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James "Skyy Dobro" Walker’s
Top 20 CDs & Top 50 Songs for 2008:

 Notes:

  1. This list comes from ONLY 2008 CDs that crossed my desk. There were many good ones I did not hear. For example, of the 10 Grammy nominees, only 4 came to my attention.

  2. I encountered over 125 CDs in 2008, and most of those were 2008 releases.

  3. I get CDs by: 1) purchasing 2) given to me 3) sent for review by Blues Blast Magazine

Skyy Dobro’s Top 20 CDs For 2008  Go to Top Songs

  • 1. Reba Russell Band Bleeding Heart

  • 2. Albert Castiglia These Are the Days

  • 3. Wanda Johnson Hold What You Got

  • 4. Lil’ Ed & Blues Imperials Full Tilt

  • 5. Miss Blues Bad Prospects

  • 6. Back Door Slam Roll Away

  • 7. Flattop Tom Don’t Cheat the Feet

  • 8. Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater West Side Strut

  • 9. Eden Brent Mississippi Number One

  • 10. Sean Costello We Can Get Together

  • 11. Charles “Big Daddy” Stallings Blues Evolution

  • 12. Chris James & Patrick Rynn Stop and Think About It

  • 13. Homemade Jamz Blues Band Pay Me No Mind

  • 14. Elvin Bishop The Blues Rolls On

  • 15. Magic Slim Midnight Blues

  • 16. Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King Blood Brothers

  • 17. Teeny Tucker Two Big M’s

  • 18. Stan “The Man” Hedges Two Mule Parade

  • 19. Mac Arnold Plate Full of Blues

  • 20. Larry Garner Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Skyy Dobro’s Top 50 Songs For 2008  Go to Top CDs

  • 1. Albert Castiglia “Bad Year Blues”

  • 2. Reba Russell Band “12 Bar Blues”

  • 3. Flattop Tom “Doin’ The Do”

  • 4. Carolyn Wonderland “Misunderstood

  • 5. Wanda Johnson “GirlFriend”

  • 6. Lil’ Ed & Blues Imperials “Hold That Train”

  • 7. Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater “A Good Leavin’ Alone

  • 8. Miss Blues “Blood Running Cold”

  • 9. Charles “Big Daddy” Stallings “Strange Things”

  • 10. Back Door Slam “Gotta Leave”

  • 11. Albert Castiglia “Catfish”

  • 12. Mud Angels “Derailed”

  • 13. Sean Costello “Told Me A Lie”

  • 14. Eden Brent “Fried Chicken” 

  • 15. Maddy Moneypenny “Zebra”

  • 16. Albert Cummings “Party right Here”

  • 17. Homemade Jamz Blues Band “Blues Concerto”

  • 18. Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King “Midlife Crisis, Midnight Flight”

  • 19. Nick Galik “Breakfast in the Key of A”

  • 20. Larry Garner “For You Mr. King”

  • 21. Mississippi Heat “Tiger Man”

  • 22. Lil’ Ed & Blues Imperials “Check My Baby’s Oil”

  • 23. Elvin Bishop “Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket”

  • 24. Webb Wilder “Sputnik”

  • 25. Laurie Morvan “Way Down/One Little Thing”

  • 26. Chris James & Patrick Rynn “Hawaiian Boogie”

  • 27. Nick Galik Band “Drop Your Bottoms”

  • 28. Larry Garner “Bull Rider”

  • 29. Eden Brent “Mississippi Number One”

  • 30. Clarence Spady “E-mail”

  • 31. Savoy Brown “Long As I’ve Got You”

  • 32. Scott Ellison “Steamin’”

  • 33. Flattop Tom “Bump Bounce Boogie”

  • 34. Monica Dupont “The Man From New Orleans”

  • 35. Flattop Tom (Bobby Robles – guitar) “Blue Ice”

  • 36. Charles “Big Daddy” Stallings “Blues Train Express”

  • 37. EG Kight “Then There’s The Truth”

  • 38. Mac Arnold “The Garden Song”

  • 39. Dr. Feelgood Potts “Pistol Packin’ Mama”

  • 40. Magic Slim “Give Me Back My Wig”

  • 41. Paul Rishell & Annie Raines “Moving To The Country”

  • 42. Samuel James “Runnin’ From My Baby’s Gun Whilst Previously Watchin’ Butterflies From My Front Porch”

  • 43. Jeff Healey “I’m Torn Down (Live)”

  • 44. Tab Benoit “Solid Simple Things”

  • 45. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith “Old Woman Sweetheart”

  • 46. Gas House Gorillas “All She Wants To Do Is Rock”

  • 47. Teeny Tucker “Whole Lotta Shakin’”

  • 48. Gary Moore “Trouble Ain’t Far Behind”

  • 49. Kenny Neal “Blues, Leave Me Alone”

  • 50. Buddy Guy “Too Many Tears”

Reviewer James “Skyy Dobro” Walker is a noted Blues writer, DJ and Blues Blast contributor. His weekly radio show “Friends of the Blues” can be heard each Thursday from 4:30 – 6:00pm on WKCC 91.1 FM in Kankakee, IL

 

James "Skyy Dobro" Walker’s Blues CD Rating System

James "Skyy Dobro" Walker’s Blues CD Rating System is based on this concept: There is no such thing as a bad Blues CD – some are just better than others. Albums unworthy of one of these ratings will not be reviewed. From highest rating to lowest:

1. Reference Quality - It’s simply great music! Time magazine is a periodical; National Geographic is a reference. Most music today is a periodical – something that marked a certain time - a month, sometimes a week. Examples of References can be found in the music of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Compare them to Miles Davis in Jazz and Jimi Hendrix in Rock; they are references.

2. Library Quality – Here is a recording that should not be missed. It is worthy of inclusion in your home library of CDs.

3. Suggested – A CD that truly can teach amateurs about production and performance.

4. Splendid – An album with outstanding qualities in lyrics, music, and production.

5. Meritable – A recording with enough valid moments to overcome weaknesses. Possibly low on blues content or misplaced in the “blues” category.

6. Fine – An album that can be recognized as blues although with noticeable faults. Possibly an amateurish recording.

 

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