Albert King is one of the best known contemporary guitarist-singers in the blues and his new Utopia album Albert (BULI- 1731) is an attempt to present a commercially successful album. Albert King's recordings have always manifested a funkiness and when he was with Stax he had Booker T., and the Stax crew providing sometimes sympathetic and sometimes ridiculous music (Albert King sings Elvis). Despite disco touches on some tracks, and a girl chorus on others this is pretty direct music, and blues with a funky touch.

The Finest of Folk Bluesmen is a mistitled anthology as only the John Lee Hooker tracks on this Bethlehem (BCP-6017) anthology are country blues, the rest being mostly urban and jazz oriented performances. Among those included are Eddie 'Cieanhead' Vinson, Jimmy Rushing, Lonnie Johnson and Memphis Slim and this is a very enJoyable set of mostly uptown music from the late 1940s and the early 1950s.
Great Bluesmen/Newport (Vanguard VSD 17/78) is a collection of country blues recorded lve at various Newport Folk Festivals and is recommended especially for those who don't
have many blues records as it provides idroduction to a number of fine artists including Robert Pete Williams, Son House,
Mississippi John Hurt, and Skip James. John Lee Hooker and
Lightnin' Hopkins are not heard at their best though Robert
Pete WiIIiams' Levee Camp Blues, Skip James' Hard Time
Killing Floor Blues and Son Souse's Son's Blues are especially
compelling.
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