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These two albums couldn’t be more different — at opposite ends of the blues spectrum, acoustic vs. electric, delta vs. blues-rock. But they are probably the two best CD’s to cross my desk this year. If you’re a fan of either brand of blues, you need these.

First, Walter Trout’s “Full Circle”. Trout wanted to make a record with people he’d played with over his 35-year career. The list is a who’s who of blues-rock icons, including John Mayall, Jeff Healey, Joe Bonamassa, Coco Montoya, Guitar Shorty, Finis Tasby, Eric Sardinas, and several others. From the first note, this record delivers. I’ve commented before here how difficult it is to translate that live blues feel to a recording. So many otherwise exciting performers end up sounding bland and lifeless in the studio. Well, this CD doesn’t fall into that trap. Just about every track is electric with the groove and vibe we’ve come to expect from live performances.

Why? My guess is 3 reasons: almost all the tracks are recorded live, and most of them are first takes. Secondly, Trout is a seasoned performer who has done it over and over again for years. Third, the engineering is a marvel.

Throw on your headphones, crank it up, and prepare to experience blues-rock nirvana.

And then we have Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, who sounds like he’s in an unbroken line of succession going back to Robert Johnson. Lots of people work at trying to sound “authentic”. Holmes is the real deal.

It’s just one guy playing and singing softly. But it’s got more power than 98% of the electric blues albums out today. This haunting record reminds us what the blues is all about; it reaches down into your very soul and rips it out. You feel like you’re walking past a country graveyard at night.

I’m playing “Back to Bentonia” over and over. Don’t miss this one.