From Popa Chubby to Paul Personne, eight blues records to slip under the tree

Who said the blues were out of fashion? Obviously, he still has good days ahead of him. Even in 2023, this musical genre fills theaters and sells wonderful records. Here is our selection of blues albums released this year that will delight music lovers at Christmas.

1 The safe bet: Popa Chubby

The New York giant has been operating for over 30 years. An American who doesn’t hold his tongue in his pocket and who propagates the message of the blues through powerful riffs, a snarling voice, and a guitar that is no less so. Always very active in terms of album releases, his latest opus which arrived in stores in September is a live recorded in his stronghold of the Big Apple.

“This album is a reformation in many ways” says Popa Chubby. “I had the opportunity to reconnect with my long-time ally and bassist extraordinaire Mike Merritt and record at my old studio Manny’s Car Wash Blues Club with Glen Forrest. Having Mile Dimeo on keyboards was the icing on the cake. Add Stefano Giudici on drums and you get some really heavy blues rock!” Indeed, if you like long, molten guitar solos, and when the blues turns to hardened rock, this record is for you.

And to see Popa Chubby on stage, note that he will come to France in 2024, notably in Paris, Lille, Clermont-Ferrand, Strasbourg, Nancy, Aurillac and even Le Puy-en-Velay. All dates on the official website.

POPA CHUBBY & the beast band – “Live At G Bluey’s Juke Joint NYC” – released September 8 (Gulfcoast Records – Proper Music Distribution)

2 The veteran: Mike Vernon

“Chicago Blues” was imported to Europe during the sixties in a movement called the “British Blues Boom”. A wave carried by groups like the Rollings Stones, the Animals or the Yardbirds, but also radio hosts such as Alexis Korner or producers like Mike Vernon. Creator of the label Blue Horizon, he is a discoverer-producer-collaborator of some major projects including the legendary Bluesbreakers album by John Mayall with Eric Clapton, the first two Fleetwood Mac albums with Peter Green, without forgetting American artists such as Otis Spann , Champion Jack Dupree and Elmore James. Needless to say, he knows the blues.

So obviously, when he decides to take the microphone himself, accompanied by a group of Iberian blues “pistoleros” named Cat Squirrel – the title of a Cream song, it can only breathe the sweaty blues of Chicago, version London. Classical arrangements that perpetuate the spirit of English blues.

CAT SQUIRREL Featuring Mike Vernon – “Blues What Am” – released October 6 (Rock & Hall)

3 The French speaker: Paul Personne

The blues is also available in the language of Molière, and Paul Personne is one of its most faithful representatives. But for his new double album, our French bluesman has chosen to reinterpret standards of French heritage in his own way. Hallyday, Mitchell, Nougaro, Higelin, Polnareff, Souchon, Aufray, Bashung, Ferrer and many others find themselves mixed with the blues mill by a Paul Personne who is both respectful and inventive. Well-known songs find a second youth and an unexpected bluesy color, such as this superb cover of vertigo of love.

A project that only saw the light of day this year, but which nevertheless dates back several decades. “The idea began to germinate in the early 90s”explains the singer-guitarist. “I thought about it from time to time but I put it away in the bottom of a drawer, it wasn’t the time. Human beings had to do it again with this horrible virus and this compulsory confinement for that a new desire arises.”

After his previous album Tightrope walker (or Attempt to survive in a hostile environment) released in 2019, Paul Personne treats himself here to a musical recreation and pays tribute to the personalities he was lucky enough to meet on his route. And as always, the discreet artist does it with sincerity and passion. “In a project like this, you shouldn’t think and analyze too much. Improvisation and spontaneity are always the best allies.” Dedications that make us rediscover songs that we thought we knew from every angle. And as Paul Personne himself says: “the good thing about covers is that you just want to listen to the originals again!”

PAUL PERSON – “Dedications (My special personal covers) Vol. 1 & 2” – Released November 10 (VeryCords)

4 Rural Frenchies: The Marshals

The blues is only played in the United States? Of course not. The trio The Marshals shows us that it can also flourish in Allier. And the setting of the French central massif gave them the inspiration to produce rural blues. The Mississippi Delta joins here the famous hexagonal diagonal of the void mocked by city dwellers. A guitar, a harmonica and a drums which accompany a lively song.

The music is unadorned and seeks to capture the very essence of the blues, rather than virtuoso showmanship. The haunting riffs and constant tone of Mi create an atmosphere worthy of the American South in these nine pieces. The French arid lands also have something to tell and The Marshals reiterate their choice of a singular place. After Les Courriers and Les Bruyères, it was at Ptit Cham, not far from Sancy in the Auvergne volcanoes park, that the trio recorded their last record. Eight original compositions by the singer-guitarist and a cover by Tony Joe White, Elements and thingsjust to preserve this unwavering link between France and America.

THE MARSHALS – “Le Ptit Cham Session” – released May 19 (Flower Coast / Absilone)

5 The Jazzy Frenchman: Dr. Sugar

Another French bluesman in the person of Dr. Sugar, whose real name is Pierre Citerne. Musician-songwriter inspired by Ry Cooder and lover of music born in the Mississippi Delta, he founded the Marvelous Pig Noise in 1996. After twelve years of existence, then the creation of the group Hush, collaborations with among others Mathis Haug or the English soul singer Jilly Riley, and finally the adventure in 2022 with the electro-acoustic group Sugarcane, here he is now solo for this first opus under the name Dr. Sugar.

There are nine titles in English and one French, but all of them exude Louisiana, the banks of the Mississippi, and the jazzy scent of New Orleans from the opening song. A record produced near Montpellier by Nicolas Sarran, drummer of Red Beans & Pepper Sauce, and who also provides percussion on the album.

DR SUGAR – “These Words” – released September 13 (Rock & Hall)

6 The Raw and Wild: The Blue-Footed Boobies

These “blue-footed boobies” from Marseillais chose to go on stage in blue shoes. That’s how we recognize them now. Here, the inspiration clearly seems to come from references like John Lee Hooker and RL Burnside, but especially closer to us from the bearded men of ZZ Top, self-deprecation included. The rough voice which instantly evokes Billy Gibbons is accompanied by a wild, primal, rough rhythm. The single Buggy would almost have an air of the mythical Barn.

The quartet is made up of Ronan, songwriter-guitarist and also “One Man Band” in another life, harmonica player Marko Balland, who has accompanied Sanseverino since 2017, drummer Guillaume Dupré, founder of the late ETHS flagship group French metal scene, and bassist Pascal Blanc whose CV includes collaborations with artists such as Soprano and Nolwenn Leroy without forgetting jazz projects like 3 In A Box. Suffice to say that with these four, the blues is at the crossroads of multiple influences.

THE BLUE FOOTED BOOBIES – released October 27 (Rock & Hall)

7 The soul-rock trend: Luc Blackstone

Bassist and singer Luc Blackstone, who notably plays in the Ganafoul reformation, also plays funky blues-rock with his own group and has just released his new album, self-produced. The title track which opens the disc sounds very pop-rock, but the other seven tracks are full of swaying groove with soul and rhythm and blues accents inviting you to sway your hips.

Warm brass, a voice that is no less warm, rhythms that alternate funk and shuffle. And pure blues is never far away with a title like You’re driving me crazy or the frenzied live version of I’m walking. On this disc, more heterogeneous than his previous one, Luc Blakstone does not hesitate to mix blues with pop, rock, soul and even sometimes jazz. This is where we realize that this music, more than a century old, continues to influence current trends.

LUC BLACKSTONE – “I’m coming” – released October 15 (self-produced)