Mud Morganfield is set to release his latest offering and debut on the Delmark record label on November 11^th. If this album sounds familiar, it should. Twelve of the fourteen songs were released back in 2012 as the album Son of a Seventh Son on Severn Records. The only brand-new tune is a Mud Morganfield original, Praise Him. As the song title suggests, it is a gospel number. The song, while listenable, doesn’t add anything to the album and in fact sets it off on the wrong track. The album straightens itself out quickly with J.T. Brown’s Short Dressed Woman and chugs down the Chicago blues rails aided by seven more Mud Morganfield originals which are more suited to his unique pedigree in this field. Few artists, if any have cast a larger shadow on the blues field than Muddy Waters. For Mud Morganfield it must feel like a total eclipse. I’m sure it is a natural instinct to follow one’s own muse and musical instincts. However, Mud Morganfield shines brightest when he embraces his legacy head on. He does that here. On this new release the first son of the seventh son paints a portrait that is worth a second look. – David Mac 

On October 28^th, twenty-one-year-old, multi-instrumentalist Yates McKendree releasedhis debut album Buchanan Lane, titled after the street on which he resides. Thirteen tracks in total, four originals he co-wrote with Gary Nicholson, fill out this very impressive debut album. Buchanan Lane was recorded at Rock House Studios in Nashville, owned by his father Kevin McKendree. The senior McKendree produced and engineered this album and lends some support on keyboards.  The band features “Big” Joe Maher on drums, Steve Mackay on acoustic bass.  Jim Hoke handles the saxophone duties, Andrew Carney plays trumpet and Roland Babber completes the horn section on trombone.  Greg Garner plays electric bass when called for and The McCrary Sisters round out the ensemble on backing vocals. – Craig Lawrence 

The Phantom Blues Band brought their “A” game to Blues for Breakfast, which includes the instantly recognizable sense of joy they bring to their live performances. That exuberance hasn’t always translated to their previous studio albums, but it shows up here on the band’s 2022 release in abundance. This is evidenced early on with the opening track, as the band takes on the Isaac Hayes/Dave Porter penned Sam & Dave tune I Take What I Want. On the next eleven tracks the band takes songs by Little Milton, Curtis Mayfield, Sonny Thompson (via Freddy King), Ike Turner, Jimmy McCracklin, Sam Cooke and others out for a spin. They open their car doors long enough for Curtis Salgado to hop in and sing a couple of tunes. Even Bonnie Raitt jumps on board and sings on the great Freddy King tune Country Boy. The Phantom Blues Band are an all-star assemblage of first call musicians who turn out to be greater than the sum of their formidable parts. This is saying a lot and one of the reasons why Taj Mahal calls them his secret weapon.  – David Mac 

This group of Chicago veterans came together for a set of traditional blues and the results are wonderful. Produced by Dick Shurman, the band includes Billy Flynn, Gerry Hundt, Rodrigo Mantovani and others. Five of the songs are Lang originals with excellent covers of Fenton Robinson, Alfred Wallace and Jerry McCain. - Charlie Lange 

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