It’s been a long, busy weekend filled with travel, family and eating. Now you need to go back to work. That’s bound to give a body the blues.

Booker T. “Get Behind The Mule” (Tom Waits)
This comes to us from Potato Hole, the first solo album from Booker T. in decades. It’s an instrumental so even the people who hate Tom Waits’ voice can enjoy it.

Devil In A Woodpile “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” (Led Zeppelin)
I was driving with noted guitarist and man-about-town Mister Mitch and this song popped up on my iPod. He immediately asked who it was and where he could get himself a copy. I liked the song anyway, but the way it snapped a guitarist’s head around made it seem just a little cooler.

Kenny Brown “Laughing To Keep From Cryin'” (R.L. Burnside)
I was introduced to the music of Mr. Burnside when Alejandro Escovedo played this song one night. Then I discovered his album Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down and I was hooked.

Martin Philadelphy “Abracadabra” (Steve Miller Band)
Who knew that a blues tune lurked inside the disposable pop tune of my youth? This song is from the very excellent compilation from Ink Records Death To The 80s.

Hobo Blues Band “Tobacco Road” (J.D. Loudermilk)
And let’s finish things up with a Hungarian blues band. I don’t know much about these guys but a quick run through some of their videos on YouTube reveals a musical direction that ranges from raw blues to flaccid arena rock.