If you’re already drenched in sweat and questioning why you ever thought patios, tank tops, and outdoor jazz fests in July were a good idea—Craft Recordings and Bluesville Records have zero sympathy. Instead, they’ve decided to turn up the heat with two essential blues reissues dropping August 1st: At the Gate of Horn by Memphis Slim and Back on My Feet Again by Furry Lewis (no relation to Taffey Lewis, but Blade Runner fans can dream). These 180-gram LPs are aimed squarely at your turntable and your wallet—and for once, the blues don’t come with sticker shock.
Craft and Bluesville came into 2025 like they meant business. I’ve had the good fortune to spin a number of their recent reissues—Mississippi John Hurt, Lonnie Johnson with Elmer Snowden—and if you’ve been living with musty $5 bin copies, it’s time for an upgrade. These new pressings are clean, dynamic, and faithful to the source material without sounding like someone scooped the soul out with a digital ladle.
This doesn’t smell like a lazy reissue campaign cashing in on some “vinyl is back” marketing spin. Craft and Bluesville are taking this seriously—bringing long-out-of-print blues albums back to life with a level of care and sonic integrity most labels reserve for audiophile jazz or classic rock. These records don’t just look good on a shelf—they sound like the blues should: raw, immediate, and soaked in feeling. If your idea of summer listening starts with sweating through your record cleaning brush and ends with a tall glass of regret, you’ll want both of these on deck.
If you read about my recent vinyl misadventures back home in Toronto, you’ll know I’ve got some strong opinions about record pricing north of the border. Between the 13% GST, the “hipster tax” on Ossington, and restaurant bills that require a second mortgage (yes, I’m looking at you $27 lemongrass chicken Banh Mi), buying new vinyl in the 416 feels like a financial commitment.
That’s why these Craft Recordings x Bluesville reissues are such a relief—they’re actually affordable. You get audiophile-quality pressings of blues essentials that don’t cost the same as a panzerotti and veal sandwich with 2 Brio Chinotti combo in Little Italy. In a world where even used vinyl is flirting with triple digits, this feels refreshingly sane.
Memphis Slim’s At The Gate of Horn: Who Plays Blues Piano Better Than This Guy?
John Len Chatman—aka Memphis Slim—wasn’t just a blues pianist. The man was a walking, piano-thumping encyclopedia of how to run a jump blues band like a back-alley revival. Born in Memphis and raised on the sound of juke joints and honky-tonks across West Memphis and southeast Missouri, Slim hit Chicago in 1939 and immediately made himself indispensable—especially to Big Bill Broonzy, who knew talent when he saw it.
Recording first under his father’s name, Peter Chatman (gotta love blues genealogy), Memphis Slim carved out his own lane fast. His early 1940s Bluebird sides gave us “Beer Drinking Woman” and “Grinder Man Blues”—tracks that strut hard and punch even harder. But his lasting contribution? That would be 1947’s “Nobody Loves Me,” a slow-burner that mutated into the blues standard “Every Day I Have the Blues,” which has been covered so many times it ought to have its own union card.
Released in 1959 on Vee-Jay, At the Gate of Horn is a reminder that Slim wasn’t just a sideman or a background guy. He was the show. The album swings, slinks, and throws elbows when it needs to—particularly on “Steppin’ Out,” a track that’s been borrowed (read: stolen) by half the blues-rock world since.
This 2025 reissue from Craft Recordings and Bluesville keeps it classy and faithful: original Studs Terkel liner notes (because you don’t mess with gospel), newly remastered audio, 180-gram vinyl pressed at QRP, and a tip-on jacket that feels like it belongs in your crate next to Moanin’ in the Moonlight and Hooker ‘n Heat.
Still playing that thrift store copy with a mustard stain and cigarette burns? Upgrade, sinner.
“Gotta Find My Baby” and “Sassy Mae” swing hard with that jump blues swagger—tracks that practically demand you scuff up the hardwood in shoes you can’t afford to ruin. There’s a looseness to the band, but it’s all anchored by Slim’s pounding left hand and sly right—he’s not showing off, he’s just that good. Meanwhile, “My Gal Keeps Me Crying” and “Blue and Lonesome” dive headfirst into heartbreak territory. These aren’t just sad songs; they’re dangerous sad songs. The kind you hear right before someone flips a table over a girl who used to be yours until she locked eyes with that smooth-talking stranger nursing a rye and soda in the corner.
Cue the broken bottle, chairs flying, and Slim still cool as hell at the piano, not missing a beat. Moral of the story? Always tip the piano player. He’s probably seen this movie before—and scored it, too.
So how does it sound? The piano comes through clean with just the right amount of tonal heft—no mush, no clang, just Slim doing his thing with authority. On some cuts, the guitar and sax step forward and push the keys back a touch, but never enough to derail the groove. The pressing itself? Flat, dead quiet, and free of the surface noise that plagues too many reissues these days. Vocals are crisp with solid articulation, though if I’m nitpicking—and you knew I would—I wouldn’t mind a bit more body in Slim’s voice on a few tracks.
Is it some cavernous, wide-open soundstage extravaganza? Not quite. Some tracks open up nicely and fill the room, others are more club-level intimate, like you’re elbowing someone out of the way at the bar just to get a better listen. But here’s the real bottom line: the recording is good, sure—but the music and Slim’s performance are what make this worth spinning. You’re not buying this to show off your system; you’re buying it because this man knew how to make the blues move.
Where to buy: $32.99 at Amazon
Related Reading:
- Buddy Guy This Is Buddy Guy! & Scrapper Blackwell Mr. Scrapper’s Blues Vinyl Reviews: All-Analog Mastering, 180-Gram Pressings
- Mississippi John Hurt Today! Vinyl Reissue Review
- The Empire Struck First: How Streaming Killed (And Accidentally Resurrected) Physical Media
- Bluesville Records And Craft Recordings Kick Off 2025 With Lonnie Johnson And Mississippi John Hurt Vinyl Reissues
