New releases last two weeks: Blues

Review: After 20 years of soulful and authentic rock & roll blues, Eli Paperboy Reed definitely had a right to celebrate. Originally recorded in a basement in Allston, Massachusetts, completely live onto and direct to analogue tape in mono, this collection was first released on a limited run of 300 CDs, self-released, and mostly sold by hand on the streets of Cambridge, close to Harvard University. Now redone, pressed-up and polished for 'proper release', you get all 12 original tracks and another 14 that never saw the light of day before. Four of those were recorded at the time of the others, the remainder come from a radio session the following year. All of them are incredible, and prove that it's not only the Deep South that can make these raw and unflinchingly honest sounds.

Review: Signed to blues rock master Joe Bonamassa's Journeyman Records, Joanne Shaw Taylor is one of the UK's foremost blues players and has delivered a transcendent tenth studio album. The Black Country singer and guitarist lets the natural twang of a Fender Telecaster ring brightly through the stomping blues classic 'What Are You Gonna Do Now?' and she matches her virtuoso playing with a commanding vocal take that puts her up there with the greats. 'Look What I've Become' sees her bare herAsoul to stunning effect as she lets rip with one of her best solos. Elsewhere, 'Summer Love' is a husky take on Americana with a more languid, feel-good vibe that reflects her ability to express almost any feeling through music. Clearly, Joanne Shaw Taylor has developed, since her 2009 debut, into a hugely accomplished member of the blues and Americana community, who doesn't just pay homage to her influences, but splices them into something new and her own.