era B.B. King and on this disc he seems to come into full bloom. The band, too, is full of first-class musicians. They draw from disperate sources and concentrate on laying down a tight foundation which lovingly supports Bassett's inventive single-string leads and chordal rhythm guitar work. In this day of gadgets and floor boxes, his sound is refreshingly clean and uncluttered and a pleasure to listen to. If you like straight-ahead electric blues, you can't go wrong with this disc.