Blues Rock

Blues rock on vinyl: from The Doors to The Black Keys

In short: Blues rock takes the forms and guitar figures of the blues and plays them louder, harder and with a rock line-up. In the sixties British bands such as the Rolling Stones rediscovered American blues, while in the USA The Doors carried it into the psychedelic era. The Vinyl Room currently has 139 blues rock records.

What is blues rock?

Typical features include blues forms, distorted guitars and a heavy beat – here, for example, with The Doors from “Waiting For The Sun” to “Morrison Hotel” and with Led Zeppelin on “In Through The Out Door”. The Band combined blues with country and folk on “Music From Big Pink”.

The style lives on: The White Stripes and The Black Keys made it popular again in the 2000s, and Kaleo from Iceland and John Mayer carry it forward. From Brazil comes Rita Lee with “Fruto Proibido”.

What to look for

Classics such as The Doors exist in many pressings from different decades and countries. Label, catalogue number and runout groove show which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

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FAQ

What is blues rock? Rock built on the forms and guitar playing of the blues – louder and with a rock line-up.

Where did blues rock come from? Mainly sixties Britain, where bands rediscovered American blues, and in parallel the USA.

What do The Doors have to do with blues rock? The Los Angeles band combined blues with psychedelic rock – heard, for example, on “Morrison Hotel”.

Which bands have shaped blues rock since the 2000s? Among others The White Stripes, The Black Keys and Kaleo.