Various – The Future Of The Blues – Vol. 2 – A NorthernBlues Sampler

Track Listing:
Taxi Chain: 1. Memphis - 5:57   David Jacobs-Strain: 2. Sleepless Dream - 4:16   Dan Treanor & Frankie Lee: 3. Missing - 4:11   Glamour Puss: 4. Hollow Man - 3:36   Kevin Breit & Harry Manx: 5. No Particular Place to Be / Itchy Knees and Elbows - 3:31   Janiva Magness: 6. Eat the Lunch You Brought - 5:19   Carlos del Junco Band: 7. Blues with a Feeling - 5:30   John And The Sisters: 8. Pralene - 4:32   The JW-Jones Blues Band: 9. Let's Have a Ball - 3:41   Toni Lynn Washington: 10. Back Water Blues - 6:13   Paul Reddick: 11. Five Silver Dollars - 3:49   James Cohen: 12. Mock Pollock - 2:58   Brian Blain: 13. Saab Story - 2:57   Eddie Turner: 14. Rise - 5:03   John And The Sisters: 15. Burning at the Feet of the Lord - 8:15

Reviews:

1. AllMusic - Richie Unterberger
Future of the Blues, Vol. 2 is basically a sampler CD of Canada's Northernblues label, which by the time of this 2005 release, was rising to prominence as one of the more active and independent blues-oriented record companies. The 14 principal tracks (all of them by different artists) were taken from previously issued albums; the 15th track, John & the Sisters' "Burning at the Feet of the Lord," serves as a previously unreleased "bonus track." It's not likely to be looked upon as an important or pivotal release in the history of early 21st century blues, but it does at least testify to the label's variety of approaches within the blues idiom, as well as its willingness to go beyond conventional blues forms. There's acoustic-rooted blues borrowing from the singer/songwriter form (David Jacobs-Strain); swampy blues-funk (Dan Treanor and Frankie Lee); gutbucket torch blues (Janiva Magness); boogie-woogie piano and Jimi Hendrix-like blues-rock (by John & the Sisters, on their two different cuts); a sly jazz blues instrumental with hints of ragtime and cabaret (James Cohen); and blues as a soft-shoe shuffle (Brian Blain). Perhaps the best piece is Kevin Breit and Harry Manx's instrumental "No Particular Place to Be/Itchy Knees and Elbows," with its train-rolling rhythm and witty, almost quizzical riffs.