Album of the Day

The mid-1960s saw a surge of interest in the blues on both sides of the Atlantic; in England, people like John Mayall led the charge, while in America, Paul Butterfield was the great champion of electric blues. Like Mayall, Butterfield knew a good guitarist when he heard one, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's self-titled 1965 debut featured two of them: Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop. While their dual lead work is incendiary, the entire band smokes on these 11 tracks, which include three originals along with well-chosen Chicago blues standards. THE PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND has been cited by the likes of Down Beat and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest blues albums of all time, making it a fitting memorial to frontman Butterfield, who passed away on this day in 1987.