The Rough Guide To The Blues

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1180)

From the hardship suffered by black sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta nearly a hundred years ago, the blues, a deep soulful music full of passion and rhythm, was born. Featuring a collection of legendary blues heroes recorded throughout the twentieth century, The Rough Guide To The Blues tells the story of how the blues began, developed and eventually became the roots of rock 'n' roll.


'A “who’s who” of many of the most significant performers in the tradition.' Sing Out!

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The Rough Guide To Salsa Dura NYC

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1177)

With its thrilling, fast paced energy and hot-blooded spirit, Salsa Dura NYC is music made for dancing. Born in the nightclubs of the Bronx, Spanish Harlem and Brooklyn of the 1970's this is the no-frills, hard (dura in Spanish) Latin music whose revival is filling Latin clubs around the world.


**** (four stars) 'The tracks are relentlessly upbeat... a ready-made dance set.' Songlines

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The Rough Guide To Bottleneck Blues

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1151)

The mesmerizing sound of a bottleneck slide across guitar strings is synonymous with the Delta blues. Developed around the turn of the last century, bottleneck-playing cultivated great variety and skill, from the Hawaiian-influenced guitar style of Casey Bill Weldon to the twelve-string guitar brilliance of Blind Willie McTell and the gospel playing of Blind Willie Johnson. The Rough Guide To Bottleneck Blues focuses on the timeless recordings of the original blues legends and pays tribute to the second-generation bottleneck masters of today.


‘A captivating survey of bottleneck blues.' Sing Out!

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The Rough Guide To Zydeco

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1145)

Zydeco is the driving accordion-led dance music of the Louisiana Creoles. Originally of French origin, it has been heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues, soul and, in recent years, rap and hip-hop. Zydeco is distinct from its local cousin Cajun, and continues to flourish in the rural southwest Louisiana prairie towns. Featuring zydeco legends such as Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco, The Rough Guide To Zydeco presents some of the best Louisianan music, filled with the sounds of the accordion and the frottoir, a percussion instrument with an unmistakable rasp.


'A splendid overview of this earthy, accordion-driven music.' The Times

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The Rough Guide To Cajun Dance

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1139)

Cajun music – from the prairies and bayous of south Louisiana – has a distinctive sound full of fiddles, guitars, boisterous accordion playing and songs of heartbreak and love (sung in French). The forced relocation of many Acadians or ‘Cajuns’, from what is now Nova Scotia to Louisiana in the eighteenth century, led to the development of a rich and unique musical genre combining French, Celtic, Spanish, Native American and African music. From the parties and dancehalls of the Louisiana prairies to the waltz and two-step rhythms of Cajun music, The Rough Guide To Cajun Dance represents some of the finest and most innovative artists of the genre.


'Sizzling mixture of accordions, fiddles and gin-soaked vocals.' The Guardian

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The Rough Guide To The Music Of Canada

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1125)

Canada offers every imaginable kind of music, which somehow seems only fitting for such a vastly varied and rich land. As a new nation built on immigration and cultural mixing, it is one where artists bend and even defy traditional boundaries. Including Celtic fiddle traditions of Cape Breton, Québécois chanson, Inuit throat singing and more, The Rough Guide To The Music Of Canada focuses on some of the longer-standing roots music traditions created in established cultural communities, together with some of the newer hybrids those styles have brought forth.


'The more ‘traditional roots’ of Canadian music.' Songlines

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The Rough Guide To Chicago Blues

Various
(Rough Guide, RGNET1118)

Chicago blues has produced some of the strongest artists and musical performances in the last half of the twentieth century. A result of the stream of African-American migrants from the rural farm-based economy of the southern states, it is a musical form that thrives today through the second and third generation of performers. The Rough Guide To Chicago Blues provides a broad range of styles that evolved into the mature electric ensemble sound that is Chicago blues, delving a little deeper into some of the less-reissued performers, labels and styles, and illustrating the great and varied musical heritage that musicians repeatedly return to for inspiration and structure.


'Enterprising and interesting.' MOJO

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