Martin Scorsese’s “The Blues” and more

Various Artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues, Universal Music/Columbia Legacy Records

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s remarkable seven-part PBS television series, “The Blues,” has just finished its initial run, and the accompanying five-disc CD set is equally commendable.

Loaded with classic examples of historic blues recordings stretching from the early twenties until the present day, “Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues” is an indispensable box set for the novice who is discovering blues for the first time. Even longtime collectors like this writer can fill holes in their collection. Amazing as it may seem, I never owned a copy of Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” considered by many to be the first rock ’n roll record. Now I do.

One will find examples of every type of blues extant, from primitive work hollers to formal W.C. Handy orchestrations, to acoustic Delta and Piedmont styles, to the classic female shouters like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, to more urbane sounds from Muddy Waters, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Albert King, right up to more modern players like Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Robert Cray.

It would be impossible for me to list every artist covered in this collection, so be good to yourself, splurge a little and get a copy. If you like blues, America’s genuine cornerstone music, “Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues” is as good as it gets.

Bruce Cockburn: You’ve Never Seen Everything, Rounder Records

Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Bruce Cockburn has established himself in his homeland as an artist of tremendous stature and importance, but he remains a cult figure in the USA. Always an experimenter unafraid to speak his mind on social ills, Cockburn’s latest disc is a harrowing musical experience.

The mood is low key and menacing, with eerie sounds, exotic instrumentation and some of the most disquieting lyrical imagery I have ever experienced. Death is the main subject. The title track deals with a grisly murder-suicide on a highway off-ramp.

Another cut, “Postcards From Cambodia,” relates the story of a glass tower near Phnom Penh filled with nine thousand human skulls, the remains of people killed during the Viet Nam War. Other tracks are equally disturbing and yet highly compelling.

Needless to say, Bruce Cockburn’s “You’ve Never Seen Everything” isn’t feel good music. It requires thought and effort as well as the right mood to appreciate. But, the end result is well worth the work.

Robert Randolph and The Family Band: Unclassified, Warner Brothers Records

African-American pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph continues to stake his claim as one of rock’s most talented new instrumentalists.

When this young phenomenon gained his first taste of stardom while playing in the Pentecostal House of God Church in East Orange, New Jersey, he was relatively new to secular music and he quickly ingratiated himself with the hippie jam band crowd. Now, Randolph has his sights set on a wider audience. His music contains elements of alt rock, soul and blues, and is aimed squarely at the contemporary rock demographic while not ignoring classic rock, largely favored by older listeners.

There’s a strong buzz about this young man within the industry and I can tell you it’s merited. Robert Randolph’s new disc is a winner.