10 Seminal Blues Rock Albums

The 1960s saw a blues music renaissance as audiences discovered blues artists like Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker and others. The early rock and rollers from Elvis Presley to Bo Diddley looked to the blues as a source of inspiration and began to cover and interpret blues standards. By the mid 1960s blues and rock music converged to become “Blues Rock.” The seminal period of birth for the genre can be enjoyed today by listening to some of the albums released during that era.

To help boil it down to a manageable number of choices the “Ten Seminal Blues Rock Albums” were limited to the genesis period that occurred in the mid to late 1960s. The original list was nearly 30 record albums which was whittled down to ten.

Johnny Winter – Second Winter

Johnny Winter’s 3^rd studio album Second Winter was released in October 1969 on “Columbia Records.” The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with his band comprised of his brother Edgar on keyboards, bass guitarist Tommy Shannon and Uncle John Turner on drums. The band used a traditional recording process in an attempt to capture the energy that is created in a live performance. The album was released as a double LP because Winter got carried away and recorded more material than was originally intended. Second Winter captured the passion and dynamism of Winter’s live performances and showcases the diversity of his blues style by highlighting his amazing guitar prowess. The songs are a mix of blues and rock covers of artists from B.B. King to Bob Dylan along with original compositions.

Savoy Brown – Blue Matter

Blue Matter was released in June 1969 on Parrot Records in the US and was Savoy Brown’s third studio album. Kim Simmonds founded the band in London, England in 1965 and was the band’s only original member in a rotating lineup until he died in December 2022. The band at its inception was comprised of Kim Simmonds on guitars and vocals, Chris Youlden on vocals, guitar and piano, “Lonesome” Dave Peverett on guitar and vocals, Roger Earl on drums, Tone Stevens on bass and Bob Hall on keyboards. Blues Matter had both blues covers written by John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters as well as original material written by individual and combined band members. The two most outstanding cuts on the album are “Train to Nowhere” by Kim Simmonds and Chris Youlden and “Louisiana Blues” by Muddy Waters.

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin

The way that Led Zeppelin and its first eponymous album came about was a result of Jimmy Page holding the bag for the remainder of the Yardbirds tour after the band broke up. He recruited Robert Plant as lead singer, John Paul Jones for bass and keyboards and John Bonham for drums. The band performed as the “New Yardbirds” until they changed their name to Led Zeppelin after Keith Moon suggested it since he joked that their act would emulate a lead balloon. The album was released in January 1969 on the “Atlantic Records” label and included solid blues interpretations of Willie Dixon and original compositions by the band together and separately. A combination of musical chemistry between band members and their individual expertise combined to create an iconic band and sound that has been emulated for fifty years.

Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland

Electric Ladyland was Jimi Hendrix’s third and final studio album recorded in Hendrix’s New York studio of the same name. The album was released in October 1968 on the Reprise Record label. The musicians playing on the album were the original “Experience” members comprised of Hendrix on lead guitar and vocals, Noel Redding on bass and backing vocals and Mitch Mitchell on drums and backing vocals. There were also another dozen artists that appeared on one or more songs like Brian Jones, Steve Winwood, and Dave Mason to name some. The album is considered a masterpiece because it not only uses state of the art recording equipment but captures Hendrix’s genius at its peak. His innovative and transcendent guitar playing crosses multiple genres including blues, jazz, psychedelic and rock. Songs like “Voodoo Child (Slight Return) and a cover of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” pushed the boundaries of musical possibility.

Muddy Waters – Electric Mud

In October 1968, Muddy Waters released Electric Mud on the “Cadet/Chess” record label. Marshall Chess, the son of “Chess Record’s” founder Leonard, founded “Cadet” as a spin off that would record new upcoming bands.”  Wanting to introduce Muddy Waters to a younger audience, he used “The Rotary Connection,” a  psychedelic rock band that was his first release on “Cadet” to back up Muddy on the album. At the time the hippie psychedelic craze was in full swing in America and Marshall Chess saw it as a way to combine another version of rock with the blues.

Jeff Beck – Truth

Jeff Beck’s Truth album was released in May 1968 on the “Epic” record label in the US and was produced by Mickie Most at Abbey Road studio in London. The band on the landmark album was comprised of Jeff Beck on lead guitar, with Rod Stewart on vocals , Ron Wood on bass and Micky Waller on drums. The album has a couple of Willie Dixon compositions including the classic “I Ain’t Superstitious” along with a cover of “Shapes of Things” by the “Yardbirds” Beck’s former band. Jimmy Page, who appears on the album as a guest musician also contributes one of its iconic tracks with “Beck’s Bolero.”

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is the band’s eponymous debut album alternatively known as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac which was released in February 1968. At the time Peter Green was part of the British pantheon of emerging blues rock guitar players that included Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. The band was comprised of Peter Green on vocals and lead guitar, Jeremy Spencer on vocals and slide guitar, John McVie on bass guitar and Mick Fleetwood on drums. The album is a mix of mostly original tunes and a few covers like “Shake Your Moneymaker” by Elmore James. Green’s classic composition “Black Magic Woman” would become his biggest hit with the band after it was catapulted onto the charts by Carlos Santana on his 1970 Abraxas album.

Canned Heat – Boogie with Canned Heat

Boogie with Canned Heat was the band’s second and most commercially successful album released in January 1968 on “Liberty Records.” The album was released after the band had a successful appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and before they played at the legendary Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. The original Canned Heat lineup was comprised of Bob “The Bear” Hite on vocals, Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Henry “Sunflower” Vestine playing lead guitar, Larry “The Mole” Taylor on bass and drummer Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra. The album was co-produced by the band’s manager Skip Taylor to showcase the band’s improvisational style and promotion of traditional blues. All the band members were also blues scholars who researched primal blues and collaborated with artists like John Lee Hooker. In cases where they covered an older blues song, they always credited the original artist.

Cream – Fresh Cream

Fresh Cream was released in December 1966 as the band’s debut album. The power trio was comprised of Eric Clapton on lead guitar who just left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, along with Jack Bruce on bass and vocals and Ginger Baker on drums. All three musicians were so exceptional that people began to use the adjective “super” when referring to the group. The album showcased their ability to combine rock with blues and even play it in a psychedelic style. The album’s combination of cover songs and original compositions displayed their diverse musical virtuosity with songs like “I Feel Free” and “Rollin’ and Tumblin.’”

John Mayall and the Blues Breakers – Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton

John Mayall and the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton was released in July 1966 after it was recorded in March and April for “Decca Records.” Clapton just left the “Yardbirds” after recording two albums with them in 1964 to pursue a blues sound and was replaced by Jeff Beck. The band was made up of John Mayall on vocals, keyboards and harmonica, Eric Clapton on lead guitar, John McVie on bass and Hughie Flint on drums. It included twelve cuts on the “London” US version with seven covers by artists like Robert Johnson, Freddie King and Little Walter to five original compositions by Mayall and one co-written by Clapton.